The Parable of the Laborers

After I gave a message on this parable at Living Truth Christian Fellowship, a few people suggested I turn it into a blog posting on Coaches Corner. This is one of a few important lessons learned in this parable. I hope you are blessed by it. You might want to have your Bible open to follow along:

We begin in Matt 20:1, "For the kingdom of heaven is like(whenever you see this phrase, you know that Jesus is teaching us how it works in God's economy as opposed to the system of this
world) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard." Keep in mind as we follow the story that the word used for landowner really denotes a person who has complete authority. Notice that the first group he hires has signed on for an agreed upon salary. A denarius is similar to what a penny is for us, or at least used to be. It represented a normal
day's
wage at this time. "About the third hour (9am) he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." Notice the difference here. The beginning of verse 5 says they went, but they went without any idea of what they would get paid! Apparently they trusted the master to be fair with them.

Matt 20:5-7 "He went out again about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3pm) and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour (5pm, one hour until end of day) he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' "Because no one has hired us,' they answered."He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard." This whole scenario kind of reminds me of when I go to Lowe's on a Saturday morning and on the way, the day laborers are waiting for someone to give them work. It is worth noting that the last three groups had three things in common. One, they were basically doing nothing. Two, they agreed to work, not knowing what they would get paid. Three, it was the master's desire to give them purpose. Let's read the rest of the story.

Matt 20:8-16 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first. The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Now, let's be honest. How many of us would feel like the men who were hired first and worked all day. All of a sudden, what we thought was a fair wage seems unfair because those who worked less got the same amount. There are some applications to be made here. Example: Have you ever noticed how today's professional athlete signs a giant contract worth millions of dollars, but as soon as a teammate signs for more, he becomes unhappy and wants a renegotiation of his contract? That's exactly what happened to these workers. He uses this parable then to teach an important and practical lesson. Look at the contrast between those who were contracted to work for a set fee and those who just trusted the master. Who had more joy in the outcome? Who received the greater blessing? The Lord is showing us that we are not to worry about what He is doing for others or comparing our lives with others

Living life in this worldly way will never lead to a joy or contentment .Comparing what we might get with what someone else gets, always leads to unhappiness. If you look back in Chapter 19, you will see how the disciples were talking about all that they left behind to follow Jesus? They were implying that it might not be fair. That maybe all they lost would not be worth it. They even asked what would be in it for them in the end. It is interesting that Jesus did not rebuke them for their selfish thought, but actually gave them some indication of their eternal reward. Look back at verse 28 of Chapter 19. "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. He goes on to say on verse 29,"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

Jesus taught Peter this same lesson in John Chapter 21. He starts out by asking Peter three times "Do you love me?" Let's pick up the story in verse 18, "I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Jesus is making the same point as in the parable Don't concern yourself with what I have in mind for others but do what I have called you
to do!

We can be content only in doing what we are called to do! That is what brings us great joy and fulfillment in this life. We know that we serve a master, who by His very nature is completely fair and just. We can be certain that however he rewards us, as it says in Ephesians 3:20, it will be more than we could ever ask or imagine. We should be like the workers who trusted that the Master to be fair. He loves us and has plans for us that are good, not evil l (Jer 29:1). Let's make it our goal to learn what God has called us individually to do and then be content doing it!

God bless, Coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True Humility

OK, I know what you're thinking. What can a former athlete and football coach possibly know about humility! Well, we often know the most about the area of our life that we struggle
with the most. The truth is that most people, who are involved in some type of leadership, are going to struggle with our pride and ego. In fact, I think that God specifically invented the game of golf just to keep me humble. Guess what, it worked!

I think that most people would say that humility is a good quality to have and yet in our society, it seems that self promotion is glorified. Look at some of the most popular reality shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and even Survivor. We see people on camera, bragging about how they are the best and will certainly win. If they don't do this, they are told that they don't have the amount of self confidence necessary to be successful. (By the way, I only know this because of the commercials; I don't really watch the shows) Is there a dichotomy in our culture, where we say that we value humility in a person, but in actuality, we look down such a person?

Well, no matter how the world looks at this, as Christians we need to see how God looks at it. Why is this an important topic? Look at what it says in both the book of James (4:6) and 1^st Peter (5:5). "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." It goes on to say in 1^st Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. That gets my attention, how about you? I want to know God's definition of humility and ask Him to make me that kind of person, don't you?

So what does the Bible say about humility and what qualities make up a humble person? I think that we often times have a wrong impression of what true humility is. If I were to ask you to describe the attributes of a humble person, what would you say? I think many people might list these characteristics:

1. Quiet, timid, thinking that their opinions are not as valuable as others
   
2. Always lets the other person have their way
   
3. Never talk about themselves
   
4. Thinks that everyone else is better than them at everything
   

Maybe you are thinking of other qualities as well. Go ahead and add them to this list. Maybe even think of a person that you know that defines the word humility for you. Here is how the dictionary defines the word humble;

1
: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2
: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission <a humble apology>
3 a
: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale :
insignificant

Let's see if these hold up in the light of scripture. In the Old Testament there are a few different words used to describe "the humble". They referred to people of low circumstances, poor, oppressed or afflicted but was often translated as "meek" in the King James. One particular verse though stands out to me. In 2^nd Chronicles 7:16, God says "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." In this case, the word is kana and it means, "To bend the knee". The idea here is that the children of Israel would bow and surrender their will to God's will and be in subjection to Him. I believe that this parallels what the New Testament teaches us about being humble.

The word used for humility in the Greek is tapeinophrisune. It is a compound of tapeinos (humiliated in circumstance or disposition) and phren (to rein in, specifically of the mind or cognitive faculties). This give us a little better understanding but to really know what a humble person looks like we must look to the perfect example of humility, Jesus Christ. Look at what it says in Phil 2:3-8

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

. Paul tells us that humility simply means not doing things out of selfish ambition, but considering others needs above our own, just the way our Savior did. He was a servant and we should have that same attitude, a servant's heart. But when we look at Jesus' life, did that mean He was always timid, never speaking up? Did He did never oppose anyone or tell people when they were wrong? Of course He did! Sometimes as a servant, it is necessary to speak the truth in love, as He often did to His disciples and even the leaders of Israel. Sometimes it is necessary to oppose forces of evil, just as He did when He drove the moneychangers out of the temple. You can't be timid and do that!

I believe that the key to being humble, as God certainly wants us to be, is not in personality traits, but in bowing our knee to God. We submit ourselves to Him and follow His will, as it says to do in the verse we read earlier, 1 Peter 5:6. We ask the Holy Spirit to give us a servant's heart and follow the example of Jesus. Then we can be free from a false humility, like that which Paul warns about in Col 3:23 and serve others the way He would have us serve. When we have the "mind of Christ," we then have true humility and take no credit for any service that we might render. We know that any good work is work done in the power of the Holy Spirit and all the glory goes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!

GAME PLAN:

1. Using a concordance, look up all the verses you can find with the words humble, humbled or humility in them. See if you can get a better understanding of what true humility is

2. In your prayer time, ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to be servant to someone that day and for the Holy Spirit to help you recognize it and give you the power to follow through

3. At the end of the day, reflect back on what happened. Was there an opportunity to be a servant? How did you respond? Thank the Lord for any victory you might have had. Ask and receive forgiveness for any failure. Praise Him for His love and goodness to you!

4 Try doing this each day for one week. See what God does!

God Bless you, Coach

 

 

 

 

 

Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do!

Sorry, old coaching cliché's die hard. Whenever my teams went through rough patches of the season, we would try to encourage the players with this saying. Then I began to ask myself, is this statement really true? Do tough times always come to an end? Do only "tough" people make it through them? If it is a true statement, the Bible must certainly have something to say about it. Guess what, it does!

We know that the Bible teaches that all of us will go through trials and tribulations (Jn 16:33)…
"In this world you will have trouble"…We will have tough times in our lives. Not only that, but James says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James 1:2-4). Uh oh, you mean not only do we go through trials but we are supposed to be happy about it? Well, happy may not be the correct word but joy is. The word joy can be translated as cheerful, calmly happy or well off. But how can we possibly experience joy when we are suffering? I hope that I can help you with that question.

I have often asked the Lord, when going through one of those times, "Lord will this ever end?" Sound familiar? It is hard, when going through difficulty, to not want it to end quickly. Sometimes the trial may be physical, suffering through a particular disease. Other times it might be emotional, like going through financial struggles or divorce. Often times it is a spiritual trial, battling against a particular sin. We of course want these trials to end quickly because they can be so painful. Each of us has a different capacity to handle the type of trial we are in. Some people handle physical pain better than others. As an athlete, you are taught to "power through the pain" of minor injuries, so generally you can handle the physical pain. Other people don't always have that same threshold for physical pain but seem to be able to handle emotional situations better. These differences can be stressful because others may not understand why we have so much difficulty dealing with our circumstance and so they may not be very sympathetic towards us. That makes it even worse, because we think we are all alone in our trial. So, we just pray to get it over with and wonder if it's possible that this trial might never come to an end. So how do we possibly find any joy in these situations? One thing that I have found to be very helpful is to try to identify what the source of a particular trial is. The situation you find yourself in may have come from outside of you (the world), your own doing (the flesh) or the enemy of your soul (the devil). The reason that it is important to recognize the source is that your response should be different in each case. Let me show you what I mean.

In the book of John, Jesus and His disciples came upon a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind." A very interesting question since, if the man's sin caused him to be born blind, he must have sinned in the womb! Do you think maybe he kicked his mom too hard? Just asking. The reason they asked the question was because rabbinical teaching at the time said that sickness or disease was caused directly by someone's sin. Here was Jesus' answer, (John 9:3-4)"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. So we see in this case that this man's trial was not at all of his own doing. It really happened because we live in a fallen world that has diseases caused by the curse of original sin. But God had a plan to use what looked like a horrible situation, into a blessing, as Jesus healed the man and displayed God's great love for him. I'm sure this poor blind man needlessly spent much of his time in great distress believing that the blindness was his or his parents fault. That is why it is so important to identify the source of a trying situation.

Sometimes, the source of a trial is our own fault. We can ignore God's instruction, fall into sin and put ourselves into terrible trials. King David is a great example of this. In the book of 2^nd Samuel starting in chapter 11, you can read the story of David's adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband. The story begins by implying that David should have been off to war with his army but instead stayed home. Then, seeing the beautiful Bathsheba bathing, instead of turning away, he intentionally broke God's law by bringing her into the palace, sleeping with her, impregnating her and eventually sending her husband to the battle front where David knew he would be killed. He then married Bathsheba, but went through many family problems due to his sin. Though God would forgive him, he paid severe consequences for his sinful actions. The source of these trials was clearly his own actions.

Sometimes the trial can come from Satan himself. In Job chapter 1, we read that Satan asks for God's permission to take away all that Job had, to prove that Job only feared God because of His hedge of protection around him. Satan thought for sure that he could induce Job to curse God. As you follow the story you see that God allows Job to be tested in this way. Job loses everything, including his family but prevails in the trial, refusing to curse God. He even says "Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15). He knew that the source of his trial was not of his own doing and was able to trust in God, no matter how bad it got.

This is the key to being able to rejoice, though you may be going through a very difficult time. If the cause is something that is out of your control, don't try to blame yourself. Go to the Lord and ask him to fill you with His grace and see you through the trial. Rejoice, knowing that He has promised that He will do just that. Remember that you are building endurance that leads to your spiritual maturity.

If you recognize that your trial is of your own making, acknowledge that to God. Repent (turn from the sin that caused the situation and back towards God), and receive God's forgiveness. If you have received Jesus Christ as your savior He has already forgiven you, but your repentance leads to restoration of fellowship with Him. (1 John 1:9-10) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." As David did, you may still have to deal with the consequences of your sin, but you can rejoice, knowing that His love and grace are always with you.

As it says in Lam 3:19-33 "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust — there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love, for he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."

GAME PLAN: Read the book of Job in its entirety

If you are currently going through a trial, seek God to help you identify the source

Ask for God's wisdom in dealing with the trial

If your sin is the source of the trial, repent, receive forgiveness, and ask the Lord for His grace and direction in dealing with the consequences

Rejoice in the Lord! He loves you!

God bless you, Coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not of This World

I'm sure you have seen the bumper stickers with these words done in a very artistic way. When I first saw one, quite a few years ago, I wasn't sure if the car belonged to a Christian or someone who someone who believed in UFO's and alien beings. Well, maybe it's a little of both. You see, in a certain way, we are supposed to live on earth as an alien. I know it may sound strange, but it is true. The Bible teaches us that though we live in this world, we are not of this world. Look at these verses:

John 17:6 "I have revealed You to those whom you gave me out of the world."

John 17:14-17 "I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."

John 15:19-20 "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

You can see that Jesus made it clear that we are not "of this world". This begs us to answer a couple of questions. One, if we are not of this world, what world are we "of"? The second question would be, if we are not of this world, why are we here in it? Let's see if we can answer these questions.

Jesus gave us some clues about the world we, as believers are "of." John 17:24 says "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." So we know for sure that the world spoken of here, is one where Jesus is. We also are told that it is our heavenly Father's house, with lots of rooms.

John 14:2-4 "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." The Greek word for rooms literally means residences. We don't know for sure what that looks like but we know that Jesus prepared it for us. That sounds good enough for me! All this leads us to believe that our real home is heaven, the place where God the Father dwells and Jesus sits at his right hand.

The book of Revelation gives us some more insight on what goes on in our heavenly home. Read Rev 4:2-16, 5:11-14, 7:9-12 and15-17. These give us clues about the throne room of heaven and what takes place. There is however, another interesting thought about where our eternal home really is. If you look at Rev 21 you will notice that after the great white throne judgment takes place (the event where unbelievers are judged and sent to "the lake of fire"), the apostle John sees a "new heaven and earth" and a "new Jerusalem" where God will be with His people. This seems to be where we will live for eternity. We may not know what that looks like exactly, but there is some description in verses 10-27 and in Chapter 22. We do know that there will be no mourning, crying, death or destruction and that we will be with our Lord Jesus. How awesome that will be!

OK, on to the second question. Why did Jesus leave us in the world? Jesus answered that question in John 17:18 "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." He was speaking of His disciples specifically but then to us who would follow as well (v 20). He goes on to explain in verse 21 that the reason is, so that the world may believe that God the Father sent the son to show His love. So our main reason for being in the world is to show people the great love that God has for them as demonstrated by Jesus. Jesus showed God's love by giving His life for the world (John 3:16). While he was here on earth Jesus showed His love by healing the sick, casting out demons, even raising the dead. He gave up His life in every way imaginable to reconcile the world to Himself (Read Col 1:15-23).

The hardest part of all this, at least for me, is how to live in this world but not be of it. 1 John 2:15-17 says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." The world system has a way of luring us in, but the key to not allowing that to happen, is also contained in the verse. We can keep ourselves from getting too wrapped up in the world, by doing the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-3 says "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. So let us not spend our lives living for this world, but instead by the power of the Holy Spirit, seek to do His will.

GAME PLAN: Using a concordance, look up every verse that contains the phrase "will of God" or "God's will."This will help you to see what God's will is for all believers.

Many people want to know what God's particular will is for their life. I think that what they really mean is, what is God's plan for my life? God doesn't usually lay it all out for us. What He expects is for us to spend time with Him in Bible Study and prayer while we continually seek his direction. In so doing He will guide you into His plan for your life. Therefore, make sure you are setting some time out each day just to spend with Him

 

 

 

What, Me Worry?

If you have ever read an old Mad Magazine, ( young folks, sorry, you probably have no clue) you recognize this phrase immediately. I don't even remember why it was supposed to be funny. The fact is, though, we do joke about worrying all the time. For some of you, it is your full time job! There certainly are a lot of things that we can worry about. As a grandparent we could possibly have four generations to worry about. We may have one or both parents still living, but often times in need of full time care. We have our own lives, jobs, spouses and friends that might be in difficult circumstances. Then we have our children, who generally are starting their families, careers and maybe buying a home. To top it off, we have our grandchildren, who have to grow up in a society that is growing increasingly hostile to our Christian values. We wonder how they will make it. I'm sorry, are you getting worried and depressed? There definitely are a lot of things that we can worry about, but should we worry?

Last time, we talked about trusting in God. Did you know that worrying is the exact opposite of trusting? In fact, worrying is in reality, a sin. Now don't get all upset, just look at the Bible with me and see if I'm right. The Lord knows that worrying is an issue for us, so He speaks to us about it in His word. Let's look at some of these verses.

1. Matt 6:25-26 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

2. Matt 6:34 therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

3. Matt 10:19-20 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

4. Luke 12:11-12 "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."

In these verses, the phrase "do not worry" is called a present imperative with a negative. Translation, it is a command! That is why I can say to you that when we worry, we directly disobey our Lord. Why would God give us such a command? Well, He knows that worrying never accomplishes anything positive. I love what He says in verse 27 of Matthew 6. "Who of you, by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" The fact is that all medical research shows just the opposite. Worrying leads to negative stress, which is a leading factor in many medical problems, especially concerning the heart. You see, when we worry, we are actually telling the Lord that we don't trust Him to provide for all of our needs. If you look at these verses, you will see that He has promised us that He will provide for us, so we needn't worry. In fact, the more you read the Bible, the more you will see that God has a long record of providing for His children.

It is a simple formula. Worry = stress, Trust=peace. Why do we find this such a hard command to follow even though we know this to be true? I think it boils down to one thing. We lack faith. On five different occasions in the book of Matthew, Jesus chided the disciples for their lack of faith. They worried about food, clothing, and safety, just like we do. When we worry, would He not say the same to us? I know that this may be difficult to accept, but when we worry it displeases the Lord. We need to repent and receive His forgiveness.

Now, I would love to tell you that I have this issue conquered and that in one easy lesson, you can too. I can't. Actually, I am not naturally a person who is a big worrier, but I have my moments. When I was coaching, on game day I always worried that we were not fully prepared or that the players were not mentally ready to play. I usually spent Saturday mornings repenting for all my needless worry and thanking God for His blessings! Now you might be thinking if that's the biggest thing He's ever had to worry about, no wonder He's not a worrier. Well, try this one on. Less than a week after the 9 /11 attacks on America, my son, an Air Force pilot, was sent to Saudi Arabia. For the next three years, he was deployed several times, flying refueling missions over the skies of Iraq, Afghanistan and other places in the Middle East. What, me worry? It was difficult time to not be in constant worry. Interestingly enough, it was a time that the Lord poured His grace out in a special way and gave our family great peace.

I believe that the key to overcoming worry is taking God at His word and receiving His grace. In 2^nd Co 12, the apostle Paul shares how he had asked the Lord three times for a physical healing, but the Lord answered him with these words, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." We receive God's grace by faith. Remember, even if our faith is small, any amount is sufficient for the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives. Php 4:6-:7 is the best instruction there is to keep from worrying. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

GAME PLAN:

If there is an issue that you are worried about right now, take it immediately to the Lord in prayer. Lay out all of your concern and ask him to give you the faith to take Him at His word and give you peace, that He is taking care of the situation. You might even want to actually get on your knees, just to show the Lord that you are bowing yourself to His will. I think you might find this a special blessing.

Re read the scriptures that are in this post. Ask the Lord to help you be more aware of when you are crossing the line between concern and real worry. When you sense that you have crossed that line, repent and ask forgiveness. Then turn it over to Him.

May God bless you and fill your life with His peace, as you continue to lay your burdens upon Him.

Coach

 

 

 

In God We Trust?

Today, I would like to explore the idea of trusting God. It is an important concept. So much so, that as a nation, we adopted a motto to recognize the fact that we trust in God. Of course lately, we see many people who detest that concept and want to see the motto removed from our buildings, our cash, our books and from our consciousness. Have you ever wondered why there is such a backlash against this simple acknowledgement of corporate trust in our Creator? Most importantly though, as a Christian, we must ask ourselves, do we really trust God with our lives? If not, why not? God tells us many times in His word to put our trust in Him. He must have a good reason for that, don't you think? Let's find out.

Wouldn't it be nice to know that every time in your life, you had to make a decision on which direction to go, you could make the right choice? You know, kind of like having a GPS nav system for life. Guess what, you can! You might not hear an audible voice saying "at the next stop, turn right", but you can receive all the guidance necessary to go in the right direction. OK, you're probably saying to yourself, there is no way to always know the right way to go! If there was, then I would always choose it. Well, let's look at what the Bible says about it.

Pr 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." If you look closely, you will see that this verse has one promise and three requirements.

First, let's look at what the promise in this verse is. It says that He will make our paths straight. In the King James Version it says that He will direct your paths. The idea here is that when God directs you, you will go in the correct direction. The Hebrew word for trust in the verse is interesting. According to Strong's it has the proper meaning, "to hide for refuge". A closely related word actually means "a place of refuge". Figuratively the word means to be confident or sure. The object of our trust in the verse is the Lord, so let's put this together. The verse begins with the idea that we can confidently take refuge in following the Lord's direction. Let's illustrate. If you were out walking and suddenly a storm began, you might seek refuge or shelter from the storm, right? What would you be hoping that shelter would provide? I would think that protection from the elements of the storm would be the priority. You would want to know that the place you have chosen really can provide safety and protection. God is showing us that there is great safety in trusting Him to guide us.

The first requirement is that we trust with "all our heart". The word heart here signifies our emotions, our will and our intellect. The word all
means
all, every part, the whole thing! You see, God does not want a half hearted trust in Him. He wants every part of who and what we are, to trust Him. Sometimes we find that very difficult to do. We want to put our trust in Him, but often times our emotions, our will or our intellect gets in the way. God knows that and I think that is why He put in the second requirement, "Lean not on your own understanding". Some people think that means put your brain and reasoning on mute. I don't believe that is the case at all. God gave us an ability to think and reason that is unique among His creation. He certainly expects us to use it, but we must realize how limited our knowledge is in comparison to His. Isn't it only reasonable to trust the one who already knows what will happen, the one who has all the information? Makes sense to me!

The third requirement is to" acknowledge Him in all our ways". This involves the aspect of our will. We have the free will to follow His leading or not. Sometimes, even though we know which way God is leading us, we still want to go our own way. I can tell you that every time I have made a decision based on my will instead of God's will, it turns out not to be in my best interest. The key is to get our will aligned with His. That is acknowledging Him in all our ways. Ps 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart". This is when you can know that you are aligning your will with His. You will want to go the same direction He wants you to.

Maybe, you are afraid of trusting God to direct you because you aren't sure of where you will end up. Well, look at what the Lord said to the children of Israel when they were in captivity, "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". (Jer 29:11) If we have trusted God for our salvation, how could we not trust Him for every need of our life? Jesus said in John 14:1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me…" If you have not yet trusted Jesus for your salvation, I pray that you would do that today. If there is one thing that I have learned in my 46 years as a Christian, it is this: You can trust God!

Game Plan: The best way to learn that you can trust the Lord in every way is to spend time with Him in prayer and study of His word. The better you get to know Him, the easier it is to see and hear His leading and trust Him. Every time you follow His leading, it increases your faith and ability to do it again.

Read about the life of Abraham in Gen 12-25. Abraham was a man who trusted God.

Ask God in prayer to give you the ability to trust Him with all of your life.

 

May God bless you as you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of His will,

Coach

 

 

 

 

 

Put Me in Coach, Pt 3: The Super Bowl

It's finally here, Super Bowl Sunday! Millions of people all over the world will be watching the culmination of the NFL season. The players have been practicing for seven months. All of the previous games the two contenders have played; have been reduced to speed bumps on a road trip to this one day. At the end of this game there will be only one team that reached its' ultimate goal, becoming Super Bowl champions. Make no mistake about it, these players have only one goal this week, win the Super Bowl. For them, there is no other outcome that will justify the sacrifices they have made to reach this point.

One of the great things about sports is that the goal is so clear cut. Each game is a new opportunity to reach a goal. A seasonal goal is reached by focusing on the goal for each game. The results are easily measured, you win or you lose. Victory or defeat. That goal gives you a clear purpose and direction for each day because you are preparing to win. It helps you to prioritize how you spend your time. In order to reach that goal, you must be disciplined enough to stay on task and eliminate the things that might distract you. You have to be willing to give up things you enjoy because there is no time to do them. You must suppress the desire for instant gratification because winning never comes easy or quickly, it is the result of hard work and dedication

. The question then becomes, "Is it worth it?" Good question. If you have never played a sport, it might be hard to understand the tremendous satisfaction there is in reaching your goals. Winning a championship is a great feeling. It makes all the effort seem worthwhile. But let me tell you a little secret. That euphoric feeling that comes when you win a game or even a championship is very fleeting. It only lasts a short while. Oh, the memories last a lifetime and the sense of accomplishment is great, but there is always some emptiness when it is all over. Why is this true? I will tell you the same thing I would tell my players each year. Deep inside we know that there are more important things in life than winning games. In the end, the things we learn about hard work, discipline, sacrifice, love for our teammates are really more important than the actual results. They will last longer than the feelings we have after winning a game. However, you don't learn these things unless you dedicate yourself to the goal of winning. If you don't give it the best you have, you will not learn the important lessons that will help you be successful in your future endeavors.

Can you see where I am going here? As we have been talking about getting in the game, as Christians, we need to have a clear cut, ultimate goal and then figure out what short term goals will help get us there. If we, in the same way that an athlete does, dedicate ourselves to reaching these goals, we can then begin to eliminate distractions, prioritize our time, be disciplined in our behavior and have a real sense of direction and purpose. The apostle Paul understood this concept well. He wrote this in: "1 Cor 9:24-27

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Does all that sound familiar? Paul would have made a great coach!

The big question is, what is our ultimate goal as Christians? I think that some would say that their ultimate goal is salvation and getting to heaven. Sorry, that is not really a goal. It is a gift from God that we receive when we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ. It can't be earned. No amount of training or discipline in our lives will get us there. It is only by God's grace through faith that we are saved. OK, if not salvation, then what? I would submit to you that our ultimate goal is simple. We are to bring glory to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 1Cor: 6 19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

In Matt 5:16 Jesus said "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." This then, sets the purpose and direction for our lives. It should guide all that we say and do. 1 Cor 10:31 says, "Therefore, whether we eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God". We can measure the success of what we have done with one filter; did it bring glory to God? I know that this sounds impossible, and in our own strength and power it is. That is why God sent His Holy Spirit to help us. To truly bring God glory in whatever we do, we must do it by the power of His Spirit. I urge you to make this the goal of your life.

I believe that if we could look back at our life and say we lived it in a way that brought honor and glory to Christ, then we certainly have won our Super Bowl! We can say with Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing". (2 Tim 4:7-8). Remember, the rewards for winning this game are not fleeting, they are eternal. The greatest prize we could ever receive is to hear Jesus say "well done my good and faithful servant".

Game Plan: In order to bring glory to God, you must first know Him. This does not mean know about Him, it means to know Him in a personal and intimate way. This can only be done by spending time with Him. The more time we spend with Him, the more He permeates our lives. Do this in Bible Study, where God speaks to you through His word, and prayer where you can speak to Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in your time of study and prayer. Follow His leading.

May God bless you as you make it your goal to glorify Him,

Coach

 

 

 

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Put Me in Coach, Pt 2: There’s No “I” in Team

Ok, for those of you that have never been involved in sports, you now have heard one of the phrases used by every coach, at every level in any team sport. It has become such a cliché' that often times players even smirk when they hear it, but guess what? If a team is to be successful, the individuals on that team really do have to give up some individuality. On a good team, everyone has a role to play. If each individual fulfills that role well, the team will perform well. The saying also means that a group of people, working together, can accomplish much more than one individual. Isn't it nice to know that all these coaches, whether they know it or not, use biblical principles to build successful teams? What do I mean by that? I'm glad you asked.

If you desire to serve the Lord, you are not going to do it alone. You will be a part of a team called the body of Christ. This concept is so important that Paul wrote extensively about it. Let's look at the scriptures concerning this subject so that we can understand our particular role on this great team. Look first at 1Cor 12:12-26. This will help you to understand that every part of the body is just as important as the next. What is really vital to understand here, is that whatever role God gives you to do in the body, is necessary for the body to function properly. We tend to think of certain roles, such as pastors or elders, as being way more important than others. This is not true. On a football team, the quarterback is viewed in this same way, but imagine if the quarterback has no offensive line to block for him. He cannot possibly be successful without those guys in front of him. In the same way pastors and elders cannot properly lead their churches without others in the church doing their part.

In 1Cor 12:27, Paul says "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a
part of it. This is where we begin. If you are a born again Christian (there actually is no other kind), you are a part of the body, period. You cannot be a "Lone Ranger" Christian. Read the verse again. The first you refers to all Christians. Paul says you are a part of that body. You became part of it when you accepted Christ. Now, the next question has to be, "what role do I play" in that body. This is where many people have difficulty, usually because they don't feel confident about their knowledge or abilities. Well, it is ok to feel that way, but don't leave it that way. If you're not confident about your knowledge, that is easy to fix. START STUDYING! Get into a good, in depth study of the Word. Study on your own. Go to church services that emphasize teaching of the Bible. Listen to sound Bible teachers on the radio or internet. There are so many resources available to help you in understanding the Bible that there is NO excuse for not learning God's Word.

The second part is not always as simple. Finding out what abilities God has given us can sometimes seem more difficult, but we need to determine this, so we can fill the role that God has specifically called us to. Good news, God has given us a way to help determine how best to fit in to the body. He does this by giving us "spiritual gifts". Paul talks about these spiritual gifts in two different sections of scripture. The first section is found in 1Cor 12:4-11and 27-30. Paul gives another list of spiritual gifts in Ro 12:6-8. Some people like to break these down into the categories of "natural or "supernatural" gifts. Either way you see them, they are given to you by God's grace (Ro 12:6). God has also given each of us talents that may not fit into these categories but can still help us determine what we can do to serve in the body of Christ. When we can determine what spiritual gifts we have and recognize what other talents God has gifted us with, then we can be successful in doing our part in the body. When we try doing things outside of our particular calling, we are usually not too successful and can often get discouraged. It can be painful to watch someone who is eager to serve the Lord, but tries to do it in a role that they are not gifted in. It is like trying to watch a player, who wants to play a position that they are not physically able to play successfully. Let me give you an example. I once had a young man on my football team who always wanted to play fullback. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough, nor agile enough to be successful at that position. I approached him with the opportunity to play on the offensive line, where I knew he could really help our team. Well, he wasn't real thrilled with being moved to the line, so I asked him "would you rather be a third string fullback or a
first string lineman"? His answer surprised me. He said that he preferred to stay at the fullback position, even if it meant that he was a third stringer rather than a starter. How sad. He hurt himself and the team by sitting on the bench, rather than being in the game. That is why you can't have an "I" in team. You need to be at your best position so you can be in the game and not sitting on the bench watching.

To be effective in the body of Christ means that you may not be in the role you thought you would be in, but ask yourself one question. Who knows better than God, where you fit in and where you will contribute most to the "team"? Follow His leading and His gifting and you will find that it brings great joy and fulfillment.

GAME PLAN:

1. Look up the verses which describe the spiritual gifts. You might even want to check out some books on the subject
   
2. Think and pray about what other talents and abilities God has given you. This may mean abilities in athletics, music, drama, art etc. Think about ways that you might use these abilities for the glory of God
   
3. Pray for God to show you in what capacity of ministry He can use your particular gifts.
   
4. Give things a try. You might surprise yourself, but if you realize that something you try is not really for you, don't get discouraged. It's just one more way of finding out what you are called to do. 1Cor 14:12 tells us to try to excel in gifts that build up the church.
   
5. Give thanks to God for the gifts he has given to you!
   

Until next time, may God bless, as you search out the place of service to the body that God has prepared just for you,

Coach

 

 

 

Put Me in Coach, I’m Ready to Play: Changes

OK, in this new series, we are going to get into some of the issues we face when we have decided to fully live our life for our Savior, Jesus Christ. One thing I can guarantee you is, that if you make Jesus the Lord of your life, your life will change. Now, I may not be an expert in very many things, but if there is one subject I know something about, it is change. Why? Well, I think I have gone through about as much change as anyone possibly could. Want proof? Once, while having a conversation with someone about our lives growing up, I mentioned that I lived in quite a few places. When asked how many, I had to take quite a while to count them. It added up to 18. Yes, I moved 18 times by the time I graduated from high school. With all those moves came new schools to negotiate and new friends. I also had to deal with my parents divorcing at an early age and then a new step dad. Wow, that is a lot of change! As an adult, it hasn't been that different. In my career as a teacher and coach, I have worked at nine different schools and lived in eight different cities. Convinced yet? You're probably asking why so many changes? That is a good question. Probably because nobody could put with me too long! Hopefully not. Each move had a good reason behind it. Maybe I just like change, I am not sure. For whatever reason, I have gone through a lot of change in my life. Maybe you can relate, maybe not, but if you decide to follow Jesus, you need to be prepared for change.

So what kind of changes should we expect when we dedicate our lives to serving the Lord? Probably, the biggest change is learning to die to ourselves, put Jesus first and then put others needs above our own. This is huge for most of us. We learn growing up that we need to take care of ourselves first. Helping others might be a nice thing to do, but not at a real cost to us. Jesus has a totally different take on this subject. First he tells us that we need to deny ourselves (Mt 16:24, Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23) In Mk 10:43-44, Jesus says "whoever wants to become great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all."Paul says this in Phil 2:3-4 "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." That really sums it up! This is the antithesis of what the world teaches us and can be a tough thing to change. Even when we make a concerted effort to change our behavior in this area, our hearts may not be in it. How many times have we done a good deed for someone, but done it grudgingly? What, you mean it's only me that does that? In God's economy, that does not cut it. He wants the change to be in our heart. If we want to be used by God, this principle is essential.

Another big change you should prepare for is how others may react to you when they see the difference in you. When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you open yourself up for negative responses from some people, even family and friends. You may be ridiculed, mocked, even persecuted for your commitment to Christ. During one of my stints as a head football coach, I spent many Saturdays doing sidewalk counseling at an abortion clinic. Our church had a marvelous ministry there, giving young women options to an abortion, offering forgiveness and redemption through Christ for those who had gone through with an abortion and leading some to salvation. When a prominent person in the community, whose son played on our team, found this out, he wanted me fired immediately. This is only one example of many times I have gone through some opposition for my conduct in serving Jesus. You may not go through anything that serious, but you may go through much worse. Jesus said that the world will hate His followers because it hated him first ( Jn 15:18-19 ). If you think that is tough, look at how we are to respond to persecution. We are to respond the same way that Jesus did. Read Lk 6:28 and Ro 12:14. Bless those who persecute us? You're kidding, right? For me, this is much more difficult that the persecution itself. Again, how we respond shows where our heart is really at. If we truly have the heart of Jesus, our main concern is not how other people treat us, but how can we lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Did I mention that we need to be prepared for change?

Along with these, you will see a change in your priorities. Things that used to seem so important to you before you committed your life to Christ will begin to dull in comparison to the "things of the Spirit". In my life, this seemed to have occurred in a very natural way, because it was a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Early in my coaching career, my goal was to become a high school head football coach. I even had thoughts of eventually becoming a college coach. Winning was essential to that goal and I wanted to win. Don't get me wrong, I cared a great deal for my players because I was already a Christian, but becoming a highly successful coach was more important to me than leading others to Christ. As I grew in the Lord, I realized that my priorities were changing. I still wanted to win every game and be a successful coach, but my motivation was different. My main goal was to be a good representative of my Lord and have a platform to share His message. What really happens is that His priorities become your priorities. This should not be something you have to strive for. When you are spending time with the Lord in worship, prayer, and study of His word, the Holy Spirit does the work in you. You will desire to do those things He wants you to do rather than what your flesh wants to do.

There are other changes that you will go through as you get in the game and I'm sure that we will discuss them in later posts. The question is, are you ready for the changes? If you are a person that has always feared or disliked change, this may be difficult for you, but remember these changes are all positive. God's plan for you is one of good, not evil ( Jer 29:11 ). One thing that helped me when I was going through all the changes I mentioned as child, was to look at each change as an adventure. I am not sure why I was able to take this approach at such an early age, but it really helped. When I surrendered my life completely to the Lord, I took the same approach. The life of a disciple of Jesus truly is an adventure. I pray that you can embrace the adventure and enjoy the ride!

Game Plan:

1 .Try to spend just 10 minutes more per day in your personal prayer time this week

2. Ask God to show you what priorities in your life might need some adjusting

3. Look up all the verses about discipleship in the four Gospel accounts

4. Ask God to help you prepare for the changes He will make in your life

God Bless You as you follow Him this week,

Coach

 

The Battle, pt4: The Weapons of our Warfare

Welcome back to Coach's Corner. Thank you for joining us. I hope you have been following regularly, but if this is your first time, I highly recommend that you scroll on down to the beginning and catch up. These entries are on a progressive track, designed to help you in your walk with Jesus Christ.

This is the fourth part of a series about spiritual warfare. It is a subject that every believer in Christ needs to understand in order to experience the abundant Christian Life. So far, we have determined who our opponents are in this battle; the world system, our own flesh (worldly desires) and Satanic influence. These are powerful forces that can lead us into sin, especially when we don't understand how to recognize and deal with them. In today's lesson, I hope to help you do just that.

Learning to recognize where spiritual attack is coming from is very important in defeating it. There are different responses needed when you are being tempted by the world or your flesh, than there is when you are being directly attacked Satan. It is also important to know that not every negative thing that happens in your life is spiritual warfare. Some people seem to think that everything that happens is a direct attack from the enemy. I have some news for you. You and I are not important enough in the big scheme of things to merit that much effort on Satan's part! We mess up enough on our own. He doesn't need to spend that much time on us. We need to be careful that we don't credit him with more authority than he really has. A lot of what we go through is a result of our own actions and/or just living in a world that is under the curse of sin. We need to able to distinguish the difference. That being said, let's look at some examples of how Satan does attack so that we can recognize it.

In the last entry, part of the game plan was to read the Genesis account of mankind's fall into sin. In that account, you see an example of direct attack by Satan. He speaks to Eve through the serpent. Now, how did the serpent actually speak to Eve? Was the voice audible or did he just put the words in her mind? We don't know for sure but it is interesting that the Hebrew word for serpent means to hiss or whisper a spell according to Strong's concordance. We do know that in Eve's mind, Satan accused God of lying. She and Adam then disobeyed God's command. This is the attack he uses the most. He continually tries to get people to question God's honesty and motives. Once you start down that road, sin becomes almost inevitable. When you sense that something is causing you to doubt God's loving plan for you or that He doesn't want what is best for you, you can be pretty certain that you are under spiritual attack.

Sometimes Satan attacks in the physical realm. We already talked about Job, but we can also see that Satan even tried this tactic with Jesus. After Jesus had fasted for forty days, He was hungry. Yes, Jesus hungered just as you and I would. Can you imagine how hungry you would be after fasting this long? I don't know about you but I would probably agree to almost anything in order to get some food! Satan played on Jesus' physical need to try and get Jesus to follow his command. You can read this account in Matthew 4. What we can learn from this is, to be careful when you have a serious physical need. Satan can use this to plant harmful ideas in your mind. An example of this might be the increasing number of people who are choosing "assisted suicide". In great physical stress, Satan plants the idea, whether directly or indirectly through the wisdom of the world, that ending your life is better than facing the pain. Either way, it is spiritual attack.

Another ploy Satan will use to keep us from following God's will is tempting us with power and wealth. He told Jesus that he would give Him the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow to him and worship him. If Satan could accomplish this, God's plan of salvation would be totally thwarted. Remember, that is Satan's priority. He wants to be elevated above God. If you are struggling with putting your trust in wealth and power above your relationship with God, that is spiritual attack. You must learn how to fight against it.

One more way Satan attacked Jesus was trying to get Him to put God to the test; He even quoted scripture to Jesus. Yes, even scripture can be used against us in spiritual attacks, when twisted or used out of proper context. That is why we must be diligent in our study. We need to be able to recognize when scripture is being misused. Unfortunately, the name of Jesus has been put to shame at times by people who have used scripture to justify evil. The Spanish Inquisition, the murder of protestant believers, even the holocaust was due in part evil people misusing scripture to justify evil behavior.

If all this seems overwhelming to you, hold on. There is good news! We do have weapons to fight this battle and remember that we are on the winning side. Boy, how excited would I have been, if before each football game, I knew that we would win? Well, we might not win every battle, but thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ, we do win this war. OK, let's look at what the weapons of our warfare are. Check out Ephesians 6 starting in verse 10. It teaches us that we are to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the devil's schemes. The key word here is stand; these weapons enable us to stand against spiritual attack. Let's look at what this armor consists of.

1. The belt of truth: The belt was the first thing a Roman soldier would put on. It held the rest of his garments together. In the same way, we must have the truth of scripture, rightly divided, to hold our spiritual armor together.
   
2. The breastplate of righteousness: We are made righteous by our trust in Christ but we are then commanded to practice righteousness in our daily life. This means that we make God's priorities our priorities in Life. Note that a breastplate is a defensive weapon that protects the heart and lungs. Right living helps protect our vital spiritual organs from attacks of the enemy.
   
3. Feet fitted (your boots) with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace: This refers to our standing on the truth of the gospel, which brings us great peace. If our feet are wounded, we cannot stand. Again the better we know the truth, the more easily we recognize a counterfeit of the truth
   
4. The shield of faith: Another defensive piece of armor. Faith is our ability to trust God. A Roman shield was covered with linen and leather which would extinguish a flaming arrow. The picture here is that our trust in God can completely disable Satan's attacks on us.
   
5. The helmet of salvation: The helmet and sword are the last two pieces the soldier would pick up. Since most any blow to the head would cause severe damage or death, the helmet would be critical when in battle. The picture here is that our salvation is the ultimate protection. Even if the body would be mortally wounded, our salvation is secure. Jesus said not to fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matt10:28)
   
6. The sword of the spirit: This is the only offensive weapon mentioned. This refers to the Word of God, taught to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Heb 4:12 the Word is said to be sharper than any two edged sword. It can pierce the most hardened heart. Satanic influence is no match for God's word spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit.
   

   
    

Note that at the end of this passage, we are told to pray in the Spirit and to be alert. Words of wisdom to help us in our fight against spiritual attack whether it comes from the world, the flesh or the devil.

Game plan:

Review all the Scriptures mentioned in this entry. Ask God to help you in your understanding of spiritual warfare.

If you are going through a difficult time, pray for wisdom in recognition what might be causing this.

Practice putting on your spiritual armor. Look at each piece and see whether or not you are being prepared to stand against the wiles of the enemy

 

Let's get prepared to take on whatever the enemy might throw at us. God bless you,

Coach