So much of the Old Testament is hard to read. Blessings and Curses … and a lot of rules. But only if you read it without considering who wrote it.

John 1 says “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God from the beginning”

Let me say this again: He was with God from the beginning.

Yes. Jesus. He was with God from the beginning.

So let’s read this through those glasses:

Deuteronomy 28 ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

As you move forward in your life, God wants to bless you as you arrive and when you leave.

What a promise!

Now certainly we need to read one small verse and seek to understand it by putting it in context with the entire passage and the entire book. At the beginning of Deuteronomy 28 it says:

Deuteronomy 28 ¹ If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

IF. IF we fully obey.

Certainly God is not asking us to be perfect. Noah found favor in his eyes. So did David. So did Abraham. And ALL of them made major mistakes that made them far from perfect.

In reading this in context, I think His point is for us to do each of these items:

Trading Pride For Repentance

Proverbs 16 ¹⁸ “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”

Trading Religion For Worship/Devotion

1 Samuel 13 ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Realizing The Magnitude Of Our Forgiveness

1 Timothy 1 ¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

In these three things, we have a chance … to receive the promise of Deuteronomy 28:6.

Deuteronomy 28 ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

So I encourage you this very day to raise your hands to the heavens and cry out the Living God … to thank Him for loving you beyond your sin. He is worthy of our praises. He is greater than our sins. And He is certainly worthy to save.

And that makes you, and me, Blessed …

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Coach J

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 7 ³⁸ and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

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.

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

Coach J

2 MINUTE WARNING

WITH DOUG JOHNSON

Tag

joy

491 Blessed …

1 Timothy 1 ¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

468 Cry At A Wedding

2 MINUTE WARNING

WITH DOUG JOHNSON

Tag

joy

491 Blessed …

1 Timothy 1 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

468 Cry At A Wedding

1 Timothy 1 ¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.