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WITH DOUG JOHNSON

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552 REMEMBER

One concept that has been on my heart a lot is simply this:

REMEMBER

This is not a terrific act of Faith that God is calling us to … just a simple one.  To remember where we came from and what He has done for us.

The enemy will oppose this.  And we must oppose him opposing us.

Deuteronomy 8 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

This is important for all of us.  You see, there are many in our society who would oppose the wealthy.  This idea is unamerican, and it flies in the face of God.  God holds all of us accountable.  He tells all of us to come under, and worship, Him alone.  And one way we do that is to REMEMBER.

He brought the Hebrew people out of slavery.

He defeated an enemy that wanted to slaughter them.

And He freed them to go to the promised land.

And so it is with you.  He has freed you.  He has single handedly defeated your enemies.  And, as you sit here reading this, He is preparing a place for you.

So when the enemy attacks you and reminds you of your failures, pull out your journal and remind yourself of how many times you have been spared, or forgiven, or rescued, or given something that you did not deserve.

REMEMBER

When you are in a place without hope, ask Him.  As the verse above says:

the Lord your God … gives you the ability to produce wealth … which he swore to your ancestors … as it is today.

REMEMBER

And if you are in a place of much, the verse says:

He gave you manna … to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

REMEMBER

We are called to be humble and remember who blessed us and to give God the glory in all things.

The bottom line is this:

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills …

And he has adopted you so that you might inherit the kingdom.

This is wealth that you can not comprehend or fathom.

So raise your hands and praise the Father … who provides for all things!

And as an act of worship:

REMEMBER

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

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551 There’s A Hope In Front Of Me

I can’t stand what we did to ourselves…And I can’t stand what the devil does to us as a result of it.

We sin.  And he attacks.  He gets us on the ground and he kicks and kicks and kicks until he has us broken and bloody.

Romans 3:23 says that we all fall short of the glory of God.  And with that falling short, we exist in a broken world.  That will never change.  And there is nothing that we can do about it.

I am glad that is not the end of the story.

Since we were sitting ducks for hell and all of the things that go with it, God made a decision.

He sent Jesus.

And Jesus came as a Lamb so that He could come back as a Lion.

Romans 5 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Romans 8 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

His grace is enough.  It is enough to bind the enemy’s plan, it is enough to overcome our sin, and it is enough to raise us from the dead.  And we can be assured that this Jesus … this Lamb of God … is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  And we, are More Than Conquerors.

He is the Holy One.

And He is coming to rescue His bride and bring justice for those who were pushed into the pit.

These are not just words in a book  …  They are the hope of ages.

They are not unattainable wishes … We HOLD these promises.

We are not the victims … We are More Than Conquerors.

So do what you have to do.

Cry.

Mourn.

Sit in sadness.

But get up.

And when you get up … throw haymakers.  Swing for the knockout and go for blood.  You are not called to lay on the ground and take a beating.

You are called to get up and fight.

And FIGHT you will … because Jesus took on the gates of hell so that you could be free.

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

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550 Stay In Your Lane

In my world, navigating my spiritual life sometimes feels like a Roller Coaster.  I go from the mountaintop to the valley back to the mountaintop.

As I sat in prayer, my thought was:  Doug, Stay In Your Lane

For me, staying in your lane involves three things:

  1.  Pliability
  2.  Hope
  3.  Dwelling

Pliability is allowing Jesus to change your heart daily.  It means that we are willing to adjust and repent, that we are willing to never use the excuse “that’s just who I am” as we navigate life’s challenges.  As we get older, we lose our flexibility.  This is not just physically, it is in life.  We want things to be exactly the way that we see them to be.  God wants us to pick up our cross daily.  As I used to tell my children:  “God loves you too much to allow you to do that.”  Amen.  

John 5 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

My prayer today is:  “Come and know me, Father.  Find every offensive way in me.  Mold my heart to follow You.”

Hope is constantly opposing the enemy’s plan to tell us we have nothing in our future.  In Jesus, we have an eternal future with nothing but good.

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.

As we navigate life, we have everlasting hope.  The problems here will not exist in the Kingdom.  I am constantly taken aback by Dan Piper’s testimony in 90 minutes in heaven.  His desire to be dead far outweighed seeing his wife and kids here on earth.  The bottom line is simple:  God has prepared a place for us.  And we have no comprehension of how great it will be.

Dwelling in the future will be incredible.  Dwelling in the house of the Lord starts today.  Our energy, our commitment, our pursuit of being with Him will change our today drastically.  It will define our day in a way that truly matters.

Psalm 23 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

As we walk into the business of the day, we must not let go of our invitation to Dwell in the presence of the Almighty God.  He is the only thing that makes the day worth living, the only real meaning, and the only one who will give us hope.  In Him, we have meaning and purpose and fulfillment.  Without Him, we have nothing.

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

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549 Get Adopted

Our desire to conquer comes from a good place when not perverted.  After all, when you belong to the King, you are a conqueror.

But when we pervert them … when we change the plans and create our own narrative?

What Man Has Built Let God Put Asunder

Genesis 11 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Many believe that this was the creation and brainstorm of Nimrod.  And though the text does not directly link him to the evil that God would deal with, it does not matter.

What does matter is that we are not to become something that we were not created to be.

As it was in the garden, so it was in Genesis 11, and so it is throughout the earth:  Man is influenced by a fallen nature, and that nature wants to go its own way.  And “going your own way” invites in three things:

  • Unseen Evil
  • Wrong Thinking And Actions
  • Death

We want no part in this.

And as I sit and write this today, I pray that God would open your eyes if He has not done so already.

Jesus wants our eyes wide open.

Matthew 24 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus returned us to Him in His actions on earth, His execution, His resurrection, and His move at Pentecost.  We do not have to live like this.

We have an option:

Get Adopted

God sent Jesus to get rid of man’s narrative and replace it with His original, and perfect, plan.

Jesus.

We have a chance to “reverse the curse”.  

We can be adopted.  

And with that adoption, we have a chance.

As I write this this morning, and revel in His Name, and His plan, and His Kingdom, I am taken aback by the incredible offer to be adopted.

John 1 12 Yet to all who did receive 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.

And so it is.

Get Adopted.

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

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548 Independence Day

Thank you Jesus for the United States of America.

And, more than that, thank You Jesus that you have shown us exactly who we are to be and what we are to be.

As most of us know and understand, freedom isn’t free.  It comes at a cost and we would do well to remember this.

When His time had come, Jesus was baptized and taken to the darkest place on planet earth.  Deprived of food, left in weakness, and standing alone, He faced off with the king of lies and the accuser of all mankind.

Matthew 4 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. ’ ”

Good luck trying to push my King around.  He won’t be fooled or intimidated, and He will not flinch in the face of evil.  And what men failed to do throughout the Old Testament, Jesus did in His short time on earth.  This was certainly not the end of His conflicts.  If anything, it was the opening battle of His ministry and it would continue until He paid the price that we could not.

But that’s the point, isn’t it?

Apart from Him, we are sitting ducks for Hell.  And the enemy would love nothing better than to accuse, punish, and torture us on his way to stealing, killing, and destroying.

But here’s the thing:

My King is not afraid.  He is not unable.  He is not unworthy.  The only thing that we might be able to accuse Him of is His company:  you and I.  But even in that, we are not nearly as broken as He is perfect.  I would even go so far as to say our level of despicable is not nearly bad enough to cross out His grace.

We are free!  What the enemy planned for our demise will not work because of Jesus.

Independence Day.

Enjoy it.

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

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547 LOTS

I have often thought:  What makes a great football player and what makes a great football team?  The reality is that it is the same qualities that make a great follower and a great body of believers.  And that is following this simple law:

The Law Of The Spirit Of Life

I am a believer in laws but I have to admit that I get discouraged by not only our laws, but our lawmakers.  This will never change and I think I heard a pastor say it best:

“Laws restrain … but 

they do not produce good”

That is the best description that I have ever heard regarding this topic.

And it is exactly why Paul wrote in Romans 8:

Romans 8 2 … the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death … 

Following laws will never produce good.

And when people are not morally aligned to the God of the universe … all they can harvest is frustration … at best.

But following the Spirit?

Now that’s good stuff.  And as I was processing this I was thinking about the acronym LOTS … because when we follow God, what do we have to gain?  LOTS!

Law

Of

The

Spirit

What does that look like … and what does it NOT look like?  A few examples of each:

  • The Pharisees as they stood in judgement and arrogance DID NOT have LOTS.  They were more worried about rules than God.  Certainly men who follow LOTS would display LOVE, GENEROSITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS.  (Matthew 12:34)
  • The Prodigal Son as his brother returned home DID NOT have LOTS.  He was ungrateful.  Certainly a man who follows LOTS would display GRATITUDE.  (Luke 15:11-32)
  • The Cripple At The Pool DID NOT have LOTS.  He was a victim to the point where Jesus said “do you want to get well?”  Certainly a man who follows LOTS would display ALACRITY.  (John 5:1-15)
  • The Woman At The Well DID NOT have LOTS.  She was trapped in shame which produced … more shame.  Certainly a woman who follows LOTS would display FREEDOM.  (John 4:1-42)
  • Paul The Legalistic Jew DID NOT have LOTS.  He was full of hatred, vengeance, and defending a system, not God.  Certainly a man who follows LOTS would display GRACE AND FORGIVENESS.  (Acts 9:3-9)
  • Paul The Missionary Had LOTS.  He was so full of LOTS that he basically told his handlers:  “imprison me, torture me, or kill me … those are your 3 options.”  And when you choose one I can guarantee you this:  GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED.  Certainly a man who follows LOTS will GLORIFY GOD.  (Philippians 1:20-26)
  • Abraham The Father Had LOTS.  He was so full of LOTS that he told he left his home and moved a city across a desert with no knowledge of where he was going.  Certainly a man who follows LOTS will SURRENDER EVERYTHING. (Genesis 12:1)

Do you have LOTS operating over you?

What in the blazes could you possibly gain from having it?

LOTS

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

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546 Disclosure

As I watched the movie Disclosure Day I could not help but notice the absolute desire to “find the truth” … the desire to finally “be free” … to “make sense of it all” … and so on.

A bit of advice:  NEVER look to Hollywood or social media for guidance.  It would be as my dad would say “the blind leading the blind”.

I doubt that I will ever be able to meet Steven Spielberg.  Undoubtedly, he is an incredible film maker.  Creative.  Inspiring.  Intelligent.  But I would have to ask him if he knows the King of the Universe.

And, to be honest, I would ask anyone on planet earth that question.  Because if we are going to get into philosophical theories and perspectives, we have to consider the ONLY thing that can save us.  And, to be honest, this is the only Disclosure that we should be pushing.

John 1 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  12 Yet to all who did receive 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.

A guy named Chuck Missler wrote some incredible books and produced some amazing information on the Bible, and some 25 years ago, or more, I read his book on aliens and spiritual forces of the cosmos.  Without focusing on that, I would just say that he saw this coming from a mile away.  And perhaps God put on his heart to reveal it.

But to all who read this blog today, I want to say this:

Our hope is NOT something that we should constantly seek.

Our hope is certainly NOT found in worldly things.

And our Hope is NOT found in enlightenment.

OUR HOPE is found in Jesus.

It is found in receiving Him.

It is found in the presence of the King of the Universe.

2000 years ago God disclosed a plan to all of us.

And now, more than ever, we need to Disclose it to the rest of the planet.

  • God Created
  • We Rebelled
  • He Gave Us Over To Our Own Pursuits
  • Our Pursuits Do Not Work
  • Jesus Offers Us A New Hope

And I want to finish with this:

If I see an alien, or a spaceship, or a giant man, or a monster, or some intimidating spiritual entity, or a witch, or anything else … I am going to cry out to Jesus.  Yes, I am going to ask the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to come and save me and all of my family.  If He asks me to confront something, I am going to pray to God that I have the courage to do so … but even if I don’t …

He Is and He Will

He … Is Our ONLY Hope

Praise You Jesus.

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

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545 There Was Jesus

As I was driving to school this morning … this song came on.

And I couldn’t help but raise my hands to the heavens to rejoice.

God is so so so Good.

I am a sitting duck for Hell.  An all star sinner with so many shortcomings and so much wrong that I sometimes don’t know where to start.

And yet … I am free to step forward in worship.  I am free to cry out for help.  I am free to ask him “why”?  And I am free to be his prodigal son—broken, starving, and out of money.

And there He is.

Our lives are so short.

Our pursuits are so often futile.

Our dreams are sometimes more important than they should be or so misguided.

And yet … He cares.

Raise your hands up and rejoice.

The God of the universe tore the veil, paid the fine, and took a trip to the pits of Hell so that He could stomp on the devil’s head … for you … and for me.

And that, my friends, is all we need to know.

Romans 5 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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

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543 Who Are You?

I am sure that transonic buffeting prevented us from breaking the sound barrier. In the world of jets, this is a technical term for the shaking that takes place as a jet approaches the speed of sound.

Certainly, this phenomena turned many pilots away from “going for it”.

In life it is no different, and we have a great description of it in scripture:

When Jesus was about to walk into His ministry, He was taken into the wilderness.

Matthew 4 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

No food.

No water.

And the voice of evil calling out all He knew to be true.

“If you are the Son of God” …

How dare him.

How dare him take my best friend out into the wilderness to treat Him as such.

But this is the story of Christ.

His willingness, His offer … His amazing desire to make us right caused Him to leave all that was comfortable in order that we might have life.

Today, on May 13, I ask you the question:

Who Are You?

Because the answer to this question is going to be challenged and attacked by the devil himself.

Are you about to do something amazing?

Or start something new?

Or be the difference in a community?

Are you in celebration mode as you have accomplished something great?

Because all of these put you in great position to be challenged by Transonic Buffeting

You see, God has a plan.

But Satan also has one.  And in some perverted act of spiritual influence he would love to shake you out of moving forward into your destiny.  And he will do anything he can to accomplish it.

As you think about your future, I want you to think about such things. Because the enemy wants to challenge you as you move forward.  And these are things you should think about:

  • he will attack you in your weakness
  • he will attack you in your strength
  • he will attack you when your flesh is weak
  • he will attack you when you are down
  • And, more than anything else, we need to acknowledge that Jesus told Peter how dangerous he truly was … and that he has come to steal, kill, and destroy

Knowing this is important.

And knowing what Jesus did is vital.

He knew who He was.

He knew the Word and answered every challenge with scripture.

He knew what the truth was and was quick to identify half truths.

And He was courageous enough to walk forward in faith.

So today, is a great day to ask the question:

Who Are You?

Because if you know who you are in Jesus … 

Satan will not win the battle you are facing … and the shaking will stop as you move forward into your destiny.

I wish it were this easy … but the reality is that tomorrow … he will try to shake something else.

Fight well my friend.

And bring Jesus with you.

You will need Him.

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

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