2 MINUTE WARNING

I love this description of God:

He Is NO Respecter Of Men

To summarize:  God doesn’t care about our resume.

He doesn’t care how much money we have OR whether we have political power OR how many people listen to our podcasts.

He doesn’t care if we are a King or a CEO or a professional athlete.

He doesn’t care if we get in the Hall of Fame or if we have the nicest clothes or if we are the strongest person in the world.

There is NOTHING, in his eyes, that can separate us from the other billions of people that live, or have lived, on the planet.

It is the reason that Jesus showed up in the temple in his first public act.

• It was to let the Roman soldiers know that there was a new sheriff in town
• It was to let the religious scribes know that He held them in account for misrepresenting God
• It was to let the money changers and salesmen know that He was about to “whip their tails” for stealing
• And, most importantly, it was to let the people know that He loved them and that He did not approve of them being overlooked, cheated, and devalued.

NEVER, and I mean NEVER, get in the way of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  Because He … Is NO Respecter Of Men.

And His bride is the lowly as much as the great.

It is funny, because as with many verses of God, it is both a condemning word and an encouraging one.

Kicking the man in his lowest state will never be tolerated.

And the woman who has the world in the palm of her hands will never be permitted to lord over others.  Never.

In his greatest fleshly time, Paul had a radical encounter with Jesus that transformed His life into the greatest champion of the Bible.  In Jesus—He didn’t need citizenship, status, education, wealth, or popularity.  And so he later wrote:

Romans 2 ⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good

And Peter found out too.  He found out that God was playing no games in His ministry.  That He would be pursuing the world.  Not parts of the world—but all the world—and everyone in the world.

Acts 10 ³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

And so this word today is for all of us.

If we are on the top of the world and He has blessed us, and things are easy, and we have favor and blessing and benefit, He says:  “Remember the little guy.  The broken.  The desperate.”  He challenges us to give and love and encourage and help.

If we are downtrodden and without hope … if we have let others down, or ourselves … or if we do not feel we should be given another chance, He says:  “Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”

And so remember, whether you are the hammer … or the nail:  you belong to God.  And so … does everyone else.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I heard a coach once say:  “I would rather have a player who can’t then a player who won’t because the player who can’t … will try.”

I have always believed that as a coach and try to lead by that principle.  I do, in fact, try to be harder on a player who can but won’t then a player who can’t.

Growing up … I can remember a day when I was on a team that ran and ran and ran because one of our players simply could not finish.  While the extra running hurt me … it destroyed the player who could not finish—in many ways.

I believe that what I felt in my heart that day was true of what God feels in His heart.

I believe that Peter knew that Jesus would never give up on him.  What he did not comprehend was that he was a total failure without God.

And so—Peter failed in the most crucial of moments.

And because of this, he could not forgive himself.

So Jesus forgave him and promoted him AT THE SAME TIME.

John 21 ¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  ¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  ¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

We are not able to do things on our own.  And yet, with God, we can live a miraculous calling.  I think that is why Paul later wrote.

Philippians 4 ¹³ I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

So how do we approach Jesus?

We will never succeed if “we won’t”.

We will never succeed if we get buried in “I can’t”

And we will certainly never succeed if we think that we can do it all by ourselves.

But Jesus gives us a great option.

And it is to go to Him and say:

“Lord, I will.  But there is no way that I can do it without your help.”

Say yes to Jesus.

And never doubt His ability to do amazing, wonderful, and even miraculous, things THROUGH you.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Never Assume.

Assumptions will always cloud reality and truth.  They will pervert our sense and possibly convict us to go in a direction that we were never intended to travel.

For all of his faults, Zaccheus did not let his desire to see Jesus hold him back.  He didn’t assume that he had no chance.  He didn’t assume that he couldn’t change his identity.  And he didn’t assume that a prophet like Jesus couldn’t help him.

Zaccheus did not assume that he couldn’t go to God.

And most of all, he didn’t assume that God was the reason he was in the place he was.

Yes … I am sure that all of us have a story where we wondered:  “God, where are you?”  And I am sure all of us can attest to that silent answer and probably be right.  But that is not what Zaccheus was doing.  He was in the back.  He was “unseen” by all of the standards that we might describe.  And he was seeking the Savior in a way that all of us can—he simply wanted to watch him, to see him, to admire him.

For all of my declaration and desire, there are so many times where I simply need to shut up and see him from the back.  

Jesus is not our genie.

He doesn’t fulfill all of our selfish desires.

He is not in our life so that we can have Him make things the way that we want them.

Just the opposite.

He comes to us and changes us.  He rewrites our story and changes our path.

Luke 19  ¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.  ⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.  ⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The same Jesus that walked that path is the same Jesus that looks over the earth today.  He is not looking for perfection, or protocol, or pretenders.

• He is looking for the one at the back of the line—the one who doesn’t have it all together and needs a change.
• He is looking to put a new identity over you this very day.
• He gives you something that you cannot lose in exchange for you giving up something that you can never keep.

Our lives are a fleeting moment.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

Our imprints will last a short time after we are gone, but they too will disappear.

But God has a different plan.

His plan is to give us an eternal promotion that can very well start today.

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.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As I was driving to school this morning, I was convicted by David’s prayer:  “Come and know me” he pleaded to God.  Is it possible that God will not come and know us without our invitation?

Revelation 3:20 states that He stands at the door and knocks.  That He waits outside our very door and patiently waits for us to invite Him to come in.

Jesus talks to a crowd about this in Matthew 7 as well.

Matthew 7  ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me

Reflecting on my faith, I sometimes see myself down here, this little speck, declaring to God, asking God, speaking about God.  But today, I am asking God to come and know me.  To come and find every offensive way in me.  To come and give me a word that I might walk in His grace and truth and His everlasting and inexhaustible love.

Psalm 39 ²⁵ Search me, 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.

As I listened to this worship song, I think this sums it up.

May the Lord come and speak to you today.

May He find you where you are and give you a new hope.

May He fill you and fortify you, giving you love, and grace.

But more than anything, may you invite Him in to speak what is true, to search you, to give you hope and a future.

You can search the whole world over.  And many will contest His right to reign.  But all of us must pick a side of the fence to live on.

I choose Jesus.

“Here’s my heart, Lord.  Speak what is true.”

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Our God is loyal.

When we are lost, He is working out a plan for us to come home.

When we are broken into pieces, He finds a way to put us back together.

When we are inconsistent, or ungrateful, or even unfaithful, He stands beside us … And He stands even on our behalf.

His loyalty is unwavering, and unconditional, and everlasting.  And it is unfazed (Thank You God!) by our utter foolishness.

And while we might say:  “He is going to find out the hard way.”

Those who follow Jesus “find out the Grace Way”.

In scripture, sometimes I can’t read the rest of the story because I cannot get past the beginning of the story.

Like this:

Genesis 20 ¹ Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.  For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

Why?

Why would Abraham do such a foolish thing?  And it is, in fact, foolish on so many levels.

But this is simply yet another example of God helping us to:

Find Out The Grace Way

We live in a brutal world—not much different than that of Abraham.  As Hebrews 11 states:  He lived like an alien in a foreign land.  

But our God is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  And when we come face to face with Him, we will bow down in awe.

And as it says in Philippians 2, even His enemies will bow down before Him.

Just make sure, like Abraham, that you find out the Grace Way.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

In the blink of an eye, the Roman Senate turned on Julius Caesar and he was dead.

The most powerful man in the world was gone.

And because they did it “together”, it was almost as if no one had done it.  And the senate planned … hoped … envisioned … a peaceful transfer of power that would simply disallow one man from having too much.

Instead of this—there was civil war.

The point of this blog today, however, is not to discuss the Roman Empire.

Our world is changing.  And much like the idea of the senate, we have adopted a new philosophy.  If “everybody” does it, it is much like nobody has done it.  The right to sin can be passed on—everybody is doing it and so it is okay.

But that is not what God says.

Matthew 7 ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Regardless of his mindset, Caesar’s power probably made him feel unbreakable.  And, by worldly standards, he had incredible standing and security.  

But the reality that Caesar faced is the same for all of us.  We are here for only a short time.

Jesus also came to earth on borrowed time.  Before He was even born, there was a death sentence on his head.  And it wasn’t put there by King Herod.  Herod simply acted on the influence of a higher power.

Jesus said many brilliant things.  He said things that all should listen to on how to live, how to lead, how to run a business, … His wisdom transcended time and culture.  As the Koran boldly states:  the “followers of Jesus were greater than these “.  Even those who do not follow Him know that He is right.

But of all the things that He taught us, this might be the most important:

Build Your House On Solid Ground

Growing up, I often heard that Jesus was the rock.

And that’s a good word.

He IS the rock.

He is the one that we should be building our life on.

Kingdoms will come and they will go.

Men will rise to power and men will fall from power.

Power.  Fame.  Popularity.  Standing.  Security.  Wealth.

All of these things will rise and disappear like the seasons of the earth.

But Jesus’ Kingdom?  The one we pray for in the Lord’s prayer?  It is eternal and solid.  It doesn’t waver or disappear.

And it is ruled by the greatest Man who ever lived.

As Peter said to Jesus we must also say:

“Lord, where will I go?  You, and You alone, hold the keys to eternal life.”

Thy Kingdom Come.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I was inspired by a story told to me by a Vietnam vet.  He and his team were in heavy combat, running missions in a helicopter to cover the boats that patrolled the Mekong River.  Casualties were high, combat was fierce, and the intensity of the days were overwhelming.  Because of this, they would be given “leave” to an aircraft carrier.

During leave, the team would go to the back of the ship and do pull-ups in the dark, often challenging each other to do more before they were pulled back onto the ship.  As one man hung in agony, the others challenged him to do more pullups, to toughen in the face of pain, and to be out on the ledge longer in the face of danger.

Falling off of a ship in the night is certain death, and when I inquired as to why a group of men might do that, he answered that they WANTED to.  He claimed that it kept them “sharp” and this was the inspiration for the theme I gave my football team this season:

Trust Is Built By Going On The Ledge

This is a biblical principal.

Going On The Ledge requires vulnerability.  And this is probably the most important aspect of building trust.  To expose yourself for who you really are takes courage, and it allows a team to be real with each other.

Going On The Ledge requires unselfishness.  It means showing others that you will give an effort that they can count and on, and it puts others in front of you.

Going On The Ledge requires toughness.  Doing things the right way is hard.  And it is even harder when it is required with repetition.

When Jesus came to be with us on earth, it was the epitome of Going On The Ledge.  And He did this so that we could TRUST Him.

In a world where it is hard to know what, or who, to trust, we have an assurance.  That assurance, is Jesus.

He was vulnerable, and unselfish, and tough, so that we could look to Him and trust Him.

John 15 ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

I encourage you to search the whole world over, to look into the past and to the future.  I encourage you to look into all that you could be doing and what you aspire to do.

You have no greater offer in all of the universe than the one that Jesus gives.

He goes to the cross, and dies, and takes the blame for you.

You trust in Him … and receive Him.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The disciples were fully confident that Jesus would be King.

They were confident that He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire, the religious rule of the Jews, and the sinful ways of the gentiles.

And, indeed, that was Jesus’ plan.  But not in the way that any of us could have ever imagined.  Jesus has taken claim over the eternal kingdom.  The spiritual kingdom.  The only kingdom that will last or be of any use at all.

Time and again Jesus told His disciples:

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

And, indeed, it hadn’t.

But in Mark 11, He orchestrated it.  He told His disciples to go to a village and get Him a donkey.  And in doing so, He was fulfilling a prophecy written about Him 500 years prior.

Zechariah 9 

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

    righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I want to encourage you to start your day with the Lord’s Prayer and to remember what we actually say in that prayer:

Hallowed be thy Name~  “Your name is HOLY and You are above ALL THINGS.”

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors~  “Forgive me the same way that I forgive others.”  (Scary!  This inspires me to pray:  “Lord, help me to forgive”)

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory~  “You own EVERYTHING, control EVERYTHING, and deserve ALL OF OUR FOCUS.”

And, for today:

Thy Kingdom Come~  “This is not about me.  It is about YOU, God.  It is about You being the center of our world, my world.  It is about YOU, God, bringing your kingdom to us, to me … Because what I have to bring to you … is worth nothing.”

Remember This:  Jesus came to claim the spiritual kingdom and to claim OUR SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.  Because what happens to us in the spirit will leak out into what we see and what we hear and what we do.  It is inevitable.

Surrender.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

One thousand years before Jesus showed up, Isaiah SAW Him.  How he saw Him, I cannot comprehend.  But he saw Him.

And he described Him.  He knew His ancestors, and His countenance, and His purpose.  And he knew that He would be a sacrifice for all of us.

And he wrote as if he knew Him.

Isaiah 53  Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  ³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  ⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.  ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.  Yet who of his generation protested?  For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.  ⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.  ¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

How can this be?

How could Isaiah know Jesus before Jesus?  And yet, he did.  And he knew Him with great faith.

He knew that He would be a healer of men, that He would redeem prostitutes, that He would cast out demons, and that He would forgive sin.  (Verse 4)

He knew that He would be arrested and accused yet be silent before His accusers.  (Verse 7)

He knew that the sin of the world would be placed upon Him, that He would die for that sin, and that He would be crucified.  

(Verse 5)

He knew that His execution would be between two thieves AND that Joseph of Arimathea would buy a grave plot for Him that would be suited for the noble.  (Verse 9)

And … He knew that this was God’s plan all along.  All along!  (Verse 10)

This is just one of many.  Men from different eras, in different countries, who spoke different languages.  They were different races, lived in different cultures, and lived in incredibly diverse economic conditions.  Yet … they knew Him.

And they knew that He was coming to redeem—to save—to do something that NO ONE ELSE could do.

Your eternity, and the eternity of all you love, stands in the balance.  He is not only the hope of nations, He is the hope of individuals.  He is not only the King of the world, He is the One who has come to be your counselor, your advocate, your defender and redeemer.  He has a mother’s love and father’s heart.  And He has one, and only one, focus.

YOU.

John 1 ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Be a child today.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J