It took miracle after miracle to heal the Hebrew slaves and begin them on a track to freedom.

Plagues.

A miraculous crossing over a body of water.

Bitter springs.

Provision of food.

And yet they grumbled and they grumbled.

Exodus 16 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

The issue was not getting the Hebrews out of slavery….it was getting “slavery” out of the Hebrews.

And so it is with us.

God so badly wants to set us free…….but our hearts are sometimes more drawn to slavery then they are to being truly free.

And so today I want to emphasize a principle that we so badly need in our lives:

An Attitude of Gratitude is not just a cliche….it isn’t just a principle to teach young kids.  It isn’t for some of us…..

It is for ALL OF US.

God teaches, in so many scriptures, to look at what WE DO HAVE and not what we do not.

A boy who had a small lunch got to watch Jesus feed thousands of people.

A woman with a jar of perfume got to be delivered of her sin in front of the very men who brought her condemnation.

A woman who gave ALL SHE HAD was honored by Christ.

And on and on and on.

God does not call the man with all the resources….He gives resources to the man He calls.

He doesn’t call the equipped….He equips the called.

He doesn’t desperately move on the comfortable….He moves comfortably among the desperate.

Several years ago I was “studying” great football coaches…..and I came across one that we should all look to for example.

Frosty Westering

Frosty Westering?  From Pacific Lutheran?

Why not Bill Belichick?  Or Nick Saban? Or Vince Lombardi?

There are plenty of others who could be looked to…….

Frosty Westering, among many other principles, said this:

“Make the Big Time where you are”

Now that is an attitude of gratitude.

He wasn’t looking to be at Alabama.  Or New England. Or Green Bay.

He was already there.

Before you ask the Lord to free you from something on the outside…….you might want to ask Him to free you within your own heart.

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I wanted to write something for my FCA kids that summarized what the Bible means to me…….

So here goes…….

You were created by a Father who knows you and loves you anyway.  He wanted you to have all that you needed and freedom. Freedom to access all that He had that was was good:  a place of perfect love and protection, a place where all you needed was available, and a place of perfect family.

But your freedom was not good, because you were not good, and in that came a desire to crave things that were not good for you.  This was true of your great, great …. great grandparents, their children, their children, their children …. their children, and now, you.  For all of us it is simple: We crave what is not good, we chase after things we don’t need, we do things that bring dishonor to a normal person, much less a Perfect Father.  We are born into that which is broken. In this broken place, the love is not there, the protection is not there, what you need is not there, and families are broken. And when you live in a place that is broken, things break.

Now in that broken place there is often three things that happen:  

     1.  People either party in excess and continue their cravings, they fix it with all the work they can ever do, or they give up.

And so we can choose the YOLO lifestyle and crave all the things that we could ever want.  But in that place, there are some truths that you should know:

There is no drink strong enough, no drug potent enough, no love deep enough, no bank account big enough, no party fulfilling enough, no fame great enough, no appetite satisfied enough, and no longing small enough that any of the things that we chase could EVER, EVER be filled.  And in that pursuit we come to the end of ourselves, and we have to ask, even in our greatest moment, is this AS GOOD AS IT GETS?

    2.  People choose to work their way into being good.  And so we find ourselves trying…..We try to harvest a field that does not grow, We try to sell a product no one will buy, We try to build a house that will not stand.  

We try, and we fail, and we come…to the end of ourself.

     3.  Or perhaps we go to option three, and we simply give up… and we come…to the end of ourselves.

All this time the Father who gave us everything waits for us to come home.  He waits and He waits, yearning for His child to return home so that He might cover him in all the love He can give.  He has to wonder, “why did I give my child the choice to leave? Why?” But He knows that if you love something…you set it free….  And so He cries out from the perfect place and waits for the child who has the choice—the choice to perish in bitterness…OR the choice to come home and LIVE.

And so we can choose to come home.  And if we do choose to come home we must find a way to come to the end of ourselves and stay home.  This is not an easy part of the journey….because when you are dropped out of good and into not good, you have a part of you that constantly will try to pull you back.  And you have to ask yourself, why in the world would He want me here? How could a Father that is so good not only welcome me back, but FORGIVE ME, ADOPT ME, RESTORE MY WASTED EXISTENCE, GIVE ME AUTHORITY, PROMOTE ME, and even ask me to call Him Daddy.  It is simple: He sent someone in our place. If we align ourself in relationship with Him:

The enemy that filled us with his lies is DISABLED.  

The debt that could not be paid is PAID IN FULL.

The sin that could not be forgiven, IS FORGOTTEN.  

The death that is inevitable IS CRUSHED.  

The wounds that could not be healed ARE WITHOUT EVEN SCARS OR MARKS.

ALIGN YOURSELF WITH HIM:  Come to the end of yourself, Communicate with Him, Read His Word.  Be born into a new life. Connect in love with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead!

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Jesus gave it all.

He didn’t give half of His life…or half of His heart…or half of His forgiveness.

And think about what His gift would mean if we didn’t receive it in its fullness:

What if we didn’t have FULL eternal life?

Or FULL forgiveness for our sins?

Or FULL entrance into His Kingdom as a son?

The Lord put on my heart to read Hosea this week.

It is the story of unfaithfulness.

It is the story of a wife who cannot remain faithful to a loving husband.

It is OUR story.

Hosea 2  23 ….. I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one. ‘I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

Wow.  To not understand this is to not understand the fullness of the gospel.

I sometimes look at my life and say:  I am not only not faithful with a little……I Am Unfaithful With EVERYTHING!  I haven’t measured up!  I haven’t even scratched the surface of what He has called me to be…or to do…or in how He has shown me to live.

But I think this is why Jesus encourages us to have faith the size of a mustard seed.

You see……..just a little bit of faith can lead to so much life.  He can take just a little bit of faithfulness and put the FULL into it.

2000 years ago Jesus knew of our wishy-washy, half-in, lackadaisical and mediocre approach to His gospel…..

And yet He still stayed up on that cross and said:

It Is Paid In Full.

So don’t respond to this today by trying to do EVERYTHING.

Respond to it by doing SOMETHING.   And do something that involves Him putting FULLNESS over you…..because you doing everything by yourself will never even come close to Him putting His FULLNESS over you doing a little.

Watch what He can do with your mustard seed.

Because He can bring the FULL to your half and make it Kingdom.

This only works with Jesus…….and it is, after all, a miracle as great as the resurrection itself.

Father, I have not been faithful with little

I have been unfaithful with much

But today….I go the other way

I change my mindset and my outlook

And I ask you to make me faithful in small things

And I ask that you fill me with life

And hope

And peace

And vision

And faith

For You, and You alone, hold the keys to eternal life

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I can remember in a movie I was watching that Jeremiah Johnson passed through an Indian burial ground….that he had walked on “hallowed” ground.

But the reality is:  we are all walking on “hallowed” ground.

2000 years ago Jesus walked and witnessed this very ground that we walked on.

He witnessed to Kings and peasants, to rich and to poor, to powerful and to weak, to religious and to heathen, to men and to women, to young and to old.

He called out the powerful.

He confronted the heartless.

He touched the diseased.

He ate with the wretched.

He talked to the kids.

The Amplified Bible (AMPC) has a great version of this verse:

Philippians 3  10 My determined purpose is that I may know Christ.  That I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person.

There is no greater investment you can put down than to seek to understand the “wonders of His person”.

There is no better or more noble or more important pursuit.

His hand on your life changes everything.

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Nathanael’s first comment about Jesus referred to where He came from.  Nathanael asked Philip: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

He soon found out that the greatest man to ever walk the earth did, in fact, come from the lowest of lows.

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.”

Nathanael saw greater things.

After an incredible miraculous and ministry, Jesus came back from the grave and the world was changed forever.

Today, the message is not about Nathanael.

It is about you.

As sure as He sees Nathanael under the fig tree, He sees you in your world.

He sees your ups and your downs.

He sees your strengths and your weaknesses.

He sees your deepest desires and your greatest pains.

The world can not be what we truly need it and want it to be if we continue to walk away.

What would happen if we all walked at Him?

The answer is simple:

Greater Things

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

This is my third blog on Pete Fewell…..a dear friend of mine.  I write this blog for Jesus–who is my hero. But Jesus works through the hearts of people………and Pete has so many qualities that inspire me as a man trying to follow Jesus……

So now….part 3

One of the greatest men that I have ever known is Harold C. “Pete” Fewell.  Blogs 122-124 will be in honor of him and all he has been for all who know him.  In my life, he has been a friend, a mentor, a father figure, and a confidant. He is the epitome of loyalty, honesty, work ethic, kindness, and perseverance.  In 1970, on the plane ride home from East Carolina, the Marshall football team’s plane went down and 75 lives were lost. Through a series of events, Pete was not on that plane………he has lived a life of great impact:  His life has greatly affected the lives of others.

Pete once told me that there were some things going on at work that were causing him great stress.  When he ended his day, he was coming home in a very grumpy mood. As most of us know, bringing trouble from work home is not good for anyone……but it is hard to avoid.  Pete told me something to the effect of: “My boss was making me grumpy and I was taking it out on Carol (his wife). I decided to quit taking it out on Carol and take it out on the guy who was causing the problem—my boss.  That’s when I got fired.”

I have always gotten a kick out of that story.  It was Pete’s way of saying:  “I can find work……and I am not trading my job for family.”

I think of all the times that something is not going well and I take it out on my wife….or my kids….or my friends.  I think that many of us do this.

We ENGAGE the wrong enemy.

The Bible tells us very clearly:

Ephesians 6 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…

Maybe we need to say that again and again until it sinks in…..

Our Battle Is NOT Against Flesh And Blood

Our Battle Is NOT Against Flesh And Blood

Our Battle Is NOT Against Flesh And Blood

Our Battle Is NOT Against Flesh And Blood

I know that to be the absolute truth…..yet why don’t I live it?

Often times in our greatest struggles we get in a fight…….but WHO we fight is not WHO we are supposed to fight.

What does God say about our spiritual enemy?

He prowls around like a lion 1 Peter 5:8

He comes to steal, kill, and destroy John 10:10

He disguises himself as an angel of light 2 Corinthians 11:14

I can go on and on putting up scripture about the enemy and all of his plans.

But our gospel is about good news.

1 John 3 8 …. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

We do not need to walk around in fear.

We do not need to worry about the powers of darkness.

We do not need to consume ourselves with focusing on all that the enemy can do.

What we really need to do is:

Engage The Right Enemy

By worshipping the King Of The Universe.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple

~He came and died

~He rose from the grave

~He gave us power over Satan, sin, and death

~All who receive Him have eternal life

~That eternity starts NOW

Father, I receive You and I receive Your Son

I ask that You would write a new chapter over me

I ask that You would not let me stay the same

I ask that You would do a new thing in me….

Not just for now…..but for ALL TIMES and ALL PEOPLE

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

Galatians 6 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

One of the greatest men that I have ever known is Harold C. “Pete” Fewell.  Blogs 122-124 will be in honor of him and all he has been for all who know him.  In my life, he has been a friend, a mentor, a father figure, and a confidant. He is the epitome of loyalty, honesty, work ethic, kindness, and perseverance.  In 1970, on the plane ride home from East Carolina, the Marshall football team’s plane went down and 75 lives were lost. Through a series of events, Pete was not on that plane………he has lived a life of great impact:  His life has greatly affected the lives of others.

When I was in high school, I showed up at Pete’s house and heard the bad news.  He had been laid off.

A daughter in college.

A son on the way to college.

A house payment.

And no job.

A couple of weeks later, Pete had a plan.  He had taken out a loan and purchased the equipment from the department that he worked in in his former company.  After all, they did not need it anymore.

He then began being his own boss and running his own business.

And his business began to grow and do very well.

Before long, he was a contractor for the company that laid him off……making about the same money that he was making before, but only working for them part time.

Pete’s business exploded and he entered into a period of doing very well for himself.

He was his own boss.

He made very good money.

He was able to be very generous with all that he had.

In watching all of this from the side, I learned something very valuable.

What was the best thing to happen to his career?

He got fired.

Many of us live a life of holding on.

We store up “treasures on earth” and fight for what we have.

We save up money and build up wealth.

But sometimes, God’s blessings come in us letting go.

God has a plan for our lives.  It is to bless us and take care of us.

It is to give us adventure and challenges.

It is a plan for us to give.

My challenge to you today is not to look at what you do not have…..but to look at what you do have.

May He bless your steps in all that you do today!

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

One of the greatest men that I have ever known is Harold C. “Pete” Fewell.  I will be writing my next three blogs honoring him and all he has been for all who know him.  In my life, he has been a friend, a mentor, a father figure, and a confidant. He is the epitome of loyalty, honesty, work ethic, kindness, and perseverance.

In November of 1970, Pete was a college student at Marshall University—and a stat keeper for their football team.  In the week leading up to their game with East Carolina, another stat keeper asked him to “trade trips”. It was Pete’s turn to go on the road trip and he wanted to go.  But the other stat keeper begged him to go……and Pete finally agreed. One of the last things he said was to the effect of: “you owe me one”.

Little did Pete know, that was the last word he would speak to anyone in the organization.  On November 14, 1970, after a 17-14 loss at East Carolina, the Marshall plane went down. There were no survivors among the 75 people on the plane.  Coaches, players, boosters, crew, and stat keepers were all killed on that terrible day.

Pete was not the only one who stayed behind or missed that flight.  Rich Taglang, Nate Ruffin, and Ed Carter were not on that plane either.  And I am sure that all suffered greatly from Survivor’s Guilt…..a mental condition that occurs when a person survives a traumatic event when others did not.

I am not sure how much or how little Pete suffered from that……what I do know is that Pete’s life has made a difference.

Pete has changed the life of many, many people for the good.  He has been a pillar of generosity in our community: President of the Longmont Junior Baseball League.  Generous donor of uniforms and equipment to all area high schools. The LT that now resides on most of the Longmont gear was designed by him.  And even as an avid Longmont supporter, he has been incredibly generous to ALL of the schools. Donating time and money at Niwot. Buying legion uniforms.  Sponsoring athletes to go to camps and all state games. His generosity mostly anonymous and always generous. If Pete could now look in a mirror and ask: “did I deserve to be the survivor on that fateful day in 1970?”  The answer would be, without question, YES!!! Pete has changed hundreds, even thousands, of lives….

And so my question to all of us is…..

What are we going to do with our lives?

We don’t need a traumatic event to change our mindset…..just an encounter with God.

You see, we weren’t on that plane.  But the plane we ARE ON will not find a destination where we make it…..we won’t make it out of this life alive.  We will all crumble and deteriorate and eventually take our last breath.

And then what?

The Lord has something better for us.  It isn’t football games, or fame, or money, or popularity.

It is purpose.  It is to walk as His child and live a life of love.

It is really a simple formula.

• God Has Called Us To Receive Him………………             John 1 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
• God Has Called Us To Make A Difference………     Matthew 28  19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
• God Has A Place For Us……………………………        1 Corinthians 2   9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him  

Jesus’ first encounter walking into His destiny was the test of His life (Luke 4).  The Bible says that He felt and experienced all we experience—so I am sure He wondered if He was going to make it.  We will be tested too.

And we will also wonder if we will make it.  We will also encounter tests and trials as we try to walk out the call God has put on our lives…..and our enemy will always try to tempt us with a quick fix, a shortcut, or a different plan.  Of course the enemy would not want us to live out the course of our life in God’s plan.

But sooner or later we will have to stake our claim and our allegiance and our spirit to SOMETHING…….because the plane we are on will not fly forever.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I do not know loss like many who I walk through this life with…..nor do I claim to know how it feels…..

The Lord has convicted me to write about it anyway.

My hero died on February of 2010 in the house I grew up in.

As I read scripture over him, he opened his eyes and gazed into a place that I do not believe my brother, or my sister, or my mom, or me, could see…..and he looked at peace.

Seconds after that, he drew his last breath and launched me into a period of mourning that stung to the core of my heart.

I had been fighting with the Lord over having to speak at his funeral.

Our Lord works in mysterious ways.

In church one Sunday, about a month after his death, we were worshipping and I saw my father.  It is hard to describe “seeing” him but, it was a picture in my head…….

He was young.

He was healthy.

His mind was working.

He was happy.

After that moment, the sting was gone.

I don’t know why it was gone…….

But I think……more than anything else……it was the fact that he was good.  He was taken care of. He was in a far better place then we could give him here.

God has written us a love letter that assures us of just that:

1 Corinthians 2 9However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”

Romans 8 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

John 14  2In my Father’s house are many rooms;

Father~  Do what you do.

Take the sting of loss, and the fear of death, and restore us to live for You….that we might Go And Make Disciples Of All Nations.

Rest Your Spirit on the pains of loss….

And Do A New Thing…..

That we might never be the same again

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J