Search

2 MINUTE WARNING

WITH DOUG JOHNSON

Open Search
Tag

bible

478 The Heart Of His Ministry

John opens up his book with “In the beginning … ” and I thought that the book of John was an appropriate way to “begin” 2025.

I have an admiration for defense attorneys, and lawyers in general, as they stand for the law.  Our country was set up to protect the innocent and to make sure we bring accountability to those who break the law, and we are in a constant battle find that.  In our legal system, we can only make this work with Jesus.  The law, and the legal system, without Jesus, will never work.  And when Pilate asked Jesus “What Is Truth?” he brought up the most important aspect of our system.  The Truth.  Without Jesus, who is The Truth, our system is broken.

Jesus opened His public ministry with two important and noteworthy events.

  • The Miracle at Cana
  • The Temple Riot at Passover

Jesus treated a poor man’s wedding feast like it was the most important event of the year

John 2 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” 9 They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

And then Jesus started a “one man riot” at a formal religious festivity.

John 2 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area … he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

To me, these two events signify some things that we should never, ever forget:

  1.  He Wants You To Have Enough.

In your finances, in your efforts, and in all the things that you strive for, you can be certain that Jesus is for you and wants you to have all that you need.  I can’t help but wonder, as I write this, that this is very much a two way street.  If it is true for us, it is true for others.  If he wants you to have enough … He wants others to also have enough.  And sometimes … it is our responsibility to make sure that this happens.

  1.  He Wants You To Be Treated Fairly.

The Passover was, and is, about God.  It is about how God SAVED the Hebrew people from not just slavery, but slaughter.  It is about the blood of the lamb and the future of a people who would worship Him.  I have to think that Jesus was MOST UPSET at the misrepresentation of God … the ripping off of people in the name of guilt so that they could “be right” with Him.  God makes us right with Him.  Only God.  And He wants us to be treated fairly as we pursue Him … and He wants us to take no credit for it, to take no benefit from it, and to take no praises for what God, and God alone, deserves the praises for … to Him be the glory.

  1.  Sometimes Only The Servants See The Miracle.

The servants who filled the heavy water jars surely saw the miracle.  Water, the very water that they got out of the river, was wine.  Bury your face in the worship of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords … and let Him show you the mighty works of His hand.

2025 is a year of changes.  It is a year of exposure.  It is a year of new beginnings.

But more than anything else … it is a year to proclaim that there is one, and only one, King.

And He doesn’t share His throne with anyone.

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

0

477 The Fourth Watch

If you seek rest and can not find it, perhaps this word today is for you.  The night hours are important in so many ways … and in my life it feels like it is a point of emphasis.

What does scripture say about the night hours?

Here are a few scriptures that we mentioned last week at Peaceful Valley:

Matthew 13 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

Mark 1 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Job 33 14 For God does speak-now one way, now another- though man may not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, 

I know in my life this has been a focal point.  Sometimes I think it is a lack of sleep.  In other moments, I have been convicted that there is much activity in the spiritual realm … both for the good … and for the bad.

As you read this today, I encourage you to “take atmospheric temperature” for what we are now facing in America and through out the world.

What might we be dealing with as we move forward?

I have contemplated this a lot in the last months.

So where is today’s blog leading?

Simply to these thoughts:

  1.  The enemy is at work in the night hours.  His plots are not only to put fear in us, but sometimes they are showing what he will be doing next.
  2.  Jesus thinks that the night hours are important … after all, they were important to Him.
  3.  We can be spoken to in many ways.  But certainly God speaks to us in the form of dreams.

So as you move forward, I want to encourage you in these things:

  1.  Be A Watchman:

Ezekiel 33 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ 

I encourage you to read this with grace, not with accusation.  It is not to stir up fear in you that you will make a mistake, it is to call you to battle.  As believers, you have an alliance with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  He plays no games and He will watch over you and yours.  Call on Him when you worry.  Ask Him to move on your behalf, and ask Him to disarm the enemy.

  1.  Hold on to the Lord.  Jacob had many flaws.  But he knew who he needed and was willing to fight with every part of his being to have God.  Let that be your story.

Genesis 32 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 

  1.  Remember Who God is and What He does.

Job 5 12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. 

I love this verse because it affords us the ability to stand on the word and recognize that God is working on our behalf.

Go forward in faith.

Go forward in prayer.

And, most of all, go forward knowing that God may wake you in the night, or you might dream, or you might be stirred to pray.

When He does.

Cry out for Him.

He is ready to answer.

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

0

476 The Choice

Growing up in the Presbyterian church, I seemed to offend people with one comment.  I told those who asked me that I was NOT a Presbyterian, but a follower of Jesus.

That ruffled feathers … some even in my own family.

But I have never been more convicted on this very topic.

I want to preface what I write today to say that I am absolutely not against the church, any church.  I have no agenda against religion as I believe that it has benefited our communities greatly.

But my allegiance is to Jesus … and Jesus alone.  If that fits in to a church—great.  And if it doesn’t, so be it.

John has done a great deal to influence this — or should I say God’s influence on John has influenced this.  I do not believe that John could have written his incredible literary masterpiece without the help of God alone.

And so I say today … Jesus alone.

This conviction does not belong to an individual church … or religion.  After writing books in the New Testament, John was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching about Jesus and the word of God.  On Patmos, John had some incredibly hard to understand visions but continued to preach the same message.  In the book Revelation, he claims he was convicted by God to write this:

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.  

This is a strange statement to me … but it implies that God has given us the choice.  And that choice is to receive Him or to not receive Him.

It doesn’t say become a Presbyterian, or a Catholic, or a Lutheran, or a Methodist, or really, ANY other religion.  In fact, John tells us in John 1 that

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. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

To THOSE who received Him.

To read those words is to realize … we have a choice.

Because Jesus’ life was not political … as a politician, he failed miserably (thank God).  He successfully drove away BOTH SIDES.

His life wasn’t a military pursuit.  But He drove back soldiers at the temple and stood up for the broken—no matter what the law might have been.

He could not be put in the religious category—after all, He was driven out of the synagogue and crucified for claiming to be God.  After His execution and stories of His resurrection, the church not only disliked His followers, they pursued them, imprisoned them, and killed them.  Saul lead the charge.  And only after an encounter on the road into Syria did he change his mind and become a follower.  The greatest champion of the new testament tried to squash out the followers of Jesus.  And then … he changed teams.

Jesus could not be put in the category of rich.  He had nothing but the clothes on His back at His execution.

He could not be put in the category of powerful.  He chose not to push anyone back NOR force anyone to follow.

So what can we say?

In one of the most difficult texts to understand, He meets a religious leader at night:

John 3 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night.  3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ” 

He tells all of us:

John 3 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

After saying that He was “Jacob’s ladder”, that anyone who wanted to follow Him must “eat His flesh and drink His blood”, and after claiming that HE was the living water, He then declared:

John 10 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

These are not the words of a prophet.  They aren’t the words of a nice guy.  These are the words of a lunatic, or a liar, or a man telling the truth.

But that being said, they are words that are worth reading.

I don’t think Jesus was crazy.

I don’t think that He was a liar.

I don’t think that He didn’t know what He was doing.

I think that Jesus knows exactly who He is … and exactly who we are.

I think Jesus loves Muslims, and atheists, and political leaders, and army generals, and prostitutes, and corporate raiders, and homeless addicts.

And, if I am reading His gospels correctly, I think that He is giving EVERYONE the same choice.

CHOOSE HIM

or 

REJECT HIM

But, as He said, “weigh the cost”.  It’s the most financial decision that you will ever make.

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

0

471 The Mountain In Front Of Us

If you are like me, you have some decisions in front of you that are INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

This is not a heavy word.  It is an encouragement.

To remind you … “What You Have To Gain Is FAR GREATER Than What You Have To Lose”

So as you walk into the mountain in front of you … I have 4 pieces of advise.

1.  Decide To Be Great … (Not Your Position, Your Posture)

As the disciples jostled for position in a very unbalanced time, Jesus reminded them what being great truly was.

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.”

2.  Pick A Team (Loyalty Means Everything)

Our God is not a neutral decision.  I know which side I am declaring … and Joshua showed us how to do it.

Joshua 24 14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord . 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .” 16 Then the people answered, “Fa

3.  Love Your Enemies (YOU Are The Lion!)

As I reminded one of my athletes this past spring — YOU are the lion.  Often we see lions showing themselves in the middle of the plain … and the animals scatter.  As we approach the mountain, we must remember that WE are the lion — not the scattering zebras.  And as a member of the winning team, it should never burden us to pray for, and love, our enemies.

Matthew 5 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you …

4.  Remember Who You Belong To (My Father Loves Me!)

Probably our most important verse in the entire Bible … our belonging to God and His love of us.  This is exemplified in in Zephaniah and we would do well to plant this verse on our hearts.

Zephaniah 3 17 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

So go forward to the mountain.

And climb with Faith, Hope, and Alacrity.

To Him Be The Glory And The Kingdom And The Power … For Ever And Ever.

Amen.

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

0

470 God Does Not Manipulate Or Shame

As I was talking to Angie this morning, she said something that convicted me so much.  I thought that I would share it.

In reference to something that we were conversing about, she said:

“God Does Not Manipulate Or Shame”

That’s a good word.

Sometimes we don’t know what God is leading us to.

Sometimes the decisions in front of us can stall us out and we are not sure of the direction where we should go.

And sometimes we need to start by eliminating.  And her phrase to me was a GREAT place to start:

“God Does Not Manipulate Or Shame”

As you go through your day and make decisions, you can count on those words.

Romans 8 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 

And Paul tells us this in Romans 8 because he is being true to the gospel of Jesus, and says so in Romans 8.  “God Does Not Manipulate Or Shame”

Although I hear those words, I am always in need of a reminder.

And chances are … so do you.

God is so good.

And so patient.

And so ready to forgive.

Let’s celebrate Him and the fact that nothing can undo or distort what Jesus did.

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

0

469 Build Your House On Solid Rock

The sandstone at Lake Powell is an amazing and beautiful picture of the absolutely awe-inspiring creation of God.

But it is an incredible testimony to what Jesus said in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 

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

In the time that we have docked our boat this week, rocks have been covered and they quickly erode into the water and fall away.  Even some of the ground that is walked on goes from stone to sand in the snap of a finger.

Why does no one have a house on the edge of this incredible body of water?  Simple answer.  The sandstone.  The foundation could be gone as quickly as the rising and falling water.  What looks to be stable and solid is simply able to fall and sink into the water so quickly that it is absolutely humbling.

And so it is with each of us … AND … with all of us.  

For each of us is it true as we, as individuals, must stay in alignment with the rocks of where we go and what we do and what we think and who we are … without these rocks we can lose our footing so quickly.

For all of us it is much the same.  In our groups both great and small it is easy to divide the group if we are not following the principles that will unite us.

Jesus modeled this in every way.

He modeled our individual situations as well as our group ones.

He modeled our lives in celebration and in absolute sorrow.

He modeled how to react and how to stay silent.

This is no easy word.

The storms of life can so easily sway us and knock us off course.

And finding the truth in the daily life can be difficult.

The truth, however, in the big things, is in your Bible, and your spirit connected to God, and in the counsel of a friend who will tell you the truth and not “support you just to steer free of the conflict”.

Build your house on solid ground.

Jesus is solid.  He is the rock.  He is the Living Water.  He is the Ladder that connects heaven to earth.  And He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

You can’t pick a better foundation.

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

0

466 In The Blink Of An Eye

Anyone who is celebrating graduation today understands how fast it truly goes … 

1 Corinthians 15 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

We understand that life is before us … and then an era ends.  The door closes and can never be opened again.  And it ends so suddenly.

If this stings you, I want to convict you that this … is the what many call “the curse of Adam”.  We can define that in so many ways, but it is the true nature of what we live in when we are frustrated.  This curse makes work difficult, it makes marriage difficult, it makes parenting difficult, it makes dying and even birth difficult.  It is the ugly side of the coin and never to be confused with “how can a loving God do that to us?”.  It is not a loving God who turned His back on us … it was our penchant to choose and truly lives in the fact that we turned our backs on a loving God.

And, the enemy stirs up in us the desire to blame someone else, to which I would reply:  

Do not think that you didn’t do the same thing!  You too turned your back on God and wanted to do things of your own accord.  It is the reality of every man but one.

But God.

But God has given us an option.  And it is the only deal we’re going to get.  It is the offer of Jesus.  And the Jesus offer is the deal of the millennium.  It is the hope of all men.

Take it.

As Jesus told His disciples:  Follow Me.

Take that deal.  Follow Him.

He … is worthy of our surrender

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

0

462 Seeing It Before It Is (Part 2)

I can remember when my doctor, at 16, told me that “I probably would not have children.”  Looking at it today, it makes me laugh.  Five of them with two that we miscarried and all of them incredible testimonies to the God of the universe.

God decides the path of our lives.

He alone.

And He does it in a way that blesses us to the core of our being.

But we must have faith.

As far as a title, I guess I will call this “Seeing It Before It Is Part 2”.

The spring has humbled me in many ways.  There are new challenges and new disappointments.  There are new misunderstandings and new mountains to climb.

The hills and valleys of life can be very discouraging.

But I again reach back to Faith.

Hebrews 1 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

And this is just it.  We must be sure of what we hope for … and sometimes hope is so removed that we can’t even get half way to faith.  And so the word for today is to:  Be SURE of what you hope for.  It is to be sure of it until Jesus removes it from your dashboard and tells you to go for something else.

This is a simple word but an important one.

David knew this in his prayers and times with God.  His prayer in Psalm 18 is one that I say repeatedly.  It is hope for the day.

Psalm 18 1 I love you, O LORD , my strength.  

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  3 I call to the LORD , who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

Go forward in hope.  Go forward in faith.  Go forward with Jesus.  And be sure of what you hope for “it” until He moves you on to something else.    

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

0

461 Seeing It Before It Is

When an NFL player hits a crisis, it must be very hard to pull out of it.  The quarterback, in particular, is in the eye of the storm.  Surrounded by hostile grown men whose primary purpose is to bring pressure and physicality, the quarterback must face the hurricane and deliver in the biggest moments.

CJ Stroud is the new generation of men who “walk into the lions den”.  And he seems to know who he is and who he belongs to.  In every interview that I have seen, he thanks God through Jesus and plays for something bigger.  Bless him for representing.

The reason he is in those interviews, in my opinion, is that he has adopted another character trait that Jesus recommends:

“Seeing It Before It Is”

Some would call it Faith.  I call it FAITH AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

And Jesus knew this faith and taught this faith.

Matthew 16 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus saw Peter.

He saw the plans of the enemy.

He saw the sins of men.

He saw the future.

Jesus chose Peter to build the church before he was worthy to be even a member.

And He sees what lies in front of you.

That’s a leader that makes the best NFL quarterback look like a Pop Warner back up.

And it is who we should be following as we navigate a rocky future.  Jesus Sees It Before It Is … He is worthy of my devotion and surrender.  He is the Christ … the Son of the Living God.  All praise and honor and worship to the God who loves us too much to let us go.

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

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑