The Relationship Makes It Possible (Part 1)

 I started to title today's message, "It Isn't Possible Without a Relationship", but I don't want to focus on the negative. The focus should always be on the positive outcomes associated with having a relationship with our God. I'm not exactly sure where this one is going, but I have had this laying heavy on my heart. So many times, we tell others that we are praying for them, or as we pray for our own situations and needs we ask God to intervene and in some cases perform what would best be described as a miracle. To ask our God for His divine intervention in any situation is assuming a number of things. First, we believe God hears our individual prayers. Second, we have to be confident that God will be attentive to our prayers. Lastly, we have to understand that although God hears and responds to our prayers, His response may not fit our cookie cutter request verbatim. As I scribe this opening paragraph, I'm seeing three separate Flat Tire messages, today we will focus our time on believing God hears our individual prayers.

How is it possible that God can hear the individual prayers of millions and millions of people all over the world? In our human minds it is inconceivable and rightfully so. I have a hard enough time focusing my attention on any one conversation with all the conflicting noise that surrounds us each minute of our waking day. It is not possible for you or I or any other person to give each individual or group the attention that they would like to have in voicing their thoughts and requests. When we relegate God to our human capacity, we obviously have not arrived at a place where we better understand who God is and what He is capable of doing. 

"In the beginning, God created ..." Genesis 1. Throughout the first chapter of the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament we are introduced to the fact that God created everything! How do I know this to be true? Would not science tell us that this is humanly inconceivable? Doesn't this conflict with the historical timeline that scientists have pieced together through research and scientific methodology? The short answer may appear to be yes, but just as it is not conceivable in human terms to believe that God can hear the prayers of millions of men, women, and children around the world,  the true response is God does. If we try to limit our God in comparing Him to our human limitations that would also be boxing in our God's omnipotent power and omniscient capabilities. How can I know for a fact that God created all things? Because His Holy Bible says it happened that way and that is that. Hear the Apostle Paul's explanation of God's omnipotence and our reliance on His Holy Spirit to the Church in Corinth found in I Corinthians 2:9-16. 

"However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" - the things God has prepared for those who love him - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?"But we have the mind of Christ." 

We must have the Spirit of God in us to accept the omnipotent power of God. This is not possible if we place God in the same realm as our human existence. To believe that God can do all things, including anything we can imagine or pray to Him about, is to trust that God is God and God is capable of doing things that no human mind can explain or understand. That is not possible unless we first have a relationship with God. 

Then how do we develop a relationship with God that allows us to believe He hears us even when we do not see the evidence or receive the confirmation that God heard our prayers and understands what we need? We trust that God hears us and that He weaves our prayers into His ultimate plan which as Paul shared above is not comprehendable to our human nature, "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love Him". (vs. 9)

To trust that God hears your prayers requires that we have a relationship with God. Trust is fundamental to any relationship. We trust our mother and father as they protect us and provide for us as babies and throughout our childhood. We trust that adults who teach us and coach us are teaching us sound learning that stands the test of time. We trust our spouse as we commit to marriage vows that promise to care for one another in sickness and in need. Yet, there is no trusting relationship that compares to our trust in the power of our God. In all of our other relationships we can see the person and we develop the trust over daily encounters with that person. In a different, but similar manner, we build a trusting relationship with God through daily time spent studying His Holy Bible, listening to His Word being taught and shared with us through teachings and sermons, and then meditating with and praying to our God. As we spend time with Him, although we cannot see Him physically, we begin to understand that He is always there. We may not be able to explain it to someone who does not have a relationship with God, but that does not change the fact that He is here. He always has been,  and always will be. He is God and He is here. 

If you do not have a relationship with God that places your trust in Him and believes in His ability to do anything and everything, then I would suggest you start today. Find your quiet time, block out the noise of your phone or any other distraction, and begin a conversation with Him. Seek God and you will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13). The more time we spend with God in prayer and meditation, the more real He will become to you and the more you will understand and believe that God hears your prayers. 

Believe and Pray on! 

Coach Carter

The Gift of Today

 "This is the day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

I began journaling my prayers several years ago and that has made a tremendous difference in my prayer life. Not only has my focus improved on what I am praying about, but it has also had a lasting influence on my ability to listen and hear God's guidance and direction for this life He has so generously given me to live. My faith tells me that our prayers are just as much about hearing from God's Holy Spirit as it is seeking God's Holy Spirit to intervene on our behalf. When we start listening rather than always asking for answers to our situations, our focus shifts from someone who is always wanting, to a person who is always grateful and thankful seeking to serve and grow in God's will and way. For our Flat Tire Ministries Thought for the Day, I would like to share one of my recent daily prayers. Not that my prayers are a model to follow, but more so this particular prayer is one where I believe the Holy Spirit said to me, I made this day, will you rejoice in it and just be thankful for it? 

"Father God, You have given me this new day and this gift has been given to all mankind that wakes up today. There are different responses to Your gift, I pray that mine will be an attitude of appreciation and a sense of responsibility to not waste the gift from the Giver. Some will walk through the motions and some never realize they have a gift laid in their lap. For some they will complain about the day. From the moment they finally roll out of bed, they will complain about having to go to work, they will complain about the long line at their coffee drive-thru, they will be the most frequent contributor to the complaint department at work, and their friends and family will endure another day of gloom and doom that this person exudes. Some will embrace this day and they will impact their world just because that is who they are. Father God I want to be like that person each day, every day that you give me to live. Will the day be a great day every day? Of course not, but I pray that I will choose how I respond to the day. I know my approach to the day will be determined by how I perceive the things tha come my way. Challenges that present opportunities or opportunities that make challenges. Lord there will be some that do not receive this day. For a certain percentage of the population today will be their last day to wake or not wake. Father, I pray that I won't waste this day, and that I won't assume that tomorrow will be my next day I have to make a difference. I pray for those who do not have an appreciation for the gift of this day, and I ask that they will be able to see your day and the gift that they have received. Amen"

After typing out the prayer from my journal, I reflected on the purpose of this prayer that I submitted to our Creator and our Redeemer and concluded that this prayer isn't as much about what I was going to do with the gift of the day, but more about praying that I would be submissive to what God wants me to do today. The gift of this day wasn't for me to necessarily benefit personally, but rather the gift of the day is to have the opportunity to serve others, share the Good News of God's forgiveness, and His offer of eternal life through forgiveness of sins and the redemption of our heart and soul. 

As I continue praying, and as each of you open your heart and mind to God's will for your life, my prayer is that we become empty vessels eager to be filled with God's Holy Spirit! Eager to serve others before ourselves, and swift to lift up those who are downtrodden and in need. Ask yourself this question today. "Will today be a gift that God has given me for the benefit of those I come in contact with today?" May your days be focused on service before self and may your plans be directed by the same God who created Heaven and earth. 

Coach Carter

"Be"

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

One of my distinct childhood memories is of a time as a small lad being challenged by my older brother and some of his friends to knock down a wasp nest that was situated on an old swingset that we had all outgrown. The teens told me that if I would knock down that nest they would let me go with them to the creek and around the farm. That was all the motivation I needed, being eight years younger than Bob and his friends, I would do pretty much anything to hang out with them. So I grabbed what I thought was a long pole and stealthily approached the bee's haven, nestled right there in the crossbeam section of the rusted swingset. You could say I was on guard, but unfortunately, the wasps were more on guard than I. As memory serves me, three wasps flanking me, one to the right, one to the left, and one straight down the middle landed on my face right between the eyes. What proceeded to happen next was a great deal of pain and swelling to my eyes, which led to screaming and crying from a six year old, and one mad Mamaw Whetsel who took a switch after not only Bob, but the other boys as well. Awwwhhhh, those were the days! 

That "bee" memory serves as the impetus for today's Flat Tire Thought. Jesus spent the majority of his time here on earth healing the sick, teaching all that would listen, and preparing us for life after His earthly death and resurrection. In many instances Jesus used parables and stories to drive home his point. There's definitely  multiple takeaways to be learned in my "bee" story above, yet the stories that Jesus shared were life lessons that have served hundreds of generations of followers of God our Heavenly Father. In particular is a warning that Jesus shared with His disciples in the Book of John. I shared John 16:33 at the beginning of the message today, but let me give you Chuck's paraphrase of this verse. Jesus warned His disciples and all of us to "be" on guard because we will "be" under attack in this world. But we can "be" comforted because Jesus has already conquered this world. As Jesus neared the time of His arrest and death on the cross, he warned the disciples to "be" on guard, because in this life they would "be" under attack. Just as the bees attacked me when I approached their nest with ill intent in mind, Jesus warned us that we, much like the bees in that nest, will "be" under attack in this world. 

The bees in the nest attacked me in a physical manner which I definitely can say I remember that feeling! The attacks Jesus warned against may not be physical in nature, yet the attacks that we face today sting more deadly than the venom of a nest full of wasps! Marriages will come under attack as pressure mounts and some folks check out. Drug and alcohol addiction is an attack that has decimated individuals and families. Abuse, neglect, debt, or crime, all of these are prevalent in our society today, and Jesus warned us in advance, "be" on guard, because you will "be" under attack. That was the warning in the state of "being" that Jesus shared. Yet in spite of the warnings that Jesus shared, he continued to encourage and comfort us with the rest of his message. 

"Be" of good cheer, because I have overcome the world and I will "be" with you to comfort you and support you! That was the promise of Jesus and His promises hold true today. In the Book of Hebrews, verse 13:5 tells us that He will "never leave us nor forsake us", so we have His promise to "be" with us and to never leave us on our own as we face the "bees" of our life's journey. We can "be" assured, God is with you, He knows where you are and He knows what you need even before you ask. I challenge you today, "be" diligent in prayer, "be" confident in the power of our Lord and Savior, and "be"aware that you are never alone nor will you ever "be". 

Coach Carter

The Proper Perspective

 Guilty. Have you ever arrived at your dinner destination only to be greeted with the news that the wait time for a table is going to be 45-60 minutes? Standing there waiting on your table, the frustration you felt upon hearing the news of the wait begins to morph into a bit of anger and you start to wonder why you are having to wait so long when there are obviously empty tables available and you have noticed that some of the wait staff are just standing around anyway. You might say you moved into the stage of being "hangry". That frustration turned anger blinds us as the reality of the situation is that within a few minutes you will be waited on hand over foot, and the quantity of food presented to your table will surpass the palette of even the most hungry at your table. As a matter of fact, the quantity of food that will be left uneaten would be enough to feed another family of four. Yet, you and your party make your way to the register, flip out your debit card and sign off on the very meal that some in the car will be complaining about on the drive home. Guilty. Does that sound a little too familiar, or maybe I'm the only one that has experienced even parts of that scenario. If so, maybe another situation would "fit" better. You stand in front of a closet filled with shirts both long and short sleeved, pants, shorts, sweaters and vests, and the very words that come out of your mouth are I don't have a thing to wear today! Or what about the temperature in the room where you happen to be stationed. Too hot, too cold, we may be trapped in the Goldilocks syndrome of trying to find the room in the building that is "just right". As with most of my writings the list goes on and on of life examples that may fit your situation in life better. New car to replace the old one, less sunlight coming in my corner office window, the wait in line at the pharmacy, and on and on we go! Whatever your life status is right now, I'm going out on a limb a bit to gather this conclusion. If you are reading this post from your phone, laptop, or other electronic device, you actually have a pretty comfortable life. Your life conditions may feel uncomfortable at times, yet when you take the proper perspective of your life's current status, I believe you should be able to agree that you have it pretty good. Could life be better, different, or easier? Absolutely, yet the idea that I am conveying today isn't about the scale of how comfortable your life is on a scale of 1 to 10, but more about how you perceive your life whether it is a 9+ or a -1 on that same scale. 

The key to perspective is found in the notion of what you put in is exactly what you will get out. If you dwell in the world of comparison then maybe you shouldn't be comparing your life to that of the "Jones' family", but instead maybe your life compared to the roughly 26% or 1 out of every 4 people in the world that do not have safe drinking water. Or possibly we could consider the plight of the 673 million people around the world who do not receive adequate nourishment each day when we push ourselves away from the uneaten, food laden table where we sit. I'll never forget the story my nephew/son Bogi shared with me after one of his journeys in the Air Force that caused him to look at life from a completely different perspective.

Bogi was stationed in Djibouti, located in the horn of Africa several years ago. There he witnessed destitute poverty, rampant drug abuse, and almost zero hope for a better tomorrow. He shared with me that in the doorways of buildings he entered, children were laying there much like a dog we would step over as it stretched out across the floor. The infrastructure did not provide opportunities for jobs, so limited access to income, certainly not wealth was the norm, and as I stated above the hopelessness was only punctuated by the utter dependence adults and children relied on found in the stimulant crop khat that grows there naturally. Much like other amphetamines khat is highly addictive and the people there walked around high as a means of coping with their life's station. The proper perspective aspect of this story is found in one of Bogi's return trips to the United States on a commercial airline. During the flight the cabin crew wheeled out a hot meal for passengers who were traveling a day's journey across continents. The person beside Bogi received their meal and before even tasting the food they were complaining about the quality and quantity of food they had just been handed while they sat on a jumbo 747, air conditioning flowing down on their head and body, situated in a padded seat, with access to water, tea, soft drinks, or coffee with a push of a button. That was a hard moment for a young airman transitioning back to the land of flowing milk and honey. I believe it is safe to say that was a moment of putting things into their proper perspective. 

The Apostle Paul lived a life of luxury before his conversion from the persecutor of Christians to his lifetime service to the work of teaching and expanding Christianity. The conversion did not come without lifestyle changes, beaten, imprisoned, hunted, and abused Paul not only accepted his life's situation, he embraced the trials and adversity he experienced. "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13. To what extent are you and I willing to carry the cross of Jesus? What level of comfort, or probably better to ask what level of discomfort, are we willing to accept as possibly this is exactly where God has placed us at this moment in life and in this moment I will not only survive, but I  will thrive? 

Jesus warned His followers, which means He was warning us over 2000 years ago that we would face adverse conditions, and life would not always be easy. In John 16:33 Jesus shared, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This message from Jesus tells us that life is not going to be full of that proverbial bowl of cherries, but instead there will be ups and downs, good and bad, and at times it may feel like it is all bad, but at the end of the day, Paul's proper perspective of "I have learned to be content in any and every situation" coupled with the assurance from the words of Jesus that we will overcome in Him, should give us a better attitude and an opportunity to illuminate this world with our own perspective on life. God's proper perspective!

Coach Carter

Be the Bridge...

 Last year my friend and colleague Sarah Akard attended the National Youth Homelessness Conference. In the United States of America, homelessness for a child or family should not be a reality, yet close to 2 million children face some form of homelessness each day in this land of abundance. That in itself is a national, state, and local issue that screams "HELP!" The tagline for the conference "Be the Bridge Between Now and Next" stuck with me, as the concept of now and next sent my mind darting in multiple directions. Our children need bridges to opportunity and to hope and our society is in desperate need of a view of where we are now and where we should be striving to be next. 

Just as homelessness should not be a thing for children or their families in our nation, the harsh reality is that it does exist. It is also a reality that drug addiction impacts nearly 49 million people today in the United States. Another alarming statistic here in America is that close to 24% or 61.5 million adults were identified as experiencing mental illness issues in 2024. Crime rates, divorce rates, and the rate of families living below the poverty line are rampant and seem to be on the rise each day we live. For a guy who's mission is to inspire and uplift his fellow man, the stats I'm sharing aren't very inspirational. Yet, as I often say, "we have to take the lemons life hands us, and make some sweet lemonade to share with others". Where problems exist, whether they be societal such as the homelessness crisis in our country or if it is a personal issue with some type of substance abuse or addiction, we each have a job to do. It is our responsibility to be a bridge, the bridge from what is the current status of a person or our society, to the place of what this world can and should be next. 

Here is where our inspiration exists. We each have the responsibility to become the bridge of hope for the hopeless, and the connector of inspiration for the lost and downtrodden. In Jeremiah 29:11 God spoke this message into the heart and mind of His prophet Jeremiah. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Bridges aren't constructed without first developing the architectural design and ultimately creating a set of blueprints that guide the builder's plans and actions. God designed the plan for how we are to become that bridge for someone in need, and then He gave us the blueprint for us to become that bridge through the life of His Son Jesus. God's Word became a living blueprint for our lives and the hope of all mankind. It is our responsibility to build that bridge from where someone is stranded now to where they can be next. 

The Apostle Paul wrote this message of guidance to his younger protege Timothy, "The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right." II Timothy 3:14. As I referenced above, when Jesus came to this earth He became the living embodiment of the Word and thus became that living blueprint for us to become the bridge from now to next. (John 1:1) Just as Jesus became the Golden Gate bridge example for mankind, His teachings provide us with the floor plans of His blueprint for service to others before self. That principle is core to our responsibility of being the bridge for others to cross from disparity to an undying faith grounded in hope and trust. 

So, if Jesus is our blueprint, and the Bible serves as our master copy of God's blueprint then the lessons taught and the truths shared in the Bible become the nuts and bolts of what holds the bridge between now and what is next together. The Spirit of God provides us with not only the nuts and bolts of bridge building, He also provides us with the trusses and beams that ultimately are used to construct that bridge. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23. As God's bridge building workforce, we must utilize the tools listed above to share, serve, build, and even reconstruct the hope of those that we come in contact with each day. Homelessness and hopelessness go hand in hand, we have the tools to bridge the gap between hopelessness to hopefulness!

It is our job to be the inspiration for someone else, the message I want to convey today is for us to not be waiting to be ministered to, but instead to provide us the opportunity to minister to someone else in need. Bridges aren't built for the bridge's benefit, bridges are built for the sole purpose of allowing others to cross on the back of their bridge. We must become the bridge from what is now to the bridge of what is next!

Coach Carter

Here and There

 God is here. God is ever present, omnipotent, and omniscient. God created time and then stepped into time. There is not a day or night that God is not in, from the rising sun in our east to the setting of the same each evening in our western skyline. The Bible tells us that God is an ever present help in our time of need (Psalm 46:1), but God is also with us wherever we happen to find ourselves, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10. The evidence is clear to me, even His name Emmanuel signifies this fact, "God with us". That truth was part of my morning prayers today. We can't go anywhere that God isn't already there, but the question I sought an answer to in my prayers today was, "God is here, but am I there?"

How is it possible to not be with God if He is always "here" with us? How can God be with each and every person at the same exact time regardless of where you are and where everyone else is? I may not be able to scientifically explain that, but I will share with you that our God is not like us, we can't place God in any context where we are comparing God to our human existence. God is with us (Isaiah 41:10), each of us (Matthew 28:20), and that is just the way it is (Hebrews 13:5). God's existence with us in our day to day walk is not connected directly to a time of need, although David wrote "I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" Psalm 23:4. We find comfort and peace knowing that God is with us when we face challenges. God is near to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18) and God's love for us endures forever, (Psalm 136). My advice is to not attempt to compartmentalize God. Calling on God in our times of need is expected, yet if we truly develop and nurture a relationship with God, we will come to an understanding that God is with us, all of us. The problem isn't that God is distant from us, but more that we are not "there" with God. 

If God is "here", then how can it be that we could possibly not be "there" with God? If God is omnipresent in our lives, wouldn't that mean that it is not possible to not be "there" with God, right? Therein lies our dilemma. God gives us free will, thus we choose whether we will be "there" with God. A story about two devout followers of Jesus serves this idea well. Sisters, Mary and Martha, were super excited that Jesus was coming to their home to teach, preach, and eventually dine with those gathered. I'm sure they spent much of the day preparing their home, sweeping the floors, straightening up the furnishings, and most likely cooking right up to His arrival. After Jesus arrived, Martha continued to clean and cook, while Mary stopped what she was doing and sat intently at the feet of Jesus eager to hear what He would say. Martha became irritated that Mary wasn't helping her and vented her frustration to Jesus. What Jesus replied provides merit to the idea of being "there" when He is "here". "Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:31-42. Both Mary and Martha believed that Jesus was the Son of God, both were excited that Jesus was coming to their home, both wanted to be near Him, but only Mary made the decision to stop what she wanted to do, and to do what was the right thing to do. Martha was in the room, but due to her choice to be too busy to sit down and listen to Jesus, she in essence wasn't really "there" with Jesus even though He was sitting in their home. Martha could have said "Jesus is here, so that is where I want to be, right there with Him." Instead Martha chose to be too busy and missed out on the one thing that Mary received, guidance and teaching from the Son of God. 

We started our time together today with a verse from Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Taken in context with our story about Mary and Martha this psalm could have served as a guidebook for the two sisters. Martha needed to pick up on what Mary already knew, God is ever-present, basically saying why do we need to worry ourselves so much with cleaning and cooking to prepare for Jesus to arrive. God, His Son Jesus, and God's Holy Spirit our triennial Creator is with us always, He is "here" we must make the decision to be "there" with Him. Later in the same psalm, God tells David to "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10. What I hear God saying is plain and clear, "I am ever-present, be still and be with Me". 

"Be still and know that I am God", when we stop trying to handle life on our own and we allow God to "direct our steps" Proverbs 16:9, then we can say that we are "there"with God, because God is always "here" with us and for us. When you need to hear from God, He is there, tuck in close to Him and allow His word to fill your heart, mind, and soul. I want to leave you with this one truth. God is with you, God is here. You must decide will you be there with Him? I choose God.

Coach Carter

                            

Giants are Big

"Giants are Big". Redundant statement? Possibly, but I contest that many of us face giants everyday, yet we are either sidestepping them, avoiding the inevitable face-off, or we are allowing ourselves to exist in the shadow of a giant that is blocking out our sunshine. The good news is giants are not invincible, and the better news is you don't have to face a giant alone! 

When we think of giants our minds race back to our childhood with visions of magic beans and a beanstalk that leads to a giant's castle beyond the clouds. It may also be possible that the image you envision is one of a young man slinging a smooth river rock into the forehead of the Philistine giant Goliath. You could say our heroes of each story faced their giant and came out victorious. That would be the summarized version of the stories, but as in any summary, the details often get left behind for the sake of time and space. If you will allow me, I'd like to go just a tad bit deeper. 

First, we need to define what a giant is beyond the 8 ft. tall image that circles around in our heads. Being 5'7" pretty much anyone standing taller than six feet tall is a giant in my line of sight! But, giants are not always flesh and bone, as a matter of fact, the majority of giants that we face would be more figurative in stature rather than Mt. Everest resting directly in front of us. Relationship giants, substance abuse giants, financial giants, health, job, or loss of a loved one giants are real and they can block out the Son's light if we aren't careful. Ignoring or denying a giant won't dismiss its power over us. When the Israelites were being challenged daily to send out a warrior to battle Goliath they pretty much tried to ignore the challenge. It was like, not me, you go! There wasn't a soldier in the ranks that was willing to step up and face this giant of a man. Thus, the giant stood tall right there in their face. Nothing changed until a shepherd boy made the decision to trust in the Lord and step out on the battlefield armed with a slingshot and three river rocks. Or so it would seem. Actually, David was not the underdog that he has been labeled down through history, David did not face Goliath alone, David confidently walked out to face this giant with the power and strength of God flowing through his youthful body! "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." I Samuel 17:45. Giants are big, our God is bigger! 

Whatever your giant looks like doesn't really matter. What matters is it is standing in front of you and holding you back from fulfilling God's purpose for this life He gave you to live. Facing a giant is a challenge, facing a giant all on your own is neither advisable nor strategic. As mentioned above, you do not have to face your giant on your own. The prophet Isaiah shared these words of encouragement from God "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. After David later became King of Israel he continued to place his trust in God as he faced physical, spiritual, and other figurative giants. The one thing that David remained steadfast in was his trust in God to walk with him as he faced any giant that stood in his way. "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise - in God I trust and am not afraid." Psalm 56:3-4.  

You are not alone. The giant is big, because giants are big, but our God is bigger, because God is bigger than any giant, mountain, or trial you are facing. Whatever valley you are walking through, or whatever giant it is that is attempting to steal your joy, I pray you will rely on a few things from our time together today. Giants are real and they can beat you up and toss you around if you allow them to, but you do not have to face your giant all alone. God is near, He walks with us and He makes a way when it appears that there is no way to surmount that mountain in front of you. Giants are big, but our God is bigger! Seek Him, trust Him, and walk with Him each day!

Coach Carter

The Fallacy of Standing Still

 Having worked for ten years as an elementary school principal I distinctly remember hearing phrases such as, "Go over there and stand still for just one minute" countless times. In my own life as a grandfather to seven little girls, I have heard their parents direct their girls to "stand still" and to quit squirming around. I'm not so sure we were asking for something that is even possible. Not that young children can't stay in one place, but I'm thinking more along the lines of asking anyone to "stand still". I believe that term is a misnomer and for us, holding to the mindset of standing still or staying put isn't really possible. You see I don't believe anything actually stands still. We have all heard that at specific times in our history, "time stood still", but did it? I'm pretty sure the clock continued to click and seconds still became minutes and minutes became hours, and hours became days. For our purpose today, I would go as far to say that nothing living stands still. 

Attempting to stand still and maintain the status quo of our lives actually initiates a motion. For me that motion would be moving backwards. What do I mean here? It is my opinion that by attempting to stay put and not move forward then we are in essence making a choice to move backwards. Progress only happens when we move forward, and again progress is not achieved without moving forward. For the human race, the moment we feel that we have learned everything, then we have set our life's GPS to fall backwards as new methodologies and technologies are created and employed. That is why the mindset of being a "lifelong learner" is so important. 

I've stated a couple of times today that the concept of standing still actually serves as fuel for moving  backwards. This isn't just Chuck's opinion. Listen to the words of the wisest man in the annals of history. "Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance..." Proverbs 1:5. If Solomon said to "add to their learning" and to go "get guidance" he was basically saying go, grow, and then go some more! Knowledge and growth don't come to us through osmosis. To "add" and to "get" are action verbs not passive and definitely not innate. Gaining knowledge is advice that is planted over and over throughout the Book of Proverbs and also in the Book of Ecclesiastes both penned by King Solomon. Why would the wisest and arguably the smartest man in history over and over again direct people to find knowledge and gain wisdom? (Proverbs 3:13, Proverbs 4:7, Proverbs 16:16, and Proverbs 18:15 just to name a few examples). Solomon knew that to settle in on the knowledge base where you are is the recipe for mediocrity and ultimately a declining mind, decreased initiative, and the beginning of the end of progress. Thus if you ain't moving forward, you sure aren't standing still, you are effectively moving backwards. 

Why is being complacent with the knowledge base so detrimental to ourselves and to society? Things change, we can't assume that the knowledge we gained as a youth will be sufficient for us as adults. As a leader I can't assume the skill and knowledge I have today will ever be sufficient for me as a change agent for the betterment of the people I serve in my leadership role. As soon as I assume I have all the answers and I do not need to continue learning and growing, I have placed myself and those I work alongside into reverse gear. This world does not stand still nor should it. Just look at the example of the personal computer. If mankind had settled when a personal computer had to be operated at a desk with space for a monitor, keypad, and the computer tower, we wouldn't have our very own personal computer readily available anywhere we go right there in our pocket. Horse and buggy or automobile, campfire or microwave, the list goes on and on. We advance in society because we go forward in our thinking and our perspective on life. 

In my own life, I live by the motto of "You gotta go if you want to grow", to which the alternative is just as true, "If you don't go, do not expect to grow". And standing still attempting to assume you have all the knowledge in life you will ever need is not advisable nor productive. The Apostle Paul summed it up like this, "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." Romans 12:2. A dear friend of mine who has passed would often say, "If you're waiting on me, you are backing up!" Do not allow your life to be parked in the parking lot, go, grow, and improve the world in which you live each day, every day! 

Coach Carter

Fruitful or Fruitless

 

Missy and I have lived in a loft apartment for the past three years after moving to Sullivan County for my job. The complex is full of trees, shrubs, and flowering paths which gives this downtown property an earthy appeal that we have certainly enjoyed. I say that, yet recently my enjoyment of the beauty of the landscape came into question which serves as the impetus for today's Flat Tire message. I am a creature of habit and as such I tend to park in pretty much the same spot, enter the same door, and make my way up the steps to our loft in the same manner each day. At the doorway I normally enter a river birch tree is situated adjacent to the doorway which has served as a welcoming steward for me each afternoon when I return from work. Days turned into months, months have turned into three years, and I have entered that same doorway for the majority of those three years. At some point, I must have started taking the welcoming leafy branches of the birch for granted. I'm not sure how long ago it happened, but recently I realized the tree is dead. Honestly, I was shocked. I literally walk by that tree everyday seven days a week for the most part. At what point did that tree die? How did I not notice that it was dead? And, did I miss signs that the tree was in danger and that it needed a tree doctor? I guess I'll never know how long ago the river birch tree died, but now each day I walk by a dead, meaningless collection of dried up twigs and branches. No leaves swaying in the wind, no birds nesting in its branches, and no potential to provide shade from the hot summer sun. Lifeless. 

My river birch encounter brought to mind the living parable Jesus shared with His disciples regarding a fig tree he passed that was not bearing fruit. My takeaway from Jesus' encounter with the fig tree resonated well with my own river birch experience. "Early in the morning, as Jesus was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. Matthew 21:18-19. The lesson learned by Jesus' disciples here was that if you aren't bearing fruit, then you really aren't living out your life's purpose. If the tree isn't bearing fruit, which was one of its main purposes in life, then outside of draining the ground of valuable nutrients and moisture, that particular tree was not worthy to be used. So what did Jesus do? He cursed the tree and it died. 

The intersection of these two separate but similar encounters created my thought for today. With the river birch, I walked by that tree for days, months, and most likely at least a year and never noticed that the tree was dead. I suppose I could say I just took the tree's purpose for granted and assumed that it was doing its job. Now that I have realized that the tree is dead, I am certain that the maintenance team will eventually dig up or cut down the dead tree and hopefully replace it with a live sapling. The lesson isn't completely about the tree not doing its job, but more about me not realizing it wasn't doing its job, and walking by it everyday taking it for granted that the tree was doing it's job. Coupled with my river birch, Jesus condemning the fig tree for not producing fruit, which is it's purpose in life, made for a pretty fair and consistent assessment on the life we are living for our audience today. 

Are we that river birch? Is it possible that we are moving through life assuming that we are doing exactly what we were purposed for, when in actuality we are dead and lifeless, not fulfilling the plans God created you to fulfill? Do we walk right by our purpose each day without realizing that we much like the fig tree are not producing the fruit that will ultimately expand God's Kingdom? Personally, I don't want to walk through my life and never realize that I am not living God's purpose and plans for the life He gave me to live. I don't want to unintentionally not bear fruit that will sustain the lives of those I live, love, and work with each day. I don't want life to pass by me and me not realize that I was dead to Christ. I want to live with His purpose in mind and I want that for each of you reading this post today. I want His living water to run through my veins each day and I want to witness His purpose being played out in the work I do, the relationships I nurture, and the outcomes that I have an opportunity to impact. And I want that for you. 

Live your life to its fullest each day. Live with purpose, His purpose, and live your life bearing His fruit. Not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those we share life with each day! 

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Coach Carter

Counter Culture

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." James 1:19 

In my own life's experiences, when I think about the above verse from the Book of James, I readily invite others to treat me in the manner listed above when I mess up and need to make amends. I want the afflicted person to "hear me out" first, then sparsely provide their feedback or reprimand, and lastly I want the injured party to forgive me with no restrictions and in a brotherly manner. Does that sound similar to your own way of thinking? Or maybe I'm in that small minority of individuals that mess up way too often and the majority of our reading audience seldom need forgiveness or mercy and grace because you rarely mess up? That may sound a bit sarcastic, yet taking a survey of the current culture we are living in, I'd wager a bet that there are many more folks out there that intentionally or unknowingly live a little more in line with this way of thinking: "Be slow to hear what others have to say. Be quick to voice your own opinions. Be quick to accuse, argue, and fight." I can't provide a source for this one, but I can guarantee you I didn't find it in the Bible. As a matter of fact this line of thinking is so counterintuitive to the life and teachings of our model example, Jesus. Where did things go sideways? I'm not sure I could do that question justice, but the harsh reality is that society today has gone counter to the culture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the evidence can be seen without a magnifying glass.  

It isn't hard to find evidence to support my appraisal of society today. Turn your TV on, scroll through your social media posts, or go attend any youth or adult sporting event. The whole quick to listen and slow to anger mindset takes the back seat to more of a me first ideation of I don't need to hear what you are saying because you are wrong, and if you disagree with what I have to say then you are obviously a bad person that I don't want to engage in conversation. Additionally, our society has become increasingly self-focused, leading many people to believe that if others would simply adopt their perspective, they would finally feel validated and vindicated. That my friends is not in line with the life that Jesus modeled for us. I'd go as far to say that the life that Jesus lived would be counterculture to what is prevalent in society today. 

Example in point, reflect on the story where Jesus was asked by an angry mob about whether they should stone a woman to death or not due to her adulterous sins. For me, the scene and the response of Jesus is one of those cinema graphic moments that would rival Dirty Harry's "Go ahead, make my day" or the Outlaw Josey Wales, "Dying ain't much of a living" lines from Hollywood. The angry mob was quickly silenced when instead of blurting out a condemnation Jesus paused and knelt down to the ground. Not saying a word, Jesus picked up a stick and started stirring around in the dirt. I'm sure the crowd was still thinking that any moment Jesus was going to say "rock on" or something like that, yet he continued to stir the sandy surface. My thought, Jesus had surely heard the evidence of the woman's sin through the shouts and condemnations of the crowd, so instead of joining the crowd, Jesus was being slow to speak and slow to join in the anger of the mob. After thinking through His response, Jesus stood up and addressed the question to which he had been refuted "Alright then, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone." John 8:7. And how did the angry mob respond? They stopped, reflected, and then one by one they dropped their stones and left the woman standing there alone with only Jesus in the space. Jesus asked her where all her accusers went and she replied that they had left. Jesus then told the woman that neither did He condemn her and then prompted her to go and sin no more. Wow, in the world we live today the angry mob would have turned to anarchy if "justice" had not been carried out immediately in the exact way that they would feel was the "right" thing to do. Their right thing to do. Yet that does not make it the right thing to do. Actually, the culture that Jesus was modeling was one of self-reflection before self-proclamation. 

So, if my synopsis on society today is accurate and if today's rallying cries are "guilty until proven innocent" or "act now and we will get answers that support our stance later" what offer to revive more of the culture of the lifestyle of Jesus could be offered. Well, in Galatians 5:22-23 we are encouraged to partake in the fruit of the Spirit which includes: love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If you poured that list of virtues in a blender, I believe the outcome would be a combination of restraint, empathy, and compassion for our fellow man. Unfortunately, at current this is really counter to the accepted culture of the day. But to not be fatalistic, we have the recipe on how to return to a society that listens twice as much as we speak, (two ears, one mouth mindset), and a people that are slower to anger and quicker to consider. Today's culture may be counter to the life Jesus lived, yet we have the ability to counter today's culture to one that more closely aligns with the life of Jesus Christ. 

Coach Carter

The Bounce Back Factor Revisited

As I was preparing for this week's message, I did a little search of all of the previous posts with the goal in mind of not repeating myself in sharing an encouraging message of hope. I found two previous FTMs with the idea of "bouncing back" from adversity and affliction as the base topic, yet I believe today's "bounce" message compliments the two previous posts and the idea of getting back up when you get knocked down can't be stressed too much! Adversity comes to us all, that's not being pessimistic, just being real. How each of us handles that adversity is where the "rubber" hits the road ... and then bounces back up! I hope you enjoy today's scriptures  and the song lyrics I've linked to today's bouncing back message of hope as much as I have, all I can say is "Thank you Lord!" Enjoy the read. 

The Apostle Paul serves as an excellent example of a "bounce back" kinda guy or gal in the Bible. Not that there isn't a plethora of other candidates, Joseph, Moses, David, Esther, Ruth, Peter, and most certainly Jesus just to name a few, but what motivates me from the life of Paul is how he was transformed through adversity to move from persecutor of Christians to the man credited with writing the majority of the New Testament. That transformation is what I want to focus on today. I want to suggest that the through the adversity Paul endured, he was being formulated and solidified into an amazing advocate for Christianity. In other words, without the negative Paul may have never learned to bounce back to where he was supposed to be in God's kingdom. 

I think we all would agree, rubber is one of the most bounciest substances we have at our disposal. The elasticity and durability of rubber is accomplished through a multi-step process in which the raw substance is transformed to the rubber bouncy ball I've mentioned. Let's just say there's quite a bit of stretching and enduring heat involved in the drawn out process. That provides us with our comparison of the process by which we ourselves become more elastic and more capable of bouncing back and bouncing higher depending on how well we embrace the process of us becoming more of what God intended us to be. Key concept to remember here: without the multi-step process of creating rubber, rubber just remains a sticky tree sap. We too won't become a person who can "bounce back" from the adversities of life unless we have developed the necessary growth mindset through those downward trajectory events in our lives that allow us to go through the process of learning how to bounce back from the adversity or afflictions we must endure and eventually overcome. 

Paul's transformation is a prime example of how God uses this process of taking the sticky tree sap of our souls and converting it to a bounce back type of man or woman. Paul's life teaches us that we must take adversity and not only embrace it as an opportunity to grow, but also realize that without that adversity we really don't have a life to transform. In II Corinthians 6:1-10 Paul describes how the hard times are what allowed him to appreciate the better times and how through adverse conditions he was then enabled to see the positive outcomes from his life's situations. In verses 1-7 Paul sets the stage for his statement of faith by sharing an overview of what endurance and perseverance look like in the face of adversity: "As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "in the time of my favor I heard you and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;" II Corinthians 6:1-7. From there the rest of today's scripture provides a rhythmic visual of how life's challenges may become the impetus by which transformation begins. "Through glory and dishonor (bounce), bad report and good report, (bounce), genuine, yet regarded as imposters, (bounce), known, yet regarded as unknown; (bounce) dying, and yet we live on; (bounce) beaten, and yet not killed; (bounce) sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, (bounce), yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (bounce). Can we all come to an agreement and admit that without the hard and challenging times in this world that we endure, the more challenging it will be for us to overcome the obstacles we face in our life's journey. It is essential that we learn to bounce and recover to move forward and succeed.   

To bring today's message to a close I want to share a song with the lyrics that I feel captures the essence of the positive benefits of not just enduring but growing through the adversities in our lives. Musical artists Ben Fuller and Carrie Underwood have a duet that shares the message that although we would all like to think that an easy road with no potholes or detours would be best, without us learning how to grow through adversity we lose the opportunity to experience God's grace and His love. His love for us holds us up and illuminates our path so that we can see that the light is not at the end of the tunnel, but instead His light is there with us in the tunnels of life. Embrace the struggle, persevere to prosper, and endure to achieve everlasting! Enjoy the ride. 

"If It Was Up to Me"

Coach Carter

What'cha Gonna Do?

 Each morning that you wake, I hope you realize what a precious gift you have been given. Us waking up today is a gift, there is no guarantee or promise about tomorrow, we just assume we are going to wake up and go about the business of our daily lives. If you are one of the lucky ones, you have landed on the realization that God graciously gives us each new day, hence we should be showing our gratitude and giving thanks for the day that has been given to us to live out. The fact that so many people don't stop to think about the gift of a new day each day that we live is one thing, but to not do something that will grow you and benefit others is the topic of our time together today. I'd like to pose a little different view to be considered. Realizing that each day is a gift is essential to living our life for God, yet if we can move from realizing the gift of today, to a deeper understanding of defining our purpose in each new day, that notches up our plans for each day that we live. You've been given the gift of today, "What'cha going do with it?

The most basic response to the aforementioned question would be "I'm going to live it" . I agree, but on a different level what does "living life" look like from God's eternal viewpoint. What am I going to do today that is going to leave a lasting, positive, impact on this world in which we live? I would like to propose that there are four basic approaches to accepting the gift of each new day we encounter. We can waste it, we can ignore it, misuse it, or we can take it and run with it. Let's briefly look at each response to our new day approach and see where we each are and where we want to move to on the spectrum of living out the best in each day we are gifted. 

What does it mean to waste a day? When we get out of bed and head to school, work, or wherever you go on a day to day regular basis, you have a purpose, some fulfill that purpose while others "waste" the gift that they have been given. Consider this, the average person spends close to 2 1/2 hours scrolling, commenting, and liking social media sites. Add to that another 3 1/2 hours sitting in front of a television each day. Understanding that most people sleep on average 6 to 7 hours each day so available waking hours equal 18 hours available in a day. If a person spends six hours a day with a screen of some sort glued to their faces, then you can estimate that people on average give up one third of their waking hours to a screen with no productive outcome as an end result of the time invested. Ask yourself this question, what positive impact is achieved by scrolling social media sites or mindlessly absorbing myself into a binge session of Netflix? It's entertainment, I get it, but when we are committing a third of our waking hours to something that doesn't  produce a benefit to self or society it may be time to realign our routines or priorities. "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14. Your time here on earth is finite, don't waste it!

Ignoring the gift of today simply means we don't understand how fortunate we are to have been given a new day each morning that we rise. Today (not tomorrow), is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24. Do you go through the motions of living each day or do you live each day to its fullest because you know there is no guarantee of a tomorrow. If you are someone who procrastinates and says "I'll do that when I get around to it" then my advice is start getting around to it today! Keep in mind the gift isn't somewhere down the road, no my friend, the day you have been given is sitting right there in your lap. If you don't make plans for things you want to get done, my advice would be to create a list and start marking things off while you have been given this day to do them. 

Along similar lines to wasting a day or ignoring the gift of each new day, some folks have a tendency to misuse the day they have been given. If the majority of your waking hours are spent on yourself and your wants in life, then you aren't fulfilling your life's purpose and or calling. The call to serve others is engrained in mankind's existence, with servant leadership being one of the highest callings for any leader to embark upon. Take this example and mirror it in your own life. In John 13:1-17 we find a grand example of servant leadership not misusing time or purpose. Jesus was hosting the last meal that He would have with His disciples, serving rather than being served. Alongside the communion of bread and wine, Jesus gave His disciples an example to follow in what servant leadership looked like. Keep in mind, Jesus knew His days on this earth were narrowing down swiftly, yet Jesus used this day to teach others how to serve others. Jesus humbled Himself and washed the feet of the disciples. After finishing Jesus gave this directive, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's fee. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:14-17. Truly, serving others is not a misuse of the day that you have been given today!

Finally, the fourth option for how we can choose to spend this day that we have been given. Clearly the path to not wasting a day can be found in how well we impact the lives of others each new day we have been given. Jesus knew His purpose in coming to this world was to wind up being a sacrifice for this world. What did He do knowing His time was limited? He taught others how to live a life focused on serving and teaching others. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, and taught us all how to forgive others for doing us wrong. Jesus didn't take time off to relax or enjoy this world, instead Jesus spent His time here preparing others on how to live a life worth living serving others and giving back for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10. There is no "i" in the word serve! Use your days wisely, give to others and you will be blessed!

Coach Carter

Cross Examined

 "The first one to plead his case seems right, until another comes and cross-examines him." Proverbs 18:17

Over the years I can't even guess how many times I've made the statement, "Well, there's two sides to every story" while working in the world of education. Students arguing with each other, parents relaying their child's rendition of an event at school the prior day, and myriad other instances of "he said", "she said" encounters. I guess this type of behavior is to be expected with our school aged children, yet the real problem is that this isn't a phenomenon relegated only to playground scuffles and cafeteria messes. We have become a society of hear it and believe it rather than a world where a story has to be confirmed first before we account it as true. How would that work in a court of law, if the prosecutor only had to stand up and proclaim that the defendant is guilty? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty thankful for the process of cross-examination. I contend that if we did a little more listening and a little less time condemning, the world might be a little less conflicted. 

I don't have a statistic, not sure how I would validate one, but my estimation is that as a world we are a little too quick to pass judgement before the full story has been presented. As a society we hear something and we accept it as the "whole truth and nothing but the truth", although we may have just heard one side of the story. In the world we live today with instant communication channels through the internet and social media, it is easy to mistake an opinion with a fact. Many of our "news" sources today are nothing more than one end of the geo-political views spectrum or the other. Jumping to conclusions before we have all the factual information to make an informed decision is something that would not fare well in a court of law nor does it produce positive outcomes in our relationships on a day to day basis. In a world where information is accessible in an instant, we are better served to slow down and listen to the whole story before we draw our conclusions and invoke our verdict of innocence or guilt. 

I believe we would all be better served if we followed the advice found in the Book of James "My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger." James 1:19 ERV. Listen more than we speak? Wouldn't that be a novel approach to sifting through the facts being presented in our one sided transcript of the story. Let's weave the two scriptures we have referenced today together. Here's what I came up with: After the first person presents their side of the story, slow down and listen to the other side of the story before you ever start to draw your conclusions on what actually happened. Giving the other side of the story an opportunity to be expressed does require us to be active listeners. We can't just hear the side we want to hear and then draw our conclusions even while we are supposed to be listening to the other side of the story. Active listening means we won't quickly settle on our decision until both sides have fully shared the facts. Being slow to speak and quick to listen keeps us from getting angry over what we perceive to be the truth. Recently, I have found myself relinquishing the truth that perception has became reality, and that perception is founded in quick one-sided presentations of the truth in many instances. We as a society have stopped proving things to be true and have adopted a mentality that if I heard it, it must be true. Media today quickly proves that to be an incorrect statement and a dangerous slippery slope to travel. 

The good news here is we don't have to make rash decisions. We have been given two ears to listen with and one mouth to speak with. Just as the words of James 1:19 challenge us to listen twice as much as we talk, if we are going to be listening more then we are drawing our conclusions then hopefully we will be quick to hear both sides of the story before we pass our own verdict. Always, always keep in mind there are two sides to every story so it is our duty to examine and then cross examine! 

Coach Carter

The More Things Change ...

 There's an old saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. The premise of this old adage is that although this world is continually advancing, maybe a little too fast in my opinion,  the core foundations and principles that balance this world stay pretty much the same. Clothing styles have drastically changed over my lifetime, yet basically outfits still consist of a top, a bottom, and accessories such as shoes and belts or purses and other accouterments. Another example of this adage can be found in the auto industry. Sure we have electric and self-driving vehicles today, but at the base level these vehicles still have four wheels, some type of motor, and inside almost any car you can find there is a radio situated on the dash somewhere. The life we are living fits into this category as well. The more society changes, the more people change and the more we learn to adapt to the new normal, the more things ultimately remain the same.

As we consider the concept of things changing while at the same time remaining the same, I'd like to share a story from the Bible that spotlights how in days of old and down through the history of man this theory proves itself to be as relevant then as it is still today. (The more things change the more they stay the same!) This particular story circles around a theme of coveting what our neighbor has. King David was a powerful and mighty ruler for the Kingdom of Israel. You could hypothesize that David could pretty much breathe the words. "I want ..." and there would be a host of servants readily beckoning his every desire. Some may be familiar with this not so glorious chapter from King David's life, so I will hit the high water marks from this II Samuel chapters 11-12 saga for the sake of respecting our time together today. While David was meandering around on a nighttime rooftop walk, he noticed a woman bathing on a nearby rooftop. She, Bathsheba, was beautiful and the King "wanted" her. His servants brought Bathsheba to his quarters, David took her and she ultimately became pregnant with David's baby. The problem was Bathsheba was a married woman. Her husband Uriah was a soldier fighting in King David's army. After David tried to conceal, unsuccessfully, the sinful betrayal by trying to get Uriah to be with his wife after bringing him home for a furlough from the fighting, the king gave orders to have Uriah sent to the front lines of the battle and ensure he would be killed in the line of duty to his country and king. This happened and David married Bathsheba, their child was born, but soon thereafter the child became sick and died as predicted by the prophet Nathan. This was definitely not a high water mark for the same man who slayed Goliath and scribed a vast number of the psalms filled with praises and worship to our God. This constitutes a firm example of the covetousness of man and leads us into how things may have changed today, but ultimately I believe you will agree they pretty much remain the same. 

Coveting by definition means an intense desire for something that belongs to someone else. In our society today covetousness rears its ugly head in so much of our daily culture today. Our neighbor gets a new ride, we have to get a newer ride. A five bathroom house goes up in our neighborhood and suddenly we have a "need" for a six bathroom house, even if there are only four people living in the house! Or, if we see that the biggest celebrity star just purchased a new custom designed Italian dress, we would do anything to have one just like hers! But our covetousness has found a totally new way of being expressed. Social media has created a global world at our fingertips where we can connect with anyone and or groups of thousands anywhere at any given moment. What that has created is a world where we want more symbols of acceptance than the person we envy and want to outperform on our site of choice. This envy runs deep creating our example of the covetousness of man in today's world. We want what someone else has whether it is the number of followers or if it is the total of likes our posting receives. The extreme measures that David resorted to may seem unrealistic in today's society, yet if we step back and reflect, the extent to which society is willing to go to reach their personal milestones may reveal that we are not a society far removed from the world of the ancient King David. The more things change the more they stay the same. 

So, some of our reading audience may be thinking, "I thought Flat Tire Ministries was supposed to be inspiring??" Not so much so far but, you are one hundred percent correct. Although the context of our message today has been a not so positive reflection on the nature of man, the potential for a positive outcome is most certainly readily available. The impetus for today's message was berthed in a resoundingly truthful scripture found in the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8. The more this world advances, and as the reliance on technology and technological advances decreases the desire to stay founded in a faith that places trust and hope in things that may be unseen to the human eye, but all along things do remain the same! (Hebrews 11:1). The covetousness of King David cost him the death of a son, yet after David sought redemption from his sin, Bathsheba bore him another son that would go on to become known to mankind as one of the wisest men in history, King Solomon. And that same redemption from our sins is available to you and I today. 

Maybe your conviction isn't covetedness, it really doesn't matter, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). The sins of today are packaged in material purchases, the chase for non-tangible riches, and the lure of the ways of this world we live in, yet on a basic level they are still connected to the sins that have trapped humans throughout the annals of history. Although the sin remains the same regardless of how different it looks today, the loving mercy and grace of God has never changed and it remains unchanging today. As a matter of fact, the love of God displayed in the embodiment of the Son of God remains the same yesterday, and today, and forever! Knock, seek, and you will find Him, today, yesterday, and forever! Amen. 

Coach Carter

Backward Design

As a fairly new teacher in the late 1990's, I can recall the first time I heard the term "backward design" as it applied to instructional practice. Today it just makes sense, yet in 1998 when Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins published their book "Understanding by Design" the term seemed a little peculiar. Embracing the concept of backward design was fairly easy and applying the theory to practice, as I stated above, just made sense. There are three basic steps in the backward design process. Identify what the students need to learn, determine how you measure that they have learned what is being taught, and then design teaching strategies that will provide and promote the learning outcomes you seek. Why this was such a profound strategy in education I can't look back and tell you now because in all we do in education we start with the end in mind. Practical and applicable. 

Well, of course Flat Tire Ministries isn't an educational instruction platform, so as you most likely presumed, there is an inspirational connection getting ready to be shared, and if that is what you presumed then you are absolutely correct. Here we go. Reading in the Book of Romans I ran across this connector verse to today's message. "But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?" Romans 10:14. Sounds like to me that the Apostle Paul may very well have been the originator of the "backward design" concept. Think about it, the end goal is that those we love, live with, and meet along our life's journey develop a personal relationship with God the Father of all creation. End goal. To get there we have to know what it takes to get there, and to know what we need to know, someone has to teach us or at best share with us the offer of life eternal through salvation. Kinda sounds like the three steps included in the backward design process. 

What encourages me and also challenges me is the part of Paul's teaching that says, "... and how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them." Folks, that someone is us. If nothing else I'm talking to myself. If you and I don't go about the business of sharing God's offer of life eternal in Heaven then how do we suppose others are going to reach that same goal? Just as Paul said, they can't call on who they don't know, so if they don't know then it is up to us that do know to share that same message with those who don't know. Jesus, in what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission, charged all that believe to,  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20.  Not only does God expect us to tell others, but His Son came to this earth to direct us to go out to all the world and let them know about the saving grace that saves us from sin and ensures us that death is not the end, but actually the beginning of our eternity with God. 

I challenge myself and I challenge each of you to share God's message of faith and hope with someone you know or someone you meet this week. Keep that backward design in mind. How will they know about Jesus and the gift of salvation He made available, unless someone tells them. And how will you or I be able to tell them if we don't trust, believe, and then go out and share that message. That isn't backwards design, that is God's design. He made you on purpose for a purpose and that purpose includes helping others to obtain that free gift of salvation that Jesus made available to each of us through His life, death on the cross, resurrection and return to His Kingdom seat in Heaven. That my friend is not backwards, that is forward thinking, eternal by design!

Coach Carter

You Reap What You Sow

 I have many fond memories of summers from my childhood. A funny story came to mind after a recent devotional that focused on Galatians 6:7 which basically says, don't be tricked into believing it isn't true, you will reap whatever you sow. (My emphasis on the "you will" part of the scripture). My childhood memory most definitely supports the declaration of the Apostle Paul, so here we go!

As a youth growing up in East Tennessee,  summers never failed to provide a plethora of fresh vegetables and fruits on the vine or in a tree. This story focuses on one of those fruits on a vine, watermelons. There's nothing like slicing a chilled watermelon on a hot summer evening! The juice makes it easy to understand how the fruit got it's name, and the sweet nature of the fruit makes it a welcomed part of any gathering on a late Saturday afternoon. On the particular day that this story transpired, a group of family and friends had gathered on our front porch to enjoy a slice of that delectable treat. If eating watermelon is a memorable joy, then spitting the seeds would have to rank right up there near the top as well. Launching a seed into the air was always a race or the beginnings of a fierce competition with a light hearted outcome for all in attendance. The issue on this particular evening was the fact that our mom had recently made the decision to cultivate a flower bed across the front porch ground. She had dad till the ground, she planted the flower seeds, and then she continued to weed and water the row of upcoming sprouts. What mom did not realize was that during the recent watermelon soiree, several of the launched watermelon seeds found themselves situated right there in her newly formed flower bed. 

As the "flowers" began to grow, mom was a little confused about the vines that were starting to expand rather than a series of bright colored summer annuals. We didn't have the internet to search out the blooms nor the ensuing vine, but eventually it became apparent to mom and the rest of our family that these were not the daffodils that she had earnestly planted, but instead watermelon vines that had basically choked out the flowers and now owned what had suddenly transitioned from a flower bed to a watermelon vine garden. Not what she had intended to grow, but by weeding, watering, and nurturing the sprouts as they erupted from the rich fertile soil she was in actuality sowing into the growth of a watermelon patch. I suppose Paul's warning is applicable here, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7 In life, the same is true, we have to be careful what we nurture in our relationships, and our own personal development because what we sow is exactly what we will reap. 

My mom had the best of intentions as she watered and weeded what she believed was a bed of daffodils, yet what was sowed and nurtured was nowhere what she anticipated would be the outcome. Do we inadvertently do the same thing as we move in and out of our jobs, in our relationships, and ultimately in the very core of who we are to become? Life provides us with a multitude of opportunities to "sow" into the lives of others whether it is our children, our neighbors, or even into the lives of those we encounter on a daily basis. As my mom sowed the seeds and then nurtured them with weeding and watering we too should be sowing into the lives of others by planting seeds of God's goodness and offer of life eternal. We should be watering our relationships with mercy and grace coupled with a good example and sincere counsel. We are called to be there to assist others as they too weed out their own lives. The very next verse from Galatians 6 provides a caution about what we plant in the lives of others. "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galatians 6:8. What we do each day is essential to our planting, nurturing, and harvesting. Our actions, our intentions, and our words are all part of the seeds we sow. In other words if we inadvertently plant watermelon seeds, don't expect daffodils to grow. Sow seeds that will produce what we need and what this world desperately needs. In Chapter 5 of the same letters to the Galatians, Paul provides a pretty good list of what we should be striving to sow into the lives of those we have the opportunity to sow. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23. Planting the seeds in the lives of others is of the utmost importance, yet if we do not plant and nurture seeds like those listed above then how can we expect to sow the same into the lives of others. "You will reap what you sow". 

Sowing seeds can be intentional or can happen much like the watermelon seed story my mother encountered. Regardless, we need to understand the concept of sowing and reaping in all we do. "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23. I can't emphasize it and reemphasize it often enough, you are a leader, regardless of whether you want the responsibility that comes with it or not, you lead someone every day of your life. You decide what seeds you will sow into the lives of those you lead, sow seeds that will provide a harvest that will benefit the world in which we live!

Coach Carter