Second Stage Ministries

Are you anxious? Stressed? Worried? Uneasy? Nervous? Overwhelmed? What a silly group of questions. I know I can be. I know you can be. Did you know that Jesus was a little stressed? He had the weight of the entire world on His shoulders. Talk about a stressing moment. We read about that moment in Jesus' life in the Gospels of Mark and Luke: “And being in anguish , he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’”- Luke 22:44 + Mark 14:34a NIV Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him (John 18:4). He knew of the pain to come and it was weighing heavy on Him. He was greatly overwhelmed. He was human after all. While Jesus was under this great pressure, He had His eyes up and He went and prayed to God: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” - Luke 22:42 NIV Now God didn't take away the pain that Jesus w...

The middle as defined by Merriam-Webster is “the position of being among or in the midst of something”. Tell me have you ever been in the middle. In the middle of your siblings. In the middle of a fight. In the middle of a crowd. In the middle of traffic. In the middle of a storm. In middle school. In the middle of a test. In the middle of the school year. In the middle of the work day. In the middle of raising your kids. In the middle of a job change. In the middle of a divorce. In the middle of a healing process. In the middle of life. In the middle of a season. Just in the middle. Being in the middle sucks. Being the middle child. Being caught in the middle of something that you shouldn’t have been in. Being in the middle of an argument. We all I think have been in the middle. We know what the beginning was. We know where we have been. We know what was. But now we are in the middle. In the middle of what was and what is to come. In...

“...where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.... Psalm 121:1-2 NIV The topic of this post will be found in the following verses from Matthew: “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” - Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV Peter is trying to figure out how much forgiveness is too much. He figured that forgiving someone seven times would be more than enough. But Jesus quickly turns Peter’s thoughts of forgiveness upside down when He responds with 490 times. Peter’s jaw probably hit the dirt after hearing this astronomical number that came for the mouth of Jesus. 490 times! Wow! Peter probably even said to Jesus “You’re joking right?” or “You can’t be serious!” I can bet that Jesus just looked at his strong-willed disciple and said “Oh, you bet I’m serious! Just watch!” But this got me to...

This special series is based on the recent Elevation Worship album “Hallelujah Here Below”. In this series of posts, after listening to the album, there were some things that came out at me and I wanted to share them with you. Used to express praise, joy, or thanks, the word hallelujah is used by many.[1] Hallelujah, I found a job! Hallelujah, I got an A on that math test! Hallelujah, for that extra money! Hallelujah, I woke up this morning! Hallelujah, I survived that car accident! Hallelujah, I am cancer free! Hallelujah, I survived that crisis! Hallelujah, God has come to my rescue again! Hallelujah, God is still by my side! Another way people express hallelujah is with “praise the Lord” or “thank God”. We all have used one or more of these phrases before. But I was shown a different way to think of the word. In one of the new songs of the recently released album, one of the verses says: “Ten thousand angels surround Your throne To bring You praise that will nev...

“...where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.... Psalm 121:1-2 NIV Self-control is hard isn’t it? I often find myself self-control problems have a lot to do with my temper. I would like to say that I have gotten better with matter, but that would be a lie. When I think about this I am often reminded of Moses and one of his bouts with anger. In the book of Numbers, we once again see Israel has their complaining shoes on again and they are stuck in the past - again. They just can’t seem to get their head out of Egypt. “Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” - Numbers 20:4-5 NIV So Moses not knowing what to do any more with these people (this is probably his hands up moment) goes to God for some direction. Good choice. This is what God t...

“...where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.... Psalm 121:1-2 NIV When I think about gentleness and the example that Jesus gave us - I think of Jesus and the children and how He welcomed them with love and gentleness. “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, ‘ Let the little children come to me , and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” - Matthew 19:13-15 NIV Now I know what Jesus was saying here, but that is not what I am after in this post. I am after the how Jesus did what He did. When Jesus addressed the disciples who had been all over the people and the children about leaving Jesus alone - He addresses them with a sternness in His voice. He was pretty much telling them to cool it and take a breath. I picture, Jesus then welcomed the childr...

“...where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.... Psalm 121:1-2 NIV God’s faithfulness. Do you see it in your life? Do you see where God is right there with you and has never left your side? Sometimes, I will admit, I lose sight of it and wonder where God is and why He left me hanging. Why He’s not there when I need him the most? I sometimes get like Israel. When Israel got in trouble they often whined and blamed God for their misfortune. But if could be honest they sometimes put themselves in the predicaments they were often in. But right from the start - right after He took them out of Egypt - God showed His faithfulness to them. When I need to remember that God is faithful, I am reminded of this part of their journey. After being freed from slavery and Egypt, on the other said of the Red Sea, the people of Israel began to complain about their situation. “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said ...