As I read this verse a couple of days ago and thought about it and as I read it again this morning, I am compelled to ask myself:
What is the most valuable thing in my life?
As I answer that question, I am compelled to apply it to this verse:
Colossians 116 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
To sum this up in the only way that I know how, I would say this:
If MONEY is the most important thing in my life, what does that verse say about money?
MONEY was made by Him
MONEY was made for Him
He comes before MONEY
He is the only one that can hold our MONEY together
The purpose of MONEY, or anything else that we might have chosen, is Him!
And we need to realize this and get our life to match with that … because if we do, He will set us free from so many things!
What did you choose?
Fill in the blanks!
___ was made by Him
___ was made for Him
He comes before ___
He is the only one that can hold our ___ together
Have a great day!
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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And today, I found yet another reason as we sat and talked about mental health as a group of coaches.
Why are we seemingly dealing with this MORE today than at any time in history? Why is it a bigger deal now than it was 10 or 20 or 30 years ago? What can we do for these amazing kids that we get to coach?
As we sat and discussed, I simply had no answers. But my reality is simple: When I have NO answers it pushes me to turn to THE Answer. And, He, is THE Answer.
As I reflected, I was drawn to what Paul said and so I looked it up and found it in Romans 7.
Romans 714 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Paul was VERY, VERY intelligent. A politician and a lawyer who discovered Jesus—Paul underwent a transformation of Biblical proportions. And he wrote this God-inspired verse for us on this very day.
This verse is not an excuse for us to live at the lowest common denominator.
It isn’t an accusation to put us into a guilt-inspired tailspin.
And it isn’t a “Well, why would I try anything then if I can’t succeed at any of it?” verse.
Paul is letting us all know the reality of our situation:
We aren’t the center of the world or the universe
We aren’t the most important person at our company, or in our family, or on our team
We aren’t the superstar NFL player that crowds gather to see … and those NFL guys aren’t either.
We ARE broken, and we fall short, and we are full of things that make us broken. It is PART of us. And even in that state, we don’t even see most of the things that others could point out to us without hesitation.
We are broken and we fall short of the Glory of God. Period.
And this can’t be fixed by self help guru, a pill, money, or an enormous amount of work.
It CAN ONLY BE FIXED by Jesus.
It CAN ONLY BE FIXED by our confession that we “don’t measure up”.
It CAN ONLY BE FIXED by a Father who loves us too much to leave us the way we are.
Thank You so much Jesus
When I arose today, I felt so much that was heavy in front of me
And I thought of that quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”
If by “what lies within us” he meant Jesus–Amen.
And if he didn’t–I could not disagree with him more.
We are sitting ducks for Hell without Jesus Christ and what He did not the cross.
Gavel Down. End of story.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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But His choice to spread the gospel was even more radical.
Could Jesus have planned to have a demon possessed crazy (blog 447) and a town prostitute (this blog, 448) to take His good news to the world?
The fact that they did, the fact that the gospel even survived, and the fact that He predicted His death and resurrection say that it was much deeper than we could even surmise.
In the middle of daytime heat, in a place “inconvenient” to where the disciples might have chosen to go, Jesus began changing the world.
And his methods were radical.
As the disciples attempted to steer Him in the wrong direction, He told them:
John 4 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
Our pursuit of Jesus often includes are thoughts as to what He is and who He is.
But who He is runs contrary to all that we sometimes think.
We think that His conversation with the woman at the well was necessary for Him to save “them”. But what we can not fathom was that it was necessary to save us.
WE are the broken ones. ALL of us.
John 439 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
The gospel of Jesus has the ability to enrage the rich, the privileged, the well-behaved, and the reliable. And this is because in our very narrow vision of who we are, we believe that we are somehow worthy.
But the reality is that we are not worthy.
The reality is that He has made us worthy.
In reality, we are no different than the woman or even the crazy man from the graveyard.
We are so in need of His everlasting grace.
Without it, we are sitting ducks for Hell.
Growing up, my beautiful daughter Jenna would listen to Lauren Daigle. I grew to love her music because Jenna did. And her words in this song could not be more true.
Thank You, Jesus. How Can It Be?
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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The battle between good and evil has been going on since the beginning of time. And it should be of no surprise to us.
I was captivated by the first movie of Wonder Woman as it paints the gospel picture so perfectly clearly.
The man, Jesus, takes the death of mankind on a poison loaded plane into the atmosphere.
The evil Ares who is the god of war, Satan, celebrates the demise of humanity.
The heroine Wonder Woman, God, faces off with Satan in a final battle.
The poison making woman, man, sits on the ground waiting for God to punish her. But the heroine does not, instead focusing all of her attention on Ares, the god of war.
In their final showdown, Ares says:
“They do not deserve your protection.”
To which, Wonder Woman replies:
“It is not about deserve–it’s about what you believe. And I believe in love.”
A compelling story that represents the gospel. If you would like to watch it, here it is:
The horror story in Mark 5 is also right out of a movie.
This demon possessed man came came from the graveyard.
Chains could not hold him, even if they shackled his hands and feet.
He cut himself with stones.
I am quite positive that everyone feared him greatly and stayed well away from that graveyard.
And I have to think that Jesus approached without, worry, fear, or even a second thought. He was going to break a foothold and fight the most powerful force of evil the world has ever seen.
But the drama ends there.
This man sprinted to Jesus and was at His feet on two knees begging for help.
Jesus is not afraid of your sin.
He is not afraid of your tempting and evil thoughts.
And He is not afraid if you carried out some, or all, of them.
He isn’t afraid of a man who could break chains, or the evil in the graveyard, death, or the devil himself. In the horror movie, He is the Savior, and He walks into the teeth of death to meet the most evil presence we could conjure.
Demons begged.
Pigs died.
A man was freed.
Read it in Mark 5.
Mark 5 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
The ten cities in Greece were saved because of a demon possessed crazy man’s testimony. And it expanded out from there.
As you go into your weekend, I want to leave you with three thoughts:
1. If you are going to the graveyard, take God with you. He is good for opening caskets, driving out demons, raising the dead, and redeeming your broken life.
2. The Physical, Mental, and Emotional are all controlled by the Spiritual. And the Spiritual has a King that will not be sharing with anyone else (thank God). Beware of anything that will challenge His reign on your spiritual health. And remember, filling up your emotional, or your physical, or your mental needs will work for a while … but it won’t be long until you have come to the end of this pursuit and feel empty. Fill up your Spiritual tank. Daily. With Jesus.
3. Weigh The Cost. We worry, with our faith, about how it looks, about what we fear, about how much it might cost us, and, certainly, about what it would do for us (what’s in this for ME?). Let me just say: You can’t afford NOT to do it.
So enjoy the weekend.
And if Jesus wants to go to the graveyard to face up with the scariest person you could imagine, go with Him. He is not afraid.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Matthew 1624 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Right after telling Peter, “Get behind me Satan”, Jesus said these words.
And we must always remind ourselves of them.
It is not our job to tell God what we will do and where we will go and what will happen when we get there … It is His job to tell us.
Our lives are not forever. They are temporary and quickly fading. Our time is short and our days are numbered … and that’s the bad news.
Even worse news is what the enemy has in store for us as his days are numbered at an even higher degree. God has not yet dealt with him, and he has ruined the lives of many. As Jesus said to Peter: “Satan wants to sift you as wheat … but I will pray for you.” And so it is with us: Satan wishes to STEAL, KILL, and DESTROY … no easy words to fathom.
But this is not about bad news … this is about returning to the castle. It is about kneeling before the King. It is about the Eutopia that we all seek to have but have not fully grasped. It is about the Kingdom of God.
Jesus has our back.
He holds us in high regard.
He fights on our behalf.
And He has prepared a place for us … on earth and in heaven.
So:
Deny yourself.
Pick up your cross.
And follow Him.
Thy Kingdom Come (Jesus, You Are King)
Thy Will Be Done (Jesus, Your Way Is Better Than Mine)
On Earth As It Is In Heaven (Not Just Later, But NOW)
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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1 John 2 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
The Greek word Kosmos that is used for “world” is not to be confused with the word Kosmos that is in John 3:16. This Kosmos is describing the word humanity, our fallen nature, our flesh, and our sin.
We are not to love our fallen nature.
And whenever God tells us something, as I have learned over years of failure, it is because it is difficult to do.
As we begin a week anew, I want to challenge you to join the fight. And when we join the fight with Jesus, it always involves getting closer to Him.
So here are three pieces of advice to you as you join the fight this week:
Align Your Life Around Who He Is … Like Peter.
John 6:67-6867 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Take Captive Every Thought … As Paul advised us to do.
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Answer With Your Life … Like all who brought us this Word at the cost of their lives.
John 1415 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
And when you fail, hit the reset button.
Reflecting on my life … I failed this week in so many ways. My nature and love of the world will sometimes overwhelm my pursuits and habits and thoughts … this is not a guilt confession, it is my way of facing the Father and allowing Him to rework me, to rebuild me.
If you are in the same boat, join me in that.
As the lyrics of this song say:
“Holy … there is no one like You, there is none beside You, open up my eyes in wonder “
Hit reset and try again.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As I drove home from Fort Collins last night, I was convicted to send out an invitation. I invite you to listen to this song and to consider the lyrics.
A Few of the Lyrics:
“I’ve heard the accusation and I’ve heard the propaganda. I’ve heard the lies they whispered to my soul. I have been forsaken and I’ll always be forgotten. No matter what I do, it’s not enough.”
“I am your beloved, you have bought me with your blood. On your hand you’ve written out my name.”
“The One who knows me best … is the one who loves me most.”
These words came into my heart like a flood.
They are the words for Freedom and Truth from the only One who can offer them … for Jesus did not just make an entrance into Jerusalem, He finished His mission.
And He gives us an Invitation that goes beyond all we can fathom.
Matthew 4 19“Come, follow me,”
That invitation can change eternity. It is the only thing that can save us and get us to a place of peace and rest. It is our only hope to even have hope.
And we get to respond. We get to be born into an eternal kingdom. We get to be born again.
Our response to this is the only action in our life that means anything. My response, when put into the corner, wants to run and hide. I am not worthy to follow.
But David’s response is how I choose to respond:
Psalm 13923 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Not long after declaring Himself King, Jesus was brutally executed on a cross of wood.
He was betrayed and abandoned, He was mocked and tortured, and His clothes were gambled over by His captors. And yet, there was no victory for the enemy. The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom and He rose from death itself.
In the face of all the ugliness that we could conjure, He rose to defeat our greatest enemy–ourselves.
And He invites us to “get real”. He invites us to stand up and be accountable for who we truly are: broken, unreliable, weak.
As I play these words out this morning, they convict me all the more … I accept His Invitation.
And I encourage you to do the same.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As we enter into the year 2024, I am reminded of another entrance … the entrance that changed human history.
Mark 11 1 As they approached Jerusalem … Jesus sent two of his disciples,2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there … 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,”Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Jesus declared Himself King.
As you read the gospels, Jesus tells those close to Him “my time has not yet come” many times.
But on this day, He orchestrates His entrance.
And it is much more complicated than you might imagine.
Daniel knew this:
Daniel 9 25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
Referencing Chuck Misssler and Koinonia House, I share the following information:
On March 14, 445 B.C., the decree came out to restore and rebuild, and 173,880 days later, on April 6, 32 A.D., Jesus entered Jerusalem.
And on the day that Daniel said that He was coming, Jesus showed up and declared Himself King.
Our God is not off of our timeline. He is not late and He is not unaware of the battles before you.
As you go about your days in 2024 make sure that His entrance into Jerusalem is the most important event … make sure that His entrance into your life IS …
Because He … is our only hope.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Proverbs 3 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
I Will Pursue The Savior
In all my quiet time and prayer and reading of the Bible, I will avoid theological garble, political maneuvering, and worldly distractions…..
I will pursue the Savior.
In my coaching of kids I will demand perfection and discipline, commitment, passion, and teachability, but above all…..
I will pursue the Savior.
In my dealings with my wife I will seek to put her above all worldly issues, value her above all worldly things, and treat her as the most valuable thing I own. In loving her…..
I will pursue the Savior.
In raising my kids, I will show them the face of Jesus: I will correct, I will love, I will be honest, I will forgive, and I will serve. In my parenting…..
I will pursue the Savior
When I fall short in EVERY single one of these areas, I will fall to my knees, ask forgiveness, repent, and seek His grace. In my failure…..
I will pursue the Savior
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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2 MINUTE WARNING 