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WITH DOUG JOHNSON

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566 The Direction We Go

There is nothing more important than the direction we go.  And as a young kid in Sunday School I very much missed that with Abram.

But today, it makes all the sense in the world.

When God said “pack up … and go that way”, Abram obeyed and did just that.

And when Abram did that, God gave him a new name.

Today, that story makes so much sense to me.

We don’t know where we are going, yet we often times run to go there.

It makes no sense.

Some of my days, I am in a hurry to go … yet don’t know where I am going.

I believe that this is why Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, called out life to be “meaningless” … “chasing after the wind”.

And yesterday, I read it again in Proverbs:

Proverbs 14 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 

Paul found this out on the road to Syria.  In a hurry to go gather up and punish those followers of Jesus, he met … Jesus.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

Peter found this out as Jesus was being beaten in an unfair trial.  He had come to conquer the wrong kingdom.  He wanted the Roman Kingdom, God wanted MUCH MORE.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

Charles Colson found this out as he went to prison for being a lawyer for President Nixon.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

And I too have found this out.  My laundry list of mistakes goes on and on and on …

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

I write this to remind all of us … we have goals and aspirations and families and friends … and we have bills to pay and hours to work and stress to deal with.

But as we do these things we have to constantly, and without shame, check our direction.  Because the direction we go … means everything.

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.”

And the direction where the Son goes?  That leads to LIFE.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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565 It Is Well With My Soul

When man gets the wrong thing in his head, he can actually stop the very plans of God Almighty.

And the men in Numbers 13 did just that.  

AFTER He told them to go into the land.

AFTER He brought them out of slavery.

AFTER He fed them in a land with no food.

And AFTER He had destroyed the greatest army in the world and saved them from certain death … they still doubted … and complained.

Numbers 13 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

But the reality is this:  Those people still had to fight giants.  They still had to face Anak.  They still had to be like “grasshoppers” in their own eyes.

They just had to do it out in the wilderness.

It is too bad that they didn’t listen to Joshua and Caleb.  Because Joshua and Caleb were listening to the right voice.  And … they told the other voices, those of men and in mind and spirit, to SHUT UP.

Are you telling those voices to SHUT UP?

It is hard to do, maybe even impossible to do, if your ears are shut to God.

Let me remind you of a few things:

  1.  Don’t judge those men who cowered down.  You’ve done it.  I’ve done it.  Anybody with a brain and some good old fashioned common sense has done it.
  2.  Remember your destiny:  To live, to die, and to be punished in the pits of Hell with an enemy who is waiting to devour your very soul.
  3.  And remember what Jesus did.  At just the right time, He showed up in a temple in Jerusalem and executed the only ONE MAN RIOT in the history of the world.  Anybody can jump in with an angry mob and wreak havoc.  But I hope to some day view the footage of one man doing that to a group.

Your life has many challenges if it is like mine.  As I go to think about and list them, I become overwhelmed.

But here’s the Truth:  It Is Well With My Soul

And that’s because Jesus has me.

He has the giants in front of me.

He has the enemy that surrounds me.

He has said that the gates of Hell will not prevail.

He has told me that I am forgiven.

And He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

So whatever it is that chooses to oppose me this day I say:  

“Do Your Worst”

Because the God I serve is mighty to save and the earth I walk on is His footstool.

John 3:16 says it best:

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.

Amen.  Amen.  And Amen.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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564 To Him Who Overcomes

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

Jesus cares about us when we are down.

He cares when we have lost hope.

And He cares when we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I woke up this morning with a song in my heart.  

I Will Rise … By Chris Tomlin

And I am convicted today that I am to release this word.

Cry out to Jesus.

Ask for His help.

Ask Him to help you overcome.

And know that He will answer.

Jesus tells us:

Revelation 3 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, 

He values our ability to fight.

And He wants to use that ability for His glory.

And He knows that we will need it when we encounter the enemy of the saints.

Revelation 12 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

As you enter into this day, do not shrink back.

Do not give up on your dreams.

Do not allow the enemy to have any part of your headspace.

Remember:  “If God is for you … who can be against you?”

Remember:  Jesus said that “in this world you will have trouble … but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Remember that in His final moments on the cross, He drew a breath and declared “it is paid in full”.

And remember that He gives those who overcome the right to sit on His throne.

Crank up the volume up on this song and cry out to Jesus.

He will never let you down.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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563 Live Remain Go Overcome … Repeat

As I sat and reflected and prayed this weekend, I couldn’t help but wonder:  “What should we do as followers of Jesus?

LIVE

REMAIN

GO

OVERCOME

…

REPEAT

LIVE

LIVE … as a child of God: 

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.

We are God’s children.  And as a child of God—we are free.  This is not to say that we are instantly sinless.  We are sinless because we are His sons and daughters.

REMAIN

REMAIN … in Him

John 15 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Connection to God is our only way.  It is the way we are to live and the only way to survive.

GO

GO … and make disciples of all nations

Matthew 18 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are to GO.  Our God is calling us to GO and spread the gospel to the lost and to the broken.  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!  That’s news for everyone we see.

OVERCOME

OVERCOME … by the blood of the Lamb and testimony

Revelation 12 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

As we encounter opposition, we should never forget this.  We are broken people who are sitting ducks for Hell.  But God has us!  His love is over us and His blood saves us!  And we are to testify to His goodness in all things.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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560 He Is Enough

David understood the following verse by doing what many of us would call “the dirty work”.  While his brothers took on the greater jobs, David “tended” to the sheep.  And while not advertised, protecting helpless animals from predators is dangerous work.  And in his down time, he grew in his faith by pursuing the Living God.

Philippians 4 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

When David approached the battlefield to bring food to his brothers, he was equipped.  And the shocking thing about the entire situation is this:  Was David the only one asking God to help him?  Because if he was, it is truly indicative of what we live in today.

We run through the rat race and we are actually too busy to even ask for help.  I know that for me this is definitely the case.

Today … as we look at how important everything seems to be, let us not forget what is truly important.  Because what’s truly important is that we ask God to help us defeat the giants in our lives … many of them we do not even think about.

As you do this today, follow another action of David:  Declare God’s Glory.  He writes about it in the 23rd Psalm.

Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.    5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David declares who God is … and knowing Who God is tells us:

  • Who we are praying to
  • What we are praying for
  • Where we are as we pray
  • When to pray
  • Why we are praying

In all these things, we can defeat Fear, and Ungratefulness, and 

Inadequacy, and ANYTHING ELSE that stands in opposition to God as He works out His plan in our lives.

Yes we are sinners.

But He is enough.

And He came to set the the captives free … So ask Him to help.

He Is Enough

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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559 Strong Shameless And Called

Stay Aligned and Strong, Reject Shame, Walk Into Your Calling

Even though our world is different, Paul understood what we go through even today.

The world always reminds us why we say “thy Kingdom come” when we say the Lord’s prayer.  His Kingdom is where we want to be, and we spend a good deal of our time trying to make our kingdom like His Kingdom.  We will never fully succeed in this endeavor.

Our hope is in seeking the King of that Kingdom.

This weekend, I was convicted to write this today:  

Stay Aligned and Strong

Reject Shame

Walk Into Your Calling

Here are four things to think about as you face the day, the week, the month, or even the year.

#1.  We live in a world that values RESULTS.  Not always RESULTS that work for all, but RESULTS THAT WORK FOR ME.  And the me culture is so hard to deal with.  It celebrates only victories and rejects all failures.  The shame, the condemning, the desire to be the best are constantly in our face.  Remember what Paul said:

Romans 8 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

TRUTH NUMBER ONE

We Are Free In Christ Jesus

When we don’t “feel” free, we are called to reconnect with Him, to cry out, to pray, to worship, and to reset our feet on solid ground.

#2.  We live in a world of comradery.  Groups come together over a common enemy and work together to destroy their enemy, and then they find new comrades.

Romans 8 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

TRUTH NUMBER TWO  

We Are In Covenant With God 

He isn’t our “fair weather” friend.  He is our friend for all seasons and all things.  And in Covenant, we have a friend who will die for us who is INVITING US to call Him “Dad”.  We have the Spirit of sonship.

#3.  We are surrounded by challenges, and roadblocks, and setbacks, and our own selfishness.  Today goes well … tomorrow wakes up to problems.

Romans 8 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

TRUTH NUMBER THREE  

God Has A Plan

And as we strive and fight and look to do our very best, we have to remember:  If It ISN’T Good, He’s not done yet.  Thank God that He is working for good…that allows me to step back and seek to walk in His purpose.

#4.  Our enemies and evil seem to win … a lot.

Romans 8 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

TRUTH NUMBER FOUR  

We Are Conquerors

Our enemies will soon be gone.  And the Bible tells us that we are not just Conquerors, we are MORE than Conquerors.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but we are in a spiritual war with entities that we sometimes cannot see OR understand.  But here is the truth:  We are More Than Conquerors through Him who loves us.

Stay Aligned.

Stay Strong.

Reject Shame.

Walk Into Your Calling.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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558 The YHWH

The table was set for freedom. 

Moses was in the palace.  He was placed in the perfect position to free the slaves.  But, like all men, when we have freedom we get to make choices …

Exodus 2 11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” 14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”  15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian …

I have to think that the Hebrew people did not just feel like they lost a prince … they lost a promise.  I have to think that when Moses fled for Midian he took all of the hope that they had of gaining freedom.

How often does God set our lives in motion with the very intention of giving us freedom … and we walk into trouble as Moses did?

I love the name YHWH.  Because in my pronunciation of it, it ends in “way”.  Jesus gives us something that we can not have without Him.  A Way.  And without a way, we have no direction.  And before long, we are snapping, like Moses did, and acting in ways that will not even be acceptable to those who do not know Him.

In the attached worship song, I think it says it best:

I Won’t Forget

The Wonder Of How You Brought

Deliverance …

The Exodus Of My Heart

You Found Me

You Freed Me

Held Back The Waters For My Release

John saw this after Jesus left our midst.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

Thank God that He loves us too much to leave us enslaved.

With YHWH, we have a Way.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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557 The End Of It

John 4 4 Now he had to go through Samaria.

When Jesus chose to walk to a well and meet a rejected Samaritan woman, He was making a statement.

And it is a statement that we would do well to adopt today.

He was crossing out every possible human divider.  He was not the least bit concerned about religion, culture, race, class, or even optics.

Not only was Jesus’ decision unpopular, it was a ministry killing choice for anyone who wanted to be a teacher.  And that is just the point.

Matthew 1 23 … and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

He came, truly, to set the captives free.

He came to save the sinner.

And He came to cross out all of our reasons to be divisive or hateful or judgemental.

I find it amazing that some would call followers of Jesus racially or politically biased or tilted.

It is just the opposite.

John 4 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” … 

21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem … 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

As we walk through our day, let us remember this:  Jesus dropped everything to meet with one broken soul.

It was a decision that would cast doubt on everything He stood for that mattered in the eyes of man.

But for you … it was the very decision that would save your soul from the pits of Hell.

Come And Meet The Man Who Told Me Everything I Ever Knew

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

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556 LORD, How Do I Get Through This?

David had faced the giant.

He had overcome his fear and literally cut the head off of the enemy’s Greatest Champion Warrior.

And it had led him to this very moment.

All he could do was beg God to save him.

Psalm 10 1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?  2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.  3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.  4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.  5 His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.  6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”  He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

Cornered.  Terrified.  And certainly wondering why he had been put in this position, David hid in a cave as Saul purposed to end David’s life and strip away the divine favor that David had built.

And God would provide his chance.  Saul wandered into the very cave where David hid.  Vulnerable and positioned as a sitting duck, David’s chance to strike down Saul was right in front of him.  It was the logical thing to do.  And David was poised to do it.

But God had convicted a man who did not act in fear, but in faith.  And in his faith David put God ahead of his own desires.

David’s actions followed God … not his own heart’s desires.

1 Samuel 24 5 Afterward, David was conscience- stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. 

What a story.

The legend of the Warrior King grows the more you look into it.

And yet, this Warrior King is nothing more than a sinful man, as we find out in reading about his fall from grace due to his choices with Bathsheeba.

But that’s just it.

God isn’t looking for Perfect.

He is not looking for Flawless.

And He is not looking for Glorious.

Those are the descriptions only applicable to Jesus.

And we can thank God that we are not called to anything but Him.  Because in our pursuit of being God’s own, we would simply crumble in the face of evil, just like David.

Our pursuits and endeavors are not directed to be perfect.

They are not supposed to be without blemish.

They are required to be REAL.

Jesus uses the phrase “depart from me, I never knew you” in Matthew 7 and Luke 13 because we are required to be vulnerable before God.  Not perfect.  Vulnerable.

And REAL.

As David spoke to God in Psalm 10, he was REAL.  He worshipped, he celebrated, he questioned, he begged, and he cried out in all the ways that he could.

And he found that by walking with God, he would get through 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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