I have a deep appreciation for many of the brilliant minds who have contributed greatly to society.

 

Einstein.

Aristotle.

Isaac Newton.

 

Today…..I would like to focus on Belteshazzar……a servant to the Babylonian King.  

 

He was anointed and wise and truly one of the wisest men who has ever lived.  In some circles, he is identified as Daniel.

 

But before Daniel identified the very day when Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Before he would write about great kingdoms rising and falling throughout history. Before he would predict many things about Jesus, Daniel was betrayed…..He was undermined.

 

When the enemy can not ruin your Acceptance

When he can not steal your Energy

When he can not Intimidate you

When he can not put an Obstacle in front of you to stop you

 

Then he will try to Undermine you

 

U is for UNDERMINE

 

 

 

There are three things that I want you to know today based on the story of Daniel.

 

• Number One~  God wants to anoint you.  Daniel 6  3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Just as Daniel was….He wants you to be the greatest at what you do…..because you succeeding will bring Him glory when you have set your heart fully on Him.  Pray that God would make you ANOINTED.
• Number Two~  Being the best makes others wonder why….and they will try to find fault in you.  Daniel 6  4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.  Seek FIRST His Kingdom…and His righteousness….and His heart…..and His favor.  Because His character is flawless. Pray that God would make you NEITHER CORRUPT OR NEGLIGENT.
• Number Three~  The enemy will always try to attack your FAITH–and the King of the Universe.  Daniel 6  5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” 6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.  If you were put on trial for being a Christian—wouldn’t you want to be found guilty?  Pray that God would anchor your very soul to Him–morning, noon, and night.
• Number Four~  When you are under attack—WAIT on the Lord to come for you….and weather the storm.  Daniel 6  22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”   Lions and a Lion’s Den come in many shapes and sizes……Pray that God would fill your heart with Faith and Hope and Love that you might be able to face them and not be afraid.

 

I have spent the night in the Lion’s Den.

 

And chances are…you have too.

 

Just know that the King of the Universe was there with you, is there with you, and will always be there with you——AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK.

 

Revelation 3  20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

 

I am so convicted by this Word today that I am going to send it without even proofing it……enjoy the human typos…..but hear the Heart of the Living God!

 

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

 

O is for OBSTACLES  

 

I have only been around the “culture” of Pole Vault for a year.  But there is something about the event that has drawn me in hook, line, and sinker.

 

It is not a “Half-Way” event.  You can’t “kind of” do it.  “Indecision” does not help you succeed.

 

When you go for serious heights in the Pole Vault…..it is a full commitment to the entire endeavor…..  You sprint, you plant, you jump, you invert …… there is nothing about it that is half way ……

 

When you commit to it

When you sell out to do it

When you truly jump on the runway and go for it——

You Fly….. And You Come Alive.

 

What am I getting at?

 

So many times the thing in front of us is impossible…..it is NUTS.  Running down a runway to clear a height that is some fifteen feet in the air IS CRAZY.

 

But when you train and fight and struggle and build faith and go for it and walk it out—you come alive.

 

This is the Kingdom of God.

 

He has put a calling on your life that is impossible.  It is crazy—it is nuts.

 

But when you begin to walk out the call…..you come to life.

 

There comes a time when we must all grow up.

 

And growing up involves risk, and faith, and hope, and a love of Jesus that goes beyond anything we have ever experienced.

 

Matthew 17:20  He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

Philippians 4:13  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

 

Mark 10  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

 

So I will end with this:

 

Put your screen down.

Defy living in a cloud of apathy.

Quit striving to be without pain and discomfort and failure.

Do not store up treasures on earth….they are flat out garbage.

Do not even entertain the thought that you can somehow make your life better because of another person….unless that person is Jesus.

Quit doubting God’s plan to work through you and do amazing and miraculous things.

 

You have been saved by grace by a God who offered His life as a payment for your sin so that you could walk in FREEDOM.

 

So pick your pole and sprint….jump….turn upside down….and get over that obstacle that is impossible to cross…..and do it in the Name of Jesus.  You were created……and forgiven….so that you could be ALIVE.

 

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

 

Don’t Be Surprised if you get tempted……

 

I heard a man speak about this verse and say something that struck my curiosity…..so I went in and read this verse from Genesis:

 

Genesis 3  2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

 

Why did God make two trees?  And why did He make the second tree “pleasing to the eye” and “good for food”?

 

And why was she being tempted?

 

For some, this is a hard pill to swallow.  But if we think about it….it is the most fundamental freedom we could ever be given—the freedom to choose…..or not to choose.

 

Adam and Eve made the wrong choice…..and, because of that one choice, so do we.

 

You see…..we are not sinners because we sin…..

 

It is just the opposite.

 

We sin…..because we are sinners.

 

The reality of life is not easy…..but it is simple:

 

Sin is appealing.

 

It will draw on our hearts and minds and desires.

 

It will beckon us even when it is not our own mind leading us there.

 

And it will sometimes draw our gaze and our thoughts.

 

But what is appealing in first view is not what it seems to be……..when it rears its ugly head it is coupled with shame and darkness and pain.

 

If the enemy can take Hope and Vision and Truth and Light …. he will.  And the very thing that he has made look enticing is the vehicle that he uses to destroy.

 

The homeless man never said:  I want to someday sleep in an alley and be so addicted to vodka that I would give up food and everyone I love to get it….

 

The prostitute never said:  I want to be used and looked at as an object.  Discarded and thrown away when he gets what he wants.

 

The thief never started out saying:  I want to hurt other people so that I can be on top and chase to fill a bag that will never be full.

 

And yet ….. Here we are.

 

Tempted.  Broken.  Hurting.  Desiring of Love.  Wanting for something more.

 

• Jesus said that where your treasure is….that is where your heart will be.  Matthew 6:21

• He said that we will thirst, but that whoever would thirst for Him would never be thirsty again.  John 4

• He said that He could form a path for us into something greater, that He was the way and the truth and the life.  John 14

 

You can search the whole world over and not find ANYTHING even remotely like this offer made by a man 2000 years ago.

 

So don’t be surprised when you get tempted.

 

You will just have to choose whether you want to run to the darkness…..or the light.

 

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 am not surprised that they found marine fossils on Mount Everest.

 

I am not surprised that two men found a path that the Hebrews took as they exited Egyptian bondage—which included a walkway across the Red Sea, quayle, altars of worship, a burnt mountain, and many other signs of the great Hebrew migration.

 

And, most importantly, I am not surprised when God shows up and does something miraculous in a situation in my life to alter it (for the better).

 

When Jesus went up on Gethsemane, He was as intimidated as a man can be.  He was being hunted in the physical, He was being hunted in the emotional, He was being hunted in the spiritual, and He was about to pay a debt that no man could pay.

 

Luke 22   42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

 

He did not turn from His assignment.  He did not get discouraged.  In the face of incredible fear, anguish, worry,….He stayed His course and carried out His plan to offer a plan of redemption for every man, woman, and child.

 

So don’t be discouraged by the world around you to the point where you back off.  Because Jesus didn’t back off.  He stood up.  He allowed His friends to run away, deny Him, even betray Him.  He stood before a judge and took verbal abuse and was punched in the face for answering a question.  He was beaten nearly to death by two Roman soldiers and forced to carry a cross to the place of His execution.  As He hung in misery, He suffered through insults and humiliation while still refusing to be bitter.  And He did it…..so that you could stand up and be His witness on Tuesday, February 27, 2018…..or whatever other day it might be.

 

So do it…..STAND UP.  

 

And when you do…..and He shows up…….

 

Don’t Be Surprised.

 

That’s what He does.

 

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 we move forward in all the ways that the enemy tries to disrupt our walk….I continue in my writings on the vowells of his schemes to attempt to hurt us:

 

I is for INTIMIDATION  

 

Intimidation is an awesome tactic to use on Christians to get them to “back off” or “step down”…..

 

A giant named Goliath tried it as he called for ONE MAN to step forward and fight him…..

 

A King named Nebuchadnezzar demanded that all people bow down to his image of gold.

 

A ruler named Darius made it illegal to pray….resulting in Daniel’s sentence to spend the night in the lion’s den.

 

I recently heard a story of a lady who was out witnessing to people when a man who was unaware of her mission jumped into her car and told her that if she did not get out….he would shoot her.

 

To which she replied:  “It’s okay if you shoot me…..because I came here to die.”

 

He had no words in response….and she eventually lead him to Christ…..

 

Wow.

 

Would I have that kind of courage?  I do not know if I truly would.

 

But I want you to truly pray about what God has called you to stand up to……

 

I see many who get into fights over things that I do not believe they were called to fight for…….and I also see Christians nationwide succumb to things that we have no business allowing.

 

Where is the fight that God has called us to?

 

Only YOU know.  

 

What I want to point you to is this:  We have a Bible.  We have prayer.  We have a Savior that has made an offer to bring ALL to salvation.

 

Yet, we seem to be getting farther and farther away from that call.

 

How can that be?

 

Perhaps people are Intimidated.

 

I want to leave you with a story.

 

There was a woman who was put in a very tough situation.

Her family was about to be executed and she was in the position of convincing a dictator to NOT “pull the trigger” on the order.

Her fear was that he, and his right hand man, had planned this execution for a long time and that they would not change their minds.

Though she had plenty of good reasons to talk to him…..she had much to fear.

 

This woman’s name was Esther.

 

And the family she was about to lose was not only her uncle, but all of her people.

At that time….even going before the King without an invitation was punishable by death…..and she probably had seen this very thing happen.

 

But Esther had trained for years to gain the favor of the King.  And…..she was anointed by God to be exactly what the King needed…..and because of that, he not only loved her—but he respected her greatly.

 

Esther also had a relative….a mentor….named Mordecai.  And he advised her as she pondered her next move:

Esther 4  14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

 

By walking out the call God had put on her life

By listening to those she respected

By being anointed and rising above “the world” and gaining the favor or royalty

 

Esther had gained something that no one else could:

 

Favor from the world.

 

She changed the mind of a king.

 

She saved a people.

 

She achieved victory over a very evil man…..for the very death he had set up FOR HER and HER PEOPLE was given to him.  (He died on the instrument of execution that he created)

 

In a time when women had little or no power.

In the face of overwhelming odds.

At a time when no one else could have stepped forward.

By a means that broke all of the rules.

 

Esther achieved victory.

 

She was a child of God.

She was a wife that blessed her husband.

She was a woman who listened to her mentors and honored her elders.

She was the very thing that God used to save a nation.

 

When you do what God tells you to do and humble yourself before the King…..He empowers you to do great things and change history.

 

Do you think that your “small life” has no influence?

 

So did Esther.

 

But I am here to tell you….and so is the Lord…..that your life matters……

 

And His plan to use you is bigger than you think.

 

Say YES.

 

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

 

Matthew 26 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

 

As I read about the slumber of the disciples on Gethsemane….I am not the least bit surprised or judgmental.  For I, too, have fallen asleep on the job.

 

My reality is simple:  I sleep when I am stressed out.

 

But to read about Jesus ASKING His disciples THREE times to pray and NOT SLEEP fills me with compassion.

 

The enemy loves to catch us in our slumber…and wreak havoc.

 

As we move forward and deal with all that the enemy will do to catch us off guard and discourage us…..this must be one that we face.  So if A is for Acceptance….then E is for ENERGY

 

God had many things that He left out of the Bible….in fact, John says that if every one of them were written down that there would not be room to contain them…..

 

So why did He leave this?

 

I have to think that this is to remind us that we must constantly be vigilant to what is truly going on around us.

 

So if the enemy would have us sleep….I say WAKE UP!

 

God warns us of many things and many ways that he will attack us…..saying:

• he is like a prowling lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
• he wants to sift us like wheat (Luke 22:31)
• he comes to steal kill and destroy (John 10:10)
• he was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44)
• he comes as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)

 

As I continued to look these up God convicted me.  He convicted me that He is greater.  He is greater than us.  He is greater than our sins.  He is greater than our enemy, the devil.

 

If the enemy wants us to fall asleep at the wheel, then let’s pray that we would rise up….

 

That we would dream Godly dreams (Joel 2:28)

That we would rest and recover (Hebrews 4:1-10)

That we would hope in the Lord, be of renewed strength, and have energy like the world has never seen (Isaiah 40:31)

 

1 John 4 4 because the one who is in you (Jesus) is greater than the one who is in the world.

 

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 reality is simple….I have stumbled over this next blog for days….editing with no peace to release.  I pray the Lord has taken my attempt to release wisdom and put His Spirit over you as you read……

 

The Truth we all must face is this:

How We Deal With Rejection Defines Our Destiny….

 

And I believe that we all must understand and be aware of this because the reality is this:  People will reject you, they will reject me, and they will even reject themselves.  It is how we deal with this rejection that will determine where we end up….

 

As I stumbled on this hard word, I was taken back to a moment several years ago that caught me in tears as I read a Sports Illustrated story about Peyton Manning.  He had gone from MVP, Super Bowl champion, and record setting quarterback to a man who found himself on the waiver wire…..he had been cut.

 

This is not a new concept for not only the NFL….which many claim stands for “Not For Long”……but for the world we live in today.

 

It does not take long to for the world to disregard anyone who does not live up to the standard……and I believe this is simply the reality of what the enemy would love to have happen in our world today.

 

I can remember teaching in Sunday School about spiritual warfare and having a parent come up to me and say:  “We do not believe in that.”

 

Ephesians 6 states a different truth:  God warns us that our battle is not against flesh and blood….it is a BATTLE….and it is a SPIRITUAL fight.

 

As I prayed about this in church, I felt convicted about the vowels of spiritual warfare that the enemy would bring against us.  This is not scientific nor all-inclusive…it is simply a few ways the enemy tries to attack us.

 

A is for ACCEPTANCE  

 

The enemy would love to convince us that those we value will no longer ACCEPT us.  It is the very reason, I believe, that Nicodemus wanted to speak with Jesus at night.  As we read in John 3, they have a wonderful exchange that leads us to the most spoken phrase in the Bible in John 3:16 “For God so loved…  But what about this Nicodemus?  I often wonder if he truly understood the power of persuasion that he had within the Jews.  He cowered away in the middle of the night to have a conversation with Jesus and then secretly followed Him.  Why didn’t he use his high position to influence the council?  

 

When we look into it, we probably don’t like the answer….and that is because the answer is the same reason that we cower away….

 

We are afraid of rejection.

 

The cold reality of the world is this:  we will be rejected anyway……and if we try to live our life to gain acceptance then we are in for great pain.  This is not to say that the world will always reject us–and it is not meant to be the bad news……but if we think that we will be accepted for who we really are by all who we would want to accept us……we are deceived.

 

Jesus experienced this….and in one moment back then He wants to make it clear to you today:  He WILL NOT REJECT YOU.

 

Luke 7  36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.   39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is–that she is a sinner.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

 

Here is the truth that we need to have spoken over us:  If the Lord will go to an elaborate dinner and allow a sinful woman to fall at His feet without shame……He will take anyone.  The question is NOT:  Will He take me?  The question is:  Will you take Him?

 

God has ACCEPTED you.

He has deemed you lovable.

He set His eternity on a course to have you….and He has sealed it with His life and with His blood.

 

Will you be ACCEPTED for standing up?  Maybe not.  But as Jim Elliott said:  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

 

So the next time you hide behind the fear of being rejected….remember:  You are FORGIVEN.  And when you walk out God’s purpose for you in your full extent—you might be opposed and afraid—but you will also be truly alive.  So…Accept Him and His forgiveness and purpose to be a witness…..because even if we responded the WRONG WAY to rejection in the past……God can BREAK OUR CHAINS, RESTORE WHAT IS LOST, AND REDEEM OUR LIVES TO BE BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE WE WENT THE WRONG WAY.

Hebrews 4:16  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

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

 

https://youtu.be/uUiwA1JNDig

 

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

Coach J

 

As I meditated on this 1 Timothy verse from blog 112, something struck me and I have not been able to put it out of my head:

 

1 Timothy 4:12  Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

 

Notice he says:  set an example for the believers

 

As I read that I wondered:  Why is he saying to set and example FOR THE BELIEVERS?  Don’t they already believe?  Are they really in need of an example?

 

The answer is YES.

 

And I think it is safe to say that in our country today, God is calling us to stand up.

 

In many parts of the world, the world is in chaos…..but we hear testimony after testimony of God showing up and overcoming the world.

 

Here in America, it is just the opposite.  Our world is somewhat in order, and by removing God we create our own chaos.

 

I mean—-we are free to have Him…….so why don’t we?

 

Imagine what God could do if we would actually invite Him into our country?

 

This is not a challenge to those who don’t know Him….it is the challenge of Paul to all of us to set the example for other believers….in:

• The way we talk
• The way we live
• The way we love
• The way we worship
• The things that we refrain from

 

I heard a pastor say that Fear is faith in the wrong god.  What a concept.  The reality is that we must take back the spiritual dominion over our small worlds of influence….if we do, it will have a rippling effect…..

 

So….my question today is:  What Are We Afraid Of?

 

As I worshipped yesterday…..I got my answer:  we are afraid of a lot of things.

 

I am not going to judge fear….because I have it too.  I am going to identify my perception of what the enemy does to create fear….sometimes, if we can identify our opponent—we are better able to defeat his plan against us.

 

As I began to pray and worship on how the enemy might attack, I began to see the list of vowels…..A, E, I, O, and U.  The enemy has used these (and probably many more) tactics to set us back:

 

• ACCEPTANCE  Nicodemus in John 3.  Nicodemus is curious to talk to Jesus but does not want to lose his favor with the Jewish Council.  So he seeks Him out in the secrecy of night.

• ENERGY  The disciples in Matthew 26:40.  When He needs them the most, the disciples fall into slumber.

• INTIMIDATION  Daniel 6.  Nothing brings greater intimidation than a lion pride that is waiting to devour you….or a giant….or a Roman centurion looking for someone to use as his next example.

• OBSTACLES  Exodus 3.  Moses asks Pharaoh to give freedom to one of the greatest free labor forces that the world has ever known.

• UNDERMINE  Job 4-23.  Job’s friends turn on him.  Nothing sets us back like discouragement in the midst of our issues.

 

 

Jesus came to set us free.  Let’s purpose to be an example of living by Faith and not by fear.

 

Let’s set an example for the believers in all that we do.

 

It is in great displays of FAITH that we truly do….SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS…..

 

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 am continuing the series that God has convicted me to write:  Violent Like The Kingdom.

 

Let me start by saying that you would not even be reading this today were it not for something Jesus did 2000 years ago:

He came from nothing, stood up to the oppressive Roman rule, called out the ungodly Jewish council, and declared that the devil would no longer rule here on earth unless we chose to let him.

For His great efforts, He was captured unjustly, patronized with an unfair trial, and sentenced to the harshest of punishments.

They beat Him within an inch of His life and had Him carry the instrument of His execution to the hill where He would be killed.  There….He was treated with disregard and dishonor, was humiliated in every way, and suffered an excruciating finale.  

His resurrection from death and the gift of His Spirit was the seed that leads us to where we stand today.  We are the recipients of a gift that we can neither fathom nor pay back.  All we need do is RESPOND—which is all He has ever asked us to do.

 

In 1938, Time Magazine recognized a man as their Man of the Year.  He was a political leader, an influencer, and had restored his country back to a worldly power house.  

 

His name was Adolf Hitler.

 

In the months that ensued, he barked out plans, intimidated, made deals that gained strategic power, and eventually set out on a course to conquer the world.

 

Looking back, I am sure we now ask:  How could he have become the Man of the Year?  How could we have negotiated with him?  How could we have been so foolish?

 

But we were.

 

We allowed him to have his way until it was almost too late.

 

There are certain things, and people, that we simply cannot negotiate with…..

 

Our society is in a state of flux.  The moral fiber that used to once hold us together seems to be coming unraveled all around us….and the Bible warns us of this:

 

Isaiah 5:20  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil

 

Our simple reality is this:  when you take the light away, things become dark.  Our world is in desperate need of our Savior….He is our only hope…..

 

God is calling us to step up…..and He is calling us to stand up no matter how we feel about our ability:

Not equipped?

Too young?

Uneducated?

Lacking influence?

Unable?

God has called us to stand up and be accounted for…..and it is not about faith in ourselves, it is about FAITH IN HIM.

 

When Timothy felt unqualified, Paul wrote this to him:

1 Timothy 4:12  Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

 

We must not forget that God equips the called—-He does not call the equipped.  If He can bring us to it—He can get us through it.  We must heed Paul’s words to Timothy no matter what we think we lack…..because our God is bigger than our deficiencies.

 

And so I say:  Who Will Stand?  

We can no longer sit quietly as things move in directions where they weren’t meant to go.

We can not trade the truth of the gospel for the lies of the world.

We can no longer stand idle from the side and negotiate with the enemy.

 

We must begin to put honor where honor is due and praise where praise is due.

 

Our Father in heaven put it all on the line for us so that we could stand up and put it all on the line for Him.

 

And so we must decide…..Which side of the fence will we choose to sit on?  The one with the world…..or the one with Jesus?

 

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

 

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Coach J