Come on in, the Door Is Open

I can remember times throughout my life when I have visited friends or family and as I knocked on the door or rang the doorbell, a voice from inside would call out, "Come on in, the door is open!" What a sense of comfort and trust I felt. Here was someone that couldn't see me, but they knew me and they felt comfortable enough to say come on in, with no regard of my appearance or life condition. I mean honestly, I could have just come out of a mud pit and covered from head to toe with caked on dirt. I could have been sprayed by a skunk and my odor would definitely precede me. Any number of conditions may have befallen me before I knocked on that person's door, but hearing those words, "Come on in" put a smile on my face. I hope you have had that same experience in your life. The sad reality is that some haven't, and others may feel like they don't have anyone that would ever say those words to them. Trust me. There is someone who is eager to call out to you, "Come on in, the door is open" you just need to knock on His door!

Christian singer/songwriter Zach Williams has a song out on the soundwaves titled  Jesus Loves , in which the invitation to "Come on in" could have easily been the title. Actually, the inspiration for today's Flat Tire thought came directly from the words of this powerful song. Williams provides a litany of open invitations to those that we may not have been so quick to offer the open door policy from above. The renegades, the rebels, runaways, prodigals, those that are lost, the backsliders, the up all nighters, and those in a rut all receive the invitation to come on in. As I read the lyrics I wondered if that list was being offered to me so that I would not have the opportunity to think I was not invited! Well, if that list doesn't cover your life, then maybe something from the second stanza resonates with your life. Those with shattered dreams, bruised, battered, or even barely hanging on. Those who are heartbroken, lonely, or all alone. Those that believe they are an outcast or stuck in their past, and those that are scared of letting go of the past. Guess what, the invitation is open to you as well. "Come on in, the door is open!"

The truth of this open invitation lies in the very words of Jesus as He shared the original invitation to His disciples and a crowd of people He had never personally met in Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." The door is open, come on in! This was the message Jesus was sent to this earth to share. No one was to be excluded, nothing from their past was so bad that they were not invited. Instead Jesus made it clear that if you ask, you will receive. If you seek Him, you will find Him, and whoever knocks on His door to salvation, the door is open, so come on in. That message was true more than 2,000 years ago, and it is still true today. Jesus is the founder of the "open door" policy, and His offer is available to you and I regardless of our dirt or our baggage, to each of us He is shouting out, "Come on in, the door is open". 

To expand on the truth that Jesus invites anyone and everyone to enter into His righteousness, let's turn to another directive from Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your weary souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I find comfort in this scripture, knowing that Jesus wants my dirty past, he feels the pain of my sufferings, and He wants us to place all of our burdens on Him. I can almost hear Jesus calling out, "Come on in, the door is open, take your dirty shoes off at the door, you won't need them anymore!" 

Throughout the song,  Jesus Loves , Williams extends the invitation that Jesus provided to us while He walked and taught in this world. I want to close today by sharing the last stanza of the song: 

"So come on in, the door is open, and the savior's arms are too. The table's set, a seat is waiting and He saved it just for you. So no more running, no more hiding, come on in and you will find that you don't have to be enough, no, no, no, it's been decided by the blood. Yes, you're someone Jesus loves, someone Jesus loves, you're already someone Jesus loves." Zach Williams

Imagine yourself knocking on the door to Jesus's house, you knock and all He says is "Come on in, the door is open" Ask, seek, and by all means knock, His door to peace, love, and salvation is open and waiting on you.

Coach Carter 

Are Mistakes Really a Mistake?

John Maxwell's "The Daily Reader" is a constant source of guidance and growth for me as I am ever  developing others and myself as lifetime learning leaders. Maxwell's inspirational guide is packed with daily practices that should become part of who you are if your aspirations are to be a leader. (Don't forget, everyone is a leader. The only differentiating factor is some people are leading up, others are leading down, and some are leaders of complacency and therefore not leading anywhere, they are stuck in the mud of mediocrity.) In today's Flat Tire Thought, I'd like for us to dissect the true essence of making mistakes and how we should view mistakes in our life's journey. 

To some of us out there, if I were to ask an audience if any one of them had never made a mistake and one person raised their hand you would be so impressed. For the majority of us, we would be skeptical, and for a few of us we would call it what it is "not possible". There has only been one person who has walked this earth who was faultless to the level of perfection, and beyond that we are all a bunch of mistake prone individuals. But, guess what? That's okay, my question today is "Are mistakes really a mistake?"

Here's what the Apostle Paul shared with the followers in the Church at Philippi, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-16). The "this" that Paul is referencing in verse 12 is nothing less than the perfection of Christ. Yet, it is noteworthy to point out that Paul says he knows he hasn't reached perfection, and most certainly never will, but he continues to "press on". In other words, Paul is ensuring us that it is okay to mess up, mistakes are a normal part of life. Not that we want to go out and live a destructive lifestyle, but more that we understand that we are not perfect, and when we fail or make a mistake the positive or the negative outcome associated with our mistake is to be determined by what happens next. 

Some folks choose to wallow in their mistakes and vow to never mess up again, but the methodology they choose to utilize is to stay right where they are and never go out on a limb again. Others make mistakes and choose to never take ownership of their mistakes. My daughter, who is a little more like me than she may want to own up to, shared this one with me the other day from decorated military veteran and author Steve Maraboli, "Those with a perpetual victim mindset tend to create the situations from which they suffer." Own up and be accountable, mistakes and even failures are going to happen, it is okay to admit you messed up. Then there are others that have the ability to do great things, but they are so easily frozen by the fear of failure that they do not take any chances so they won't ever be in danger of making a mistake. I personally cannot relate to this mentality. I often use the analogy of a baby learning to walk. If the baby, in fear, does not stand up and take that first step and eventually fall on their derriere, then that child will be crawling around on the floor throughout life. I don't want to crawl, I want to walk, run, and eventually fly! (Isaiah 40:31). 

I guess you can figure out the last group of individuals and how they face mistakes. I belong in this group, not because of anything I've done outside of never quitting or never giving up, but because of the perseverance I have developed through adversity throughout my life. It is my belief that the grit and resilience to overcome mistakes and even monumental failures in life is in each of us. How we address, deal with, and eventually move forward or backward will shape us as either an overcomer or an underachiever. The day that I read this devotional in the Maxwell daily encourager, I made a note in my phone of what I believe would serve as my philosophy in life as it pertains to mistakes and failures. "I would prefer to have a life full of the mistakes I've made rather than make the mistake of not living life to the fullest and learning from the mistakes made in those experiences." I do not promote recklessness and I would by far rather have things go just as planned, but at the end of the day, the flat tires in my life and the shattered panes of glass I have looked through have been the driving force to the man I am today. Through God's unending mercy and grace, I have not only survived, I have thrived due to His guiding hand and His loving embrace. So I ask you today, "Are mistakes really a mistake?"

Coach Carter

From, Through, and For Him

 Everybody loves to receive a gift. Birthdays, Christmas, showers, and other celebrations make for prime opportunities to share a gift with family or friends. Other unexpected gifts given for no other reason than to give one, make for an even more rewarding experience for both giver and recipient. In today’s Flat Tire thought we are going to look at the gifts God has given us either directly or indirectly. The scripture we will base our conversation around will be  Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." What Paul is essentially saying is everything comes from Him, the one true living God. 

Stop, pause, and look around. I mean seriously look around. Everything your eyes can see and even the things you can't see  came from God. Trees, grass, flowers, rivers, and streams, sun and moon, and every living creature that exists. These were all created for you. Impossible you say, How could all of this have been created for you or I at the beginning of time? But it is true, the gifts of this world all come from God. Our families, our home, our jobs, and our skills are just as much a gift from above, not by anything we do, but everything we are and have are from God our Heavenly Father. "All we are and have we owe to God, Holy God of Israel, our King!" Psalms 89:18.

Have you ever experienced what could be labelled a miracle? I would suggest that whether you answered that question with a "yes" or a "no", you most certainly have experienced a miracle through God's faithfulness. We hope and we pray for healing in a health issue for a loved one or we ask God to intervene in our hardships and challenges. Whatever it is, we pray for answers through God's Holy Spirit. Think of it like a conduit through which electricity flows from the source directly to us. Love, joy, peace, hope are all gifts that we receive through God's love to us. I am reminded of the verse in Psalms 121:1-2 "... where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and earth."

When we really give thought to our lives and all that we have been given from our Creator, then, when we think about how we have received abundantly more than we could ever earn or deserve through God's love, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that God did all that He has done for you and for me. To the extent of God allowing His Son Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:16.  

The free gifts of forgiveness and redemption came from God to each of us. Through  the life of His Son Jesus, we have been taught how to give rather than expect to receive, and it is our responsibility to do all we can for God to ensure we live out the life God purposed us to live! If that doesn't place a smile on your face, I'm not sure what will! 

Coach Carter

Trust & Obey

 Trust. That word alone sounds so simple. As believers we share the word "trust" in very simple terms. When someone is in need we encourage them to "Trust in the Lord", or in other words "trust" that everything is going to be okay. By saying to others "Trust in God's plan for your life" or even saying it to ourselves, we are assuming there exists faith. We can't trust what we don't have faith in. We trust that the vehicle we are riding in is going to get us safely to our destination because we have faith in the manufacturer who designed and assembled the vehicle. We didn't see the car being assembled nor did we watch the engineers and designers lay out the blueprint for the vehicle, but we "trust" that they knew what they were doing when they designed the car, truck, van, or SUV. That trust which in most cases is unrelated to first hand knowledge that we possess, puts us into a two ton vehicle just about every day and we do so without hesitation. Our "trust" has merged into the lane of faith, and that faith is demonstrated daily through our own individual actions. So by saying "Trust in the Lord" what we are actually saying is have faith that whatever happens in your life, God has a plan and you are part of it, and whatever happens in your life is in some way part of God's plan. If we believe that is true, then we develop faith, and if we truly have faith, then we get into the vehicle of life each morning and trust that God has a plan and we are traveling each day to our destination. What we do along the trust ride is up to us, if we say we "trust", then we must have faith in God's plan, and if we trust and believe, then we must and will obey God's Holy Bible and follow His commands for the life He gave us to live. 

Why is trusting in God so hard for someone to do? Well, it isn't as long as life is going just the way we want it to go. Going back to our vehicle analogy above, as long as our vehicle is working properly, the tank is full of gas, and there are no visible or audible issues with the vehicle, then we easily "trust" that we can hop in and go for the day's journey. Yet, if smoke is coming out from under the hood, or a clinkity- clank noise is heard when we turn on the ignition, then our trust in the vehicle quickly diminishes and we aren't as confident in our mode of transportation. This holds true for us as humans as well. When life is good, health checks out, bills are paid, and family is fine, it is easy to say, "Yes, I trust in the Lord", and why wouldn't we? God is meeting all our needs and just like the shirt says, "Life is Good". The true challenge in trusting God comes when things are not so good, when life gives us a "flat tire" of sorts. This is where trust turns our faith into action. 

In James 2:14-26 the author challenges us to show our faith in God without showing our faith in action. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Our "works" as James points out are the demonstration of our trust in God, and then regardless of the circumstances our trust becomes our faith which moves us to action. Or at least that is the way it is supposed to go. Again, trusting in good times is way easier than having faith that God is working through every situation we have going on in our lives and He wants us to build our faith in Him, and that faith is actionable and visible in all we say and all we do regardless of our circumstances or current status in life. 

Where we potentially struggle is when we aren't representing our trust/faith through our works/daily choices. We must strive to be a reflection of God's love in all we do. God's love is witnessed through the actions and steps we take each day to serve others as we live out Jesus' example of servant leadership. In the book of Matthew 25, Jesus shares the parable of the goats and the sheep through which He explains how trusting in Him is demonstrated by our works for Him or our lack of faith in Him is played out through the absence of our acts of service to our fellow man. This paradox is presented in terms of service to God through our service to others. "I was hungry and you either fed me or ignored me, I was thirsty and you either gave me a drink or you denied my thirst, I was a stranger and you either invited me in or you denied me access, I was without a warm coat and you either gave me yours or you buttoned yours up and walked on, I was sick and you either took care of me or you ignored my illness, I was imprisoned and you either came to visit me or you forgot all about my very existence." (Matthew 25:35-43) The follow through on that set of scriptures is summed up by Jesus in saying "What you did or didn't do for the least of these you did or didn't do for me." (Matthew 25: 40-45). Thus trusting is demonstrated through faith, and faith is demonstrated through our works, which is carried out through service to others regardless of our own situations in life.

As our time together comes to a close today, I want to encourage you in growing your trust factor by allowing your faith to move you to service to others in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Things may be tough, things may be rough, and the end may be nowhere in sight, yet our faith can only be witnessed by others through our very service to them. When I stand before God, my hope is that He will look at me and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:23). My prayer is that God will meet with you and offer you the same invitation to enter into His Kingdom. Amen.

Coach Carter

What Do You Want to BE?

 It is graduation time around this grand country and as I had the opportunity once again to address one of our high school graduating classes, I would like to share an expanded version of my message to this year's graduates. 

As a child, I feel certain that the majority of you were asked countless times, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" To which many of you replied a doctor, a lawyer, a veterinarian, or possibly even a teacher. Today, you will go forward in that pursuit of the goals and dreams you have set for yourself. Yet, for me that question isn't really about finding a job or career that will allow you to make more money, or enable you to buy more things than your neighbor, instead it is all about you finding your calling, your purpose in life. To that, I want to inspire you to BE the best you, that you can BE.

BE a lifetime learner. You are graduating high school, turning the page, not closing the book. Pursue knowledge and never lose the desire to grow and learn. Regardless of your chosen career, be the best and always strive to be better. Seek the lesson and learn from your mistakes and those instances some would label as failures. If you do that you will succeed in life. 

BE a change agent. Mahatma Gandhi challenged each of us with these words, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." In your pursuit of a career that will sustain and provide for you and your future family, search for your calling that will allow you to use your strengths and talents to make this world a better place to live for your children's children. Never accept the status quo as fact. Change occurs when you see a problem and you believe you have an answer and then you take the necessary steps to change the status quo. This world has problems, choose one. 

BE strong and resilient. In your lives you have already endured and overcome a global pandemic that rocked the world and a more regional catastrophic weather event unlike anything the majority of us in this stadium have ever witnessed. Whether you realize it yet or not, you have developed the grit and perseverance to overcome any adversity you will encounter in life. Use that character trait in all of your endeavors. Never quit, and never give up, and always do your best!

Most importantly, above all else, BE-lieve. Develop a faith that surpasses explanation and hold tight to hope because hope will not and does not disappoint. (Romans 5:3-5). Live out your faith each day, when things get tough as they most certainly will at some point, remember that you are not walking this road alone. "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10.

Congratulations to each of you on reaching this milestone in your life, I can't wait to see what you do next!

Coach Carter 

Window Cleaner or Starch?

 Odd title for this week's FTM. Putting those two items together would appear to be a far stretch at best, but I've got a little story to share behind today's message of purpose. A little embarrassing, but as in all things, I believe God has a purpose, a lesson, or a plan in all we encounter each day. 

It was a Saturday morning, much like the majority of Saturday mornings when I catch up on the week's laundry and then iron and press the wrinkled dress items for the upcoming work week. (Thanking God and the clothing industry for those wrinkle free shirts and pants, but there's still enough wrinkles out there to hold on to the ironing board!). On this particular Saturday, as I set up the ironing board and plugged in the iron for preheating, I also grabbed the can of starch and set it alongside the board while I gathered the hangers. From there it was pretty much a routine hour or so, as I finished up my dress shirts and slacks. I turned off the iron, closed up the ironing board, and was looking around for the aerosol starch can lid, when my attention was drawn to the label on the can. Unbeknownst to me, I had somehow grabbed my aerosol window cleaner can, which to my defense does look very similar to the starch spray I use. (At least that is my story and I'm sticking to it!). Instantly, I went to my shirts and started looking closely to see if the window cleaner had stained my shirts or possibly something worse. Much to my dismay, the shirts appeared to be just as pressed and sleek as in any of my other ironing experiences. When I realized I had not ruined my wardrobe, I half jokingly said to my self, "Well my shirts are ironed and also squeaky clean!" Fortunate that all was well, and thankful for the story starter for a future Flat Tire Ministries Thought. Everything has a purpose and everyone has a purpose, you may be able to substitute and find someone that can fill the void in most situations, but at the end of the day, we have all been called and we each have a divine and unique purpose in this life God created for you to live. 

When I think about being born with a purpose, a verse from Proverbs 17:17 comes to mind, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." Now I could spend the rest of our time together sharing how my actual brother Bob has always been there for me and that would not do justice to the brother he is and has always been to me, but for the purpose of today's message, I'm looking at the term "brother" in a much broader sense than just flesh and bones. In I Thessalonians 4:9 Paul explained that loving others in "brotherly love" is our command, "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another." And if there is any doubt in your mind what God's purpose for your life is, the words of Jesus in Mark 12:30-31 should clear out any room for question. "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." If that doesn't give you a direct understanding of your purpose on this earth, then I'm not sure what you are looking for? 

The label on the window cleaner bottle explains the product's purpose which is pretty "clear" to clean your windows. The label on the spray bottle of starch defines one specific purpose for the product within. Use to take out wrinkles from my clothes as I iron. Even though I inadvertently misused the window cleaner during my Saturday morning laundry routine, I didn't convert over to using window cleaner as starch. Each of those products have their own purpose. So do you! Above and beyond our jobs, our roles in our communities, and our interests or goals we are called to love God and then love our neighbors as ourselves. As our scriptures for the day pointed out above, if we are to love others out of brotherly love, and Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, then your purpose and my purpose should be undoubtedly to love others like we love God. And if we love our neighbors as if they are our brother then the verse I referenced from Proverbs gives us our marching orders. "A brother is born for a time of adversity". 

If you are searching for your purpose in life you need not look any further. God's plan for your life is to love God first and then to love others just like we love Him. Loving others should be done out of brotherly love, and as King Solomon pointed out in Proverbs 17:17 a brother is born to support others in their adversity. I assure you there is enough adversity in this world to go around for everyone to love someone enough to scoop down and offer a helping hand. You were born on purpose with a divine purpose in mind. Don't get caught attempting to fulfill a purpose outside of God's plan. Our plans are not His plans and our plans will most likely place our individual needs before those of our "brothers" and sisters in Christ. Clean your windows with window cleaner, press your shirts with starch, and love one another as God loves you because that is what you were purposed to do!

Coach Carter

 

Getting Down to the Foundation

 During my morning and afternoon commute to work I pass by a construction site where a new automotive dealership is being built. The property is a commercial lot that previously housed a hotel complex, so the land was fully constructed for use by the public for decades. By that I mean electrical service, water and other power lines were in place, and the lot was completely paved for public access. When this new construction process started it was obvious that the hotel would have to be demolished to which the construction company completed in a very timely and proper manner, yet what I did not anticipate was what happened after the existing structures were cleared. 

More recently, I was surprised when I drove by the area and the heavy equipment on site was busy removing the asphalt and digging down what appears to be an additional 3-4 feet below surface. I suppose I was taken aback by the depth of work being done to create a new foundation for the car lot, especially since there was already what appeared to be a solid base in place. What I didn't take into consideration was the damage that the former structure created for the foundation as it was. The breakdown of the original asphalt and concrete created an unacceptable base for the new business and its purpose. For this property to effectively support the needs of its new tenants, the old had to be removed before the new can be installed. 

Does that sequence of events sound familiar in your own life? Have you ever wanted to "turn a new leaf" and get a fresh start on life? That idiom originated from the 16th century where pages of books were referred to as leaves. When you wanted to start afresh, you would turn a new leaf, signifying that you had turned the page from your former ways and wanted a blank slate on which to start a new chapter of life. We are invited to do the same in our walk of faith. Just like the business site example above, there is a time when we will realize the life we are living isn't the life we want to live. We will see that our plans are not His plans, and we will come to understand that we must be willing to do away with things in our life that may be holding us back from becoming what God purposed us to be, "... to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24. 

As any athlete will attest, there are habits that inhibit us from becoming the stellar athlete we want to become. In the verse above shared with us by the Apostle Paul, athlete or not when we make the choice to follow and serve God, there are things that will hinder us as well if we don't clear them out of the way. Our own self-centeredness must be removed, taking down things that we idolize have to go, and doubts or fear have to be submitted to our Lord and Savior as Jesus instructed us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I  will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30. Just as the future car dealership lot had to be taken down and a new foundation had to be created, we too must be willing to dig deeper and remove the parts of our lives that distract or hinder us from becoming who God created us to be. 

The former Westside Inn hotel site started out in the 1950's as a Howard Johnson Inn, a staple travel choice as travelers began to vacation across the country. Years later it was purchased and given the name Westside Inn, the name it carried until the Kia automotive dealership purchased the site. The land could not serve the dealership in the state the land was, even after removing the hotel complex and office structure. Removing the old structure provided a base, but not a firm foundation. Hence, the current state of the property where the bulldozers and excavators are creating a new foundation that will serve the new owners well. God wants that same new foundation for us as well. He invites us to turn away from the former, "turn a new leaf", and from that blank page fill our lives with God's plan for the life He has purposed us to live. Romans 12:2 urges us "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Are you ready to be transformed, do you want to become what God truly created you to be? Each day I want to be more, I want to have my life be less about me and all about God and His plan for the life He gave me to live. Are you ready to dig deeper and find that new foundation on which God can create a vessel He can fill and then pour out for His Kingdom's sake? Dig deeper and build back stronger! 

Coach Carter