"Ask, and it will be given to you" II by Luke Enno

February 9, 2016

Matthew 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened to you."

The night before the Super Bowl, DeMarcus Ware shared some words with his teammates. As a 11-year veteran who had never been to a Super Bowl, this game was DeMarcus Ware's first (and perhaps only) opportunity to accomplish the ultimate goal in team sports, to be the champion.

DeMarcus Ware by all accounts delivered an impassioned speech and within those words, he reminded his teammates that God's Word speaks to the situation they faced. "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you." 

It does not matter what area of life. God's Word is designed to work in all areas. God cares about it all. Did Broncos players, coaches, fans or employees "ask" for victory in the game? I don't know about anyone else. I certainly did. Two weeks ago, I asked God that the Broncos players and coaches have the focus to practice well, to be creative in what they needed to do and to execute with excellence. 

For the men who play the game and their coaches as well as the employees within the organization, this sport is their livelihood. It is how they earn a living. They entertain no different than an actor does on a stage or a pianist does in a concert. Entertainment is a part of life. Actors want to perform well. Pianists want to hit all the notes. Athletes want to execute with precision. 

I care passionately about the Denver Broncos organization. I am invested as a 30-year fan who wants this team to do well each and every season. Even after the Broncos lost Super Bowl XLVIII, I threw my hands up in the air and said, "Well, I've come too far with this team to turn my back. It's not like I'm going to start cheering for a different team." I steadfastly believe that the result of Super Bowl 50 was a reward from God for the players, coaches, employees and fans of the Broncos having endured the frustration at the ends of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons in particular. It was an incredible blessing which for a die-hard fan words cannot properly describe that feeling. For these reasons, I am thankful to God that we prevailed in Super Bowl 50. 

Listening to him speak after the game, I know that DeMarcus Ware was overjoyed yet humbled to be a part of something truly special. Naturally, I hope he has the opportunity to travel this road again. Winning a Super Bowl is the best feeling a football fan can have in my opinion. But even if another Super Bowl triumph does not happen, the 2015 season was a loving, lasting gift for all Broncos fans to enjoy! I have firmly placed that incredible memory into my mind as a reminder that "All things are possible to him who believes". You just need to ask/seek/knock.

Broncos fan for life!

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Ask, and it will be given to you" I by Luke Enno

February 8, 2016

Matthew 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened to you."

DeMarcus Ware is a linebacker for the Denver Broncos. He is an 11-year veteran who played his first 9 years with the Dallas Cowboys. Few players in NFL history have ever received more accolades than DeMarcus Ware. He has been an All-Pro and/or Pro Bowl player in nearly every season of his career.

When DeMarcus Ware arrived in Denver for the 2014 season, the Broncos were coming off a Super Bowl season having just lost to Seattle 43-8. Everyone could sense that the addition of DeMarcus Ware was to bolster a defense which lacked the type of depth needed to win a Super Bowl over a talented team like Seattle.

I had not followed DeMarcus Ware's career closely when he was a member of the Dallas Cowboys. I was generally aware of his exploits. But considering he was going into his tenth year in the league, I did not know for sure what he had left in the tank as far as abilities and desire.

In 2014, it was apparent that DeMarcus Ware had a lot of ability at his disposal. Unfortunately, the team's aspirations were short-circuited in the first playoff game. The loss to Indianapolis stung. 2015 seemed to be an iffy proposition for Denver as far as remaining a Super Bowl contender. Most experts and even myself did not forecast Denver to have the type of year they did. Thankfully as a Broncos fan, I was wrong.

DeMarcus Ware is a believer. He lets his actions and his words speak for who he is. He is a person you can genuinely look up to and respect. Matthew 7:7 was the passage he shared with his Broncos teammates on the eve of the Super Bowl.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" VII by Luke Enno

February 7, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

I am a huge Denver Broncos fan. I have been a fan of the team for 30 seasons now. Through it all, I've been there as a fan for the ups and downs. Losing 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. Failing to get by Jacksonville in the divisional round in 1996. Finally winning the Super Bowl in 1997. Then winning the Super Bowl again in 1998. Getting upset by Baltimore in 2012. Being crushed by Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Following the Broncos is like being on the wildest roller coaster ride on earth. I am or have been an avid fan of other teams in football and other sports. But I simply cannot find a reasonable comparison to what it is like being a Broncos fan.

When it came to Super Bowl 50, about 10 days before the game, I prayed with my son Davin that the Broncos would prepare well and execute better. I do believe in the power of prayer. I am convinced that everything matters to God. It does not matter if it is a sporting event, what I eat for breakfast or what profession I hold. God cares about it all. It is we as humans who choose whether we want to believe that something matters to God.

Sure. I would love for the Broncos to win every Super Bowl or to at least alternate with the Dolphins. It would be nice. However, there are many factors which exist beyond my control. What is within my control though is prayer. I believe in the power of prayer and that it can effect change.

While Super Bowl 50 was not executed to perfection, the Broncos certainly played far better than nearly all of the so-called experts thought. Listening to all of the arm chair prognosticators out there, you would have thought Carolina would win 55-10, 42-10 or 43-8. Thankfully, the game is played on the field and not in the head of a bunch of football geniuses.

In answer to God's question, the answer is "NO". The Denver Broncos proved that point on February 7, 2016 in spite of the overwhelming majority of opinions out there speaking to the contrary. These people all know who they are. Many of them were the same naysayers stating that Denver would be rolled by Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXII and even some of them pinned Atlanta as the favorites the next year in Miami.

Broncos fan for life!

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" VI by Luke Enno

February 6, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

The answer to that question is "NO". As a believer, let that answer be settled in your heart and let that answer reflect in all of your decision making. Each of us faces numerous decisions each day. We are believers. We serve an all-powerful God who desires to work on our behalf in every area of our lives. Let Him.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" V by Luke Enno

February 5, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

As a believer, acknowledge who God is. Like Jeremiah did in Jeremiah 32:16-25, be bold in proclaiming God's might through the word of your testimony. Allow those bold proclamations to strengthen your inner man like they did for Jeremiah. God is ready, willing and able to do mighty works in you as a vessel for His name's sake. God's name is perfect.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" IV by Luke Enno

February 4, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

In Jeremiah 32:27, Jeremiah states the following:

"Ah, Lord God! 

Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth 

by Your great power and outstretched arm. 

There is NOTHING too hard for You."

Sincere vocal acknowledgement to God of His power is essential for us as believers. How come? We need to be built up in our faith. We need to have revelation knowledge in our heart that we serve a God who knows our life. He sees every single aspect of our life and He has every single answer to every single problem or challenge we face. We simply need to start with an unvarnished acknowledgement of who God is and to be bold in that declaration. For my part, I declare in my life this truth. I choose to allow this truth to reign in my decision making so that I no longer am operating based on fear and indecision.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" III by Luke Enno

February 3, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

I know I've faced a mountain of problems and challenges in my life. Many times, I've allowed those problems and challenges to overwhelm me and to box me into a corner. To overcome, I choose to take to heart from this moment forward God's words that He spoke to Jeremiah in Jeremiah's moment where he needed understanding.

Jeremiah faced some of the most difficult obstacles anyone has ever had to endure in a time when the Word of God was exceedingly rare and most peoples' hearts on earth were far removed from Godliness and goodness. Jeremiah felt the sting of loneliness and despair. Yet he never quit on God. He never threw in the towel even when his flesh might have wanted to walk away. Without question, Jeremiah's life and the words God spoke to him should resonate to all of us who are believers.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" II by Luke Enno

February 2, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

Most people who profess to be Christians look at God in the abstract based on what I've observed. 'God is up there in Heaven far removed from the daily challenges I face' they say. 'God cannot or will not relate to me' they believe. In Jeremiah's situation, he did not understand why he was doing what he felt led to do. He sought God for understanding. God provided it with these powerful words, "Is there anything too hard for Me?"

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

"Is there anything too hard for Me?" I by Luke Enno

February 1, 2016

Jeremiah 32:27

"Is there anything too hard for Me?"

When you are talking about the God of the universe, you must ask yourself one question in relation to God. "Is there anything too hard for Me?" "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh." My God is a God for whom nothing is impossible. 

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

Victory at Mount Carmel by Luke Enno

January 31, 2016

Victory at Mount Carmel

If you grew up attending Sunday School, in all likelihood you are familiar with the accounting of Elijah and Ahab at Mount Carmel. The account takes place in 1 Kings 18. Ahab wanted to prove who the one true god was. He was convinced Baal was god. Elijah knew otherwise.

At Mount Carmel, Elijah confidently challenged Baal and the 450 prophets of Baal. At the altar, two bulls were slain - one bull to be sacrificed to Elijah's God and one bull to be sacrificed to Ahab's god, Baal. As god, Baal was to burn a bull in sacrifice. When the bull failed to burn after much effort, Elijah mocked the prophets and Baal since he knew Baal was a false god. Then when all else failed, the prophets of Baal cut themselves and bleed all over in the hopes their god Baal would answer their prayers and cause the bull to burn.

Elijah then put his bull to the test by soaking it and the wood on the altar in water - several times over in fact. Then Elijah called on the one true God and He answered and fire consumed all including the water. In that moment, the people of Israel saw who the real God was. Elijah then ordered the slaughtering of all 450 prophets of Baal.

Without question, Elijah was a bold man of God. He may not have always felt like it. (He certainly had his moments where he was depressed, distressed and despondent.) But his spirit man said otherwise. His spirit was mighty and strong, willing and able to do great things for God and to allow himself to be used by God to turn people's hearts toward God. Is that not the calling for all of us as believers, as people who love God, who accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord? To yield ourselves and allow God to do MIGHTY works within our lives and to let the world see and KNOW God as the only way.

There are a lot of Baals out there. A lot of false idols. Those idols come in a myriad of forms: love of ______ (fill in the blank). None of those false gods can bring us to a knowing relationship with the God who created us, the God who loves us. I certainly have been tempted like anyone else to chase after false idols thinking that somehow the false idol will provide what I want or what I need. But in the end, none of it satisfies.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

Elijah, God's Faithful Servant by Luke Enno

January 30, 2016

Elijah, God's Faithful Servant

Elijah was a prophet who lived in a time of tremendous turmoil and upheaval. Israel was under the control of Ahab and Jezebel. The people worshiped Baal. Judah was not in much better shape. Prophets of God were being slaughtered left and right. Elijah was in frequent trouble for his own life.

In 1 Kings 19:11-18, a powerful account describes an encounter between God and Elijah. God came in "a still small voice" and spoke to a discouraged, despondent old man. Full of self-pity at a moment where his life was in great danger, God provided encouragement with clear instructions about what he needed to do next and that he was not alone. God's love for His people is revealed in this passage.

If you are a child of God, no matter how dire the situation, God has a plan for you. He speaks in that "still small voice" and He will encourage you with gentleness. Trust Him. Elijah placed his trust in God. God fulfilled everything He said he would do. Elijah remained faithful in spite of personal shortcomings. Be faithful.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

King Ahab's Fall by Luke Enno

January 29, 2016

King Ahab's Fall

Ahab was the king of Israel in a time where kings ruled Israel and Judah. Before kings ruled these two sister nations, judges had the supreme authority. Ahab made many costly mistakes over the course of his reign. I am convinced that his greatest error was to marry Jezebel (and everything that went along with being married to Jezebel).

When you marry the wrong person, you can set a chain of events in motion that have devastating consequences. Those consequences can and usual do spill over into the lives of other people - in particular people of whom you have control over - family, friends, acquaintances, subordinates, etc.

In 1 Kings 22, we witness the accounting of Ahab's fall in battle. While seated in his chariot, Ahab was struck by an arrow at random. His blood ran out onto the chariot floor. At a pool in Samaria where the harlots bathed, someone washed his chariot and the dogs licked up his blood. Although Ahab received a proper burial in Samaria, I believe the fact that his life blood was washed in the waters of the harlots and licked up by dogs represents his legacy.

Ahab knew and witnessed firsthand the power of God and the powerlessness of the god he commanded his people to serve, Baal. Yet when his wife Jezebel angrily refused to accept what Ahab had seen with his own eyes as the way to go, Ahab allowed what Jezebel wanted to rule the day. Jezebel was buried deep in her hatred for the one true God and ultimately Ahab allowed her hatred to be the controlling influence over his life and how he ruled.

Not one of Ahab's sons or anyone in his family or his friends, acquaintances or anyone else associated with Baal in the kingdom survived with nearly every one of these individuals dying a violent bloody and merciless death. Ahab's legacy speaks for itself in this respect.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

Life of King Jehu by Luke Enno

January 28, 2016

Life of King Jehu

2 Kings describes the anointing and rise to power of Jehu who would become King of Israel following the slaying of King Ahab. King Jehu would be responsible for wiping out King Ahab's family and associates as well as bringing the worship of Baal to a conclusion. In that regard, he fulfilled exactly what he was asked to do. He was a commander of soldiers in Ahab's army and he would usurp the throne of Ahab. Jehu would reign for 28 years over Israel.

Most people, Christians included, perceive God as an eternal being who would never authorize death or command someone to take the life of another. Indeed, murder is a form of death which God does not and would not authorize. However, not all killing is murder even though murder is a form of killing. Jehu had a God-ordained task of killing anyone associated with Ahab. He did follow through on that responsibility and he and his descendants were rewarded for his faithfulness (even though he failed in numerous other areas as far as not coming into obedience to God).

Jehu first killed Ahab's wife, Jezebel. Her life was tossed upon the ground, trampled under and eaten by ravenous dogs. 2 Kings 9:30-37. He then quickly turns his attention to killing all 70 of Ahab's sons. 2 Kings 10:1-11. Those 70 sons were slaughtered and beheaded. There was no honor in their deaths. He also killed all who remained in Ahab's house in the City of Jezreel and all of Ahab's great men, close acquaintances and priests. If you were connected to Ahab, you fell to your death courtesy of Jehu.

Jehu did not stop there. He created a deception whereby anyone in the kingdom who worshiped Baal was gathered for a great sacrifice in honor of Baal. All the prophets, servants, priests and worshipers were to come and those who did not come to worship were to die. Those who did worship also were to die and if anyone did not die, to the extent Jehu's soldiers who allowed anyone to live would be forced to die in the "his life for the life of another" manner. 2 Kings 10. Ultimately, God was pleased with Jehu's complete destruction of thousands of lives. Baal had threatened to blow up God's vision and God's vision will bow to no man and no ideology. None.

Though Jehu was far from perfect in the sight of God, at least with how he handled the situations involving Ahab's family and the worshipers of Baal, Jehu managed to obtain favor from God. Jehu received 28 years of time to reign before he was provided with an honorable burial noting again of course that Jehu largely reigned by not taking heed to walk in the law of God with all his heart. Jehu gave God 'some' of his heart but certainly not what God wanted. He wants 100% of us.

Much can be derived from the life of Jehu. To me, two particular considerations stand out: (1) Jehu was called of God to do something that most people would consider 'immoral' or 'unconscionable'. He obeyed God regardless of perception. Jehu slaughtered unholy people needing to be destroyed and he did it with ruthless abandon. For his faithfulness, his descendants received blessings including the right to rule and reign over Israel for a number of generations. (2) Jehu did not destroy all of the idols in the kingdom; instead he selectively focused on wiping out Baal while at the same time leaving other golden idols remain. By not yielding fully to God, He did not honor God in a manner that was fully pleasing to God and Jehu short-circuited the full measure of the goodness that could have been in Israel during and following his reign. The Kingdom of Israel suffered financial losses to enemies as a result of Jehu's disobedience. Give God 100% of yourself all the time in everything that you think, say and do.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno

Jezebel by Luke Enno

January 27, 2016

Jezebel

Tonight, I intended on meditating upon 1 Kings 19:11-18 which addresses how God revealed Himself to Elijah in a moment where Elijah was suffering greatly - mental and spiritual anguish in particular. Rather than using a thundering bolt to get Elijah's attention, God spoke in a still small voice to His remaining prophet (the other prophets having been killed at the hands of Jezebel and Ahab).

Considering Elijah's situation as a result of King Ahab, initially, I went searching deeper into the reign of Ahab as King of Israel (22 years). One cannot understand Ahab without quickly drawing an eye on Jezebel. If anyone wore the pants in Ahab's family, it was Jezebel. In our society, the name "Jezebel" is and always has been associated with bad morals, harlotry and sexual immorality. No one in his/her right mind would name a child after Jezebel.

Reading about her life in both 1 Kings and 2 Kings (and by extension in 2 Chronicles via Ahab's life and death), it becomes quickly apparent that Jezebel is not noteworthy so much for being sexually immoral (although I am sure that this strain existed in some fashion). Instead, Jezebel is just plain evil as far as "it is her way or no way" and "no one will stand in her way, not even God Himself". Ahab's greatest mistake in his life may have been the simple fact that he chose to marry Jezebel.

Jezebel had come from royalty herself. But she was from a kingdom that followed false idols. Serving the one true God would not be an option with her as de facto queen of Israel even if that one true God revealed Himself in powerful and unmistakable ways which showed Baal for who Baal was, a made-up fictitious idol. You have to be some special kind of evil to destroy Godly prophets in spite of the goodness God brought to Israel and her people time and time again when drought or other adverse circumstances faced the kingdom.

The death of Jezebel revealed the contempt God Himself had for the way she had lived. Being thrown to the ground, trampled underfoot and torn to shreds and eaten by stray dogs without so much as a means for a proper burial reflected the most humiliating and degrading way to die. A death from which no honor could be salvaged. A life wasted.

There are countless lessons to be learned from the life and death of Jezebel and for that matter her husband Ahab. Ahab's life ended in an inglorious manner as well. His replacement as king, Jehu, an individual who took command in a way that some outsiders would interpret as via treason, further cemented the idea that among all the mistakes and wrongs that Ahab did over the course of his reign, he should have avoided marrying Jezebel. If you marry the wrong person, you could be setting yourself up for a path in life that takes you down dark alleys into the land of destruction. Ahab and his entire family suffered natural and eternal consequences for his association with Jezebel.

Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno