2 MINUTE WARNING

There is nothing more important than the direction we go.  And as a young kid in Sunday School I very much missed that with Abram.

But today, it makes all the sense in the world.

When God said “pack up … and go that way”, Abram obeyed and did just that.

And when Abram did that, God gave him a new name.

Today, that story makes so much sense to me.

We don’t know where we are going, yet we often times run to go there.

It makes no sense.

Some of my days, I am in a hurry to go … yet don’t know where I am going.

I believe that this is why Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, called out life to be “meaningless” … “chasing after the wind”.

And yesterday, I read it again in Proverbs:

Proverbs 14 ¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 

Paul found this out on the road to Syria.  In a hurry to go gather up and punish those followers of Jesus, he met … Jesus.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

Peter found this out as Jesus was being beaten in an unfair trial.  He had come to conquer the wrong kingdom.  He wanted the Roman Kingdom, God wanted MUCH MORE.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

Charles Colson found this out as he went to prison for being a lawyer for President Nixon.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

And I too have found this out.  My laundry list of mistakes goes on and on and on …

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

I write this to remind all of us … we have goals and aspirations and families and friends … and we have bills to pay and hours to work and stress to deal with.

But as we do these things we have to constantly, and without shame, check our direction.  Because the direction we go … means everything.

John 3 ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And the direction where the Son goes?  That leads to LIFE.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

When man gets the wrong thing in his head, he can actually stop the very plans of God Almighty.

And the men in Numbers 13 did just that.  

AFTER He told them to go into the land.

AFTER He brought them out of slavery.

AFTER He fed them in a land with no food.

And AFTER He had destroyed the greatest army in the world and saved them from certain death … they still doubted … and complained.

Numbers 13 ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

But the reality is this:  Those people still had to fight giants.  They still had to face Anak.  They still had to be like “grasshoppers” in their own eyes.

They just had to do it out in the wilderness.

It is too bad that they didn’t listen to Joshua and Caleb.  Because Joshua and Caleb were listening to the right voice.  And … they told the other voices, those of men and in mind and spirit, to SHUT UP.

Are you telling those voices to SHUT UP?

It is hard to do, maybe even impossible to do, if your ears are shut to God.

Let me remind you of a few things:

1.  Don’t judge those men who cowered down.  You’ve done it.  I’ve done it.  Anybody with a brain and some good old fashioned common sense has done it.
2.  Remember your destiny:  To live, to die, and to be punished in the pits of Hell with an enemy who is waiting to devour your very soul.
3.  And remember what Jesus did.  At just the right time, He showed up in a temple in Jerusalem and executed the only ONE MAN RIOT in the history of the world.  Anybody can jump in with an angry mob and wreak havoc.  But I hope to some day view the footage of one man doing that to a group.

Your life has many challenges if it is like mine.  As I go to think about and list them, I become overwhelmed.

But here’s the Truth:  It Is Well With My Soul

And that’s because Jesus has me.

He has the giants in front of me.

He has the enemy that surrounds me.

He has said that the gates of Hell will not prevail.

He has told me that I am forgiven.

And He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

So whatever it is that chooses to oppose me this day I say:  

“Do Your Worst”

Because the God I serve is mighty to save and the earth I walk on is His footstool.

John 3:16 says it best:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Amen.  Amen.  And Amen.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

Jesus cares about us when we are down.

He cares when we have lost hope.

And He cares when we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I woke up this morning with a song in my heart.  

I Will Rise … By Chris Tomlin

And I am convicted today that I am to release this word.

Cry out to Jesus.

Ask for His help.

Ask Him to help you overcome.

And know that He will answer.

Jesus tells us:

Revelation 3 ²¹ To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, 

He values our ability to fight.

And He wants to use that ability for His glory.

And He knows that we will need it when we encounter the enemy of the saints.

Revelation 12 ¹¹ They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

As you enter into this day, do not shrink back.

Do not give up on your dreams.

Do not allow the enemy to have any part of your headspace.

Remember:  “If God is for you … who can be against you?”

Remember:  Jesus said that “in this world you will have trouble … but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Remember that in His final moments on the cross, He drew a breath and declared “it is paid in full”.

And remember that He gives those who overcome the right to sit on His throne.

Crank up the volume up on this song and cry out to Jesus.

He will never let you down.

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

Stay Aligned and Strong, Reject Shame, Walk Into Your Calling

Even though our world is different, Paul understood what we go through even today.

The world always reminds us why we say “thy Kingdom come” when we say the Lord’s prayer.  His Kingdom is where we want to be, and we spend a good deal of our time trying to make our kingdom like His Kingdom.  We will never fully succeed in this endeavor.

Our hope is in seeking the King of that Kingdom.

This weekend, I was convicted to write this today:  

Stay Aligned and Strong

Reject Shame

Walk Into Your Calling

Here are four things to think about as you face the day, the week, the month, or even the year.

#1.  We live in a world that values RESULTS.  Not always RESULTS that work for all, but RESULTS THAT WORK FOR ME.  And the me culture is so hard to deal with.  It celebrates only victories and rejects all failures.  The shame, the condemning, the desire to be the best are constantly in our face.  Remember what Paul said:

Romans 8 ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

TRUTH NUMBER ONE

We Are Free In Christ Jesus

When we don’t “feel” free, we are called to reconnect with Him, to cry out, to pray, to worship, and to reset our feet on solid ground.

#2.  We live in a world of comradery.  Groups come together over a common enemy and work together to destroy their enemy, and then they find new comrades.

Romans 8 ¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

TRUTH NUMBER TWO  

We Are In Covenant With God 

He isn’t our “fair weather” friend.  He is our friend for all seasons and all things.  And in Covenant, we have a friend who will die for us who is INVITING US to call Him “Dad”.  We have the Spirit of sonship.

#3.  We are surrounded by challenges, and roadblocks, and setbacks, and our own selfishness.  Today goes well … tomorrow wakes up to problems.

Romans 8 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

TRUTH NUMBER THREE  

God Has A Plan

And as we strive and fight and look to do our very best, we have to remember:  If It ISN’T Good, He’s not done yet.  Thank God that He is working for good…that allows me to step back and seek to walk in His purpose.

#4.  Our enemies and evil seem to win … a lot.

Romans 8 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

TRUTH NUMBER FOUR  

We Are Conquerors

Our enemies will soon be gone.  And the Bible tells us that we are not just Conquerors, we are MORE than Conquerors.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but we are in a spiritual war with entities that we sometimes cannot see OR understand.  But here is the truth:  We are More Than Conquerors through Him who loves us.

Stay Aligned.

Stay Strong.

Reject Shame.

Walk Into Your Calling.

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