What can I do to be a servant of the

Most High God?

Mark 10  42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEF7IoQ3eUk

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The gospel of Mark has one resounding theme:  Being A Servant

From beginning to end, the book walks through the life of Jesus and emphasizes servanthood and Jesus’ compelling case for Kingdom Competition.

God understands competition.  1 Corinthians 9:24, He tells us to run the race to get the prize.  In 2 Timothy 2:3-7 Paul tells us to act as a Soldier, an athlete, and a farmer.  Both of these verses say God CARES about competition. He cares about us doing our very best and being our very best.

Today, I would like to talk about Kingdom Competition.

Mark 9  33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Jesus understood the world, but the world could not even fathom Jesus.

And after all, none of His plan made sense:

Born in shame, fleeing for His life, tempted in the wilderness to have ALL HE COULD WANT, and on and on and on………

He wanted to show us that this side of the Kingdom was not meant for our gain.  And while God understands and encourages being our very best—He also strongly suggests giving up all worldly gain to walk forward in the Kingdom.

This culminates in Mark 10:35-45 in what I would refer to as “the servant verse”, as He challenges all of us to be FIRST.  And when He says FIRST, He means: LAST

God wants us to SURRENDER and no one “in a worldly mindset” could ever understand this.  But when we SURRENDER to God we are giving up something that is not sustainable in exchange for something INFINITE and PERFECT and BEYOND OUR GREATEST DREAMS.

God challenges us to test Him in this.  Now….I know that I am walking on thin ice here.  Because even Jesus says: “We shall not put God to the test” —

And I agree with that.

But this is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Full of Grace and Truth. Without Fail the Hope of the World.

So—

If you have never committed to Jesus I want to challenge you this very day to TEST HIM.

Ask Him:  “LORD, come and show me that you are real.  SHOW me hope in my soul that I can HAVE ETERNAL LIFE and even HOPE FOR TODAY.  Come and REVEAL YOURSELF TO ME.”

And if you have committed to Jesus I want to challenge you to WORSHIP.  To truly ENTER INTO WORSHIP.  To FALL ON YOUR KNEES AND SURRENDER to the One who holds the keys to the kingdom.

Victory is in the scarred hands of the Savior.  It is in the hands of the One who defeated death.

And you can challenge Him with all the world has—broken financial markets, broken families, Coronavirus, even death…….

But none of those or any other thing that you might bring before Him will even make Him blink an eye.

Because He, and He ALONE, is the King.  The

HOLY

PERFECT

UNDEFEATED

LOVING

FORGIVING

ALL POWERFUL

ALL RECEIVING

KING

And NOTHING in all creation can ever change that.

Forever Reign…One Sonic Society

You are good, You are good, when there’s nothing good in me

You are love, You are love, on display for all to see

You are light, You are light, when the darkness closes in

You are hope, You are hope, You have covered all our sin

You are peace, You are peace, when my fear is crippling

You are truth, You are truth, even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy, You are the reason that I sing

You are life, You are life, even death has lost its sting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D19z7wzXAMg

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 will return to our chapter by chapter walk through the book of Mark.

For a week I have been thinking about this verse:

Mark 8 14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

What could Jesus have meant by the “Leaven of the Pharisees” and “the Leaven of Herod”?

I have a few thoughts on these things as I have meditated on these two ideas for the past couple of days.

What if we attached the “Leaven of the Pharisees” to a Religious Mindset and the “Leaven of Herod” to a Political Mindset?

We can start by saying—they are not positive.  Jesus is not warning us about things that are good.  He is warning us because it is NOT GOOD.

As I sat and prayed and asked God reveal, I began to write about each of these.

The Political Mindset

The mindset of Herod was certainly “off”.  His was focused on Power and Control and Popular Opinion.  He set in motion the extermination of children and did all that he could to “protect himself” upon hearing that “a king had been born”.  As we read later in John, we see Pontius Pilate do exactly the same thing. He even says to Jesus “What is truth?” as if the truth is relative or does not matter.

But our reality is this.  The Political Mindset is NOT where we want to live—then or now.  It compromises. It makes deals. It watches out for the group at the expense of doing what is right.  It hinges on–”You do me a favor and support me in this …. And I will support you in that.” When out of control–as it always is–it cares nothing about the right thing and is empowered by the group thing.

The Religious Mindset

The Religious Mindset of the Pharisees was just as bad.  It was powered by ‘looking good’ and ‘acting good’ over being Godly.  It was driven by guilt and shame and accusation. And it certainly used the idea of making commoners believe that they could NEVER MEASURE UP—and influenced them to give money and submission from shame as their mechanism to get it right.  It was on full display in the temple as Jesus raged through it and dismantled the plan.

Jesus was most critical of this mindset—calling those who used it vipers and snakes and hypocrites.  He insulted them with a vigor that distanced Himself from the picture of a peaceful man in a white shiny robe that we often see hanging on the wall.   And Isaiah is further descriptive of him in chapter 53—pointing out that he was average and that nothing separated him, physically, from the common man.  He was, simply, an average man on the outside. And Micah 2 describes Him as a “breaker”—a great description of the man in the temple.

Jesus’ never preached “outside” thinking.  He was constantly pursuing the heart. He preached about “what things WERE versus what they LOOKED LIKE.

I will close this writing today with some encouragement of who we ought to be…..and, in short, we might want to look at being “the opposite” of what might describe the two earlier factions.  What would it look like to be the opposite?

Here are a few thoughts:

Jesus has called us to live SURRENDERED.  There is no group to please, no people to please.  We are called to live for an audience of one. And He has made it so that IF WE ARE FULLY SURRENDERED we can not fail.  His grace is sufficient to cover us in our failings. And we have all that we need to succeed in being His. Why? Because He MADE US RIGHT with Him.  APART FROM HIM, there is NOTHING that we can do to make ourselves right. So—we don’t have to pretend to be perfect. Because–in Him–we are perfect.

Jesus has called us to be VULNERABLE.  The opposite of covering everything up is confessing that we are exposed and ruined on our own accord.  Sometimes I find this EASY. And sometimes I want no one to know how miserable and wretched I truly am. But He knows…and I know that He knows that I know—-so I might as well confess to everyone else that I am not, and never will be, good enough.

Jesus has called us to LET GO.  It is the opposite of what Herod did out of fear—-killing babies.  It is understanding that we have ABSOLUTELY ZERO CONTROL of anything.  We can not control and we will not control. Why hold on to something that we won’t be able to hold in our hand anyway?  Jim Elliot said something very wise:  

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

To that I say:  AMEN. Jesus wants us to let go of that we can not hold.

Jesus has called us to EMPOWER OTHERS.  Not with the fact that they are short, and sinful, and unable…but with the idea that they can be REDEEMED and FORGIVEN and BLESSED.  Those who say yes to Jesus are born into not needing anyone, or anything, but Him.

Jesus has called us to WALK IN FAITH.  For though we are in danger, we can walk in the faith that God has us.  As He says in Psalm 23 “Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…”  We can be assured that He HAS US.

As I have repeatedly communicated—I am NOT an expert on scripture.

What I am—is SOLD OUT FOR JESUS.  I am buying what He is selling—

And I am testifying to you that IF YOU WANT THE SAME DEAL—

     It is FREE

     It is FOREVER

And

     It is the BEST GIFT you could ever have

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I was lost.  I was in chains.  The world had a hold of me.

My heart was a stone.  I was covered in shame.  When He came for me.

I couldn’t run, couldn’t run from His presence, I couldn’t run from His arms.

Jesus, He loves me, He loves me, He is for me.

Jesus, how can it be, He loves me, He is for me………

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Ue0w45oGs

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Coach J

As I drove into school this morning, a song by the Afters came over my car.

I am not worthy to speak of the verse written below as “an expert on scripture”.  

I am a common man who found Jesus in a locker room, on a football field, in stressful situations, in my marriage, and in every other area of my life where I was smart enough to invite Him in.

That being said, I would like to say this:

Our life is a test.

And it is a test that we can not possibly pass.

I mean—think about it.  God shows up as a Jewish carpenter and takes on a brutal and oppressive government while undermining the religion that had partnered with it.  And He does it so that He can be executed and punished as a criminal in between two thieves. Why? So that He can stand before the throne and declare us clean.

When I read scripture in the Old and New Testament I am SHOCKED.  A plan is orchestrated by people of different ethnicities, on different continents, of different languages and cultures…..and this plan is centered around this EVENT—-this MAN.

All of scripture points to Jesus.

Simple.  And yet the most complicated and intricate story that you could write.

You can’t make this up……IT’S SO GOOD.

Luke 16 1Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg– 4I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6” ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

7“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

” ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

What do you choose?

You, too, are “too proud to beg and too weak to dig”.  And, even if you were, you can’t get out of this debt. It is too big to carry.

And even with all of that, what do you receive?

You receive an honorable invitation to the house of the Living God.

Well Done? … I don’t deserve Well Done.  But, with Jesus, I am AMAZING.

And—hey— I get it.  You can take ANYONE and partner them with Jesus and you end up with a winning team.  ANYONE.

And that, my friend, is my point.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Well Done…The Afters

What Will It Be Like?

When My Pain Is Gone

And All The Worries Of This World Just Fade Away

What Will It Be Like?

When You Call My Name

And That Moment When I See You Face To Face

I Am Waiting My Whole Life To Hear You Say

Well Done Well Done My Good And Faithful One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mLLz4LOfIo

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Coach J

Mark 7  5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

   ” ‘These people honor me with their lips,

       but their hearts are far from me.

   7 They worship me in vain;

       their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 

   8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

…………………………………………………………………………………

20 He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ “

As I reflected this morning on Jesus’ stand against religiosity–I was touched to the depths of my heart.

How many times does He need to stand up for us before we become compelled to truly surrender?

He raged at the temple when He saw the injustices of greedy men

He walked to the Gates of Hell and cried out His Kingdom

He called Lazarus from the dead and put His dignity upon the broken

He chose the despised when they were most hated and the unpopular when it bruised His image

But He CHOSE US … And He CHOSE US without hesitation or regret or fear.

All Praise to the One who stands at the gate and rescues me and protects me from the hands of evil.

For He is not the son of a Jewish carpenter

Or the illegitimate child from Bethlehem

Or the child who fled from the assassination plot of Herod

He is the Redeemer

The Savior

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Jesus Paid It All…Kristian Stanfill

Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jAbHkGJRE

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

Our destiny is not defined by our earthly connections.

All aspects of our lives—who we are, where we were born, what we do for a living, and every other thing that you could say about us DEFINES us.

And in the worldly sense—these things OWN us.

But with God, NONE of these things own us.

Where we were born…

What we do for work…

Who our parents are…

None of these things have any bearing on our destiny.

The only thing that matters is who we belong to.

Mark 6  1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

3 “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”  And they took offense at him.

They took OFFENSE at Him because a “commoner” could not possibly rule or speak greatness into them–or anyone else.  The son of a carpenter, from Nazareth, could have NOTHING great about him in the eyes of the world.

The people of Judea and Galilee tried to define Jesus by the same rules that He had come to break off of all man.  They tried to define Him by human rules.

We all do.

But God…

God doesn’t do anything by manmade rules.  He makes His own.

And your destiny.  Where you are going and what will become of you—-will be defined by God.

God doesn’t play by the world’s rules.  

     The world must play by His.

God doesn’t define people by where they are from.  

     He defines them by where they are going.

God doesn’t elevate some jobs over others

     He uses us to influence WITHIN our jobs.

I have a sign that says:  And they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which means:  God with us.

Philippians 2 says that Jesus did not consider equality with:

   7 but made himself nothing,

       taking the very nature of a servant,

       being made in human likeness.

   8 And being found in appearance as a man,

       he humbled himself

       and became obedient to death–

          even death on a cross! 

Our resumes mean absolutely NOTHING to God.  We are defined by our connection to the man on that cross.

You are CALLED.  So:  Do Not ask for a new position…..ask for a New Faith.

He…Is Enough

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Casting Crowns:  Nobody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY_FdfEmrcM

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Coach J

David had made the most hideous of decisions.

He had betrayed his morals.

He had betrayed his men.

And, most despairingly, he had betrayed God.

From a porch in the high castle, he had let his eyes fall upon beauty that was not meant for him.  And that beauty led him to do something terrible.

He had slept with another man’s wife.

He had tried to cover it up by sending her husband into battle.

He had allowed her husband to be killed.

The perfect cover up.

But God…..

God knows.

He knows what David did.

And he knows what all of us have done.

I am fully aware of this this very morning.  I have simply, if you look through a magnifying glass, at everything about me, FAILED.  But God……

God’s grace is so amazing.

It HEALS.

It INSPIRES.

It COMPELS.

It COMES WITH NO GUILT.

We can simply do what David did and go to Him and hit reset.  Look—-this verse is RESET:

Psalm 51 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

If we are truly surrendered to God, we have to let ourselves reset to Him, and let Him lavish His grace on us and reset us.

Because if you are like me (and 1 John 1:8 ASSURES me that you are!) we can stand up and fix things that God wants to fix—-and we do not have to be ashamed about it!

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

Because that, my friends, is the gospel of Jesus Christ that we all so desperately need.

And we can say, with great confidence, 

God Is Not Done With Me………Yet!

Hebrews 10 14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Create In Me A Clean Heart O God

And Renew A Right Spirit In Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8PyKeznmo

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Coach J

I am not sure what to say today…..

I just want to encourage all of us to worship.  To raise our hands to the Lord.

To truly cry out and thank Him that He has prepared a way for us.

This is not a way for AFTER we are gone from this earth.  It is a way for us to walk NOW.

Praise Him who went to the cross for all of us.

It wasn’t nails that held Him to that cross…

It was His Incredible Love!!

John 14  1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms;

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I’m Gonna Sing

In The Middle Of The Storm

Louder And Louder

You’re Gonna Hear My Praises Roar

Up From The Ashes

Hope Will Arise

Death Is Defeated

The King Is Alive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3RRU25dpPg

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

My mama took her last breath this morning at 4:30.

She is now with the Lord in the very place that He has prepared for her.

I think this God-inspired song says it all.

My love to all of you.

In Jesus Name.