2 MINUTE WARNING

My reality is simple….I have stumbled over this next blog for days….editing with no peace to release.  I pray the Lord has taken my attempt to release wisdom and put His Spirit over you as you read……

The Truth we all must face is this:

How We Deal With Rejection Defines Our Destiny….

And I believe that we all must understand and be aware of this because the reality is this:  People will reject you, they will reject me, and they will even reject themselves.  It is how we deal with this rejection that will determine where we end up….

As I stumbled on this hard word, I was taken back to a moment several years ago that caught me in tears as I read a Sports Illustrated story about Peyton Manning.  He had gone from MVP, Super Bowl champion, and record setting quarterback to a man who found himself on the waiver wire…..he had been cut.

This is not a new concept for not only the NFL….which many claim stands for “Not For Long”……but for the world we live in today.

It does not take long to for the world to disregard anyone who does not live up to the standard……and I believe this is simply the reality of what the enemy would love to have happen in our world today.

I can remember teaching in Sunday School about spiritual warfare and having a parent come up to me and say:  “We do not believe in that.”

Ephesians 6 states a different truth:  God warns us that our battle is not against flesh and blood….it is a BATTLE….and it is a SPIRITUAL fight.

As I prayed about this in church, I felt convicted about the vowels of spiritual warfare that the enemy would bring against us.  This is not scientific nor all-inclusive…it is simply a few ways the enemy tries to attack us.

A is for ACCEPTANCE  

The enemy would love to convince us that those we value will no longer ACCEPT us.  It is the very reason, I believe, that Nicodemus wanted to speak with Jesus at night.  As we read in John 3, they have a wonderful exchange that leads us to the most spoken phrase in the Bible in John 3:16 “For God so loved…  But what about this Nicodemus?  I often wonder if he truly understood the power of persuasion that he had within the Jews.  He cowered away in the middle of the night to have a conversation with Jesus and then secretly followed Him.  Why didn’t he use his high position to influence the council?  

When we look into it, we probably don’t like the answer….and that is because the answer is the same reason that we cower away….

We are afraid of rejection.

The cold reality of the world is this:  we will be rejected anyway……and if we try to live our life to gain acceptance then we are in for great pain.  This is not to say that the world will always reject us–and it is not meant to be the bad news……but if we think that we will be accepted for who we really are by all who we would want to accept us……we are deceived.

Jesus experienced this….and in one moment back then He wants to make it clear to you today:  He WILL NOT REJECT YOU.

Luke 7  36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.   39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is–that she is a sinner.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Here is the truth that we need to have spoken over us:  If the Lord will go to an elaborate dinner and allow a sinful woman to fall at His feet without shame……He will take anyone.  The question is NOT:  Will He take me?  The question is:  Will you take Him?

God has ACCEPTED you.

He has deemed you lovable.

He set His eternity on a course to have you….and He has sealed it with His life and with His blood.

Will you be ACCEPTED for standing up?  Maybe not.  But as Jim Elliott said:  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

So the next time you hide behind the fear of being rejected….remember:  You are FORGIVEN.  And when you walk out God’s purpose for you in your full extent—you might be opposed and afraid—but you will also be truly alive.  So…Accept Him and His forgiveness and purpose to be a witness…..because even if we responded the WRONG WAY to rejection in the past……God can BREAK OUR CHAINS, RESTORE WHAT IS LOST, AND REDEEM OUR LIVES TO BE BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE WE WENT THE WRONG WAY.

Hebrews 4:16  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://youtu.be/uUiwA1JNDig

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Coach J

As I meditated on this 1 Timothy verse from blog 112, something struck me and I have not been able to put it out of my head:

1 Timothy 4:12  Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Notice he says:  set an example for the believers

As I read that I wondered:  Why is he saying to set and example FOR THE BELIEVERS?  Don’t they already believe?  Are they really in need of an example?

The answer is YES.

And I think it is safe to say that in our country today, God is calling us to stand up.

In many parts of the world, the world is in chaos…..but we hear testimony after testimony of God showing up and overcoming the world.

Here in America, it is just the opposite.  Our world is somewhat in order, and by removing God we create our own chaos.

I mean—-we are free to have Him…….so why don’t we?

Imagine what God could do if we would actually invite Him into our country?

This is not a challenge to those who don’t know Him….it is the challenge of Paul to all of us to set the example for other believers….in:

• The way we talk
• The way we live
• The way we love
• The way we worship
• The things that we refrain from

I heard a pastor say that Fear is faith in the wrong god.  What a concept.  The reality is that we must take back the spiritual dominion over our small worlds of influence….if we do, it will have a rippling effect…..

So….my question today is:  What Are We Afraid Of?

As I worshipped yesterday…..I got my answer:  we are afraid of a lot of things.

I am not going to judge fear….because I have it too.  I am going to identify my perception of what the enemy does to create fear….sometimes, if we can identify our opponent—we are better able to defeat his plan against us.

As I began to pray and worship on how the enemy might attack, I began to see the list of vowels…..A, E, I, O, and U.  The enemy has used these (and probably many more) tactics to set us back:

• ACCEPTANCE  Nicodemus in John 3.  Nicodemus is curious to talk to Jesus but does not want to lose his favor with the Jewish Council.  So he seeks Him out in the secrecy of night.

• ENERGY  The disciples in Matthew 26:40.  When He needs them the most, the disciples fall into slumber.

• INTIMIDATION  Daniel 6.  Nothing brings greater intimidation than a lion pride that is waiting to devour you….or a giant….or a Roman centurion looking for someone to use as his next example.

• OBSTACLES  Exodus 3.  Moses asks Pharaoh to give freedom to one of the greatest free labor forces that the world has ever known.

• UNDERMINE  Job 4-23.  Job’s friends turn on him.  Nothing sets us back like discouragement in the midst of our issues.

Jesus came to set us free.  Let’s purpose to be an example of living by Faith and not by fear.

Let’s set an example for the believers in all that we do.

It is in great displays of FAITH that we truly do….SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS…..

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I am continuing the series that God has convicted me to write:  Violent Like The Kingdom.

Let me start by saying that you would not even be reading this today were it not for something Jesus did 2000 years ago:

He came from nothing, stood up to the oppressive Roman rule, called out the ungodly Jewish council, and declared that the devil would no longer rule here on earth unless we chose to let him.

For His great efforts, He was captured unjustly, patronized with an unfair trial, and sentenced to the harshest of punishments.

They beat Him within an inch of His life and had Him carry the instrument of His execution to the hill where He would be killed.  There….He was treated with disregard and dishonor, was humiliated in every way, and suffered an excruciating finale.  

His resurrection from death and the gift of His Spirit was the seed that leads us to where we stand today.  We are the recipients of a gift that we can neither fathom nor pay back.  All we need do is RESPOND—which is all He has ever asked us to do.

In 1938, Time Magazine recognized a man as their Man of the Year.  He was a political leader, an influencer, and had restored his country back to a worldly power house.  

His name was Adolf Hitler.

In the months that ensued, he barked out plans, intimidated, made deals that gained strategic power, and eventually set out on a course to conquer the world.

Looking back, I am sure we now ask:  How could he have become the Man of the Year?  How could we have negotiated with him?  How could we have been so foolish?

But we were.

We allowed him to have his way until it was almost too late.

There are certain things, and people, that we simply cannot negotiate with…..

Our society is in a state of flux.  The moral fiber that used to once hold us together seems to be coming unraveled all around us….and the Bible warns us of this:

Isaiah 5:20  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil

Our simple reality is this:  when you take the light away, things become dark.  Our world is in desperate need of our Savior….He is our only hope…..

God is calling us to step up…..and He is calling us to stand up no matter how we feel about our ability:

Not equipped?

Too young?

Uneducated?

Lacking influence?

Unable?

God has called us to stand up and be accounted for…..and it is not about faith in ourselves, it is about FAITH IN HIM.

When Timothy felt unqualified, Paul wrote this to him:

1 Timothy 4:12  Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

We must not forget that God equips the called—-He does not call the equipped.  If He can bring us to it—He can get us through it.  We must heed Paul’s words to Timothy no matter what we think we lack…..because our God is bigger than our deficiencies.

And so I say:  Who Will Stand?  

We can no longer sit quietly as things move in directions where they weren’t meant to go.

We can not trade the truth of the gospel for the lies of the world.

We can no longer stand idle from the side and negotiate with the enemy.

We must begin to put honor where honor is due and praise where praise is due.

Our Father in heaven put it all on the line for us so that we could stand up and put it all on the line for Him.

And so we must decide…..Which side of the fence will we choose to sit on?  The one with the world…..or the one with Jesus?

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I am continuing the series that God has convicted me to write:  Violent Like The Kingdom.

Let me start by saying that you would not even be reading this today were it not for something Jesus did 2000 years ago.  

He came from nothing, stood up to the oppressive Roman rule, called out the ungodly Jewish council, and declared that the devil would no longer rule here on earth unless we chose to let him.

For His great efforts, He was captured unjustly, patronized with an unfair trial, and sentenced to punishment.

They beat Him within an inch of His life and had Him carry the instrument of His execution to the hill where He would be killed.  There….He suffered an excruciating finale, was treated with disregard and dishonor, and was humiliated in every way.

There is nothing like a sport to remind you that going pretty hard is simply not good enough……and I was so convicted by this, that several years ago I had a t-shirt made to make my point.  At that time, we had a state testing calls CSAP.  Colorado State Assessment Program.  CSAP was always being talked about and emphasized.  Our governor even went in and took it.  So……using that Acronym, I came up with my own, CSFP…….

CSFP: Colorado State Football Playoffs

And then I added underneath it:

Where 98%….Gets You Beat

My point is well understood by many who have competed at a high level.  It is not uncommon for us to do “pretty well” in our preparation…..and get it “handed to us”.  Because our opponent wants exactly the opposite of what we want….and he might do it better than “pretty well”.

I think this is what Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:

Revelation 3  16 So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

I have often told my team, or one of my players, or even myself….to Get Your Butt Going!….and I think we all need to say it today…….

Because the only thing worse than a little honesty and criticism now is to have Jesus say:

I can not stomach how lukewarm you are!

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I am starting a new series today that God has convicted me to write:  Violent Like The Kingdom.  I hope you like it.

Let me start by saying that you would not even be reading this today were it not for something Jesus did 2000 years ago.  

He came from nothing, stood up to the oppressive Roman rule, called out the ungodly Jewish council, and declared that the devil would no longer rule here on earth unless we chose to let him.

For His great efforts, He was captured unjustly, patronized with an unfair trial, and sentenced to punishment.

They beat Him within an inch of His life and had Him carry the instrument of His execution to the hill where He would be killed.  There….He suffered an excruciating finale, was treated with disregard and dishonor, and was humiliated in every way.

And He did it so we can have this offer today.

Romans 5  19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.  20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In an incredible turn of fate, He changed the culture.

Sin would no longer be the focus.  Sacrifice and paying off the debt would no longer be the way of life.

It would be replaced by faith in Him and an overabundance of grace so rich, that we would never have to turn back…..because 3 days after His sacrifice, He came back to change the world through men who would be lead by His Spirit.

From one decision, as Paul puts it, Jesus took away Satan’s plan to harass and degrade us.  He put us in the pole position to live in the freedom of faith.

So today, I want to know…..

When are we going to move on this?

• • We FIGHT, as a society and individuals, to have our identity recognized.  And in doing so, we simply get more lost.  Our desire to be recognized disallows us from knowing who we truly are….Children Of God.
  • We live in a society today where we have all that we could ever want, but never have there been more broken people who do not understand that they are….Free To Be Delivered.

• We have all the knowledge we could ever hope to attain, but we have never been more lacking in common sense.  We act in foolishness when we should be….Wise And Anointed Followers Of God.

• We say LOVE more than we ever have, but we rarely carry it out.  If we are honest, we actually love ourselves at the expense of others when we should….Love Others At Our Own Expense.

God has set the plan in place.

He has set us free from all that can hinder us if we choose to walk in it.

He has given us the Counselor, or Holy Spirit, that we might cry out and have direction in where we should go.

He has set the pieces in motion that we can live as Children Of God, Walking In Freedom, Anointed and Wise, and Loving Others…..

Now we just simply have to do it.

Ask God to put a vision on your heart and begin to walk out that vision…..TODAY.  As your coach, I have to tell you:  Get Your Butt Going!  If Jesus had hemmed and hawed as much as we have, there would have been no cross…..He would still be there talking about theories on how to rescue all of us from the pits of hell.  Thank God He moved immediately on the calling God had put on Him.

Now it’s our turn.

Let’s walk out our faith and be Violent Like The Kingdom.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

On the road to Syria–on his way to kill and exterminate Christians–with the world at his command….Paul was radically changed and became part of the greatest “religious” movement of all time……..

As I was getting ready this morning and preparing my heart to speak this evening…..I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to give me a word SPECIFIC to the group I was speaking to today.  And the Lord always delivers…….

I wrote down the words:

Quit Trying To Make God Be Like You

Wow.

I think that is so true.

Born under law.  Born into sin.  Born under conformity and the pressure to fit in….

Many of us do just that.  We make God who He should be in accordance with who we are.

And so the dance begins…..He is perfect and so we try to make sure that we show Him that, we too, are perfect.

Romans 4  18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him

God tells us NOT TO CONFORM and then to BE TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our mind.  What if that is not a word about doing but a word about letting go.  What if He is telling us to quit trying to be perfect and put on some “act” where we somehow try to please the Him?

Abraham was a messed up man in the twilight of his life…..yet he had faith in God and just simply believed…and worshipped…and followed.

What if I took that verse and put your name?

• Against all hope, Ed in hope believed and so became….just as it had been said to him

• Against all hope, Bill in hope believed and so became….just as it had been said to him

• Against all hope, Jordan in hope believed and so became….just as it had been said to her

We are never going to work into perfection in our own flesh.  We will never make ourselves “look” perfect by acting like we have it all together.  We are never going to fit in with the world…..and we don’t need to put on a show to fit in with the Lord.

So why don’t we just believe Him and let Him carry out His promise in us……

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The Lord did something on Calvary 2000 years ago that allows something so incredible…..

He tore a curtain.

Mark 15 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

And when He tore that curtain….it paved the way for all of us to come and know the Lord.  It allowed us to come before Him with NOTHING to offer.

This testimony from Curtis Martin touched my heart.  I encourage you to watch it from the beginning (I have it starting at 6:47) until the 9:15 mark…..

Our God has allowed us to come before Him just as we are…..that He might know us and begin to work His love into us and change us from the inside out.

It is the hope of all man.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

God had a plan….and it wasn’t slavery.  And so He sent Moses with a message.

Exodus 3 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.   This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

It is the great circle of life.

We get enslaved.

We cry out to God.

The Great I AM comes and rescues us from bondage.

As we enter into this week let’s get it right:

Our Faith needs to speak to our circumstances….and not the other way around.

You Are I AM by MercyMe

You are the one who conquers giants

You are the one who calls out kings

You shut the mouths of lions

You tell the dead to breathe

You’re the one who walks through fire

You take the orphan’s hand

You’re the one messiah

You are I AM

https://youtu.be/JB4dvMZGMr8

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

On the road to Syria–on his way to kill and exterminate Christians–with the world at his command….Paul was radically changed and became part of the greatest “religious” movement of all time……..

Romans 3  21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

What Paul wrote to Jews back then is exactly what we could write to Christians today….and God’s word is like that…..

It transcends time and was as applicable to people then as it is to us today.

You see….

• The Jews thought that they were better than the gentiles, much like some Christians today.
• The Jews thought that they could make themselves right with God, much like some Christians today.
• The Jews thought that they could make themselves feel better by judging the sins of others, much like some Christians today.

But our reality is simple.  Without Jesus, we are rotten to the core—full of sin, detestable, and the enemy of God.

That is a hard pill to swallow…but it is the reality of life.  As Paul writes:  “ALL have sinned and fall short….”  Not some.  ALL.

And the prophet Isaiah wrote this back then to be the very truth that we need to hear today:

1. Our good works are like menstrual rags to the Lord (Isaiah 64:6).  I was shocked that the Bible would say something like this—yet it does.  When I first read it I wondered—how could He be so brash in such a holy book?  But the point is made—I CAN NOT make myself clean before God by DOING EVEN GOOD THINGS!
2. “We all like sheep have gone astray.  Each of us has turned to His own way.  And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquities of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:6)  Again—not SOME of us astray—all of us astray—yet the Lord has made a way for us through Jesus.

And so we choose.

We choose separation OR we choose to walk in covenant with God.

We choose to do it our own way or we choose to follow Jesus.

We choose death and darkness or we choose life and freedom.

I have heard it said that insanity is doing it the same way over and over again and expecting a different result…..and I have stubbornly tried that to no accord.

I choose Jesus.

He is my only hope and the hope of the nations.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J