John 1:  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

Start your pursuit of pursuing the Lord in the Word of God with the phrase:  In the beginning…..because knowing where we came form is very important.

John starts his story with this word…..and this word connected me to God’s account in Genesis.  I wish that I had started with John…..because, to me, it is the first book of the Bible.

John is the eyewitness to Jesus that saw Him live, die, and come back AFTER He died.  And he writes an incredible account of Jesus, constantly referring to himself as the one whom Jesus loved.

Eyewitnesses make crucial witnesses to finding the truth and we have many who saw and spent time with Jesus.  Many called Him a good guy, many called him crazy, and many called Him Lord.

We do know that after His story that a new movement exploded in that region, and that movement crossed all man-made boundaries.  It touched people of all races and languages, of different religions, of different political views, and it touched both the rich and the poor.

I am wondering today what we have done with this.  I see Trump and Clinton supporters squaring off and fighting.  There has also never been a bigger chasm between the rich and the poor, between the haves and the have nots.  I see fighting in the schools and hideous acts of violence and hatred.  Not all of this is answered by “peace”, because peace without Jesus has simply lead us into more and more darkness.

So where do we look for vision?

We look in the Word of God.

You see, we have watered it down and not truly appreciated it for what it truly is.

I think Peter’s shocking testimony made me really think about the amount of respect that this book should carry with all of us.

2 Peter 1:  16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”F1 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Read that again and process it:  He was an eyewitness and SAW Jesus but He is saying that the Word is a MORE CERTAIN thing…..and that we should pay attention to it.

Even as I write this and proclaim the greatness of this book I realize that I don’t know it, I don’t understand it, and that I have not spent enough time pursuing it…..or Him…..because John tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..and I should be proclaiming and pursuing and changing and delighting in that EACH AND EVERY DAY WITH ALL THAT IS IN ME.

FATHER-

Help me.

Help me to know your Word and to honor Your Word and YOU!  Light a fire in me that can not be quenched by people….and make me a light to the world that would proclaim your light.  You, and You ALONE, hold the keys to eternal life!

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

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Coach J

2 Kings 6:16-17  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered.  “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.”  The the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

How many times have we seen the mountain in front of us and not the God who is behind us?

I have stood and stared at that mountain or that army or that issue and given it worship …. I have seen the defeat before the event and wondered what I would do after losing …..

And in reflection, I think the only thing that I did was give power to the enemy.

Think about it.  God has given us so many polar opposites to help us to see into the gray area:

We have LIGHT and DARKNESS

We have GOOD and EVIL

We have LIFE and DEATH

We have LOVE and HATE

We have THANKSGIVING and CONTENTIOUSNESS

We have a GOD WHO LOVES US WITH ALL THAT IS IN HIM and an ENEMY WHO DESIRES TO STEAL, KILL, AND DESTROY.

But the reality is this:  Our God has a plan for our lives and He is standing in the gap to back us…..

On the hill behind you is an army WAITING to be activated BY YOU…..The Lord has called you to advance……and sometimes you are looking at the opponent and not the guys who are with you.

We often have broken dreams and bills and hurts and relationships that discourage us.  We have burdens we carry, pains we endure, and weaknesses.  We are drawn to things that hurt us, we sabotage our own pursuits, and we see the brokenness sometimes BEFORE we see what truly works.

But the Lord has something different:

Even in the things that do not work He wants to show up and so something…

And He certainly wants us to dream dreams and be renewed to some of the things that truly give us life.

So I am going to say this day to ask Him to give you all that back.  And I am going to pray that He does just that.

FATHER, You are the God of all creation.

You are the One who called me from the darkness and sent Your ONLY Son to deliver me.

You are the One who loves me more than I love myself.

So I am asking You to come this very day and do something that I can not do myself.  I am asking you to light a fire in me and give me a vision of hope and a dream that is bigger than I can imagine.  And Father, when I forget who I am and more importantly, when I forget who YOU ARE, show me the army on that hill behind me……that I might advance on the land that You have given me.

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

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Coach J

Habakkuk 2:1  “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.”

This might be the greatest scripture ever written…..and I had to read it several times to fully digest what it was saying (get used to me saying this!!)

There is nothing like a good kick in the teeth and a hug……and He writes me a love letter that does that to me everywhere I look…..

You see, the “what I will answer when I am corrected” portion of this verse was a tough one for me….

I am stubborn

I am prideful

I think I’m right

I think I know best

Natalie Grant has a great song called King of the World that convicts me of this.  She says:  “When did I forget You’ve always been the King of the world?  I try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world……”

That’s me.

You see, if I stand on the rampart and watch to see what He will say to me…..I have absolute faith that what He will say will be right and perfect….He bats .1000, He always hits the mark, and He is always out for the best for me and for all around me.  He is my only hope and the only thing that I can truly grab onto and have faith in……

But then there is the second part of this verse:  What will I answer when I am corrected?  This is where the true impact comes.  You see, our God is a gentleman….and OUR RESPONSE IS EVERYTHING…

I can respond by adjusting and being teachable…….or I can adjust going in my own direction……and my response will be the make or break input into what happens.

This is so often the very case in athletics…..THE RESPONSE.  I have had so many players who have taken a challenge, or a little adversity, or a coaching tip, or an attitude adjustment and ran with it in such a way that they have changed a team….changed a season.  Their response was to be a champion and to carry a team.

What is your response today?  Are you ready to be corrected?  

Are you okay if the King of the Universe asks you to check your attitude at the door?  Are you ready to change your thoughts and plans and adjust them to be in alignment with Him?

Because He will and you can.

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

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Coach J

1 John 3:19-20:  “This then is how we know that we belong to the Truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.”

This might be the greatest scripture ever written…..I had to read it about ten times to fully digest it, and yet it still speaks to me almost every time I set my eyes on it.

As a coach and teacher, I live in a performance world.  In sports, we have a stat for everything imaginable, social media, and win-loss records.  As a teacher, we have tests and standards and we have many ways to communicate how well a student is doing.  All of these are good, but we must be very careful…..

Because sometimes these can lead people down a road that leads to:  “I just don’t measure up.”

Growing up, I played on teams where coaches challenged the whole team to FINISH the gasser in 32 seconds…..we all ran, and if the guy beside me or down the line didn’t finish in 32 seconds, WE ALL ran again.  And pretty soon the guy who COULDN’T was the focus of the entire team……and I can’t say that was a positive thing.

I have changed that mentality to a Godly principle in my coaching, teaching, and everything I do because of one thing that I can set my clock by….and that is…..Godly principles backed up by God ALWAYS work—-100% of the time.  If only I did this in everything that I did!

For the conditioning drill…..I can now challenge my team:  “Finish in 32 seconds….but for every guy who can’t, I need a guy to step up and blow the doors off of this and finish in 28!”  You see, that leader, who under the former way of thinking was yelling at the guy who couldn’t is now empowered to do something great—-which is exactly what we need to have happen in the game.  We don’t need the guy who is average to be a superstar, we need our team to work together in all phases and for the guy who IS THE SUPERSTAR to step up!!  That’s how great things happen on teams, in businesses, and in all great things.

And it is the gospel in action…….

You see, we could not finish the race in the time given.  And if we were assigned to run until we could make the time…..we would be running for all eternity.

So what did God do?  He sent us a team captain to set the bar high and blow the doors off the expectation.  And that He did.  He came and took responsibility for our bad team, put us on His shoulders and said, “come on over and play for a championship with me…..because we are going to run all over our opponent and I am going be right here in the huddle showing us how to do it.”

Wow…what a concept!

The team captain, the stud, the best player in the world, and the only guy who gives us even a remote chance to win, has come to be ON MY TEAM!!

Champions win championships……and He wants to lead us to the title.

So the next time you look in the mirror and say “I don’t measure up”, remember:  “God is greater than our hearts….and He knows everything……”

And while I might be scared at the prospect of “having my heart condemn me”, because I know that it will, I am excited that I have turned that heart over to the greatest teammate of all time, Jesus Christ.

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

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

Mark 15:34:  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

When I first read this scripture, I wondered why Jesus felt that God was forsaking Him.  Wasn’t He giving His life willingly to the Father?  Didn’t He just say on Gethsemane that He would do whatever the Father wanted Him to do?

Some of these things confused me as I was growing up……And not only these but many many things in the Bible confused me and I wondered whether they truly lined up.

After years of examination and comparing and reading and questioning, I came to a few conclusions:  This was the most complicated and incredible and powerful and life-changing book that I have ever read.

• Whoever wrote this book had access to information that none of us could get on our own.
• Whoever wrote this book was able to predict the future.
• Whoever wrote this book was able to make people in different generations and cultures come to agreement—incredibly miraculous agreement.

How did I come to this conclusion?  Well part of this conclusion occured when I stumbled onto the 22nd Psalm.  When I read it, I realized that Jesus, when He was being excruciatingly tortured, was reciting the Bible.  And the verse He was reciting was written 1000 years before by a guy named David.

And this David…..was writing about something that made no sense to him when he wrote it…….it was like someone “on the outside was” forming together a master plan to save us.

After HUNDREDS OF THESE discoveries after reading the Bible, I have come to this conclusion:  God made a plan to send Jesus.  And, 1000 years later, on a cross on Calvary, this Jesus carries out that plan and recites the verse that God told David to write it in Psalms 1000 years prior:

Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Read the 22nd Psalm.  It is the story of Jesus crucifixion written 1000 years prior and it is one of hundreds of scriptures that were written hundreds or thousands of years prior to Jesus that describe Jesus and His coming to redeem our lives.

Test me on this and investigate this matter.  This is either a conspiracy over thousands of years contrived by people who did not know each other OR a plan from on high to redeem a broken human race……and I have staked my claim on the latter.  As a mathematician I can see no other probability that could make sense—-and so yes—I am fanatical about it.

If you have read this book with anything but utter amazement and respect you have, in MY OPINION, not given it the honor that it is due.  Because my conclusion is this:  It is the Word of God……an absolutely magnificent playbook that we should be reading every day to turn us in the right direction…….

And we owe it to our world to show IT……..and HIM to them.

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

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Coach J

Hebrews 11:1  “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

When Peyton Manning hit a record setting touchdown pass with the Indianapolis Colts many years ago….something struck me and impressed me.

• It wasn’t the fact that he stepped into the pocket to EXACTLY the right spot to launch the ball given the rush that he was facing….though that was awesome.
• It wasn’t the velocity he put on the ball as he made the throw….though that was cool too.
• It wasn’t the accuracy with which he threw the ball….but that was impressive.
• It wasn’t the fact that he got his team in the right play call, that he verified it with his eyes after catching the snap, or that he threw it to exactly  the right spot AT THE RIGHT time to totally  take advantage of that defense….but that was incredible.

What struck me was the FAITH that he showed in dropping that pass in.  Watching from the right angle, one could observe that he made the throw BEFORE Brandon Stokley  had even entered into his break.  In layman’s terms, Stokley was going away from the ball when he Manning threw the ball.  When he broke his route back inside, the ball was on him and he caught it for touchdown 49…a then NFL record.

FAITH in the play, FAITH in his teammates, FAITH in his coaches, and FAITH in himself made it possible for Manning to be great on that day and on many others.

You see, great things are originated when we act in FAITH.  But we, in fact, must see it before it comes to fruition.  You see, God tells us:  “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain  of what we do not see.”  It is us acting BEFORE we know that something will work.

A  carpenter uses it when he builds something.

An engineer when he designs something in the shop.

A teacher sees the lesson before it is presented, anticipating spots of clarification.

And so it goes.

The Lord values this quality in us…..and, in fact, it is one of the few things that we can give Him.   That is why  He values it SO MUCH.  See, we can give Him sin, and heartache, and shortcomings, and brokenness…..it is in our nature to see what is broken….to see what we do not have.

But the Lord is asking us to look at what we DO HAVE.  To celebrate what we have and to have FAITH in Him to do something even greater with it.

How foolish Noah must have looked when he began construction of that boat.

How did Abraham look when he left a good situation for hope of a greater one?

And what about Paul?  He took his privileged life and threw it away because of an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

But it isn’t just biblical characters…..

Many admire Tim Tebow…..a football warrior FULL of faith.

Or Ben Carson…..a poor young man who came from inner city  Detroit to become a national (in my mind) hero.

The list goes on and on.

And so I ask you…..what will YOU DO with what the LORD has given you?  Jesus says He can take FAITH the size of a mustard seed and do something great with it…..

So what is He calling you to be?  Is it a call that is higher than what you could fathom on your own accord?  I hope so, because that would mean it is probably from Him.

We serve a big God….a God who loves us without borders…..a God that did something radical when He measured us out and discovered that we could not pay the debt….He sent His Son down to do it—-and He stretched out on that cross on Calvary and uttered with His last breath:  “IT IS PAID IN FULL”…..Think about it….What on earth was He paying for?

Maybe it was so we could say:  “I am forgiven….and I am going to live the same way I did before I knew this.”

But I have to think it was for a different reason……I have to think it was to inspire us to RECEIVE HIS UNFATHOMABLE GRACE and respond with a life that screams out that we have FAITH!!

If He can use a guy like Peyton to inspire (no offense to him) then He can use a person like you:

• As the “rush” is coming at you, step into the place where you can launch….not fearing the hit but SEEING the TD.
• Throw that ball or shoot that arrow with VIGOR,  with the speed it needs to be propelled in order to stick into the target.
• Aim with discernment…..aim at a target that you have been praying for…or about….and let prayer be your guide in that aim.
• Get your life in the right “play call” given the defense that you see.  Make sure that as the play is going, you “verify” with your eyes and carry it out.

And lastly, show FAITH….in the play, the players, the coach, in all who are in that mix with you as you try to execute…….because if the LORD is with you, who can be against you?

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

Amen.

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

Psalm 18:  “I love You O Lord my strength,

the Lord is my Rock and my Fortress, my Deliverer.  

My God in whom I trust.  

My Shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

What do we do when we don’t know what to pray?  So many times in my life I have come to the throne with nothing.  Nothing to offer.  Nothing to give.

When it seems that there is no good thing within me to offer to the King of the universe….I can still give Him the best.  He has written His Word for us and we can say it back to Him in response and thanksgiving.  I have taken a liking to memorizing scripture…..and on days like today I am truly grateful.  I can simply recite the verse that He has written over my heart and take delight in Him….Memorizing scripture is an easy thing to do….simply get a notecard and write down the first letter of each word on the top, with the actual words on the bottom or the back of that card.  It goes something like this:

Be blessed today…….and remember:

He loves you and:

He can give you strength.

He is the only one who can deliver you.

You can trust Him.

He will defend you and protect you.

You can call upon Him.

He can save you from your enemies.

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

The Father tells us in Hebrews 11 about Faith–and it is a remarkable picture of what Faith is……and I would like to spend my next two sessions writing about it.

Hebrews 11:  1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I have read that verse so many times and yet just recently something caught my eye—and then my heart.  Faith is “being sure of what we hope for…….”

To be honest:  many have lost hope….and we do not EVEN KNOW WHAT TO HOPE FOR!!

So let me ask you this:  What if what He says is true?

• What if I REALLY am a citizen of heaven….in other words—what if heaven is AWESOME and I, once I accept Jesus, am royalty there?
• What if He truly is rooting for me and actually OFFERING His Son so that I might be in His favor NOT ONLY IN HEAVEN BUT HERE ON EARTH?
• What if I actually could DEFEAT THE DARKNESS (Satan), DEFEAT MY FAULTS (sin), and DEFEAT MY MORTALITY (death)?
• What if I could actually see my friends and family in heaven—and there was ACTUALLY no disease, no tears, no striving and failing….what if I could see people living in harmony like I want to see here?

Well, if all that were true, it would rock me to the core.  That would change everything….it would change the way I loved myself—and thus how I loved others.  It would change all my relationships.  It would change the way I treated people and the way I responded to things that could look, in the flesh, as if they were hopeless.

So let me testify to this fact:  ALL OF IT IS TRUE.

We ARE Citizens of Heaven when we accept Jesus….We are ROYAL.

We ARE, in Jesus, able to defeat Satan, sin, and death.

We ARE, under open invitation, able to receive Christ in our lives and ensure an eternity that would blow away EVERY GREAT THING THAT WE HAVE EVER SEEN…..

And He is offering to come and do it in our lives here on earth……it is what we are crying out for when we say:  THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN……it’s just that, we don’t truly always mean it when we say it……

So here’s the good news:

That can all change in a moment…….

We are a nation……a people……that lacks hope.

Because if we understood the promise of the gospel and what He truly did on the cross…… our homes, our schools, our cities, our states, and our country would look incredibly different…..

Think about it……..even a select few of us could actually change a nation.

So what are we waiting for?

Get down on your knees and cry out….and I mean CRY OUT….and ask Him to change your heart and to actually put HOPE INSIDE OF YOU.

Because if He puts His HOPE INSIDE OF US…….our world will never look the same again.

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

Amen.

It used to mean something to give your word.  Growing up, I always used to hear this from people older than I was and I often wondered….why?

Why is it so important to backup your words with actions?

As a man who has sold his wife’s dining room furniture on the front driveway….I can tell you that I have felt the pain of losing everything due to someone lying to me, breaking the law, and running off with people’s hard-earned money.

Not following up hurts……and I have felt the pain of not being able to trust someone and, in essence, losing everything.

So my question today is:  Why trust Peter?

2 Peter 1:  16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

I think it is important to know what was written originally and what it might mean.

Today, I will focus on the word:  WITNESS.  Witness comes from the Greek word Martyras……

In other words to be a witness was connected to being a martyr.

Perhaps a better way to communicate what Peter is saying is:

“I am willing to die before I take back what I am communicating.”

And, in fact, he did.

Peter, the man who was running and denying, the man who told Christ that he had His back, the man who disappeared when Jesus needed him most, is putting his “money where his mouth is”…..He would die for his testimony.

And so I ask you……have you given your life to Jesus?  I think many of us could say that we have not committed at the level that Peter has.  But perhaps we could step it up a little and start trying to be who God has truly called us to be…..

After all, Peter told Jesus after Jesus asked him if he wanted to leave:  “Where would I go?  You and you alone hold the words to eternal life..”

Perhaps we need to recommit to the Father this very day and say:

“Father, I am lost without you.  You, and YOU ALONE, hold the keys to eternal life.”

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