United We Stand...

 

It isn't hard to conclude that the strength of a collective group is going to out perform any effort from an individual. Teams are created in an effort to bring the best of the best together from each individual's strength so that the best outcomes can be reached. Throughout history great significance has been given to the idea of having a united front stemming back to the words of Jesus, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." Matthew 12:25. One of our future founding fathers John Dickinson referred to this presumption of unity as a rebellious group of colonists gathered to decide whether a fight for independence from their mother country of England would be possible only to conclude that it would be an all or none proposal for their bid to succeed. Before the Civil War began, it appears Abraham Lincoln spent considerable time in the Holy Book as he is recorded as having said "a house divided cannot stand". The words of President John F. Kennedy echo this sentiment in his "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" speech which resonate the ideal of the collective efforts of us all for the betterment of the whole. Today's Flat Tire is not political, although we do face obvious and glaring divisions in our country. One perspective would tell you it is the Democrats that are dividing our country, another person will ultimately tell you it is the Republicans that are slicing the knife right down the middle of our country. I stand today as a member of the "United" States of America and I will tell you that we are only as "united" as the proverbial weakest link in our chain. 

The notion of a chain's strength only being as strong as its weakest link fits appropriately in our topic of unity. Whether we are having a discussion about the fight against the novel COVID-19 virus, the stain of slavery and racial injustice, or who will be the president that leads our country for the next four years, our success with any of those topics all corrals around the idea of "us" fighting together rather than each of us falling alone. Mask or no mask, Black Lives Matter and all lives matter, the left, the right, the ultra-left or the ultra-right, we no longer stand as a nation, we stand as a multitude of weak links in our collective country's chain. We must turn our minds from the thought that it is "us" against "them" to a mindset of how "we" can overcome the obstacles that lie in our paths together. 

Looking back at Jesus' comment that a house divided cannot stand the context in which He spoke those words is important and relevant. Jesus was being accused of working as an agent of Satan by casting out demons. His wise response was, why would the devil be working against himself by removing demons from individuals? Sound reasoning in my opinion. In much the same way in the minds of most people in America today the belief they have isn't necessarily bad or evil, but as Americans we have forgotten the collectiveness of our individualism and thus we are creating a chain that is weak in each of its links. Have we as a nation forgotten that the uniqueness of this great country is that it was founded on the belief that men and women are all created equal and all men and women should be born free to choose what they believe? 

That doesn't mean that we have to agree with each other all the time, we just have to be willing to accept different viewpoints for what they are, someone else's view, and then respect that person and their view just like you believe they should respect you and your view. It works both ways you know. As I was finishing up this week's thought a daily scripture app I have on my phone dinged today's verse, a very fitting verse to conclude today's message: "so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:25-27. 

Read it and interpret it the way you want to, my mind reads it and hears no division, equal, and caring for all parts equally, because we are all part of the whole! May we as a whole nation not worry about how great we are as a nation, but instead how we as a nation can move forward together as a nation "linked" to one another with love and concern for our fellow man, woman, and child regardless of race, religion, or where we stand on the scale of liberal or conservative politics. 

I will Pray for peace across our country and around this world!

Coach Carter

 

Rivers and Floods

 

The Nile River Delta is a life line to the agricultural success of its Northeast African region. As a 6th grade social studies teacher it was always a challenge to demonstrate to my students on a flat map how the flow of the Nile actually runs in a northward direction. The elevation in the south where the Nile actually gets its start is higher than the areas in the north near the mouth of the Nile as it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, when you look at a map and try to explain to students that Nile river actually flows northward it doesn't look possible. That southern elevation creates a mighty force of H2O at times overflowing the banks and causing destruction along its course. As flooding and the ensuing destruction occur, something essential and beneficial is also happening. When the Nile and all other rivers flood, loose top soil nutrients are sweep up in the forceful river currents and carried miles and miles downstream. If you've ever witnessed a creek or river after a heavy downpour the water's color is distinctively changed from a clear, clean appearance to that of a caramel brown rapid. As the waters of the Nile reach the lower elevations in the northern region of Egypt the flooding waters begin losing the assistance of gravity, water runs downhill not up, and then nature takes over as the once flooding waters begin to form the delta region where the mighty Nile river becomes several small tributaries moving at a much slower pace. As this happens the dirt and its nutrients start to settle and rest on the surrounding area. The positive outcome of this course of nature is a fine layer of silt filled with rich nutrients that create a fertile soil base for raising crops in what otherwise is a harsh environment for agriculture. In essence, without the flooding waters of the Nile River, the Nile Delta would not receive the nutrients needed for fertility and thus impact the growth and output of crops that provide nutrition and a livelihood to thousands of families in and around Egypt. 

Okay, so now you have endured what so many of my former sixth grade students had to survive, but what does this have to do with our time together today as we prepare to face a new week of challenges and opportunities? Well read on and you shall see. Just as the flooding waters of a river pick up nutrients and carry them on downstream to ultimately provide much needed nutrients and fertility to the soil, we too should be gaining knowledge, wisdom, and strength as we deepen our relationship with God through prayer, mediation, study, and other forms of daily worship. In Paul's letters to the church in Philippi he encouraged the followers there to constantly be growing in their understanding of Christ with this scripture: "I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God." Philippians 1:9-11 (NLT). The love of Christ overflowing into your life, you growing in your relationship with Christ and then the fruit of that growth in your relationship not only impacting you, the soil in which it was planted, but also providing much glory and honor to Christ through the service you provide to others. Sound familiar? 

Just as the flooding waters of a river benefit from the nutrients collected along its journey, your time spent with God creates a flood of positive outcomes and righteousness that all benefit others more than yourself. As you spend time with God reading His word, listening for His guidance, and thanking Him in both the blessings and the adversities of each day, you will begin to overflow just like the mighty Nile River of the African continent. Keep in mind though, the fertile soil of the Nile Delta doesn't happen without the flooding as the river flows northward, and in much the same way, we won't grow in Christ if we do not invest the time each day to learn and advance our understanding of God's will for our lives. Unlike the flooding rivers of this world, nature doesn't just give us the nutrients we need to flood our souls with the plans God has for us to fulfill. That responsibility falls on each of us in our own personal choice to follow Christ. 

Creeks and rivers meander along their destined course slowly and peacefully on a normal basis, yet when the skies open up and the rains overflow their banks the force and power of that same river are evident to the eye and ear. My prayer for you today is that you will allow God's word to flood your mind, body, soul, and spirit. Each day you have the opportunity to read His word, seek His guidance, and allow His love to flood your soul and ultimately impact the world in which you live. Be a river of love, not a pool of discontent. The choice is yours, flow. 

Coach Carter

48 hours

 

The premise behind the popular television series "48 Hours" is that after a crime occurs there is a very tight window of around 48 hours to get a strong lead or gather evidence when solving that crime. The show centers around detectives hurriedly piecing together the case during that 48 hour period because they know that after that space of time expires the chances of apprehending the culprit decrease by about half. Many times, this bracketed 48 hours is called the "critical time" as is witnessed by the actions of those involved in solving the crime display a sense of urgency you can almost feel as the viewer. The whole idea of knowing you have 48 hours to make something happen strikes me as a topic to address in our lives as well. What if you knew you had 48 hours to live? What level of intensity would our actions be altered, and which items on our laundry list of "too dos" might change? 

48 hours. What if you could somehow be forewarned that at this particular moment your time on this big rock would expire in 48 hours? Would your priorities change in what you wanted to get done? Would you place an all-out effort on contacting those that you love so much and make sure that they know that you love them? Would you possibly lay down that grudge you've been holding against a friend that betrayed your trust and go make amends? What about the friend that you broke the trust and they haven't spoken to you in years? Would you make the effort to seek their forgiveness and tell them how sorry you are for what happened? 

How about those long-term plans? I know people that actually sit and mark days off a calendar waiting on the day that they get to retire. In essence, what they have been doing for years is marking off anticipated days awaiting a big pay off when they reach that golden day on the calendar. What if the knowledge that you only had 48 hours was in your grasp? Would you so eagerly be marking off the next day? My guess is that those two days would go way too fast and the pen used to mark off days would get discarded quickly. 

48 hours, 48 days, 48 months, 48 years, or even 48 minutes the point is none of us knows when our time is going to come. In Matthew 24:43 Jesus warns the disciples "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into." How many of us would leave our house unattended this evening if we knew that someone was going to break in and steal our possessions? "Hello??" I didn't hear anyone lining up for a dinner date armed with that bit of info, but we don't know when a thief may target our house, our car, or even our family. We can't and shouldn't live in fear that we could get robbed, just as we shouldn't be living in fear that we might die at any moment, yet what Jesus was warning His disciples is you have to be prepared, take the initiative, and most importantly don't sit around reclusively waiting for something bad to happen.

I struggled with writing today's message. The purpose of Flat Tire Ministries is to be an uplifting, inspiration as you start your week. The thought of dying isn't really a topic of great inspiration, yet I'm not exactly sure that the takeaway from our time today should be focused on the concept of having only 48 hours to live. I believe today's message is directed towards that relationship that needs to be mended. We don't know what tomorrow holds, we just know who holds tomorrow! If you read this message today and a face popped into your head, that is the someone you should be going to and mending that broken relationship. Yes, you can apply this message to getting your priorities in order, yes, it is extremely suitable for someone that doesn't feel like they are walking in step with our Creator, and yes, it is possible that this message is speaking to you about how you live each day like there is an unlimited number of days, weeks, and years at your disposal. The point is we all need to be moved to action today in some aspect of our lives.

Whatever your application is the main thing is you apply it to actionable steps and you don't put it off till tomorrow. "When I see them I'll talk to them", nope that's not what I 'm saying. I'm challenging you to get moving today. Maybe you physically can't get to that person today, ATT duh? Pick up that phone and call them. Of course, going in person would be best, but don't put things off that need to be taken care of today. 48 hours, 480 hours, 48 years, life is going to be exactly what it is supposed to be. We don't control that, what we can control is what we do right now. The challenge is posted, what are you going to do with it?

"This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Coach Carter

Ink Pens and French Horns

 Before you ask, yes there is a connection between ink pens and french horns. As I sat down to spend some time with our Creator this morning I started thinking about how lucky I am that God has used me to write this weekly message and how I don't ever want to take that for granted. To imagine that I would be able to do this on my own or that somehow I am totally responsible for the messages that I get to share would be ludicrous at best. The only thing that I do get to take credit for is that I faithfully take advantage of every thought that passes through my head and contemplate on how that could be used for an encouraging thought that might make someone's day a little brighter. 

Many times ideas for future Flat Tire Thoughts come in a little event or experience, other times through prayer and meditation, and sometimes it feels like God's spirit whispers a thought in my ear. Blessed and humbled I am. Yet all of that means nothing if I don't sit down and start punching the keys on the old Apple. It's kinda like the ink pen in today's title. The pen cartridge gets filled with ink and then it is ready to write, but if we don't pick that pen up and engage it's point with some paper then what good is a pen? You can't really use it for much else, it isn't sturdy enough to use as an implement for work, and it sure doesn't have to many other applications in usage that I can conjure. Pens were made to be used to write. Then take the second object from our title, in much the same way a french horn is forged to deliver a deep melodious sound that soothes the mind and relaxes the body with its harmonious baritone song. That doesn't happen if someone doesn't pick the horn up and apply some oxygen and skill to the brass object. Without some application, a french horn is about as useful as a huge paperweight sitting on your desk. Image that one. We can talk ink pens, paint brushes, french horns, or any other instrument of purpose and the rule still will remain, the object is only as beneficial as the amount it is being used for its intended purpose. 

  Isn't that the way it is with people as well? Think about yourself in the same way we just discussed the ink pen. We are filled, poured into by God, given a gift in some area of life. Don't sit there and say you don't have any gifts, you were created by the God who makes no mistakes and He most certainly isn't going to start with you. You were created for a purpose, you have a gift, some multiple gifts, and now it is your job to find an area to serve and utilize what you have been given. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." You were created to serve, you were given talents that no one else can duplicate, and you were predestined to use that talent or skill to the utmost of your abilities within the time that God gives us to live on this third rock from the sun. The matter is this, God also gave you the ability to choose to use that talent, or in the adverse you have the free will to choose not to use what the good Lord gave you.

Choice, the ability to decide to participate or to choose not to take action on a matter. Decent definition, not Webster, that one’s more of a Carter creation. If a pen isn't picked up and used the ink dries up and eventually misses out on writing the message it was created to compose. If a french horn isn't picked up and played regularly, the pedals will get stiff and without lubrication eventually the instrument will freeze up and not be able to properly share its music. You may be a writer, a singer, a servant, a preacher, a teacher, or you may just be a great listener, whatever your gift is trust me you have something to give and share. We were made to serve. You have a purpose just like an ink pen. 

I have a drawer full of pens laying around inside my desk, if I don't pick each one of those pens up and use it for what it was created, then some of those pens will never be used for what they were designed to do. Maybe one of those pens holds the words to the next great top 100 song. Possibly, that pen could have a message to share that will save someone from ending their life? Maybe, just maybe, that pen contains the words that can help settle the unrest in our communities and across our great nation. But, if that pen doesn't get used for what it was created, that message may never be shared. 

You are that pen, you are that french horn, you have a purpose designed specifically for you and it is your responsibility to go out and use what God has given you for his kingdom’s benefit. Again, the Apostle Paul encourages us with this challenge in Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Whatever. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Service isn't about you. The pen doesn't exist for my benefit, the pen is my instrument by which I can share God's gift to me with you. The musician benefits from playing the french horn, but ultimately the horn wasn't created for the benefit of the player, it was created for those listening to the notes being played by the musician. Sing your song, work hard with all you got, or stand up and speak out against injustice or abuse. Pick someone up off the ground, find a place to pour into, or step up and step out where you are needed in support. Someone reading this has the gift of intercession. Please pray for me, pray for your neighbor, your child, our community, and our country. While you are at it how about saying one for this whole world. You have a gift, use it, be the pen!

Coach Carter

           

There is no "I" in the word "TEAM"

    
     If you've been around athletics at all in your lifetime, or if your job involves working on a team, I'd be willing to gander a guess that you've probably heard the phrase "There's no I in TEAM". Basically, meaning that if you are going to be a part of the team whether it is an office group assigned to a project or if you are on the volleyball team in your school the goals are based on what will benefit the whole over anything related to what is best for you individually. So, as a coach of team sports, one of my primary objectives is to get each individual athlete to want the collective group to be more successful than just what benefits each member of the team singularly.
      Interesting concept, but what about wrestling? I have spent well over 30 years coaching the sport of wrestling which spotlights each individual wrestler out on the mat uno a uno while everyone else is watching. How does the, no "I" in "TEAM" equation fit in this scenario you ask? Thank you, let me explain. Wrestling is what I have always referred to as an individual team sport. Golf, tennis, cross country, and track are other examples of sports that have an individual aspect while competing also as a team. The way I explain it to my athletes is that your performance, your attitude, and your outcomes all do more than just effect you, what you do on the mat has a ripple effect on the other members of the team. If you go out on the mat and give a lackluster performance, that sucks the energy out of our team. They look at you and what they see will have a negative or positive impact on them mentally, physically, and emotionally. If you go out to compete and get disqualified for doing something wrong in your match like poor sportsmanship, it isn't just you that is hurt by your actions. Your decision results in our team losing “team” points, those points could be the difference in our team score at the end of the match. The difference in beating someone by points instead of pinning your opponent has a direct impact on the team points awarded at the end of each individual match. Those points although small in number could be the small difference between a victory for our team or a loss. I always finish this lesson by hammering home the whole idea that if we win, we win as a team, if we lose, we lose as a team. There is no "I" in "TEAM".
     I see so much of the "I" mentality in our culture today. What impacts me is more important than what happens to the collective group because of my "me" self-centeredness. Marital conflict, "I don't like the way she is treating me", have you ever stopped to ask yourself how do you treat her and how are you supposed to treat her? (Ephesians 5:25) Life issues, "Poor me, nobody has had as many _______ problems as I have had to endure." (Fill in the blank: health, work, financial, relationship, drugs, etc...) Or even how about "I don't want to wear a mask, I don't think it is going to help at all" does that one resonate with someone you know during this pandemic? Well, in each of the preceding situations, self is always going to come before anything that impacts the whole. 
    May I pose a question right here? What if Jesus had taken the "I" first approach when He was there in the Garden in Gethsemane? His prayer would have been something like this, "Father, I'm not sure what they are gonna do, but how about getting me outta this situation really quick?" It would have been humanly understandable if Jesus had said, every man for himself, or what if Jesus had said "You know those nails in my hands and feet are going to be pretty uncomfortable, I don't think I'm going to go there." How ashamed we should be for putting ourselves as the only one that matters when it comes to this life that we have been given to live.
     I have been on a roll lately repeatedly proclaiming the life you live isn't about you. Apply it to whatever situation or circumstance you want, but at the end of the day it applies to all aspects of life in general. Jesus lived a life, all flesh and bones. He hurt when he got a cut, and his mind could be distracted by His humanness, but Jesus didn't allow his humanness to control His decision-making. When He was there in the Garden at Gethsemane He cried out, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39. Yes this is going to be uncomfortable, yes this is going to be painful to the point of unbearable, but if that's the way you want it to be then so be it Father that's what I will do. There was no "I" in the word "TEAM" when Jesus walked this earth, and the spelling of the word TEAM has not changed since. 
     The collective unit is more important than the individual. If you don't understand that then you are who this week's post is directed. We have to place the value of the whole over our own self-centered, egocentric mindset. A life well lived is full of sacrifice, sharing, giving, even suffering for the benefit of others. If we want this world to come to a place where we can effectively move forward as a country, "WE" must replace "ME". If you are living a life that is more worried about how something is making your life uncomfortable, then it may be time to get out God's dictionary and look up the word "TEAM". I do not believe it will have the letter "I" in it. Nor should it. 
Praying for each of you! 
Coach Carter