Tick-Tock Goes the Clock

 I love my peaceful early morning time. I rise around 4:00 to get my day going and the first item on my agenda is my quiet time with our Creator. I love the stillness of the morning, and the quiet, calming tik-tok of the clock in the room where I am sitting. On the surface that clock portrays a pretty simple mechanism. The face, two hands, and the soft tick-tock clicks coming from an unseen source. The unseen source is where this mechanical marvel gets somewhat more complex. The inner workings of a clock make for a tinker's playground. Gears, springs, the oscillator, and the escapement are all behind the scenes working in complete symphony to create the tick-tock of each second of every minute, for each hour of the twenty-four hour day each day. There's an old joke that goes something like this, "What time is it when a clock stops working?" Answer,"Time to get a new clock". The inner workings of a clock keep the hands moving in a minute by minute fashion with no delay or drop which on the surface allows us to keep up with our daily schedule. Take away one small spring or interlocking gear and suddenly the clock completely stops or at best doesn't keep time accurately any longer. It is a safe statement to make that each part of a clock has a unique purpose and it was made to fulfill that purpose in its operation. You were designed and created in the exact same manner. You have a purpose and if you don't fulfill that purpose something in this big old world is not going to happen or at best it will have to be completed with an alternate plan in place. Tick-Tock goes the clock, and beat, beat, beat goes our hearts. 

Just like the tiniest, intricate part of a clock you were uniquely made to fulfill a purpose. Without the smallest spring in the workings of a clock the clock becomes a relatively decorative paperweight. Actually, without every single part of the mechanics of a clock there is no ticking or tokking and there is no time to tell. Each and every part plays a pivotal part in making that clock work. In the same manner, when you were designed and created by God, there was a unique purpose that can only be filled by you put into the workings of this world. You may feel insignificant in the scope of the workings of the whole world, but in reality, just as that tiny spring has to be in the proper place connected to the proper next piece, life just won't happen in God's intended manner without you fulfilling God's plan for your life. 

A favorite saying of mine is "you were made on purpose for a purpose", and how true that tiny cliche is. Without you, how can your divine purpose ever be fulfilled? In simple terms it isn't possible. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul supports this concept with this nugget of truth, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." "In advance to do", or in other words for a definitive purpose. Take the spring out of the clock, no tick tock, take you out of your divine purpose, no purpose fulfilled. What that means is, "you" matter. 

In life there are times when we may feel insignificant or purposeless. A life without meaning is the basis of the more than 700,000 suicides across the world each year. Having no hope to the point of taking one's own life speaks directly to the notion of feeling that someone has no purpose in life. Based on what Paul shared with us in Ephesians 2:10 each of us was created in advance by God with a purpose that only you can fill in mind. I envision God working at a craftsman table, tiny sculpting tools lie at finger's reach, paint with paintbrush dripping, and an eye for perfection glistening as you were being crafted by God. He made no mistakes, perfection was accomplished in our imperfect, fleshly bodies. God created you on purpose. For a purpose that only you were created to fulfill. 

Have you come to the understanding that God is omnipotent? He knows all, designed everything and everyone throughout the existence of this world, and God created your DNA to accomplish His divine will for the life you are supposed to live. That truth gives me confidence on the job, in my family, and throughout the trials, afflictions, and successes of life. I will forever search to fulfill God's master plan for this life He has given me to live! "For in Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through and for Him." Colossians 1:16. You matter, you are unique, and you have a purpose. Find what makes you "tick" and then go out and make this world "tock". 

Coach Carter

Hunger and Thirst

 If I am going to hunger, may I hunger for the Word of God. If I am going to thirst, may I thirst for His righteousness in my life. When we visualize the two title words in today's message, it isn't necessarily a positive image that comes to mind. When I think about hunger, it isn't just a picture of someone that has had to push back lunch an hour or so and now they are "hungry" or "starved". What I'm envisioning is someone who is lacking the proper nutrition to function properly on a day to day basis. As I consider the image of someone who is experiencing thirst, I visualize a person with dry, parched lips desperately searching for even a drop of water. Here in America hunger and thirst should not be an issue. We, as a country, throw away more food and waste more clean water on a daily basis than some parts of the world have to consume in weeks or months. Just as I strive to not be wasteful with our natural resources, remembering how blessed we are to live in a bountiful land, it is more important to me that I do not take for granted the unending blessings made available to me through God's Word and the example of God's righteousness He gave us through the life of His Son Jesus Christ. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6. Today, we are going to view hunger and thirst from a different perspective. We need to hunger more, and thirst more for the One who created us and designed us with a purpose in mind. 

May I hunger. Research studies tell us that the worst time to go grocery shopping is when we are hungry. Walking down the aisles those high impulse items just seem to transport themselves into our buggy whether that is what we went to store for or not. When we are out to eat and the menu is shared, there are times when it is hard to pick between meals. We want it all! As a former high school wrestler who cut weight for matches there were days at a time that I would only eat a sparse amount of food, if any. I can still pull one specific memory to the forefront of my mind that exemplifies this concept of being hungry. A commercial came on the television advertising frozen broccoli with a rich, creamy cheese sauce being poured over it. I didn't even like broccoli back then, but man I would have given anything to have had that bowl of broccoli with cheese sauce dripping off each stem sitting in front of me at the dining room table. That's the hunger I want to experience daily when I think about God's Word found in His Holy Bible. I want to taste the deeper meaning of Book and chapter, and I want to have hunger pangs for the truths His word provides. In John 6:35 Jesus shared, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger ....". Coming to Christ means seeking, searching, or possibly hunting for the truths of the Bible and how we can apply the Word to our daily lives. Why does a hunter hunt? Because he or she is hungry! I want my hunger to drive my daily devotional time, my prayers, and my desire to hear from and follow God's Holy Spirit each day.

The second part of the verse above goes on to say, "... and whoever believes in me shall not thirst". I am confident that if I go to a water fountain  and compress the button, water is going to come out and I am going to refresh my body. I know that if there isn't a water fountain available all I have to do is find a store and there will be myriad options for brands and quantities of water to select from. We live in a land where thirst is a momentary thing at best. That doesn't mean we can't experience a true thirst though. I want to thirst for God's righteousness. While water is readily available to quench our momentary thirst, I want to search for God's righteousness like I am stranded in a desert with no spigot in sight. I want to have my thirst quenched by the example of righteousness that Jesus displayed as He lived a sinless life as a man here among us. Sinless, blameless, and willing to suffer the brutal torture He endured so we would have the opportunity to seek His righteousness. Just as man can only live a short period without water, I want my life to be such that I need the nourishment of His righteousness to live out each day that I have been given to live. I desire a long, cool drink of God's righteousness each morning as I rise and throughout each day that I have been given to live!

I pray that you will hunger and that you will thirst. If you happened to jump into our conversation at this point you might be asking what in the world is this about? There's not too many positive images that surface when we speak about hunger and those that are thirsty, yet the hunger and thirst we have discussed today is one that we all should experience. The scene of Jesus talking to the woman at the well in John 4 gives us a good overall view of the hunger and thirst I am describing. When the Samaritan woman inquired about the "living water" He was offering, Jesus replied, "... but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." May your hunger be met and your thirst be quenched through your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Amen. 

Coach Carter

What I'm Not Doing

 

I sin daily. That is scriptural, (Romans 3:23). We all live in an imperfect world full of imperfect people, from the man or woman that has chosen to live in the world, to the most pious of Popes we are all sinners. The Good News is God anticipated our sinful nature and sent His Son Jesus to be the Savior for you and for me! Praise God for His mercy and grace! But what sins are we praying for forgiveness fo? The sins we "do" or have you ever thought about the asking for forgiveness for what we do "not" do. 

In the Book of Romans, Paul appears to be working through an internal conflict. It is almost like he is battling with the two iconic images of a devil on one shoulder whispering in his ear, while on the other shoulder an angel is perched sharing positive and encouraging guidance. "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if  I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."  Romans 7:15-20. For me, a key concept to point out is Paul admits that he knows what he is supposed to "not" do, but he doesn't do it. We aren't inert beings so it is only reasonable to assume that if we aren't doing the good things we know to do, it may be that we are doing the bad things that we also know we shouldn't be doing. 

When the Bible tells us that we must confess our sins to obtain righteousness, (I John 1:9) that isn't just the sins we are doing each day, it also includes the sins of what we are not doing each day. The Ten Commandments plus Jesus' command to love others in the same manner as we love ourselves is pretty inclusive, but it is reasonable to believe that many folks are convinced that as long as they aren't murdering, stealing, cheating, or denying God is our Savior then they are in pretty good salvation shape. I would counter that thought process with the question of what are we not doing for the Kingdom of Christ that we know in our hearts and souls we should be doing each day?

Giving of my time, resources, and self tops my own list of requests for forgiveness. Too often, we get caught up in our own busyness, which leads us to get things out of order when it comes to setting priorities. Forgiving others and loving our neighbor is a called out command, but how many of us want to cast the first stone or point out the splinter in our brother's eye before we self-reflect about our own sins and the proverbial plank in our own eye. The list of "things" we are not doing that we should is extensive, but the core principle remains constant, if we are not doing what we know we should be doing that in itself is sin. 

So, what do we do? Well, we need to ensure ourselves that we know what we should be doing first. How do we do that? Spending time in His Word, meditating and praying for God's will to be fulfilled in and through us, and then investing our living out our divine purpose. We know what to do, too often we find ourselves in the same predicament as Paul shared above, yet at the end of the day, our charge is clear. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7. Make the decision to "do" what needs to be done and then do it!

Coach Carter

Holding a Grudge

 Over the years I've encountered family situations where two relatives haven't spoken in years. One person betrayed the other person or one family member believes a certain way and the other family member diverges from that mindset, so suddenly "I've cut ties with that family member" is the route of least resistance. Obviously, this is not something that is unique to family squabbles, life-long friends are just as suspect to fragmented relationships that many times extend over years and years of "I'm right and they are wrong" justifications. In America, we call this phenomenon "holding a grudge". In the minds of the beholder, the wrong warrants revenge or retribution, "You did me wrong so until you get paid back for doing me wrong I'm done with you." Not only is this way of thinking detrimental to building and maintaining positive relationships, it is my opinion that this method of dealing with negative experiences can only deter our own personal growth as a leader in our homes, families, and places of work or school. Additionally, if we are going to live out a life of a true servant of our Lord and Savior, forgiveness has to be a cornerstone of our faith. 

If you have been holding a grudge for any length of time, I'm pretty sure you have justified why you are holding that grudge over and over in your mind and through conversations with others that have confirmed your stance on the issue at hand. That justification may very well be warranted, yet that merit is most certainly of the secular, worldly mindset. A mindshift towards not only forgiveness, but also towards purpose and growth create a totally different approach to addressing a wrong you have encountered. If we want to talk about someone who had a reason to hold a grudge against his family members it would have to be the Biblical figure Joseph. If you think you have a right to be holding a grudge, just look at what Joseph endured and overcame in his own life. 

You may be aptly familiar with Joseph's life, but just a quick recap to put things in their proper perspective. Joseph was, at the time of our story, the youngest of the eleven sons of Jacob. Joseph was a favorite of his father which led to some jealousy from the rest of his brothers. Joseph didn't help matters when he shared some dreams with his family which inherently suggested that one day, the brothers and even his father would bow down to him. From there things went downhill for Joseph. His brothers plotted to kill Jacob and make it look like he was attacked by a wild animal. Only through the intervention of one of his brothers, was the decision made to sell Joseph into slavery to a group traveling to Egypt. The brothers did just that, but still convinced Jacob that his youngest son had been attacked and slain by a wild beast. From there, Joseph was placed in Potipher's house only to be falsely accused of rape, imprisoned, lied to by some of his fellow inmates, but eventually vindicated earning him a high ranking position in the Egyptian hierarchy. During the many years of trials and tribulations that Joseph endured, he never gave up on his faith in God. Finally, the dreams Joseph shared with his family from his youth came to fruition. In the midst of a famine, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to ask for food and provisions. And who do you think this group of co-conspirators had to make their request to? Of course, Joseph himself. 

After all the years of reflecting and thinking through the looks on his brother's faces as they sold Joseph into slavery, you would think this is where Joseph's grudge would be avenged. If that was your thought then sorry, wrong answer. Genesis 50:20 shares that not only did Joseph show mercy and forgiveness on the very same brothers that sold him into slavery and stole his life with his family, Joseph stated the following sentiment to his brothers, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." That took a lot of humility. His grudge would have been justified by just about anyone in the world, but Joseph opted to forgive and actually embrace the journey by which he landed in one of the highest positions in the Egyptian empire. The key takeaway here is that Joseph recognized and stated that the events from his past were all part of God's eventual plan for good. Talk about grudge busters, the life of Joseph should serve as a model for each of us as we should be forgiving rather than condemning. 

Joseph's willingness to forgive his brothers reminds me of another example of forgiveness surpassing a potential grudge. After Jesus was falsely arrested, beaten and tortured, and eventually hung on the cross to die, Jesus looked down on the crowd of onlookers and Roman soldiers and whispered one last prayer to His Father. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing ..." Luke 22:34. 

In your mind you may have a grudge that in your mind is completely justified. Someone you cared about or someone you trusted broke your heart and destroyed your relationship. Today, I ask you to look at the life of Joseph and what he endured, and then take a moment to place yourself on the cross where Jesus died. If forgiveness over retribution is what their example was, what wrong could be seen as unforgivable in your life? God is merciful to forgive us of our sins, should we not do the same for those that we believe have wronged us? Will you continue to hold a grudge, or will you reach out today and share the same grace that you have been given? Choose forgiveness. 

Coach Carter

Finish with the prayer Jesus prayed Father forgive them for they now not what they do. If Joseph followed the example of Jesus and he didn't even know Jesus, what is our excuse for hlding a grudge when we do know about the loving forgiveness of Jesus? Challenge do away with a grudge you have been holding.