2 MINUTE WARNING

Every time I drive by Mile High Stadium, I look at it.  And I think:  “Man, I want to go into that stadium and WIN a football game.”

That elusive state championship.

The Ten Commandments

Commandment 2

Exodus 20  And God spoke all these words:  ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³  …… 

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

I cannot deny that that state championship, or that state championship trophy, or the idea that we were champions —- are not idols for me.

Nor can I deny that I haven’t been drawn in on other levels.

Perhaps money.

Perhaps a house or a property or ownership.

Perhaps power, or reputation, or fame.

But all of these can be bundled up and put in the exact same category:  They are objects of worship.  They can be made, in our minds, into IDOLS.

Back to football:

Having pursued championships all of my life, I can distinctly remember what someone told me after winning one.  They said there is a violent celebration and then it doesn’t take long for a new thought:

“What do I do now?”

And isn’t that the question?  “What Do We Do Now?”

As I listened to the song I attached to this blog on Sunday and Monday and today, it is a firm and steady reminder of what we truly need.  And three of the lines draw me in and convict EVERY time I sing them to God:

“I searched the world, but it couldn’t fill me”

“But You came along and put me back together”

“NOTHING is better than You”

Let’s not lie to ourselves or to God.  When we are not in the Spirit we can make things bigger than they are.  And when we make them bigger than they are—they become IDOLS.

But there is a point here.  

• It isn’t to “live a life of DON’T”
• It isn’t to show that God has a bunch of rules that we have to follow.
• It isn’t to lather us in guilt or point us to the flesh.

The point is that we are not happy without the Lord.  We won’t find who we are or who we belong to.  

And if we don’t find and fight to belong to the Lord, we will be unfulfilled and broken.

We simply can’t make it without Him.

Ask His Spirit to fill you daily.

Fight to be in His presence.

Fight to forgive, to pray, to read His word.

Fight to give yourself a chance to be His son … or His daughter.

It is the only thing that truly matters.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

When Moses walked down the mountain with the ten commandments, God had one thing in mind.  Jesus.

The Ten Commandments

Commandment 1

Exodus 20 And God spoke all these words:  ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  ³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

Before Moses could even walk into camp, the Israelites had broken the first covenant.

Exodus 32  ¹⁹ When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 

The Bible has a resounding theme.

• God forgives and restores.
• People are grateful.
• People forget, relax, and find a new god—which ultimately leads to ruin.

Left to human decision, there is no hope.

We are weak, and distracted, and terrified, and broken.  And we inflict our brokenness on others and break them.

How can we possibly follow even ONE of these commands, or even HALF of a command, or even momentarily FOLLOW what God has asked us to do?

We can’t.

Paul discovered this.

So did Peter.

So did Moses.

And so should all of us.

The covenant of the God of the universe was made with man.  But no man could meet it.

No man but Jesus.

In Jesus we have life.

In Jesus we have hope.

In Jesus we have a covenant that cannot and will not be broken.

As you take inventory of your life today, I want to encourage you.

Not to lather in guilt.

Not to be arrogant or prideful.

Not to have unforgiveness or a lack of gratitude.

I want to encourage you to ask Jesus to come into your heart and make things new.

I want to encourage you to ask His Spirit to come upon you and give you hope.

I want to encourage you to cry out to the Holy God and to, for one moment, to put NO OTHER GODs before you.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Several years ago I was witnessing to my Uncle about Jesus and he “dismissed” me by saying:  “I follow the ten commandments … and that should be good enough.”

Our conversations were not done after his attempt to change the subject.  In fact, the fact that he said that made me even more adamant about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Him.

Exodus 20 is our first verse about Moses delivering the message to the Hebrew people:

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20 And God spoke all these words:  ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

And the commandments follow.  Read Exodus 20.  If not right now, then open it up later and read it.

Because today, I shall go no further than to say this:

When we are angry, murder lives in our heart and we break commandment 6.

When we are filled with lust, we break commandment 7 and commit adultery.

When we choose to rest by partying and vacationing and feeding our flesh, we are breaking the Sabbath and literally starving our very soul, breaking commandment 4.

When we are ungrateful and assuming that someone else has it easier or better than we do, we are coveting and breaking commandment 10.

When we are pursuing money … OR power … OR status —we are worshipping other gods and breaking commandment 1.

Need I go on?

My point is this.  We DON’T follow the 10 Commandments and, in many cases, we don’t even know what they are.

We are lying, lustful, unholy and ungrateful idol worshippers.  We are lost from the word go and utterly helpless to be found anything but guilty.

I think this is why Paul, after being converted by Jesus Himself, said:

Romans 3  ¹¹ “There is no one righteous, not even one;  there is no one who understands;  there is no one who seeks God.   …….. 

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

Our only hope is Jesus.  We have no hope without Him.

I told that to my Uncle and I will tell it to you.

We are bound for the pits of Hell without Jesus.

He, and He alone, holds the keys to eternal life.

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

I have a belief that “in the Kingdom EVERYBODY wins”.  In my mind, this is common sense.

In a business deal, both walk away thinking that they got a great deal.

In a church, the pastor is honored and the congregation is blessed.

In a marriage, the couple both gives up all they have for the other—but BOTH feel that they have won.

Can this really be so?

In our world?  Rarely.  And yet—this has to be what God wants.  Isn’t this what God wants?

It seems like Jabez knew this.

1 Chronicles 4 ⁹ Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” ¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

I carry this verse in this translation in my wallet.  And every time I put it out, I try to pray that my money would bless who I am paying.  That my account AND their account are both blessed.

Times can be hard and life can be hard.  People can struggle to pay bills.  Life can be a tough battle every day.

But God has a different plan.  His plan is to bless us—and we shouldn’t feel bad to ask Him to do just that.

But as we do that, we need to be praying it for others as well.  And we also need to pray that we are not hurting others.  That we, as we live our lives, are actually making the people around us better.

As I listened to this song by Chris Tomlin, it convicted me.

I am so blessed.  God loves me in spite of me.  And the same for you.

Let’s purpose today to be blessed beyond measure.

Let’s purpose today to ask God to enlarge our territory.

And let’s purpose today to be the Jesus that the world needs to see.

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

My father was the King of the understatement.  When he said “good job” it usually meant “that was outstanding”.

I am not claiming that God is an understater, but I want to make mention of this important point as I write this blog today.

When God says, it is good—-it means INCREDIBLE or MIRACULOUS or OUT OF THIS WORLD.

So when God says “everything we need” we need consider what that truly means.

2 Peter 1 ³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Peter isn’t just writing this in some book.  He lived it.  His failure at the time of Jesus’ execution is well documented.  Bragging, anger, falling asleep during prayer, and then—–abandoning Jesus.

When Peter realized his mistakes and became REAL—God restored him and restored him immediately.

God doesn’t give freedom to those who are trapped and heading in the wrong direction.  But He gives freedom to those who turn to Him instantaneously.

What direction are you walking?

For some reason, we have the mindset written in our nature that God will take our freedom.  But God does not take our freedom—He gives it to us.  And He gives it to any who will take it.

Ezekiel 36 ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

We are bound by our own situations.  Trapped in our own worlds.  But God is about freedom.  He is about giving us a walking path back to Him.

It is the path to freedom.

Check it out in more detail in Romans 8.

Our walk with God is not about having the perfect life.  It is about seeing things as they truly are—in the Spirit.

Let go of what you can not keep in order to attain what you can not lose.

As I drove to work a few mornings ago, I think Jeremy Camp expressed this in a way that I never could.

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

One of the greatest chapters in the Bible was written by a man who knew what freedom was.  

In a worldly sense, Saul of Tarsus had it all.  Educated.  Respected.  Roman citizenship.  Power.

And yet he dropped it into the trash after an encounter on his way into Syria.

When people make 180 degree turns in life—others take notice.

Some things never change.

And the thing that doesn’t change is this:

Freedom is in the gospel.  It isn’t in money, or power, or education.  Freedom is in Jesus.

Romans 8  ⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 

Paul isn’t just writing this in some book.  He lived it.  He was pursuing, and punishing, and persecuting, Christians.  To make himself feel free, he was attacking those who had found it.

But God doesn’t give freedom to those who are trapped and heading in the wrong direction.  He gives freedom to those who walk to Him.

What direction are you walking?

For some reason, we have the mindset written in our nature that God will take our freedom.  But God does not take our freedom—He gives it to us.  And He gives it to any who will take it.

Ezekiel 36 ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

We are bound by our own situations.  Trapped in our own worlds.  But God is about freedom.  He is about giving us a walking path back to Him.

It is the path to freedom.

Check it out.

Romans 8.

Our walk with God is not about having the perfect life.  It is about seeing things as they truly are—in the Spirit.

Let go of what you can not keep in order to attain what you can not lose.

As I drove to work this morning, I think Jeremy Camp expressed this in a way that I never could.

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

As I buried my daughter’s bunny yesterday, it was harder than I could imagine.

Now, let me start by saying this:  I was never high on this bunny, and when she bit my kids, especially my youngest, I really had it out for her.  But she redeemed herself to my wife and my oldest daughter and my youngest many times.  And for seven years she stunk up our house.  My wife worked for that cute little spoiled animal more than anyone in our family.

All that being said, it was not a good feeling when she passed.

And pulling her cute little frame from her cage was not the best.

Nor was it great to see her eyes wide open.

And when I dug a hole and put her cute little body into it to cover it with dirt, I couldn’t help but well up and think:  “this is BRUTAL”

It is, in fact, BRUTAL.

The whole process of death is BRUTAL.

We live.

We die.

We live out Genesis 3:19 and go back to where we were before God made us.

As I was processing all of this, I immediately thought of:

The wages of sin.

Romans 6 ²³ For the wages of sin is death

Make no mistake about this.  We are sinful.  And the result of this is simple:  BRUTAL

That is what waits for us.

To think this is someone else’s fault is foolish.

For me, I have earned what my works deserve.  When people preach “justice” and “fair treatment” and “be accountable” I cannot lie.  That scares the bejeebers out of me.  Because I know what I have coming—what I deserve.

And that is why I have accepted the gift.  Opened it.  Received it.  And eternally and every-day grateful for it.

It is why I preach it to others.

It is why I can walk in freedom and feel good about myself.

It is why I live each day.

Romans 6 ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I receive.  I believe.  And I am grateful.

Because, away from Him, it is BRUTAL.

Thank you Jesus.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I want to start this blog by saying that we need a deep connection with God to find out what He has called us to do.

Sometimes I am listening … and sometimes I am not.  And when I go out on my own my mouth, and my actions, can get me in trouble.

But there are times when He has called me to stand.  And when I have stood for Him—it has been terrifying.

Nevertheless, there are times we are called to fight.

And when God calls us to fight, He plays no games.

If you are in the war, this word today is for you.

Because being in the war is terrifying.  It is lonely.  It is overwhelming and draining and sometimes it takes all that we have emotionally.

I want to encourage you today.

You are not alone.

People who God calls to stand up are never alone.

2 Kings 6  ¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.  ¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Do not cower from the battle in front of you.

Do not be weary to pick up that backpack and walk over the mountain.  When you pick it up, it will be too heavy to carry.  But if God has called you to it, He will get you through it.

Ask Him if it is your battle.

And if He has called you—then go forward in courage.  Ask Him to fill you with the strength and courage and hope and encouragement that you will need to get through it.

And then have faith that you are not alone.

The army of the Lord is behind you.

Many praying warriors are behind you.

And, most importantly, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is behind 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

When a prey animal that is too small to hunt alone wants to succeed, it separates the target from the herd.  If it can succeed in removing an animal from the herd—it can gang up on it and kill it.

It is no different in the spiritual realm.

The enemy’s goal is to make us: Alone, Afraid, and Ashamed.

And when we are separated, and full of fear, and afraid for others to know who we are—we are vulnerable.

And that is why this verse, to me, is so freeing:

1 John 1 ⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

We are not perfect.  We are broken at the very core.  And as I sat and conversed with three different people last week—nothing was more evident than this.

We need Jesus.

We don’t just need Him for our eternity.

We don’t just need Him for our past.

We need Him for right now.

And we need Him because to the core—we are broken.

God doesn’t show up and ask for money.

He doesn’t show up for a fleeting moment and then leave.

He doesn’t waver in His love.

He doesn’t pay half of our toll or give us enough to barely survive.

He shows up and stands with us.

He shows up to tell the enemy that we are off limits.

He shows up to forgive us.

From the moment we step into this world we are ingrained with the idea that either:

1.  We Are Perfect.  We can do no wrong and pick up our bad habits from everyone else.  As a parent, I used to ask my kids:  “Where did you learn that?”  But the reality is that it was in them before they did it—whether they learned it or not.
2.  We Are A Colossal Failure.  We are rejected.  We were an accident that just showed up and that others had to deal with.

Some of us oscillate between both of these.  One minute we are a Colossal Failure and the next we are Perfect.  And like a prey animal in the grip of a death roll from a crocodile we die a slow, and painful, death.  We go from “I don’t need anyone—I am just fine to do this alone” to “I am worthless”.

But the reality is this:

We were born BROKEN and, without God, we are worthless.

But, with Him, we are given the gift of everything.

It Is Our Only Hope

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