Exodus 211 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Nathanael just wanted to be noticed.
John 148 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
The leper did not want to be broken anymore.
Matthew 82 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
Nicodemus knew at the heart of his ministry that he was misguided.
John 3 3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
And like all of these situations, we are all facing surrender. Our reality is this:
Sooner Or Later We Are All Going
To Have To Surrender To Something
Inadequate.
Unnoticed.
Broken.
Misguided.
What is your story?
If you are like me, it is a long laundry list of obstacles.
But the reality for all of us is this:
We can surrender to Jesus or lose to the rest.
And our surrender is not a detriment.
It is the greatest option that we could ever have.
So cry out to the King of the Universe … And give everything you have to Him. He is worthy.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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There are few things greater than the power of choice. We get to CHOOSE. We can choose what fades away, or we can choose what lasts FOREVER. We can choose something that FILLS OUR HEARTS and something that FILTERS out the pollutants that we encounter every day. In our choice, we get PROTECTION, PROVISION, and VISION.
Today … I CHOOSE it. And I encourage you to CHOOSE it too.
The Word of God gives us CHOICE
Luke 1128 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The Word of God lasts FOREVER
Isaiah 408 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Matthew 2435 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The Word of God FILLS OUR HEARTS
Colossians 316 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
The Word of God FILTERS
2 Timothy 316 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
John 1717 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
The Word of God PROTECTS
Hebrews 4 12For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The Word of God PROVIDES
Matthew 44 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
The Word of God SEES
Psalm 119105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
The bottom line is this: Our lifeblood. Our hope. Our very existence is tied to this word and this God.
Thank you Jesus.
And as Peter spoke out to you:
“Lord, where would I go? You ALONE hold the keys to eternal life.”
Amen and Amen.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Jesus is seeking you out in the same way that He sought out a rejected woman at a well some 2000 years ago.
And when you understand this very important truth, you understand that you are saved for a purpose.
John 4
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.
6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. ) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” 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.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
18 Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ ?”
30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
My point of emphasis on this passage of scripture is NOT about the fact that Jesus cut the humanistic ties with racism, misogyny, elitism, economic class, religious rules, and every other item that we, as humans, have created … Even though it could be.
My point of emphasis on this passage of scripture is NOT about forgiveness for all … Even though it could be.
My point of emphasis on this passage of scripture is NOT about the fact that Jesus claimed to be God … Even though it could be.
My point of emphasis on this passage of scripture is NOT about Jesus being the LIVING WATER … Even though it could be.
My point of emphasis is this:
YOU, just like the woman at the well, are saved for a purpose.
So if you lack Purpose, then check in with Jesus and connect with Him in a deeper way … because when He saves you He gives you purpose.
And if you are in need of saving, cry out to Him to be your Savior … He is worthy to save. And He has such a great purpose for you.
He is worthy … and He wants to put something on your life that is bigger than anything you could ever imagine or even ask for.
YOU … were saved for a purpose.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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The Bible calls all of us as believers to many things.
And one of them is to be: Above Reproach
As we read below:
1 Timothy 31 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
There are many things in this verse that we must read:
Faithful
Temperate
Self-Controlled
Respectable
Hospitable
Able To Teach
Not Given To Drunkenness
Not Violent But Gentle
Not Quarrelsome
Not A Lover Of Money
Must Manage His Family Well
Must Have A Good Reputation
Now, if you are A Recent Convert … what I have to say now is not for you. You are to seek God, and pray, and learn His word, and meet with other SOLID BELIEVERS, and grow in your faith.
But most of us … we grow out of that … and now it is time to step up and do the very thing that that verse above requires. It is time for us to walk into the calling that God has for us. As a coach, I would say: “Get Your Butt Going!”
You Are Called To Greater Things
Do not underestimate your influence, do not downplay it, and do not lazily disregard it. Walk into your calling!
1 Peter 2 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
This Is Not An Optional Mandate
He calls us to ministry. It is not our job to “regulate” the pastor. We are not to sit in the back pew and say “he needs to do this and this and this …” Nonsense. We are to stand up and lead. Start your ministry today, or at least tomorrow or Monday or have a plan. And aim big! The world is full of the lost.
Matthew 2818 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 ” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Gold Standard
Follow the playbook in your ministry. The playbook is written in your Bible. And Jesus … He is the Gold Standard.
Proverbs 173 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
So yes,
Be Above Reproach
Be:
Faithful
Temperate
Self-Controlled
Respectable
Hospitable
Able To Teach
Not Given To Drunkenness
Not Violent But Gentle
Not Quarrelsome
Not A Lover Of Money
Must Manage His Family Well
But then what?
Get Your Butt Going!!
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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One of the greatest verses in the Bible is Genesis 50:20.
After getting sold into slavery, falsely accused, thrown into prison, and then promoted to Governor of Egypt, Joseph’s life comes full circle.
And the grace of God falls onto his brothers in an incredible way as he tells them:
Genesis 50 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
In an incredible story of what God does…redemption…Joseph’s life saves an estimated 70 Israelites and a million people. And Joseph’s ability to move past what happened and forgive is incredibly significant.
Slavery. Slander. Prison. When we get in a tough situation, a trial, or we are simply trying to fight through things, we must ask?
Where Is My Focus?
When David walked up on the Goliath situation, he heard from everyone about the giant. Goliath. Goliath. Goliath. But David was not focused on Goliath, nor the weapons that they used to fight. He was focused on God. And God gave David a weapon that was far greater than what Goliath had. The sling that God had him use to fight wolves and lions was far greater than anything Goliath could bring.
Where Is My Focus? It should be on God … not the giant. Because God has the weapons we need to defeat the giant.
What Will You Get There?
Hope … and Faith. Hebrews 11 says that Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what you do not see. Hope is one of the most important things we can have. When our hope is not there, our thoughts go in the wrong direction. But hope gives us the motivation to get up and walk, to move forward, to begin to dream.
What Will You Get There? Hope … And Faith Is Being Sure Of What You Hope For.
God is bigger than the walls in front of us.
He is bigger than our failures and our mistakes.
He is bigger than our mortality.
Jesus Christ became one of us so that we could know that He has walked in our shoes, that He has been tempted, and that He has experienced loss.
And we can hold on to this promise … that what was intended to harm us God can use for good.
WALK in the covering of Jesus … His love never fails.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As I drove home from a meeting with an incredible man today, I was convicted in my car and I believe God put this thought on my heart:
“The Bible IS NOT a boot.”
Amen.
The Bible should never be used to kick someone, to hurt someone, to drive a point home.
It is NOT OUR PLACE.
I am saved by the grace of a God who loves me too much to let me die in the midst of my sin … and my sin is great.
Thankfully I say to you … “My God is not done with me yet!”
Wow, that feels so good to say:
“My God is NOT DONE with me yet!”
In a world of darkness and evil and falling short, I am the greatest of these … the pride, and unforgiveness, and impurity, and vengeance, and hard-heartedness that can well up in me is beyond description. And it is destructive. And yet, I can find it, and identify it, in me. In God’s love letter written to all of us, for this day, on January 28, 2025, Paul said it best:
1 Timothy 1 15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Bible Is NOT A Boot.
Because if it were, I would be getting kicked in the face right now by a God who could kick me a good distance. But that is not His way. And as I meditate on that verse above today, I am so grateful. For I am “the Chief of sinners” and I would be happy to argue with Paul about it.
And chances are … you are “the Chief of sinners” too.
And so what does God tell us to do?
How are we to introduce others to Jesus?
How can we properly communicate this gospel?
Here are a few thoughts:
The Bible is a Message Of Reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 518 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Bible is a message of love:
John 3 16For 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.
The Bible is a message of our need to have a Savior:
Romans 8 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
The Bible is a lot of things.
It is a book of instruction.
It is a book of wisdom.
It is a book of history.
It is a book of LOVE and GRACE and FORGIVENESS …
It is a book about Jesus.
There are a lot of ways to describe it.
But one thing that it is not: The Bible Is NOT A Boot
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As I turned on Chris Tomlin this morning, I was taken aback. What a song … and what a moment … a whole crowd crying out to Jesus. His mighty hand on our lives is ALL THAT WE HAVE.
Perhaps you might listen to it as you read this word?
Let me say this again: He is ALL THAT WE HAVE.
The verse on my heart yesterday and today is no cliche’. It’s not a guide … or a map … or some lucky word.
God is not lucky. He is not our rabbit’s foot. And He isn’t passively waiting for us to “get through it”. Our God, in all forms, is all about being for us.
Jeremiah 29 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
The choices He gives us have lead to our demise. They lead to Adam’s demise and EVERYONE else’s. But this is not a mistake. Without a choice, without our ability to say yes or to say no, there can be no love.
Our trials are not on Him. They are not Him trying to test us or to punish us or to paint us into a corner. Our trials are the result of choice and the sin we live in. Nothing more. Nothing less.
And for us to think that the world will somehow fill us is a lie from the pits of hell.
And to this conundrum there is no human answer: We have made a mess.
And when we fall into that mess it is, simply, what happens. And so it goes.
Thank God for the gospel.
When we wallow and sit in our hole with no hope … Here comes Jesus. And He comes in the form of the Holy Spirit or another believer who would dare tell us what we sometimes won’t hear from God.
He has a plan
He wants to bless us … and give us a future
He wants us to thrive
This is not easy … but we must FIGHT both for ourselves and for each other. When the mountain before us is too big …
We must ask God to resurrect HOPE inside of us, get up, and walk forward.
This is not easy.
It requires us to stand up and to move forward.
It might require us to change our situation.
We might have to change our mindset.
It might be an act of faith that God is simply moving us to a new season of life.
“For I know the plans I have for you,”
But whatever it is, we must grab on to this Jeremiah 29 word and get up.
If you are in this place, cry out for HOPE, because HOPE is the rocket fuel for Faith, and Faith is the rocket fuel for walking up that mountain that we see in front of us.
Because without Him, we can never ascend.
And ascending to worship Jesus is the only thing that can truly make us whole again.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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When my father died many years ago I could not stop myself from crying … And then I encountered a vision of him in church one Sunday. He was in heaven, he was happy, and he was where he wanted to be. From that moment, the STING of losing him was gone.
There will be many times where we will legitimately cry tears of pain and anguish and despair.
Surely God has something more … In fact, we know that He has more … And so I say:
“Cry At A Wedding”
In both of these verses, God’s elect cry in joy for who He is or what He has given them:
Jeremiah 31 9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
Luke 738 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.
What I recommending is not just to cry tears when we are sad … but to never forget to cry tears of joy:
As I watched Caden Wach tearfully await his soon-to-be bride come down the aisle, I was prompted by God to “cry at a wedding”.
I knew exactly what God wanted me to share out on my 2 minute warning.
When I drop my kids at the airport, I cray all the way to I-25. I am so proud of them and I love them so much.
When my daughter Jordan came around the corner for her last 4×400 relay and she “displayed incredible courage and unselfishness”, I was proud of her beyond what I could possibly say, and I cried on the corner at Jeffco Stadium.
When Teagan Malcom, the 300 meter hurdler that I “got to coach”, ran the greatest race I have ever seen, I cried at the finish line, again, at Jeffco Stadium.
For me, it happens in locker rooms, on football fields, at track stadiums, when I am with my family, and in worship of our living King.
God has given us tears for a reason … and not always for when we are sad …
And so I say …
Cry At A Wedding
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Since 1993, I have had the pleasure of dealing cards at After Prom, the all night event at the school to give our kids something to do that can add to their prom experience.
It isn’t perfect, but it is amazing. And it is something that is very fun to be a part of.
As a Blackjack dealer I have a great view of how the game works. Though some students stack and win and restack and can break the bank, they don’t realize that even this move is impossible in a real casino. They put a min and a max on each table with the numbers in mind. In order to win a lot, they have set up the table so that you have to lose a lot. No one can win and restack because they simply won’t allow it.
And the rest of the time? It is a bludgeoning. As the dealer, I deal and hit hands that break them and then square off against the survivors. They win half of those encounters and I slowly move around the table and collect the money.
It is a “A Game You Can Never Win”.
Viewing his life, I have to wonder if this very thought went to the mind of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.
Luke 1512 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
Sometimes we rebel because we are just wild. And sometimes we do it so that we can get that BIG WIN. And in doing so, we devalue our very being and squander our lives.
The perspective that “we can never win” is a real one. The enemy has us trapped in a world where our future is painted in gloom.
No amount of money or fame or success or luck will change it. Our future is sealed. And all of us can see it.
But with Jesus?
We have the greatest future we could ever dream of.
Our lack of understanding does not change the reality of heaven:
Heaven will make this world the “dream state”. It will be more real than anything that we see here.
Our senses will be heightened … tastes and smells … beauty … music … love … nothing will be comparable.
The government? It will be ruled by the Savior of our soul and He will rule without rival or question — not because He is all powerful, but because He would be elected even if we did vote.
Money, Fame, Victory … all of these will be given to us in the highest measure–and yet no one will be on the losing side of them.
These things are known by Don Piper, who died and spent forty five minutes in the kingdom, only to return and tell his wife and kids that he “wished he was dead”.
Although I am glad that I have not told those I love that, I have to think that Don Piper experienced just a taste of what God has prepared for those who love Him.
Do not entertain the thought that you are playing a game that you can’t win. This is not how God has called you to live.
He also has not called you to live on the other side of that, conquering and winning in every arena … that leads to the same outcome.
The enemy has a plan for our lives. And it is easy to get sucked into it. His realm is a place where sons take inheritances while other sons sit at home bitter. It is a place where living beneath ourselves is encouraged and then condemned. It is a place where friends disappear when the money is gone and loyalty is replaced by comradery and an “us against them” mentality.
Let’s purpose not to do it.
It is a game we can never win.
Jesus said that He was the Way and the Truth and the Life. Let’s do that. It puts the ownership of winning on Him.
And He only loses when it redeems those He loves.
That’s a King I can follow.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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2 MINUTE WARNING 