what we rode, what we'll ride

The Automot Show has happened in Germany, and those attending got to see the future motorcycles.  Most of us don’t go, or can’t, but thanks to the internet and Cycle World, Motorcyclist, and Rider, we get to see teaser shots of new bikes.  For many who have waited to see what they will buy this next year, they have been treated to more power, futuristic styling, and prices to be discussed-aka more money.  But although we see the future, we see many models based on the past.  This is the 31st year of the Ninja, and Kawasaki is introducing a 30th anniversary model a year late.  Mostly paint and badges, they will sell fast.  But their teaser is an H2R, a 295 horsepower ride, the name based on the old H2 750, three cylinder.  And we all wanted one, only to find Kawi will only sell them for track only, but maybe a 195 horse will be available for the street.  Which isn’t such big news any more.  But we’ll see...Suddenly it’s 1975, or really 50 years after Honda changed the world again with its Gold Wing.  More colors and badges, their take is why mess with perfection.  Maybe a new plush animal will come with it and become instantly collectible.  I only hope they are ridden and not stored away.  Honda also showed off a new futuristic version of its NXT-ugly, heavy, slow, and they think we want one.  Where are the industry leading bikes of yesteryear that we all lusted for?  How about a new CB750?  I see the Interceptor is resurrected, let’s see if it sells this time, was it only 30 years ago they gave us Nighthawks in 650 and 700cc, with shaft drive that set our heart aflutter, and lightened our wallets via monthly payments?  Where are the “I gotta have one no matter the cost new bikes this year?”  Harley again fails to disappoint with new paint, higher prices, but does have the 500 and 750, still haven’t seen  one on the streets.  Indian now has the Scout, more dealers, and already a reputation and a following, add Victory and Polaris is listening and delivering.  Cruisers still rule.  And Triumph shows us new Bonneville models, based mostly on paint, can it really be 15 years since the new Bonneville injected British blood into the colonists again?  Models such as the T214, based on their 1956 Land Speed record bike, it went 214, and an ACE Café model, shades of the original hooligans.  The ton being the goal over a set course, 100 mph.  How times have changed, once it was a goal, now the ZX-14 does it in first gear!  Yamaha has brought us low buck motorcycling, a great entry level ride in twins and triples.  Good reviews, but built to a price, the FZ-09 still needs a suspension and engine management to be a Street Triple.  Buy the S3 and be riding while the other guy is still fixing.  Suzuki has a custom GSXR 1000, again color and badges, with a higher price.  An exciting time, but whatever happened to really new models?  Could it be the old stodgy BMW with its new high performance range will be the way to go?  More money, more horses, and more money.  Hope it all isn’t wasted on the yuppies who can afford them. 

And so for many, fall is here, winter is coming soon, and they are planning their last ride of the season.  Soon it will be cages only, and snowdrifts and freezing temps.  With spring a distant dream, but with something to dream about until it arrives.  For the hard core it is riding suits, electric, and rides in between the snow.  But for us, the riding season goes on in So Cal, and spring is just another season, we’ll ride all winter, at lest those who can brave low temps in the 50’s!  It will be weekend afternoons reading old magazines, remembering what we rode, and after looking at the new, figure we can go one more year on an old friend.  Spend the payments on trips, the latest and greatest rides surpassing the newest latest and greatest rides.  Some will dream, some will ride, some will bench race of memories.  But we all ride....

Once upon a time, the new 1969 CB 750 was fast, now my Bonneville with the same performance is slow.  Touring meant installing a Windjammer and bungeeing on a back pack.  Now they must weigh a ton, and cost as much as a house.  With sound systems!  Once we rode enduros, then they became dual sports, and now we have Adventure bikes.  Which have traction control, cruise, and ABS.  For riding on gravel roads.  Sport bikes run in the 9’s, making the 13 second Sportster of 40 years ago as fast as some 400’s.  Remember Cycle telling you that it would put hair on your chest, or if you had hair, it would part it?  Now they are women’s bikes, wonder if the same applies?  And so bikes change, times change, they go faster, cost more, and have become more reliable.  Where a tear down on an English bike was a yearly affair, now 100k miles is no big deal.  The rider wearing out before the ride.  And we expect more out of our rides, but still complain over silly things.  Chain wear out, so do tires at twice the price, and we don’t tune, we service them.  We are the future of 40 years ago, our memories lie in the past, but we look to the future.  Hoping our next ride is more exciting, and more memorable than our last.  We are better clothed, better trained, and ride more miles, and there are more of us.  But has cycling really changed?  Isn’t it still all about the freedom of two wheels in the wind, even if some hide behind fairings?  Don’t we still twist the fun handle for an exciting time?

After 40 years of knowing Jesus, we are closer today to heaven than we were yesterday.  But have more testimonies and stories of God in our life than when we started out.  Many chose Jesus, and through the ups and downs have hung on to him.  Some fell away, but came back.  Some fell away, and we wonder what happened to them.  Some are still seeking after finding the world cannot satisfy, yet some are just in rebellion.  But eh one constant, the one thing that has never changed is Jesus.  When older saints and young kids talk of him, he is the same.  Consistent.  Dependable, and faithful.  Words that cannot be used to describe anything else on earth.  We may have on line services, as opposed to showing up on Sunday morning, and carrying an i-phone with an app instead of a Bible, but Jesus never changed.  Or his message.  The things of the Kingdom have never changed, and we still look forward to the day he calls us home with great excitement. 

The church may change, God doesn’t.  And some denominations are shrinking, while other churches are growing.  And the politics are weighing heavily against us.  But look out, for each time the church came under persecution, it spread out and grew.  Revival spread, and we saw God’s hand move upon the land.  Some churches are seeing times in the desert, where has God gone?  He never left, and is ready to revive them.  Are they ready?  Some are growing, but not yet mature, watch as God raises up men and women among them and they grow too.  God is moving, will we be in his way, or get out of way?   It is in tough times the church grew, and Jesus became Lord to many.  Things are seasonal, remember the early eighties when motorcycle sales boomed?  And the nineties when they failed?  Yet Triumph and Harley grew, and Victory was born in those tough times.  It is all about the product then, and now.  And our product is Jesus Christ, his message is love and forgiveness, his gift is salvation.  What anniversary will you celebrate with him this year?  What new testimony will he bring into your life?  The spirit is willing, how weak is your flesh?  The weaker the better, for his strength is made perfect in our weakness.  Ask not what we can do for our God, but what he plans to do for us!  Some will be looking for the new models, I found the perfect ride 40 years ago.  For no matter how fast, how far, or how expensive the ride, Jesus never left me.  He never gave up on me.  He loved me and still loves me as I am, but each year improves on me.  If you want to see the future, you must look back to the past.  And enjoy the present, we are approaching the show of our lives.  Where the perfect blend of old and new, past and present, now and forever will be the main event.  Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Who I served, who I serve now, and will serve forever.  Make today a great day in the Lord, for someday we will look back and talk about it.  For now, the future awaits...and Jesus will be back soon.  Don’t miss out on the ride of your life.  Bench racing will never be the same after.  You can only remember what you know, know Jesus today, and remember him forever.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker,blogspot.com 

STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!

“The best advice I can give you is never hit a horse on your motorcycle,”my friend Ted once told me.  Out of nowhere, a horse had walked into his path, and he hit it.  As he went down, the horse stood there for a few seconds before falling over dead.  Ted broke his collarbone, and bent up his Virago pretty bad, but lived to give this great advice.  That is why we call them accidents because they are not preplanned or expected.  One night BH and I were riding out late in the Pennsylvania countryside.  A moonless night, the only light was from the stars above and our headlights.  The only sound was the music my Dunstall pipes were singing from my R90S, and all was well with the the world.  When suddenly I came to a stop, so fast I ended up on the tank.  And in front of me was a freight train, so close I could almost touch it, a train I had not heard, nor seen, yet in my BC days later I found out God was protecting me.   But that night I had no warning, for in these pre-OSHA days there were no reflective signs warning of a railroad crossing every 200 feet, nor crossing barriers.  This was way out in the fields, and the only sign was an old wooden sign, in black and white you’ve seen them, stating “RAILROAD CROSSING” in an X shape.   And underneath a smaller sign telling us to “STOP LOOK and LISTEN!”  Were it not for the grace of God that night I never would have the chance to look back, but I learned an important lesson that night, a lesson all bikers know, you scan while riding, and we are always looking for an escape route.  If it works while riding, imagine what it can do for those who don’t?

It has been recorded that people get hit by trains because they don’t hear them.  What corpses testify to that I don’t know, I’m just glad I wasn’t qualified to answer.  But we are living in a world where we are preoccupied by life, and not looking out as we should.  How many times have motorcyclists been hit by cars who claim “I never saw him,” which means I wasn’t paying attention.  Driving under the influence of children, cell phones, or make up application is just as deadly as drugs or alcohol.  But yet the three simple words on the old railroad crossing signs, when taken work.  Not only on the road, but on the road with God in daily life.  But only work when applied...so let’s apply them.

STOP!  When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, they were much  like us today.  Into themselves, and even though they had given their lives to Jesus, many still lived a life of sin.  So Paul wrote them to STOP!  Stop the way you are living, you will not lose your salvation, but you are missing the blessings.  And even sadder your witness to others does not represent Christ, and how many are fooled to thinking just because you say you are saved, yet act like a sinner, that they are too?  He doesn’t tell us STOP or die, he just says STOP!  Good advice also when facing a moving train.  LOOK!  As any biker knows, where you are looking, wherever your eyes go, your bike will follow.  I have seen seasoned riders almost go into ditches looking where they shouldn’t, and going there.  Sadly in the church today many are consumed with the date of Christ’s return, and who will be the anti-Christ.  Their eyes do not follow God, for Galatians tells us to “set our sights on things on high,” and if you are looking for the anti-Christ, you may be left behind and find him.  Ride like hell you’ll get there, look for hell you’ll find it.  I prefer the heavenlies, and a loving God who saved me from an early death by train while I was still a sinner.  Grace works even when we aren’t looking for it, and even when not saved.  If not for grace, how many of us would have made it to salvation?  LISTEN!  We love to talk, but we don’t listen.  We recognize our own voice before we do the voice of God.  How many times has the middle of your sentence been interrupted by the beginning of someone else’s?  We don’t listen, sometimes because we don’t hear.  But sadly when we do hear, we tend to argue and get our own way.  Jesus didn’t tell us “He who has a mouth let him speak,” but rather “he who has an ear let him hear.”  Consider how much of your prayer time is spent talking, when you should be listening.  Even if it is just for an answer from God, we don’t.  So try this tonight before your now I lay me down to sleep time.  Just lay there and listen for God.  Let the Holy Spirit start the conversation.  It may save you a lot of wasted words, and take you places and to a greater depth in the Lord than you have ever been.  I do it sometimes, and it is amazing, so why don’t I do it more often?  Listening is the most important part of prayer, for it is not prayer that changes things, it is God’s answer.  And if you don’t hear it, you miss out.  Life isn’t like giant steps and you take two back when you don’t listen, it can be dangerous.  It is like asking directions and then going your own way anyway.  Still lost, whose fault is that, you were given direction.  Again whose fault is that?  Not the one telling, but the one who refuses to listen.  Hear that knocking, it may not be your motor low on oil, but Jesus trying to get your attention.  He does it gracefully, I hope it never takes hitting a train to get your attention.

Three little words that can change your life.  From a trinity of three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Three the number of perfection, so while looking out for number ne, make sure you don’t step in number 2.  The warnings are there, and Jesus is coming soon.  Fortunately God is patient so that none shall perish.  He was patient that night while riding, and today he is just as patient that you come to him. And he wishes you to follow him.  Only he knows what lies around the next curve, or the path of the next freight train.  He knows who anti-Christ is, and when he will be revealed.  He sent Jesus to save us in person, because we ignored the warnings.  He sent his spirit to guide us, to protect us, and to live within us-but only if we obey and trust do we get the full benefits.  Give both God and you a break today, STOP! LOOK! and LISTEN! for him, the do the same to him.  Our hearing is the last to go, he gives us one last chance before death.  Why wait, when you can be riding and living in him.  Your redemption draws near, and heaven is one day closer than it was yesterday.  We can see behind, only in Christ can we be assured of what lies ahead.  You don’t have to hit a horse or train to know it hurts, if only we listen to God we may never find out.  “Excuse me Jesus, you were saying...”

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

when the top goes down, the price goes up

Visit any old car show and you will see more people gathered around a red convertible with the top down than a grey four door sedan with black wall tires.  Something about a red convertible that speaks of spring days, pretty girls, and good times.   It stimulates the senses, lets us daydream if only for a minute, we can see us driving down Main Street with everyone looking and admiring us.  The weather is always perfect, the girl always pretty, and the car always shiny.  Must have big V-8, extra points added for a muscle car, and be one that no one else has or could afford.  But somehow you can and do.  Remember this is your dream, so dream big.  Every guy wants to to be you, every girl wants to be with you, and it’s all because the top goes down, and the red doesn’t hurt your chances either.  Yet most of us can better relate to the four door sedan, the one our parents drove.  The one they car pooled us in.  The one that was always too old, out of style, but the one the memories were made in.  We took our driver’s test in it, had our first date, and had our first fender bender in it.  The first one we cherished when we got our license, and was always made fun of, yet took a car load of you and your friends to the shore, you and your date to the prom.  You washed it all day Saturday trying to impress your date, who didn’t care about cars, but liked the 8 track and the rear speakers,  and you were careful to save the spot on the tape with her favorite song for that right moment....the  last thing on your mind was red cars with tops down, her top down was a priority, and a sedan with fogged windows gave you the safety and security you assured her.  So why is it, that cars where we built the memories, are ignored, yet the ones we couldn’t have are the ones we seem drawn to today?  Have we forgotten how noisy old convertibles were, how BH’s dates rather have the top up so they didn’t mess their hair?  How every time it rained the roof leaked somewhere, and how in real life the top mostly stayed up, although at 60 mph in the rain it mostly went right over you, but sometime you had to and would stop, and then you got soaked.  But yet we still lust over top down motoring today, and it is true that there is nothing like a fall or spring day riding around the country with the top down that heightens all the senses, yet in the cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer you are glad for AC, and a fully enclosed car.  So for some strange reason I am drawn to the old four door sedans over the red convertibles.   Or any other color convertible, and having had a few, I have memories of them, we have a red Mustang now.  But old cars take me back, and seeing a 1966 Rambler Classic reminds me of my first car.  And how all my friends cared more about my license than what I drove.  Country Squire wagons dressed in fake wood remind me of my girlfriend in 8th grade, going to dances picked up afterwards by her mother in their white 1965.  Cheryl’s dad had a newer one.  Bruce with his 1963 Fairlane with Patricia II painted on the fender, Patricia 1 was his girl friend.  The memories there are too bold too print, even if the statute of limitations has run out on most of them.  Even the car I owned when I met Theresa, a 1967 Sedan de Ville, we will always remember, and we both had MG’s before that.  My parents last car for both had four doors, probably like your parents did.  And probably like you do today...so we have convertible dreams but sedan memories.

I tend to date memories by what we were riding or driving, it narrows down the date as the memory banks fill up and retrieval takes longer.  But we all still have our dreams, whose list gets shorter as we get older, hopefully because we have attained them, or surpassed them.  Or sometimes finding out the dream was far better than the reality of it.  And like attaining the red convertible of our dreams, once we have shown it off to everyone we wish to impress, and some we wish to offend, we park it in the garage, where it sits, and only gets driven on nice days, special days, for we must protect our investment.  It is true that when the top goes down the price goes up, such are the prices of memories, and sometimes the ones created after we attain them are never quite as good as the ones we remember now.  Time heals all wounds, but scars remain, the smallest dents show up, and the imperfections of life are made larger by their presence in an otherwise perfect life.  I have a small dent on my 1978 Suzuki, guess what people notice first?  “Pretty bike, too bad about that dent...”  and that is what they remember.  So maybe life is safer lived in a four door sedan, but dreams are made in red convertibles.  Yet we all want to be noticed, just not to stand out.  The same only different.  Just a little bit better than the other guy. 

Today many are found safe and sound within the four walls of the church.  A four door sedan of religion, fitting in with everyone else.  Talking the same language, same bumper stickers, and same seat every Sunday at church.  A friend tells of his father greeting a man on one Sunday morning, “you must be new here,” he says.  “How can you tell?”  is the response.  “You’re sitting in my seat...” Imagine if God greeted us that way?  So why do we greet others like that?  Are you afraid to go outside the four walls of the church?  I am part of the most learned Christians ever, more Bible studies and help books are available than you can imagine.  Every day, every night, you can be in one.  But where are these same people when it comes time to minister?  To serve at Easter?  To feed a neighbor whose wife is sick?  Whose yard needs cutting?   Whose red convertible sits unattended in the garage?  Where are all the four door sedan Christians? Why is it all the top down convertible types get recognized?  Where do they find the time?  The boldness?  The love?

That love is only found in Jesus Christ.  You can do nice things, no law against them, but only will they you see the true blessings when Jesus is involved.  We are to be “doers” of the gospel, not just sayers.  We are to be the same Christian in church as out, yet how any would recognize you after church inline at the grocery store?  The same guy who was so busy worshipping, now is so busy impatient inline.  Did he leave Jesus behind?  Why would we would we want to be a Christian if they are all like that, based on seeing just one?  So when we are told to “preach the word daily, if necessary us words,” remember actions not only speak louder, but the memories last longer.  Take Jesus out to the people, many won’t darken a church because there are people like us in it.  Go show some love, put your top down and cruise.  Enjoy the freedom that is found in Jesus Christ, and share it with others.  Be bold enough to love freely and openly.  Maybe keeping your Bible shut and your ears open, along with your heart.  Listen to the people like Jesus did, it is only an answer if someone asks, and be that kind of person that people want to ask.  Maybe that is why we are drawn to the red convertible, and talk to the guy, while we pass by the couple sitting on lawn chairs behind the grey Rambler.  One is action, the other may have seen action, but both have stories to tell.  Some of church, some in church, some of blessings, some still seeking.  It is your choice, but you will find that although Jesus taught in the church, he ministered out on the streets.  He went where the action was and is.  Reminding us we are the church, going out among the lost rather than just inviting them to church. 

It is hard to hear the gospel when the doors are shut and the windows rolled up.  Don’t keep your light hidden.  Go out, and live the life that Jesus tells about.  Be filled and fulfilled.  You may never own the red convertible, but knowing the guy who owns one can still get you a ride.  Going to church won’t make you a pew, but can cause a stink.  Open the doors of your heart and let the sunshine in.  Put the top down and enjoy all that God has for you.  Maybe that is what we are really looking for when we see red convertibles, the freedom that others don’t enjoy, that we may be missing.  A freedom only found at the cross, outside on a hill.  Take a drive with Jesus today, out in the open where people can see him, and witness him.  That rushing wind may be more than the wind in your face, and the freedom and memories may be just beginning.  When the top goes down, the price may go up, but Jesus paid it all.  Stop dreaming, and start living the life today.

love with compassion

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

I didn't fight my way up the food chain to eat vegetables

From time to time I find myself in situations I rather not be.  Some are self inflicted wounds, some are “I should have known better,” some are thrust upon me, and yet others just seem to happen.  But I find that when I stand up to the situation, that many get upset with me rather than the bad time they are having.  Like its my fault because I said something.  We are told to pray for the best, but prepare for the worst, yet many end up settling for mediocre, and think that is the best.  For instance, I don’t do group rides, or crowd rides as they really are.  I just don’t see the fun in riding 55 mph on the freeway with old VW buses passing me giving me dirty looks.  I rather ride, and just tell me where to meet you, and if I want I will, which is why I ride alone.  One ride in particular stands out, as we went 45 mph over 80 mph roads because one girl was afraid to go any faster, and because I said something, I was the bad guy.  WRONG-she was rude, and should have shown some courtesy to the rest of us.  I didn’t buy a motorcycle to go slow, but to enjoy the road.  I quit going to baseball games some years ago when they became part of the entertainment business.  At the last Padre game I attended they kept interrupting the entertainment between the innings with a baseball game.  And some were more concerned about missing the Jeopardy answer, or was it the question than missing the big inning the Padres had. 

All summer long I heard people complaining about our hot weather in San Diego, what did they expect?  You like cold, Minnesota is calling.  You like rain, go to New Jersey.  If you cannot handle good weather, what makes you think you could make it anywhere else?  Bundle up, it’s only 60 degrees this morning, with a high of 82 projected.  A young guy at  the bike shop the other day was bragging about how his gas mileage was so high, and never considered riding for fun.  After our talk, I hope he twists his throttle a little more, and can brag about smiles per gallon.  If you want to really get good mileage, car pool.  As I explained, what good is fun if you don’t enjoy it?  Or can’t?  Or won’t?  Yet I’m sure he soldiers on, bragging about his 70 mpg to the guy who wears out the sides of his tires quick, and only gets 40.  Yet things are not always as they appear, a Rocket 3 I had last year had come back from a magazine with both foot peg feelers worn off.  And the license plate bent from doing wheelies.  This guy didn’t get it, this is a cruiser, or maybe he did and we don’t-it’s a motorcycle, ride it and have fun.  By the way, I found out yesterday a Street Triple will do 127 in 4th gear.  Glad I had 5th and 6th to go.  But yet we are held back by false expectations, inherent fears, and confusion based on false beliefs.  Yet we all fall prey to them, ask a Chargers fan?  Did he go to the game to watch the huddle?  Maybe as that is the best part of their game sometimes, but no-he went to see action.  Long passes, runs, and hitting.  In the game, not at the tailgate party.  Just a reminder.  It’s like one time at a Steak and Shake, we had a yogurt shake to save calories for the rest of the trip.  We saved a whopping 60 calories by not going with ice cream-not sure what that is in miles per gallon!  Go out to eat steak, don’t order a salad as the main course.  Don’t expect Maine lobster in Phoenix, or fish tacos in St. Louis.  Go with their specialty, and be blessed.  And when travelling east, the first real BBQ is in Albuquerque at Rudy’s.  Where you order by the pound, eat on waxed paper, and use paper towels.  No veggies, you eat big the way BBQ was meant to be eaten, and their motto says it all, “I didn’t fight my way up the food chain to eat vegetables.”  Put that on you granola....

Yet we come to God with false expectations.  The preacher preaches “turn to Jesus and all your problems will go away...”  Cheer up things could be worse, and they usually are.  Sorry scripture doesn’t promise that, yet many buy into it, and when times get tough, figure God isn’t tough enough, or he lied.  They give up, go back to their misery, and miss out.  Early in my Christian walk I was taught 2 Corinthians 4, and how true it is.

“we are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed.”  Sounds like life 101 to me.  “perplexed yet not in despair,” confused, you won’t be after trusting God with his answer.  “persecuted, yet not defeated, struck down yet not destroyed.”  God never left us, he is with us in the fight.  He carries us when we can’t walk, and goes ahead to clear the way.  It is up to us to follow.  “Always carrying about the dying of Jesus in our body that the living of Lord Jesus may also show in us.”  It’s like the guy who has problems with his car, and goes to church, accepts Christ, yet the next day he has a flat tire.  “I didn’t sign up for this,” he complains, when yes, he really did .  And we did and do.  I have found if the road wasn’t rough I wouldn’t need a suspension, God is the shock absorber in life for me.  Jesus takes many a beating I should have.  I find power in his spirit, yet if I never twist the throttle I never know just how much performance is in a life with him.  I forget how I was able to stop just in time, and that maybe that red light kept me from the collision just ahead.  And yes, I have had flat tires, but  never failed to get home yet.  God works through pick up trucks and trailers too.  On one trip in Colorado I had 1000 miles to home and only 200 miles of rear tire.  On Labor Day, when real motorcycle shops were closed on Mondays.  Yet God had it all under control, I met a man whose friend owned a Suzuki store, he hoped a Suzuki tire would fit a BMW.  And after calling his friend, he came down, sold me a tire, loaned me tools, and I got home.   I didn’t sign up for needing a tire, but God knew I would, and prepared the way.  Hard pressed, yet not crushed, just like he says.  We don’t need to understand everything about God, it takes faith, which turns to obedience,which turns to trust.  Two years ago we started out on the Tiger, I was life flighted, and ended up riding home in the back seat of a rented Camry.  Dying, yet carrying the life of Jesus in me, he got me home, and someday will take me home to heaven.  Life is exciting and meant to be lived.  You don’t buy a Ninja for the mileage, you don’t buy a Harley for the handling.  You buy them to ride, and when the road calls, they answer.  It is up to you what road to take, and how to ride it.

Today read 2 Corinthians 4 and look back on how God has taken you through the tough times, and thank him.  Look to Jesus, and allow him to give you life.  To prepare meals worth eating, and a life worth living.  I may not have fought my way up the food chain to eat veggies, but I love cream of broccoli soup.  I love corn on the cob.  I like mashed potatoes and gravy with dressing.  Sometimes we even have breakfast for dinner.  But with every meal, as with every ride, we ask Jesus along.  We never ride alone even in a crowd of one.  You didn’t go to the football game to watch the huddle, so break the huddle and get out and live.  Take what you were taught in church and live it outside the four walls.  Enjoy the curves, take in the hot weather, and know God is in control.  No matter where you go, or what you ride, Jesus will always be the way.  Maybe a ride to Rudy’s is in order, it’s only 850 miles, if I leave now I can be there for dinner.  Wonder if they do take out?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the battle for Ewing Oil

Jock Ewing was a tough old bird.  He was old school before there was even a school.  He believed in hard work, and much like J. Paul Getty, his success could be attributed to “rising early, working hard, and finding oil.”  But when Jim Davis who played Jock died unexpectedly, they had to find a way for Jock to leave the story, so he went to South America with friends to discover oil, and never returned, no body found.  Leaving his will stating that his two sons, JR and Bobby would have a contest to see who could make more money in a year for Ewing Oil, the winner getting 51%, the other 49%.  Now Jock and Miss Ellie also had a third son, Gary, who left home early, he was too nice and timid for the oil business.  So he was left out of the contest, it was the two older brothers.  And let the battle for Ewing Oil begin...

JR the older and more devious used everything in his power to win control, and to sabotage Bobby.  At the end of the year, he had risen stock prices to a new high, and had made a huge profit for Ewing Oil, all the time trying to sabotage Bobby any and every way he could.  He figured he won at that point, that he had proven he should and could run the company, and was about to send his condolences to his younger brother.  When at the last minute, in the last show of the season, Bobby pulls off a huge oil find, with the help of Cliff Barnes, the family enemy, and narrowly beats out JR.  Defeated, JR pledges his support to Bobby, but we all know better.  Both brothers used all their skills and opportunities available to them, and Jock would have been proud.  He would have told them “good job, I’m proud of both of you, but only one can win.”  He knew you can only serve one boss, particularly when money is the key.  And without Gary to deal with, he left, without any inheritance, Bobby won square, but maybe not fair.  Both had exceeded what they had, both had done well, but only one won.  But knowing JR, hang on until next year.

In Matthew 25:14-30 we find Jesus telling the parable of the talents.  A landowner leaves town, leaving three men in charge.  To one he gives 5 years pay, to another 2 years pay, and the third 1 year pay.  And he leaves, with no contest or instructions left.  Upon his return he finds the one who given 5 years pay had invested it and doubled his money.  The boss is impressed, and tells him “well done faithful servant, enter into the kingdom.”  The one with 2 years pay does as well, and is told the same thing.  But the third one, was afraid, he took his pay and buried it, never using it.  The landowner when he returned was so upset, he took it from him, and split it among the others.  He called him worthless, and the servant told him he was afraid of him because he was a hard man, so he buried it in case the owner demanded it upon return.  Which he did, but only in his case.  The other two kept their winnings.  Maybe a poor analogy based on the fictional Ewings, but we see here two important things, using your talent to produce good is what God expects of you, the salaries the owner left with his employees were called talents, and even the least of them had one talent.  Also we see the two richer ones being welcomed to heaven, the kingdom, showing that not all rich go to hell, or all poor go to heaven.  Jesus emphasizes we are all given a talent to use for God on earth, so no excuses for any failures.  I can’t teach or sing, but you can pray for others.  I have little money to give, yes but you can give your time.  No matter how poor or how talented you may be when compared to others, God sees you as the individual that Jesus died for, and has left you with certain responsibilities far beyond those of mortal men.  His command is to love, simple enough, no investments needed.  Like Jesus, we will be resurrected with him someday, and he wants us to tell everyone.  If we can’t, he expects us to show them.  Let his spirit change them, just be an example of his life changing ways.  He expects you to love your neighbor as yourself. Something when money is involved will cause problems.  So he keeps money  from the equation.  We all have a chance for heaven, and it is not based on how well we do in life, it is based on Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  “For our sins,” the most important part of the statement, as history records Jesus died, even the skeptics and atheists cannot deny that, even if they do deny his deity.  But he died for our sins, is the most important part, for if he didn’t life on earth would have no importance, winning would have no victory party, and sin would rule over us.  And like many today still think they can work their way to heaven, many would and fail without Jesus.  Jock was looking for more than money from his sons, he was looking for inner strength, and the power to succeed.  Jesus is looking for sinners to repent, pick up their crosses and follow him, leaving all behind.  Looking ahead to the kingdom to come, where we will live forever with him.  Where we will be called friends and a joint heir with Jesus, much unlike Gary being family and cast out.  Yet many will be cast out because they doubt or deny Jesus, maybe the only talent they had was to make that decision and they blew it.  Lazy, confused, led astray by a cult or religion, they miss Jesus.  The evidence is there, the spirit is there, and he is calling, knocking on the door of your heart.  Will you answer him, for no matter how you are doing, have done, or will do, he forgives you.  Life is not a contest to win, it is a practice run for heaven.  And when we live on earth as it is in heaven, we see Jesus.  We don’t have to worry about the owner coming back and finding us asleep.  We can sleep every night knowing and expecting his return.  And he will soon, and soon is always sooner than you think.

JR and Bobby live on in reruns today.  A whole new generation of Ewings now run Ewing Energy.  Times change, talents change, and the source of power changes.  But not for those whose name is recorded in the book of life.  We look forward to being greeted by Jesus himself in heaven, “well done my good and faithful servant.”  But cash in on the blessings today of using your talent.  It may be as easy as later in the chapter where he tells to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in jail and sick, and welcome strangers.  Basic ministry, something we all can do.  Don’t hide your talent in the ground, seek God today and see it multiply. For God so loved the you, he sent Jesus.  Jock and Miss Ellie had three sons, God only needed one.  Join the family today, and enjoy the battle Jesus won for us.  The battle for Ewing oil goes on and on....with God even the Gary’s out there are welcomed, and forgiven.  Stay tuned.

love with compassion,

Mike

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