A suspiciously wrong clue on Jeopardy last night got my mind remembering
back to 1985 and the New Coke. They claimed it was because Coke wanted a
flavor more like a diet drink, but that isn’t the truth. I was there. At the
time Coca Cola ruled the fountain business, but a sweeter Pepsi was making
inroads with a younger market, so to maintain or grow market share, they came
out with a sweeter tasting Coke. And it bombed, but when brought back as
Classic, Pepsi could never recover and still hasn’t today. And the name of Coca
Cola lived on, untarnished. A gamble that no one ever thought would happen did,
and the most devoted Cokaholics were saved. But missed out on a point taken,
and one that would develop the world’s most recognizable trademark into a
marketing move. It seems you could do many things with a soft drink, but the
name Coca Cola was hallowed, but never ever blaspheme that name. If you can
remember when diet Coke first came out, small d in diet, it was so that nothing
would share equal time with Coke, but over the years greed, market share, and
responsibility to share holders has led the name Coca Cola to many other
flavors, to today a large D in Diet Coke graces their can. Even the small c in
cherry Coke should be a hint of the power of the name. And over the weekend,
if you watched any March Madness, you saw some Coke madness too, as they deluged
us with ads for Orange Vanilla Coca Cola. Which I have tried, I like the
flavor, but it ain’t the old 7x Coke formula. And somewhere in Atlanta, the
ghost of Coca Cola’s Robert Woodruff, the man who made Coke a household name
must be rolling over in his grave. It is safe to say Coke is not the same to
the Millenials, I was part of Coca Cola when Coke was it! And oh the times we
had......
How important is Coke? It was their ads in the thirties that gave us the
traditional Santa Claus we have today. During WWII they built Coke plants
around the world so no US serviceman would be far from an ice cold Coke. The
first thing many wanted when they did return-you got it! Who could hold back
the tears, “thanks Mean Joe.” And what other soft drink taught the world to
sing? Just watch any kid with his dad at a 7-11, he’ll ask what kind of Coke do
you want?” And at one time that meant what soda, today it means a whole lot
less....
If you believe scripture, and as a Christian you should, as it is the
inspired and breathed word of God, then you know that there is no other name
under heaven or earth by which you can be saved. Not diet Jesus, cherry Jesus,
or any other Jesus, just Jesus. Yet two main stream cults flying under the
banner of religion deny his deity. They are not Christians. The LDS discount
his deity by claiming he is a created being like Satan, going off course with
the fourth word of the Bible, in the beginning God, plural, created the heavens
and the earth. The JW’s are a bit bolder, claiming Jesus is not deity, and proud
of it. Even denying heaven, changing scripture to suit their evil end. Beware
of both groups, 2 John tells us to not even say “God bless you,” as their God is
not the God of the Bible, lest you buy into their lies. Their marketing ways
are strong, but where sin abides, grace will always abide even more. And then
there are the seven sons of Skeva in Acts 19, who thought just saying the name
would make demons flee, only to be beat up and sent away naked when they tried.
There is power in the name, but only by his spirit. In his name, or in his
will, the key here. God made his only son Jesus begotten, unique, there is none
other like him. And we can know him personally, he calls us friend if we keep
his commandment of love. I’ll drink to that....you choose which Coke to toast
him with! I’ll take the real thing.
I can remember on hot days grabbing a fresh bottle of Coke before it was
capped off the line, a cold bottled 34 degrees, that would burn the back of your
throat as it went down. But still left you thirsty afterwards. Looking for
cold water. Religion without the spirit, expressed by water in scripture, is
like that. Without the spirit of God upon us we will never be fully refreshed,
thirst quenched for a moment, but still thirsty for the water of the spirit, the
living water only Jesus can supply. It is the spirit that gives life, just like
he did when the earth was void and he gave substance to it. And just like he
wants to give to your life.
Today the name Coca Cola is more marketing tool than the real thing. At
one time revered such that no other name would be used with it or to describe
it. Too bad religion has gone the same way with Jesus, selling holy water,
demanding money to stay on the air, and TV evangelists raking in money from
those who can afford it least. But God knows and sees, and their time is
coming.....is yours? Or can you say you know the real thing Jesus Christ? Or
are you still settling for some other cola that challenges? Remember the Pepsi
challenge, remember there could be no challenge if there was no champion. Many
things vie for your attention and your soul, make sure you choose the real
thing, Jesus Christ. Refreshing souls for thousands of years. There was a time
when Coke was it, today you can make Jesus the it, the who in your life.
With no apologies to you Alex, I hope you find the real thing. One wrong
answer can change your whole day. The answer “Jesus Christ.” The right answer
is “who is the son of God?” Large G. Coke added life, Jesus is life. Oh the
times we had, and the times to be had in heaven....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com