pay no attention to that man behind the curtain

I was once introduced to a man who had a dream.  His dream was to build a clean livable place for single moms who were homeless.  Listening to his dream was fascinating, and sounded quite honorable.  His dream was to fund it by the business he was going to build, and being between jobs I was referred to him to be hired to manage it.  But it was only one part of the dream he had to finance the housing, part of it was to establish a referral service in San Diego for those who need house repairs done to call for trustworthy specialists.  It was the Angie’s List before Angie came along, and at the first meeting with those involved, there was a lot of excitement, as a sales manager was hiring a sales force to canvas the county, another man was using his connections to advertise, and everyone in the room had a part in it.  Including me.  As the meeting wore on, it seemed we all had one thing in common I hadn’t realized at first.  None of us were employed, no one had a source of income, and if not for unemployment, many would be on the street themselves.  And the voices in my head started talking to me, was I listening?

But the one thing all the others had I common was belonging to an entrepreneur club, a club I was to find out was selling hope and blue sky to men who thought they were entrepreneurs, but were really just unhirable.  They all had big dreams, big ideas, and many had already started spending the millions they planned on making.  It was really all about the money, the money they would earn someday, but for now, they talked big, but lived small.

The funding of this was to come from one man who had millions to invest, and was interested in the project.  But as I got more involved, he too seemed to never exist.  And only the one man with the original dream that the others had flocked too had talked with him.  More little voices in my head, but I kept quiet.  There was too much I didn’t know, but was about to find out.  I was invited to a private meeting, run by the founder of this club, who they all happened to belong to, whose claim was being a nationally recognized for his statistics and business insight.  Said so on the header at the hotel, and on his cards.  When I showed up in the hotel room, the meeting was underway, and this man had the charts on a board, and was reviewing the dreamer’s plan.  He kept praising it, telling it showed foresight, innovation, and was sure thing. The numbers looked good, so did the projections, and he gave some insight on how to close the deal with the investor.  But as the praises flowed, my little voice got louder, and I asked him questions.  Hard questions, and was told not to be so hard on him, for his reputation spoke for itself.  I had looked behind the mask.  But when I asked him to do the math, to go through the numbers for me, I had looked behind the curtain of the Wizard of Oz, and the truth came out.  For one, for this plan to work, it would take a customer base of over 3 million businesses to make it work.  They had based the figures on Pennysaver, but never included the overlap of business categories.  As the president of this club showed how the figures worked and added up, I dropped the bombshell.  There were less than 2 million people, not businesses, but men, women, children, and illegals living in the county.  Could he please explain how this could work?  The numbers just didn’t add up!  And I was told I was a blasphemer, I had no vision, and was just out to ruin those men in the rooms dream.  All I did was point out the truth!  And they angrily ushered me out!  And I never heard from any of these men, these dreamers again.  Were they so intent on making millions they failed to realize that the emperor had no new clothes?  In fact this emperor had no clothes at all!  All they could see was the money.....which was the last thing they would ever see.

Why do we work?  Is it for the money, the prestige, the things it can buy?  Or is it to meet needs, of ourselves, family, and others?  These men all had one goal, to become rich, sadly at the expense of others.  And had spent it before they made it.  They were hard hearted, and the little voice reminded me of just because I was told they were good church men, that may not have anything to do with God.  Or the Bible.  Their witness was questionable, their lives showed no fruit, of the spirit at least, and looking back they were delusional.  They were chasing a dream, one that had been sold to them, but not by good.  They had taken a thing of God and tried to use it for glory, their own.  Greed had overtaken them, and as they got closer to it, became even more blinded, to the point of believing a lie.  They talked about God, but their God was riches and power.  Some even quoted scripture, but out of context.  And the weakest ones fell for it.  We are told to be as wise as serpents, but gentle as lambs.  Really they were wolves in sheep’s clothing, ready to devour any who crossed them.  They were a cult of sorts, a false religion, with no sign of Jesus in sight.  And a lesson to be learned by all.

1 John 4 tells us to test the spirits, to see if they are of God.  Yet when the story seems true, they resist, and ridicule those that stand on the word.  We are told to seek and we shall find, but do we seek God first?  At all?  Do we seek him diligently, seeking high and low like a parent whose child is lost, or do we frantically stand by and do nothing?  The spirit has given us the desire for a savior, one who will reunite us with God the father.  His name is Jesus, and he will not be found in wealth.  Or the striving after it.  Living well might be the best revenge, but it leads to spiritual death, and eternal damnation. 

Barnabas was seeking Paul, looking high and low, to come beside him, and offer help and encouragement.  One on one ministry, the best kind, where God gets the credit.  And you get the blessings.  We may be at different levels in Christ, but when we have the desire of the spirit, we seek and find what we desire from God.  That little voice that kept going off in my head was the spirit warning me, and giving me insight.  And who eventually led me to revealing the lies of this famous man, whose figures never matched his facts.  We are all driven by something, I was driven by someone. 

Joseph and Mary searched diligently for Jesus after Passover when they couldn’t find him.  They thought he was lost, he really was in the temple teaching.  Where else did they expect to find him?  Do we seek God physically or spiritually?  Based on emotion, of great dreams of riches, or based on who he is?  isn’t the fact that he is God be enough?  But are you driven so blindly you are afraid to look, because you know you are in error?  Jesus forgives, mercy is only found when you have screwed up.  And in each case, we get closer to God.

Not much is told about Barnabas, he was happy to minister one on one in obscurity.  Do you?  Are you willing to serve rather than direct?  To run the company or just be an employee?  Jesus came to serve...do we?  Sadly this man who had a dream, an honorable dream, was not following God.  Blinded by ambition, only the spirit was missing from the equation, and left him vulnerable.  The wolves are out there, and will go after the weak ones.  But so is Jesus, who returned for the one in 99 who was lost.  With the same diligence a parent seeks their lost child.  Jesus seeks to have a relationship with you, the spirit is willing and always telling you “you need Jesus.”  Do you seek the things of Christ, or Christ himself?  Do you seek truth, or will you chase a lie just to satisfy a lustful desire?  This group of entrepreneurs will never be successful.  They were never as gentle as lambs, and they were eaten by the serpents they thought they were as wise as.  Let the truth, the person of Jesus Christ set you free, for he who is free in Christ is truly, fully free indeed.  Look for the credentials of those who advise, ask to see their hands.  And if no scars from the nails, pass on the advice.  For the things seen are temporal, like the grass the riches fade, but the things of the spirit are eternal, the things not seen.  Jesus is looking high and low for you, he knows where you are, but is after your heart.  No one woke up this morning and thought “today I will find God.”  Now you have the chance, will you?  One statistic to remember, death is 100%.   So is eternity, where will you spend it?  Jesus is knocking, and your answer is....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

how do you compare with other riders?

As an avid motorcyclist, I love to ride the curves in the hills.  Or really anywhere, just a bend in the road will cause a sudden mood change for the better, as I get to lean and enjoy what the bike was intended for-fun and more fun. Over the years comparing chicken strips, the area on the edge of the tire that never makes contact with the road-the smaller or non-existent means the better or faster corner taking.  On most of my rides, there are no strips, even my new Tiger 800 has had the right foot peg feeler touch, another evidence of using the corners for max fun.  But yet all bikes, as well as all riders are not created equal, and each ride and rider’s ride can be different.  A few summers back, I had a Rocket, the big 2300cc cruiser for a few days.  It had just been returned from a magazine road test, and when I parked it to look at it, noticed both peg feelers were worn off, they are about a 1/2” long on the edge of the foot pegs, and are first to touch.  Wow was all I could think, until I noticed the license plate bent, and also worn off a bit.  This guy not only wore off the peg feelers, but had been doing wheelies on this bike!  Suddenly no matter how fast or how good I was, I was no comparison to this guy.  My new hero.

And a few weekends back riding a Thunderbird Storm, I wore off the pegs, at least wore them down pretty good.  And felt fast until some guys passed us on a double yellow, in some tight curves, curves I was just glad to navigate, these guys blew by me.  Suddenly I felt slow....Now I have done stoppies, usually not by design or planning, and wheelies also the same way.  Yesterday I took off on the new Thruxton R-what a bike, and accelerating in second got the front wheel vertical-I felt fast.  Until later that day I stopped to show it off to a dealer, who hadn’t seen one yet.  Who proceeded to turn off the traction control, and then wheelie it.  For over 100 yards at a time, accelerating and upshifting as he goes!  For about 15 minutes.  I was blown away, impressed and humbled, as my momentary wheel lifting was nothing compared to his riding skills.  It seems that no matter how good you are, there is always someone out there who is better.  Which doesn’t mean I am not a good rider, but can be a severe blow to the ego. 

We have talked that about today’s new rides being so good that very few riders will ever use their full potential.  We all fall into that category.  But on some bikes that are so good, you must be that much better to fully enjoy them, raising the bar on your riding skills.  Which is why I don’t do group rides, or group traffic jams as they really are.  You only ride as fast as the slowest person, which takes a lot of fun from your ride.  When I used to ride with a Christian ministry, they would ride slow to facilitate the lesser riders, and privately many would complain, their ride ruined.  And when confronted being told “you ride too fast,”  I responded “you ride too slow.”  And while talking at breaks, which always go on too long, found the slowest person hated the ride too because everyone was waiting on them.  We tell them to ride your own ride, then we don’t ride ours.  Some use all the bike they are riding, sometimes the bike uses them.  Ride your own ride, and be courteous to others riding theirs.  A common courtesy that isn’t so common in real life.

We are all at different levels with the Lord.  Some are newbies, and everything about Jesus is new and exciting.  Every study, every sermon, every testimony excites them.  They want all they can get...and God doesn’t fail them.  But over time, they get bored, desiring more than the group can provide them.  They seek new input via Bible studies, one on one with Jesus, and they grow at an alarming rate.  But soon find that their old group, their new found friends in Christ are falling behind, but really they are growing faster.  Deeper and more personal.  And they get shut out of many conversations, as the basics have been covered, they wanted more from God and are getting it.  The others soon become like back markers in a race, to be avoided so you don’t crash while passing them.  They have not come to the point of allowing others to ride their own ride in Christ, and feel threatened by anyone who is.  We call it religion, follow the pastor, never stray.  And even when encouraged to go deeper, make sure it is church approved.  Yet the ones I love to visit with, the ones who are growing deeper and experiencing God grow also outside the church.  Personal Bible studies, devotions, and prayer times.  Led by the spirit, they grow in ways that cannot be described by words, but their walk reveals it. 

When growing up, we were advised to watch the better tennis or golf players, to learn from them.  You may never be as good, but try your best.  You may fail, but there are other sports.  Other rides, and other bikes to ride.  But today where every child passes, we have become dumbed down, and in spiritual things as well.  The ones who seek God and grow can become a burden or a threat to those stuck in mediocrity, and soon become unwelcome.  And when encouraged to go deeper, recite the list of things why they don’t.  Imagine Jesus talking to his Father this way on the way to the cross?  He didn’t because he loved us.  Can we do the same?  Can we learn from others via their testimony?  Not to compare ourselves to other believers, but to realize the growth in us, and want to encourage others?

I know a pastor who is rare.  He not only speaks in scriptural terms, he lives it.  His words have meaning.  I also know others like me who teach in concepts or parables like Jesus did.  The same only different, each encouraging others in their walk, and each different.  The same spirit guiding us, just two different walks of love.  With Jesus at the center of it.  We get excited when someone grows in the Lord don’t you?  So we need to encourage the slow ones to speed up, not slow us down.  God will give you what you need, your choice to go with it on the ride or stay home.  The ride doesn’t start when you throw a leg over the bike, but when you put up the kickstand, put it in gear and ride off.  Which may give a new definition to kickstands up in your Christian walk.  Still parked engine running, you are going nowhere fast.  Revving your engine to brag how loud your bike is, still not moving?  Or are you so familiar with your bike you want all you can get from it?   To eliminate all chicken strips, and wear away the pegs?  Do you want to enjoy your ride to the fullest, or are you only as fast as the slowest rider?  Are you that slowest rider?

You can’t teach experience, but you can experience it.  Same with Jesus.  Is your Bible knowledge more than your Christian experience, or your only experience?  Seek more from God, let him bless you.  It is not how you compare to other Christians, but where you are in him.  Still stuck on John 3:16?  Being saved is only the beginning.  Move on to Romans 3 and 4.  To 1 Corinthians 15.  What would have happened if Genesis ended after the beginning?  Is your life as void as the new earth was?  Is the spirit hovering over you or is it in you? 

Ride your own ride with Jesus.  But let him lead.  And get excited about new roads, new friends, and going deeper into the corners.  Kickstands up in your life, and if a wheelie or two is included, so be it.  Use all the tire you have, learn how to brake hard and accelerate fast.  Be the best rider you can and enjoy the ride even more.  How you compare to other riders will not get you to heaven, but you sure can enjoy the earthly ride even more.  Today may be more than the first day of the rest of your life, it can be the first day of a new ride.  A better ride.  If only you lean on Jesus more than you lean on your side stand.  No one ever got anywhere standing still.  When life throws you a curve take it.  Maybe the only difference between you and the better ones are they are doing it.  Being in one accord with Jesus doesn’t mean riding in one, let no windshield get between you and God.  Lean on Jesus-works in the straights too.  But lean...and enjoy the ride.  Or are your training wheels holding you back?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

reading, riding, and reviewing

I have a long time friend who I haven’t seen in awhile, and I thought of him yesterday.  Rather I was reminded of him, when visiting with another man.  Both of these men love motorcycles, and devour the motorcycle magazines each month.  They can tell you the specs, the colors for each year, what its 1/4 mile time is, and how it compares to other bikes in its class.  They know all the specs, down to details even the factory has to look up to confirm, and just by listening to them in conversation, or even overhearing, you would agree, both these men know all about motorcycles.  You would consider them to be experts, and you may even seek them out for advice.  But when talking with them, a fact would appear that just may change your opinion of them, and their viewpoint on information.  Neither of them rides very much, and both ride older models, both considered low end bikes by those who ride.  And yesterday my suspicions were confirmed when showing this friend the new Thruxton R.  All he talked about was how he wanted one, gotta have the R model, it has all the goodies, and on he would go, regurgitating what Cycle World said, or Motorcyclist proclaimed.  And when I would come by on other bikes, he knew why they were inferior to it, and why it was the only bike he was interested in.  But his bubble of knowledge burst yesterday, when he sat on it.  I cannot tell you enough superlatives about the new Thruxton, and I have ridden one, and will for the next 1000 miles.  It wasn’t like the articles said, no rear foot pegs, it is a single rider bike.  The red caught him off guard, all the bikes in the previews were silver.  And sitting on it, he discovered without a ride, this was not the bike for him.  Even if he could convince his wife, he knew it was not for him.  All the info was valuable until he threw a leg over it, and found it was more bike than he would ever be a rider. 

On the pilot for Star Trek, the William Shatner version, pre-Shatner even, the Enterprise is called to a planet, Talos IV.  Where they find a crew that had wrecked 17 years early intact, to their surprise.  But soon come to find it is all an allusion, and when confronted, the beautiful woman the Captain falls in love with is revealed to be a hideous figure.  Alive yes, but found in the wreckage, they put her back together.  She was functioning, but they had never seen a human before and had no idea of what one looked like.  Where do the eyes go, the arms?  Even the upper body, or is it lower?  Up or down, left or right, they had no example to follow, so they made her functional, but hideous to others of her type.  She had been built to specs, just not the factory specs of humans.  And I wondered, how would others find her?  Imagine an article written about her, the miracle of her survival, and being put back together.  What would we think based on words, and would we be disappointed when we saw her picture?  You see some ride, some review, while others just read about it.  Based on specs, she functioned well, but on the track of life, would never run the times promised. 

So there are those that read all about it, some who actually ride and can experience life, and those that are still reviewing.  You see I also read about the Thruxton, and got excited.  To the point I even sold both Bonnevilles, which shocked friends because they knew how much I loved them.  But one ride showed me things what no article could, that no photo could reveal.  While some were content to look at the pictures, I wanted to be in them.  I wanted to experience the ride, not just listen to others tell about it.  I wanted the truth, the facts, the experience.  I wanted all the bike I could get so I could make a decision.  Which carries over in my life with Jesus.  After 40 years of being saved I may not have seen it all, but I have seen a lot.  I have read the Bible, looked at the pictures, visited churches across America, and met famous people.  But nothing compares to meeting Jesus, you can read all about him, be in studies and Bible college, but knowing about him in no way compares to knowing him.  While others quote scripture, I choose to live it.  When someone talks of the trials and tribulations, I have been there, and in them seen a side of Christ that those who haven’t suffered seen.  In being sick I saw him as the great physician.  In times of doubt saw him as the great comforter.  When I didn’t know what to do, he gave me wisdom so I could make the right choice.  I don’t live life to review Jesus, but to  experience him first hand.  To shout with joy when I think of him, and cry out to him when in trouble.  To be myself in all situations, not what a religion tells me I should be.  I meet him daily in places and events I am not prepared for, and find that when I do, I can then compare him to his Book, and find myself approved.  Guided by the spirit, confirmed in his word.  Not the other way around.

Too many put faith in what the Bible says, but not in the person in it.  Carefully trimming scripture to provide a picture of who they want God to be.  And sometimes when encountering him leave disappointed. He didn’t cave in to all their demands, times were tough and they didn’t get their way.  Life turned out different than the man hiding behind the pulpit said, so they changed Gods.  Fortunately God never leave us, gives up on us, or loves us any less, or any more.  Read the reviews of God some day, and many will be disappointed.  When they want him to change for them, they find they are supposed to change for him.  What kind of a lousy God would he be if he was different all the time?  Would he be no better than the woman put together after the crash?  Or would the illusion of him be your reality?

Find truth in the spirit, who guides you to Jesus.  Then read all about him in the Bible.  But get out and ride the life he offers you.  Watch as the scriptures come alive in your life, and while others quote them, you have seen them first hand.  You have a testimony to share, to encourage others, and when shared in the spirit, we see souls saved and lives changed, just like he promises, by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.  What good is just reading the Bible if you never live it?  What good is being a Christian if you don’t experience Jesus Christ first hand?  Are you reading when you could be riding, and living life based on others reviews of him?  Where is Jesus in your life?

I want all I can get from life in Christ, I want to go where no man has gone before.  But I want the spirit to guide me, to be the Captain Kirk of my Enterprise.  I want to ride the bikes so when I read the review I can tell if they really rode the bike, or just listened to someone who did.  I can tell, and so can others.  We don’t all need race bikes for the street, or 150 hp to cruise.  But we all can ride the ride Jesus has chosen for us, not from articles, but getting it directly from him.  Riding the new Diavel X last week, I didn’t need my feet to blow off the pegs at 100 mph to know it wasn’t the bike for me.  But I have ridden one and now I know.  Get out and ride, ask Jesus to challenge you, to show you all you desire.  And when you find him to be that desire, the blessings flow even more freer.  You are in the picture with him, and soon the photographs of a moment in time, become a movie of life in action.  A life filled with joy and excitement, because you let the sprit guide you, instead of being spirited by a guide.  God wants to bless you, are you ready for the ride?

Or are all your rides based on reading?  There are many bikes, and many rides.  Many roads, and many experiences waiting, will you include God in them?  Will you ride the ride or read the book?  Someday you will be confronted, not what you know but who you know will make all the difference.  Some read, some ride, some review.  I know Jesus personally, do you?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

"no coke, Pepsi!"

The phrase “no Coke, only Pepsi” was made famous by John Belushi and his fellow SNL comedy mates back in the seventies.  But it was true in some places, as so many associated Coke with soft drinks, just like Kleenex for tissue.  Working for Coca Cola, in sales my job was new business, and I was quite good at it.  We would identify a Pepsi account we wanted, then go after it.  Some would be low volume, but their street presence with Coca Cola signage would irritate them, we called it the “cheese ‘em off factor.”  Some were old time Pepsi strongholds, and I would wear them down, with help from other Coke employees who would start to frequent them at lunch.  Finally breaking down, as “you guys are in here all the time, I’ll switch.”  Many a Coke drinker who had to settle for Pepsi was now satisfied.  In some cases where the restaurant owner owned his own equipment, but was favorable to Pepsi, we would ask for just one fountain head on it, for Coke, so when a customer asked for a Coke, they could get it, and slowly edge out P Cola.  The plan was to eliminate “Is Pepsi OK?” from our territories vernacular, and we were quite good at it.  So good that when I left Coke, Pepsi threw a party since I was gone.  But my crowning blow, the feather in my Coke cap if you would, was having the only Pizza Hut in America that served Coca Cola.  Pizza Hut, owned by Pepsi Cola, of course had a lock on the business, until I started eating at the store in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.  Befriending the owner, I would mention “too bad you don’t serve Coke, I’m tired of iced tea.”  He even went as far as checking with his franchise rep, who only belittled him for asking, but we found a way around it.  He owned the machine, and was required to sell Pepsi products.  No exclusive products mentioned, just he must sell Pepsi.  I even offered to loan him a unit for Coca Cola, but he did me one better.  “I own the unit, put a Coke head on one of the flavors.”   Which we did, which made him unpopular within Pizza Huts, even more so with Pepsi, but he was legal and selling Coca Cola to anyone who asked for one.  He never had to say “no Coke, only Pepsi” again, and we outsold P Cola many times over.  The ultimate “cheese ‘em off factor,” every time some exec form Coca Cola USA came through, they wanted to meet me, the guy who sold Coke in a Pizza Hut.  They never considered our battle plan, looking for a complete conquest, we were happy to get in the door, knowing we would never leave.  Smart as a serpent, yet gentle as a lamb in business, Biblical principals work in the secular world too.  Which is where Jesus spent most of his time.

For the 40 years I have been saved, I have seen Christian only phone books, too many businesses with Christian fish in the window, and others who will only do business with Christians.  As if being saved makes you a better plumber or mechanic?  They believe they are doing the right thing, not becoming part of the world, yet neglecting to notice we still live in it.  And we are to be out sharing the gospel, showing love and ministering to all we meet, including the unsaved.  What good are we if we only preach to the choir?  If we only hang with other Christians, or neglect to notice those who aren’t?  Maybe we are snobbish, and don’t sow the love of Christ.  Yet we neglect to follow the leading of Jesus, who ate with sinners, hung out with criminals, showed love and compassion to prostitutes, thieves, bikers, junkies, and even politicians.  The low lifes he came to save.  Even commenting once, “it is the sick who need a doctor.”  Sick souls and sick bodies, and minds.  Maybe the little steps we used to win Coke accounts makes sense in the Christian world too.

But one afternoon outside of Ogden, Utah God showed me why we need to be out in the world, just not of it.  A sudden rain storm hit hard, and it took over 2 miles to find any shelter.  I got mad as the storm pelted me, with no shelter in  sight, attending a Christian rally, in the midst of Mormon country.  “Why God would you send us into enemy territory?  We’re Christians, aren’t we supposed to be special? Set apart? ”  His answer, as always, was simple yet deep.  “Can you think of a better place to put a hospital than where the people are sick and dying?”  I was so consumed with self and forgot to be an example as we go.  We need to get out in the world, to show the love of Christ, but not be part of it.  My friend Dick hangs out with some hard core bikers, who respect him.  He sits in bars with them drinking water, sometimes hard stuff as they call it, 7-Up, and has made himself available to them.  Ministering and showing love rather than preaching and causing dissent, he is the light in a dark area God has called him to minister to.  Lots of little steps to salvation on our parts, sometimes we forget the simplest, showing love to the unsaved.  Remember, we were all lost once, and someone took a chance and shared Jesus with us.  How quick we forget....or can be influenced by bad doctrine.

You may be the only Bible, the only gospel many see.  Be the one in love they remember, not the jerk who preached, argued, or didn’t minster to them.  Don’t you just love being cut off by an SUV covered with Jesus stickers?  Sadly that is how Christians are seen to many.  Yet if I could change the minds of Pepsi drinkers, imagine what the holy spirit can do with you evangelizing Jesus by just being out there, and showing love.  One trip to help the homeless once a year makes no difference to them, although so many who do their yearly duty heap praise on themselves.  It is getting to know them, building relationships, and loving them that shares the gospel best.  I have seen too many so-called interns interfere, who should have never been sent out and are sent home, because they don’t get it.   “Shut up and listen,” is the best advice I give.  First listen for what the spirit is saying, then do it.  The old saying “they will care how much you know when you show how much you care is still true today.  Remember the spirit is gentle and kind, is your gospel you share the same?

Although Pepsi hated me, and was glad to see me go, they respected me.  Do you respect those who God has chosen to put in your path today?  Or are you so busy reciting the Four Spiritual Laws that you forget the law of love, for which there is no law against?   How many have come to Christ while having an appliance fixed, a car repaired, or stopping to help someone on the side of the road, because they were shown love, and words were few?  Being ministered to, meeting a need in the name of Jesus, their actions and attitudes speaking volumes.  Inviting someone to church is not evangelism, being out among the unsaved like Jesus was, and showing love and compassion is.  Take your education to the next level, application, and show what you learned in church.  Don’t bother bragging about how great your church is, or what a great Christian you are, show me!  Show them.  Good advice from an old serpent, whose heart was changed by a gentle lamb.  And someone who decided to share the gospel with an unsaved heathen on the beach one night.  Not in a church, out in the world, where we live.  Doctors of love, and with many needing a doctor now.  How many Lazaruses have you stepped over on the way to church?  Remember, the best place for a hospital is where the sick are, the best place to show the love of Jesus Christ is out where the darkness lies.  Be that light...you just may be the Coca Cola they asked for, don’t make them settle for Pepsi.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

braggin' or complainin'?

I’m tired, after riding over 1300 miles in the last 7 days, on 6 different motorcycles, I’m tired.  I can use a day of rest.  Now some may say I’m braggin’, and maybe I am, while others may say I’m complainin’, and maybe I am, but it doesn’t change the fact I’m tired, or how I got there.  And if I may, a chance to reflect on my miles and the rides I rode them on.  Six bikes in a year, let alone a lifetime may be a lot for some, and recently we whittled our fleet down to 4, sold 3 bought one.  But when new bikes come in for Triumph’s press fleet, which sends bikes to magazines for road tests, supplies bikes to celebrities and movies, and visiting English home office execs, I get the call.  And I feel honored to answer.  I rode mostly Triumph’s press bikes this week, a 2014 Storm for an exec who is coming over to America to tour on it, picked up Friday afternoon, returned Monday morning with over 500 miles.  Then a 2016 Bonneville T120 Black, taken back yesterday after over another 500 miles, and now a 2016 Speed Triple R, three completely different bikes, and I can have the S3 for a few weeks, to put on 1000-1500 miles.  Which may sound like a lot, but Theresa and I are leaving Easter Sunday for a 5 mile ride through Arizona, that should be another 1500 miles.  Like my friend Frank used to say, “if you need to sit somewhere, sit where you are comfortable.”  And on two wheels I am comfortable.

But after riding three such different bikes, I come to realize why I own the ones I do.  Our old Tiger, 2006 vintage, is resting at Mick’s right now, with over 101,000 miles, an eternity in bike years.  We will take our new/old Tiger 1050, think of a Speed Triple for touring to Arizona, looking forward to the curves in the mountains, and our newest arrival, a new 2015 Tiger 800 sits, in between putting on break in miles for our summer trip.  Hooked on Tigers, they work for me, but I have advised different rides to different friends over the years.  What you ride is personal, and the more time spent with each bike it becomes more personal.  Some better for long rides, some cruisers, some too heavy, some too little, where we begin to sound more like Goldilocks than the 3 bears.  And so I find myself riding with others who are as devoted to their personal bike as I am to mine.  Glen sold out years ago to the Harley lifestyle, that is the only bike for him.  Stu rides Gold Wings, his is known as “The Buick,” and he rides cross country many times on them.  Ray rides a turbo charged B King, with 264 hp on the dyno, at age 72 he is still young at heart.  I test rode a new Indian Scout, and would consider one, but not for how I ride.  And although Theresa misses her Bonneville, one ride on the new Street Twin made her change her mind, I see a new Street Twin in the garage by summer’s end.  So how we ride, and what we ride influences where we ride.  As citizens of the greatest country on earth, and citizens of the best culture, that of motorcycling, it is only when we get out and exercise our belief that we are happy.  When we exercise what we believe, and we believe in riding, that we are fulfilled, and at our happiest.  Blessed is maybe a better word, if you ride you know.  If not, I could explain, but you still might not get it.  So braggin’ or complainin’, you make the choice.  I’m too busy ridin’ to have it make a difference.

Now as citizens of heaven, we Christians are really colonists here on earth.  We are to spread the gospel as we go, where we go.  Remembering, but also having to be reminded that it is all about Jesus, and not us.  But yet many have chosen a path of least resistance, and miss out on the ride.  Some sequester themselves from the world, not wishing to be contaminated by it.  Never going out into the world, their biggest brush with sinners is the unsaved invited to church.  Safe and secure on their home turf, they never grow any deeper, just get spread thinner.  Their religion is based on them, like all of ours are.  Yet others will hang with outlaw bikers, go out with unsaved friends, and be seen in bars.  Not partaking, but taking the light of the Lord to a lost and dying world.  Just like Jesus ate with the tax collectors, hookers, and others.  Do you think when he fed the 5000 it was all church folk?  And he ate with them! 

But as truly visitors on earth for a short time, we can either become like the natives, or hang onto our heritage of Jesus.  When we withdraw from life, we feel we may be contaminated by the world, and miss out on blessings God has in it.  Just as the rain falls on the just and the unjust, God loves and blesses all, both sinner and saint.  Remember he loved us while we were still sinners, or have you forgotten?  The other side is those who go out and try to change the world for Christ, following their own leads, not spiritually led.  Either way we practice self sacrifice, and find we are seeking the love of power, instead of the power of love.  We need to be flexible, we are not of this world, but here in it, and as in any colonization, we are sent here by God to colonize the planet for Christ.  We need to get out and ride more, get out and live more, and get out and enjoy the blessings God has for us more.  Or get out completely, for when stagnant we are really rotting from within, we might not see it, but others can sense the smell of pride and death in us. 

Where do you spread the gospel?  What or who do you influence?  Jesus again ate with Levi, a tax collector who even cheated on his own taxes.  The religious were appalled, “look at who he eats with?  Has he no sense of values?”  But we find Jesus spreading the influence of love to them, rather than being influenced by them.  How important is getting out and colonizing earth for heaven?  Do the angels rejoice when your attendance card is full at church, or when a new soul is saved by grace?  Jesus was not contaminated by their sin, but we can be you argue.  True, when on your own, but when guided by the spirit, you will be safe and protected.  Some will find it at a quilting party of unbelieving women, some in a social organization, some on the golf course, some with other bikers.  But when we get out and go with Jesus, we spread the gospel of his love, good news for a dying planet.  His spirit lives in us making us holy, so we can venture out into the world and influence it for him.  Are you watching a film on the gospel or do you have a role in it?  Are you  fed from a man behind a pulpit, with a known audience, or are you out trusting God to lead you?  I am not bagging on church,but Jesus taught in the temple, but ministered on the streets, where the action and the lost were.  Our product is Jesus, don’t you do your best business where the customers are? 

So maybe I am braggin’, because God has chosen me to get out and live his gospel, to share Jesus with those I meet.  To minister, or be ministered too.  His mode is motorcycles, and I meet dozens of people each month just being out there riding.  A chance to show Jesus, to make new friends, to minister his love.  Jesus has called us to be ambassadors of him on earth, to plant seeds for others to water, for him to provide the growth and salvation.  When we follow his gospel of love, others see a real side of Christians, rather than those just in church.  But it needs to be his love, his agenda, not ours.  So whether retreating from the world, which the Bible never endorses, or getting out and sinning,  which it never endorses, we are to live in the world just not become part of it.  From his first miracle at a wedding, to his last one on the cross, leading a thief to heaven, he was out and living.  His self giving love showing the way.  Many different ways to show it, I find it best to live it.  Last week was 6 different bikes, but one Jesus.  Like the ride you choose, it is personal.  So I chose Jesus, it don’t get any more personal than that.  And yes, that’s braggin’!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com