2 MINUTE WARNING

As I sat at the table at Ziggi’s today with my beautiful daughter Jenna, we unsuccessfully dealt with a wobbly table.  No matter how much paper or propping we did, the table rocked back and forth in a very irritating fashion.

I pondered why the designer did not use THREE legs on that table.  The Three Point Postulate in geometry guarantees that three non collinear points always form a plane.  In terms of the table, if it had three legs it would never wobble.

I told my daughter that 3+1 did not make the table better.

And, in fact, 3+1 doesn’t make our faith better either.

ALL you need is God.

A Father who has a plan for our lives.

A Son who has saved us.

And a Spirit who will counsel us.

As Paul tells us in his second letter to Corinth, the three He has given us is all that we need.

2 Corinthians 13 ¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

We don’t need more than that.  And, in fact, when we try to add to that, we often lose sight of the fact that we can cloud our own perfect vision of the very One who can save us.

So as you walk out your day, as you make your plans, as you move forward with all the things that you set out to do … reel it in.

Reel it in … and surrender.

Because God doesn’t need a fourth input.  He needs you (and me!) to surrender to His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

Thank God for God.

Be blessed today.

2 Corinthians 13 ¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As my wife read this verse to me this morning, I was reminded of a song by Third Day that I used to play and sing many years back.

Psalm 24 

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,

    the world, and all who live in it;

² for he founded it upon the seas

    and established it upon the waters.

³ Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

    Who may stand in his holy place?

⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

    who does not lift up his soul to an idol

    or swear by what is false.

⁵ He will receive blessing from the Lord

    and vindication from God his Savior.

⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,

    who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Selah

⁷ Lift up your heads, O you gates;

    be lifted up, you ancient doors,

    that the King of glory may come in.

⁸ Who is this King of glory?

    The Lord strong and mighty,

    the Lord mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, O you gates;

    lift them up, you ancient doors,

    that the King of glory may come in.

¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty – he is the King of glory.

And this is just it.

Who is this King of Glory?

As we ate lunch today I told my kids … either there was a conspiracy in Jerusalem where an enormous group of misguided people crossed generations and cultures and time to fabricate a story … or a man named Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

Jesus of Nazareth is ALL OVER the Old Testament.  And the story of His life was written hundreds or even thousands of years before He came to be on earth.

As John said:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

And then John, and MANY OTHERS, go on to declare Jesus as this God.

And so I ask you:  Who is this King of Glory?

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Never has the group mentality been more important.

The Union protects the worker.

The Legal Team protects the CEO.

The Political Party protects the politician.

Our ability to network and join with others is vital to our success.

But let us not be strengthened … or threatened … by this myth of “strength in numbers”.

We will stand before the throne of God AS AN INDIVIDUAL, and our group will not be there.

They will neither have the power to strengthen, or bully.

They will not be able to push a small compromise.

They will not be able to use a judge, or a bag of money, or a powerful ally to push an agenda.

Just the opposite.

The individuals of each of those groups will stand in judgment without anyone standing on their behalf. 

Alone.

Revelation 20 ¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.¹⁵ If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Do not be afraid of powerful entities.

Do not be influenced by them.

Do not back down to doing the right thing.

Our fear should be of God … and God alone.

It is Him who holds the keys to eternal life and the power in His hands.

It is He who showed up on a cross 2000 years ago and called out the devil and all of his demons so that they could win their battle to contain Him … yet lose the war of condemning you.

He is the One who said “it is finished” and stood on the threshold of death to represent you.

And it is He who paid the price for your sins that you might never be condemned again.

So don’t fear the Union.  Don’t fear the Political Party.  Don’t fear the CEO, or the company.

Fear the Lord.

He is the only One who can save you.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The disciples could be reprimanded for many things … but we have to admire their response to God’s call.

In fact, their response to Jesus’ call is an incredible act of faith.

Matthew 4 ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.

I love those two words:  At once

At once they left their nets and followed Him.

There is power in immediate obedience.  And Peter and Andrew were quick to obey.  They followed Jesus with passion and loyalty and without hesitation.

Matthew 4 ¹⁸ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.

As I read this verse today, I am motivated.  Jesus called us to “go” …

     In Luke 9:60 He says to “go and preach the Kingdom”.

     In Mark 16:15 He says to “go and preach the gospel”.

     In John 5 He says to “go and sin no more”.

Peter and Andrew were the exact people that Jesus needed, and it was because they listened to the word “go”.

What is your “go” word today or for the upcoming season?

What is God calling you to do?

As I sit in worship this morning, I have to enjoy this song.  I enjoy this song because I am weak, yet He is strong.  Going into any situation without God, we are sitting ducks for hell.  But with Him?

With Him, we can GO.

So … find Him and GO.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

God stands up for us.

In the midst of true accusations from the enemy, He stands in the gap.

And He declares our transgressions as “paid in full”.

Lamentations 3 ²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Never get tired of this concept.

Because this is the rocket fuel that propels us to get up and walk in His grace.

Jesus walked an incredible path.  

• He never shied away from conflict … but He never fought in battles that were useless to the Kingdom of God.
• He was quick to forgive … but never missed an opportunity to correct, and redirect, His misguided disciples.
• He was completely apolitical … but His message unaltered by climate and unfaltering in the face of being persecuted.

Governments … and Wealth … and Political Power … will alter our society greatly.  They have and they always will.  But God …

God will not be changed … He will not be altered … He will not be moved in a direction where He is not going.

And don’t you be either.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

What paradise we find in Hawaii.

Beautiful beaches.

Waterfalls.

Flowers and plants that go well beyond INCREDIBLE.

Foods that are incredible.

I can now say that I have tasted … and it is great.

But it isn’t good.  Not the good that God describes.  Because the good that God describes is well beyond anything that we can experience in our own flesh and on our own accord.

I believe that this is what Jesus is talking about when He says:

Mark 8  ³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.³⁶ What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Our life is not about flesh … it is about purpose.

It is not about filling ourself up with the world … it is about filling ourself up with God.

Solomon told us about this in Ecclesiastes.  As he vigorously pursued ALL THAT HE COULD EVER DESIRE, he found out what was waiting for him:  NOTHING.  And he quickly declared that “life is meaningless”.

God is abundantly good.  And His good is so much better than our spectacular.  It is the only thing that will meet the longings of our heart.

As you pursue your world today, pursue it with caution.

Your flesh is insatiable.  It will cry out for more and then condemn you when you reach the pinnacle of providing it.  It can’t be satisfied or negotiated with, and God warns us, again and again, to be careful in our pursuit of it.

But God gives us an option.  And that option is the greatest one that you could ever encounter.

The world will tell you that He is restrictive, that He hates us, or that He has not set us out with a purpose.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  He is a loving Father.  

• And just as I would not let my kids wander out into the road to be run down by traffic, He protects us.
• And just as my wife cried out in shear joy when each of my kids were born, cradling them in her arms and crying out in utter joy, He loves us.
• And just as my mom and dad set me out into the world–showing me how to work, and to raise a family, and to be loyal, He gives us purpose.

We are not here to just gather up wealth and feed our selfish desires.  We are not here to shake our fist at God and tell Him what the rules are.  And we are not here to shake our fist at others and tell them that they suck.

We are here … to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• We are here to share John 3:16
• We are here to forgive
• We are here to love
• We are here to stand up to the evil theories of those who claim to come in peace yet perpetrate evil and destruction over our children and our youth

Do not shrink away from the enemy’s plan to convert us to children of Hell.

Stand up to him in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Declare Jesus King without compromise.

And pursue the God who loves you too much to let you off to pursue your own devices.

He knows best.

Meet me at the foot of the cross.  And let’s encourage each other to pick up our cross and carry it.  Daily.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

God is abundantly good:

He is loyal.

He is full of mercy.

He is ready to give us all that we could ever desire.

His future for us is a treasure that we CAN NOT FATHOM.

And though we do not live for heaven, He is also our BEST PLAN NOW.

Jesus openly tells us:  “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

To say that He lived out the call is like saying “that lion pride sure was efficient in taking down that wildebeest”.  It is obvious and incredible all at the same time.

But what about us?

Who can we be?

Today, I will leave you with something simple:  The ABC’s of the Faith

A is for ALL things.  Not some things.  ALL things.  This is the reassurance that Nathanael got under the fig tree, it is the help the Jonah needed to bring the gospel to people he hated, it is the affirmation that Abraham needed to leave everything and go someplace unknown, and the it is the energy that Paul needed to face being shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned.  This same reassurance … This is what YOU need.  Trusting Him, in the midst of the enemy breathing down our neck and trying to sabotage everything that we are trying to do, is not only necessary—it is your only hope.

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.

So today, purpose to surrender.  Purpose to give Him everything.  You can’t carry it anyway.  And why would you want to.  He … is working for your good.

B is for BELIEF.  Not just shallow belief.  But a belief that would trust in Him with “all of your heart” belief.  I mean … consider this:  God became a man, lived out the call perfectly, and rose from brutal execution to take His place on the throne.  And He did this … for you and all those you love.

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.

In ALL your ways acknowledge Him … He, HE, will give you a good purpose and point of reference.

C is for Character.  Make the right call.  Do the right thing.  God says to not be a “like a wave blown and tossed by the sea”, to not be two faced and doubting.  He tells us to have great character.  And there is no better description than in Micah 6.

Micah 6 ⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Act in Justice.  Love Mercy.  Walk Humbly.  That sounds like Jesus to me.  In fact, that sounds like ONLY JESUS.  Because away from Him, we see none of this on planet earth.

I pray for a movement of God.  Not in the big things.  But in the simple ones.

I pray that He would open doors over your life that you did not even know were there.

And I pray that He would shut doors that you have no business looking at.

Share the gospel today.  The true, and unadulterated, gospel.  That 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.

That’s as good as you can hope for.

And it is worth every bit of wealth that the earth can hold … and so much more.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

You are well able to live out the calling that God has put on your heart.  Not kind of able.  Not somewhat proficient.  You, as Paul says in Romans 8, are MORE Than A Conqueror.

This is not a neat cliche written on a poster.  It is a promise from the Living God.  

And today I am challenging you, should this apply to you, to RISE UP and be who God has called you to be.

There must have been a lack of hope living inside of Nathanael.  He must have been wondering what God truly had for him.  And he must have been wondering if God REALLY SAW HIM.  I am definitely not reading this as a Biblical Scholar.  I am reading it as a man who is simply investigating the scriptures and living out my pursuit of the Savior as best I can.  So … I might be wrong.  But I think Nathanael is having one of those “come to Jesus” moments and asking God if He can truly see him.  I think he is putting God to the test.  And God answers him in a big, and mighty, way.

John 1  ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.”⁵¹  He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

God is focused on you.  He knows you.  He knows your highs … and your lows.  And He is for you.

God has put dreams in your heart and plans on your mind.  He has given you things that you have pursued.  And, let’s be honest, you have pursued things that have broken your heart.

But one thing remains.

And that one thing is the loyalty of the Living God.

Paul tells us in Hebrews 11 that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”.  And God tells us that we might feel alone, but that we are not alone.  Yes, we might be crying out under a fig tree, and challenging God to show up … but God is there all along.  And His pursuit of us is non-ending and without fail.

So rise up.

Your destiny is not a certainty … it is a God-given opportunity.  Your choices will determine your legacy.

So …

Get Up … And Fight …

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As we were driving back from lunch, the Lauren Daigle song “Thank God I Do” came on the radio.  My daughter, who was volunteering at a rehabilitation center, said the patients there really LOVED and WORSHIPED to this song when they played it.

To which I responded:  “that’s because God is ready to receive an addict immediately.  It is a testimony to His grace.”

Amen.

Sometimes I say smart things … on accident.

God is ready to receive ALL OF US IMMEDIATELY.

Otherwise … right now … I would be in the pits of Hell.

Because God has not thrown me directly into it, it proves His grace, and His love, His patience, and His pursuit.

Thank God for God.

If I had something more to say, I would say it.

But the reality is …

I would rather sing:

“I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You I’d probably fall off the edge … “

Thank You Jesus.  Without You … we have nothing.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J