The Coach's Corner

Great Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:39:00 +0000

"The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came...Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory." - R.A. Torrey

The the team that never practices can't expect to win a game. The same goes for the player. Sure, he may be able to step in & win a few but eventually the lack of practice (or training camp) will eventually catch up to him. Winning starts on the practice field before it happens on the battle field.

Man in the Arena

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:34:00 +0000

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how long the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spend himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:38:00 +0000

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

by Marianne Williamson

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000

Colossians 4:5-6 - 5Be wise in the way act towards outsiders; make the most opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

As we pray & seek God, places become opportunities where we can better listen to people & passionately live on purpose. When we live deliberately we'll find that we won't miss opportunities that God is giving us.

Praise God!

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Today I witnessed an answer to a prayer that I've had for a while! A little over a year ago I moved to Taylor. Since I started ministering here my prayer has been that God would raise up an army of young people that love Him more than anything/one else & that will take their city for Christ. I know that those things begin & end in prayer, after all we're only as strong as our prayer life is. So I know that I was praying that students would develop strong prayer lives. It seemed hard at first to get people together to pray, not because they were forced to but because they wanted to. Today, even as I type this, there are 7 or 8 students & young adults in our youth room praying & seeking God!

2 Chronicles 7:14 - 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God is moving in the Taylor & Downriver area! The battle is on!

On my knees fighting,

Luis

Think Different

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:16:00 +0000

I was reading the book of Daniel & there were a few things that jumped out at me. God's chosen people have always been "different" people. Ever wonder why you might think a little different than other people? Why you might be a little strange? Well, there are some people who are just strange but God's people are are strange because we weren't created to be like everyone else we were created to be like God.

Daniel 3:-8 - ³Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility – ⁴young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ⁵The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. ⁶Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. ⁸But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

v. 8 - but Daniel chose to "Think Different"...

God's people think different because we were created to make a difference. It's the people who think different that make a difference. "Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." - apple computers

Are you crazy enough to believe you can make a difference for God? Are you even crazier to live that difference?

Crazy enough to think (& live) different,

Luis

Image is Nothing, Thirst is Everything. Obey Your Thirst

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:31:00 +0000

I'm not a big pop drinker but there are a few pops that I like a lot. One of those pops is Sprite. I was drinking a Sprite one night while I was reading 2 Samuel 15 & God spoke to me. The big famous slogan from Sprite is, "Image is Nothing, Thirst is Everything. Obey Your Thirst." As I was reading the story of Saul I thought of the Sprite message.

Here Saul was on a mission from God & somewhere along the way decided to dv8 from the plan & do his own thing. Samuel called out Saul about his sin & told him that God was preparing another king to replace him. Saul responded by saying, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel." Saul was more concerned with his image that he was about his heart. I never want that to be the case.

My prayer for myself & for our ministry is that our thirst for godliness would be much greater than our desire for image. God's not looking for us to build our own image; he wants us to become his image.

obeying my thirst,

Luis

Just Do It

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Have you ever been afraid to do what God wants you to do? I know I have. Serving God is the most exciting thing that you can do, but it can be very scary at times. But there's good news... perfect love!

1 John 4:18 - Perfect loves expells ALL fear...

Fear is a perfect love problem. The more we love God the more we'll trust him & the more we'll face & conquer our fears. Jesus is better than our excuses, bigger than our laziness & bolder than our fear! So...

JUST DO IT!

Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:28:00 +0000

I read this quote today & thought I'd share it with you

"Excellence is...

the result of caring more than others think is wise,
risking more than others think is safe,
dreaming more than others think is practical,
and expecting more than others think is possible."

Striving fore excellence,

Luis

Look Up...

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:04:00 +0000

As I've been preparing for VOX this week I read a verse in Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Then I came across this cool story about a statue of Jesus that really puts into perspective how we can "fix our eyes on Jesus". This statue is in a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is no ordinary statue of Jesus, this particular statue has a very strong message that the sculptor sculpted into it. "A little old woman who helped to care for the interior of the church, once put into words what the sculptor's genius has expressed in marble. Said she: 'To see the real beauty of 'The Christus' you must look into His eyes, and you can do that only if you kneel at His feet.'"

You can’t see the eyes of Jesus if you’re standing looking at it. The only way you can see his eyes is to kneel at his feet and look directly up into them. To often we're guilty of trying to see the eyes of Jesus without kneeling and completely surrendering to Jesus, but the only way to clearly see is to kneel at his feet.

What are you looking at?

Kneeling at his feet,

Luis

Hungry?

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:35:00 +0000

John Piper is a stud! I was reading a book of his called "A Hunger For God" & I came across a part that I thought was so good I needed to share it with someone.

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls out appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. it is not the x-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures or earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

A question I asked myself after reading this paragraph & Luke 14:15-24 is "Am I really hungry for God? Or have I ruined my appetite for God by nibbling at the table of the world?

ID - Who Is Jesus?

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:03:00 +0000

We live in a society that is full of identity issues. The people that we idolize, put on posters & hang on our walls don't seem to know who they really are. People are trying to find their identities in stage personas, personal possessions, big parties, etc, but it doesn't seem to work. Which leads me to my question, "Who are you?" Where do you find you identity? If the people we look up to can't seem to find their identity how can we?

Today at VOX we started a 2 week series called ID, Who Am I? What is my identity? Before we are able to answer those questions I believe we need to answer another question, "Who is Jesus?" Without knowing who Jesus is we can never fully know who we are.

As I spent time studying, reading & praying I looked through the New Testament at all the statements Jesus made about who he was. I then moved on to the Old Testament & began to look up all of the names of God (& there are there a lot of names). Here are a few of them:

Jehovah-Jireh - I Am the Lord who provides for you

Jehovah Shalom - I Am the Lord who is your peace

Jehovah Rophe - I Am the Lord who heals

Jehovah Natsal - I Am the Lord who delivers

Jehovah Ezer - I Am the Lord who helps

Jehovah Chezeq - I Am the Lord who is your strength

Jehovah Padahel - I Am the Lord who loves you

Jehovah Yasha - I Am the Lord who is your savior

While I was praying and thinking about all the different names of God I had a realization; every name that is used for God in the Old Testament is seen in the life of Jesus throughout the New Testament! Jesus did provide when he fed the multitudes; he brought peace to the women at the well; he healed the blind; he delivered the possessed; he helped those in need; he gave strength to the weak; he loved us so much that he became our savior as his arms were stretched out on the cross.

So, who is Jesus to you? What has he done in your life?

Enjoying learning more about who Jesus is,

Luis

Feb. 4 '09

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:39:00 +0000

These are a few things I read today:

Proverbs 4: 20-27 - 20My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil.

"If we keep God's word before our eyes, we won't start looking in the wrong direction and doing the wrong things." Warren W. Wiersbe

Breakfast of Champs

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:10:00 +0000

So I've been hearing from people asking what happened to my blogs. Well, I've decided to use the study on the Warrior Poet for something I'm doing with my leadership team so I'll post it as we use it. As for being gone so long, well... I just didn't blog. Since I've been hearing about it from some people I figured I'd share a quote with you, it's from a book that I've been reading entitled "Be Strong, Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life" by Warren W. Wiersbe.

"Its impossible to live by faith and ignore the Word of God and prayer; for faith is nurtured by worship and the Word. The people God uses and blesses know how to discipline their bodies so that they can give themselves to the Lord in the early morning hours."

Its an easy discipline to forgo until we truly realize the necessity for our daily time in God's Word & in prayer. We will never achieve what God desires for us without that discipline. When we start our day off with that kind of breakfast we'll be less likely to miss the opportunities that are set before us. After all, breakfast is the most important meal, right?

A New Day...

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:31:00 +0000

Today is a new day in America. We as a nation have elected a new leader. Regardless of whether you voted for him or not, regardless of whether you like him or not Obama is the new president of our great nation, & now more than ever we must pray for our nation & its leaders, both current & future.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 - The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. 2Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply in humble contemplation. (MSG)

Our nation is in the middle of a very tough time. As God's own we must continue to fight together for our nation, our leaders & each other. Only on our knees in prayer & on our feet living out His word can we truly make a difference.

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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14

On my knees,

Coach Luis

The Warrior Poet: The Shepherd's Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:19:00 +0000

For those of you that have been asking when its going to start, today is that day. Today I am starting a blog series entitled "The Warrior Poet". I am going to take some time to look at the life of David. David is one of my most favorite bible heroes. He was a great man of God who had victories and defeats. David was very open and honest about how he felt as he wrote each Psalm, but despite where he was at & what was going on he would come back around to how great God is! My plan is to study the psalms of David in chronological order - the order that David wrote them according to the various events occurring in his life.

Join me as I travel through these excerpts from David's life & feel free to leave your thoughts & comments as well.

The Shepherd's Watch - Ps. 23

Psalm 23 is most likely written after David was anointed to be king while he was still tending to his father's flock. David is next in line to be king & instead of being "groomed" for the job by another king in the palace he was out in the wilderness with no one else around, just a bunch of sheep. He may not have realized it at the time but he sure did realize later that he was being groomed for the job by the King of Kings! As David was sitting there watching over the flock he began to write down a metaphor about his life, his God, and God's love.

David writes that the Lord gives us all we need (vs.1); so long as we have Him we will never be found lacking! The lord gives us peace (vs.2) - in good & bad times. The Lord gives us strength and guidance (vs.3) - so we can get through anything. The Lord gives us protection and comfort (v.4) - so we can see the light through the darkest of times. The Lord gives us blessings, love and security (vs. 5-6); God pursues us & he never stops!

David knew about being a shepherd, its what he did, and he knew how much the sheep need the shepherd. David wrote about what God meant to him, but what about you? Maybe you know nothing of being a shepherd so what would you say God is to you? Is he your dad, your friend, your boss, your teacher, your coach? Whatever he is to you, the very things that David said the Lord gives us still apply today. God's love, peace, strength, comfort, blessing, ect, transcend all the way to where you are today. With him we have all we need and we will never be found lacking!

The Lord is my coach...

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:42:00 +0000

This morning I spent some time thinking about the way that I talk. As I was thinking of that I read a verse that really put me in check...

Ps. 34:1 - I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

Is it God's praises that are continually coming out of my mouth? Do my words please God? After asking myself these questions I then asked myself, am I the man that God wants me to be? I want to honor God at all times.

I've still got a lot of work to do but it begins with today; it begins with now.

Leadership Thought...

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:15:00 +0000

"Any good leader can give orders, but a great leader lives the orders." - Unknown

WOW

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:32:00 +0000

Have you ever had one of those "Wow, God..." moments? I had one today. God has been doing some really great things here in Taylor & today I was again amazed at God. Despite me - the mistakes I've made & failures I've suffered God still chooses to use me; its truly amazing. Tonight God did some cool things in the hearts and lives of the students here in Taylor; I'm excited for what's to come!

A Tribute To Granddad

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:53:00 +0000

Today I did my first funeral - it was my grandfather's. Here are a few thoughts about him...

My grandpa was a man of God! His love for God was seen in his life - in the way that he served & blessed others. He loved to give - whether it was his time, resources, finances, etc. he would give. The greatest thing that he ever gave was giving the Great News of Jesus to others. I got to meet people these last couple of days who told us of how they came to know Christ as Lord and Savior because of my granddad's life. It was hard to see him go but I believe that if he were able to share one last thing with us today he would echo the words of Paul.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 - 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 me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

I believe he would have recited those verses & then gone on to tell us, "Its okay to cry. Goodbye's are never easy, bust rest assured that this isn't 'goodbye', its just a 'see you later.' We will see each other again one day, but until that day, you have a race to run, a race to win. I have finished mine & I now go into the grandstands to cheer you on in your race. Run hard, don't give up & don't look back & when you are finished with that race I'll be there at the finish line to celebrate with you."

I have a race to win!

In it to win it,

Coach Luis

Don't Just Say It, Mean It.

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Have you ever said something before but you didn't really mean it? I think we're probably all guilty of that. How about when someone asks us how we are doing, the typical response is, "Good." We answer back without really thinking of the question & without really meaning the answer; its an automatic response that we give. I must admit, I've been guilty of that before, not just with people, but with God too. Have you ever had a time that you prayed but didn't really mean it? What happens sometimes is we pray out of habit or routine & not out of desire & then wonder why our prayer isn't answered. God isn't looking for us to just punch a time card, he wants to spend time with us; he wants for us to meet with him! When we truly go to God he's there to meet with us...

Ps. 145:18 (The Message) - God is there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.

Don't just go to prayer on auto pilot, pray & really mean it.

Coach Luis

Amazing!

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:57:00 +0000

God moved in a mighty way tonight! He changed the order of how we were going to do things & it was great. Salvations, rededications, & breakthroughs, it was a fantastic night!

What did you do tonight?

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:02:00 +0000

I've spent the last month and a half looking over the lives of some of God's mighty warriors. Their stories are amazing, their lives inspirational, & their convictions piercing. Praise God that His word is alive & active & for today. The bible isn't just a history book, its a guide for us today. We too can have stories that are amazing, lives that are inspirational, & convictions that is piercing. I want to serve God, love God, & live for God the way these men & women did.

Daniel 6:4-5 - 4At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." (NIV)

I too must live with such character & integrity that the only problem people have with me is in my obedience to God. Daniel (along with all the others) was able to live for God in such a way because he (they) knew God.

Daniel 11:32b - ... but the people who know their God shall be strong, and cary out great exploits. (NKJV)

I cannot rest in my pursuit of God, I must know him more and more.

Coach Luis

!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Camp has been absolutely amazing! We've had people getting rocked by God, healed by God & set free by God. I was sad about missing tonight but I was excited about being back home with the most amazing students in the world. I was really tired coming back & I didn't want to make the drive, not to mention I wasn't feeling well. I got back & we had our meeting tonight & 3 students gave their hearts to Christ & others shared on how God was leading them to give up some things in their lives! God moved here in Taylor despite how I felt, praise God! It was worth the drive to be here tonight!

I love you guys!

Well, time to get back to camp.

Later,

Coach Luis

Post Game Thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:42:00 +0000

Yeah, its been a while since my last post. Things are going great here in Taylor! I'm really loving being here. Tonight was another awesome night! We looked at the beginning of Paul's (Saul) real life.

Acts 9:1-20

Praise God that he doesn't look at who we used to be, he looks at who we ought to be. People may remember our past but God forgives & forgets it. People may not see the plan, but God knows the plan he's made for us. We are his chosen instruments to get work done! Saul's past didn't matter, he was given a new mission, & it began right away, and the same applies to us.

I believe God that we are on the verge of an explosion & I'm thrilled to be right in the middle of it!

Coach Luis