what would your second wish be?

Our F150 was called into duty yesterday as a surrogate taxi, taking a friend to the doctor.  For the second time in two days, I was driving a four wheeled vehicle voluntarily, a Sunday afternoon ride through the hills in the Mustang Sunday with the top down, as opposed to being forced by weather, shopping, or people hauling.  But coming home on the freeway during rush hour, my mind kept looking at the motorcycles cruising by in the HOV lane, as I sat maintaining my 20 mph average.  And my mind started wondering, really wandering, and I wished I was riding.  And the catch lines of car ads, old and new started to entertain me.  Was there some subliminal message in them?  Or was I losing what was left of my frontal lobe activity due to non-use in a car?  “Have you driven a Ford lately?”  Yes.  But I rather be riding my motorcycle today.  “There’s a Ford in your future,” again a motorcycle waiting at home.  Passing by a BMW dealer, “the ultimate driving machine,” and suddenly their cars were a sad second to some of their great two wheel rides.  “See the USA in your Chevrolet,” I thought BSA, and the road being the destination, all day long.  Lee Iacocca once advised “if you can find a better made car, buy it.”  So like thousands of others, we did, we rode.  Even those Subaru commercials showing tree hugging flakes who shouldn’t be allowed to drive, they end in love.  How many treat their motorcycles better than their wife?  Kids?  Love?  We ride, because we love to, you drive because you are forced to.  “Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?” Not after seeing a few stuck in traffic.  Packard once advised “ask the man who owns one.”  How many ever ask the man who rides one.  GMC tells us their trucks are industrial grade.  Who wants to drive a work truck?  For fun?  Datsun, nee Nissan once told us they had “Major motion.”  They obviously never rode a Hayabusa.  “Oh what a feeling, Toyota?”  Answer me that Ms. Prius after giving up your manhood for mpg.  I’ll show you the feeling...  “Not your father’s Oldsmobile,” ever see a 4 door sedan motorcycle?  Station wagon?  Maybe it is better said “not your son’s motorcycle.”  “Fine Corinthian leather?”  Been wearing it for years.  A Chevy ad in 1969 showing a Corvette, and a 396 Camaro, brag “we’ll take on any two cars in this magazine.”  Notice they didn’t challenge a motorcycle.  And finally a Pontiac, RIP, ad, who used to advise us “we build excitement.”  And they did, with a 1970 GTO ad telling life is what you make it.  We have been making it on two wheels for years.  And suddenly I was home....

Traveling through the south, many churches have signs out front with clever sayings.  They are wanting you to come and visit, to find God, to see Jesus, and maybe join.  An evangelistic tool not seen out  here in Cali, but with entertainment value if nothing else when in the south.  “Walmart isn’t the only saving place.”  One church is “prayer conditioned.”  One advises “God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.”  A Presbyterian church asks “having trouble sleeping?  Come hear one of our sermons.”  Another tells us they “love hurting people.”  Hmmm.... While yet another warns “honk if you love Jesus, text if you want to meet him.”  And finally, “don’t let worries kill you, let the church help.”  Creative, funny, eye catching, and sometimes they work.  But sad to me, for so many have gone the way of the world, trying to come up with ways to get people to church.  When the key to church growth is found in one simple sentence from scripture, “unless God builds the church, they labor in vain.”  Might as well be stuck in a car on the freeway.  You both will get home eventually, but you will never enjoy the ride.  Guess which one will enjoy it?

Have you ever met anyone who woke up one morning and said “today I am going to find God.”  It is the spirit who is calling us to Jesus, who tells us “you need Jesus,” and who brings us to answer the knock on the door that is him.  Ads are designed to get you into the store, then it is up to the sales force to make the sale.  But I wonder, what if the saying on the sign is the best part?  Like a movie trailer, 5 seconds of fun, 2 hours to catch up on sleep, at minimum wage.  Yet many are seeking God,  and come up short.  Fancy sayings, programs, and events are not bad things, but when the entertainment is over, people leave, just like after the movie ends.  It takes the spirit to save, but then to also guide and provide.  Salvation comes once and is instantaneous, we have a lifetime on earth preparing for heaven.  And we never know when we will be called home.  One day stuck in traffic, the next flying the friendly skies of heaven.  So beware of clever come ons, and rely on the spirit.  The same Jesus that saved you, will never leave you, and is always with you.  Just don’t try it in the HOV lane, “honest officer, Jesus is always with me.”  Or get ready for the breathalyzer test. 

The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.  Salvation is not something that can be fully explained, it must be experienced so you know you are saved.  So the holy spirit can live inside you, and meet your needs.  So it is personal, not religious.  The difference may be as simple as being stuck in a car, and of passing by on a motorcycle.  Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul.  But the spirit is the wheels that move the soul, and without him life is a flat tire.  With traffic slowing to look at you.  Your sin may be causing a traffic jam, there is no isolated sin, it effects everyone!  And you cannot lane split your way to heaven, Jesus is the only way.  Jesus is not about clever advertising, but about truth and justice.  Not the American way like another visitor who came to earth with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men.  And who doesn’t have to conceal his identity....yet he is mild mannered.  Maybe the gospel is out there and we are missing it?  Is it possible like the Bible says, “all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called?”  The spirit is calling...are you listening?

Many are called, few are chosen.  How will you know where you stand?  Go with Jesus, make no mistake then that you are chosen.  Long ago he knew, and has been seeking you.  Lexus may be “the relentless pursuit of perfection,” in Christ you have to seek no more.  You can be riding instead of dreaming.  Don’t pay more for a fancy religion when it is really just a fancy Toyota.  Get what you paid for, and Jesus paid it all.  Prices you cannot afford.  Cadillac may be the standard of the world, why not go with the one who created it.  If Jesus gave you two wishes, what would your second one be?  Don’t let the first one let you down.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

200 channels and nothing on to watch

My sons laugh when I tell them we had only the three major networks for TV growing up, along with three independents, and PBS.  And this was in the New York Metro area, where TV ruled the airwaves.  And it seems there was always something on to watch, we knew Friday nights at 730 pm was Wild, Wild, West, who didn’t love all the James Bond type gadgets?  And it was only after it went off the air we knew it was in color, we didn’t have a color TV yet.  Thursday nights at 830 pm we talked our parents into going where no man has gone before on Star Trek, opposite Bewitched.  Which had those cool Chevies used in the background, but Star Trek would win out as the all time favorite.  ABC nailed us on both Wednesday and Thursday nights with Batman, all the talk at Terrill Jr. High the next morning.  Entertaining, we were still too young to understand how campy it was.  Monday nights was more than the eternal question of Ginger or Mary Ann, it was between Gilligan’s Island or The Monkees.  And just to be reminded how popular they were, in 1967, the year of Sgt. Pepper, they outsold The Beatles. 

Sunday nights was dominated by The Ed Sullivan Show, especially when a rock group was scheduled, but what to watch before 8 o’clock?  Lassie was the choice for years, with predictable outcomes each week.  It seems so much was on, the decisions were tougher, and they made a difference back then.  But for my parents each weeknight from 830 to 1000 pm was The Merv Griffin Show, live from New York.  On channel 5, WNEW, many of us started to watch it, and his guests.  An early alternative, time wise that is to The Tonight Show, we were introduced to Moms Mabley, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Douglas and his Oriental wife Reiko, and others who have become icons in comedy.  And with no VCRs yet, the decisions were tough, no remotes meant you watched the commercials, which were entertaining them also, and by 10 you were ready for bed, after their famous tagline “it’s 10 pm, do you know where your children are?”  No wonder we watch the old shows...

But today with 200+ channels to choose from, after surfing via remote, it is hard to find something on.  I have watched more Star Treks now than when it was first on.  Monkees reruns, four at a time, an evening of Batman, and even Johnny Carson is now on every night at 8 via reruns.   Miss Adam-12, Dragnet, Rockford Files, or Twilight Zone, they are all on every night, and in just one month you can watch an entire season.  Even if they conflict with today’s reality TV,which is really scripted, or too late at night and you can set you DVR.  And I started watching shows I didn’t watch when first on, and sadly am reminded why I didn’t in the first time around.  Kojak, come on Theo.  Cagney and Lacey, Barney Miller, Car 54, Where Are You? and others.  Set in New York City, how crime shows have changed in 30 years, only crime hasn’t.  So if not for the old shows, it is possible that there is nothing on.  Fortunately CHiPs is on every night when we sit down to dinner. 

These old shows allow us to look back and see how life was when we were kids, at least through the eyes of TV.  To us it was all new then, today too for a new generation.  We talk often of the first century church, the one of the book of Acts, and how it was different, how we wish we could be like it.  We like Acts 2:42, where the church devoted itself to teaching and prayer, and giving among themselves as needed.  A church I would like to attend.  They met in homes, small groups we would call them today, and scripture was shared via testimony, and what the apostles had taught.  No New Testament yet, they were living the New Testament, and I marvel at how they were able to function.  No Bibles to speak of, no internet for gathering information, no myriads of books for study, and no overheads with the words of the songs printed.  They were led by the spirit, who gave them everything they needed, and all they desired.  I have attended churches that take 20 years to go through the Bible, but yet have the same folk not walking in that spirit.  Too much info overload, not enough application of the love of Christ.  A word search on Blue Letter Bible can set up a pastor for weeks, we gain education experience, but maybe lack the spirit.  Too much of a good thing, and when younger we church hopped, based on what church was teaching what.  Just like our TV watching, we went for a certain entertainment value, and if we didn’t like it, went elsewhere.  It seems today too many are motivated by desires other than holy spirit based, rather satisfying the lust of a Biblical flesh rather than a spiritual based one.

But a few years ago when touring Brother Andrew’s Open Doors, I was told about a church where the Bible is forbidden, Christians cannot meet, and they move underground.  How they protect their pastor, because they don’t have any written word, they depend on him for knowledge, and guidance by the spirit.  But one part intrigued me, for this pastor has no Bible, but only one page from it, two sides to read and teach from.  He guards it well, for it is the only Bible he has, no discussion whether King James or NIV is better?  No concordance or index, he has 2 pages on one sheet of paper as his only Bible.  And yet after 20 years, he has only taught from one side of it!  No John 3:16, no Hebrews or Revelation to interest them, only the book of Acts.  He is relying on the spirit just like they did for input and what to teach.  Maybe a true first century church, in the 21st century!  No words in red of Jesus, only the apostles teaching of how they were with him, their testimonies.  Two sides of a page, and something is always on....

For them reading through the only Bible they have can take a few minutes, and they are blessed, whereas we brag how we read through in one year, and don’t live what we read.  Maybe we need to see how humbling, yet rewarding it is to walk in the spirit, instead of walking in the church.  Where Jesus is alive, and being caught can mean jail time or death.  No pretty pictures, no retreats, only lookouts for the police, to protect the pastor, as he has the page of the Bible they learn from.  A true form of less being more we all can learn from.  Maybe we need to ask ourselves, “it is 2016, do we know where our God is?”  Who he is?  And are we guided by his spirit?  Are there too many channels on with nothing worth watching?  If it works in a third world country, can it work in a country who sings “God shed his grace on thee?”  Who is Jesus in your life?  Are you taught to be guided by the spirit, or by a denomination?  By a popular pastor?  How would you describe your church?  Maybe in the words of Jamie Buckingham, years ago when healed by Jesus of cancer, when he was interviewed, the interviewer trying to find something to hype.  Jamie’s answer to all questions was the same, “all I know is Jesus.”  And in one statement, he said it all.  Don’t let it take cancer, open heart surgery, a financial ruin, or divorce to let you say “all I know is Jesus.”  Seek him today, and by his spirit you will be guided and see life anew.  One church has one page, yet there are never any reruns in the spirit.  Do you study the things of God as much as you do the TV Guide? 

Jesus never left you, never forsakes you, and is always new and exciting.  To some just another rerun of religion, to those alive in the spirit life and joy.  It’s 2016, Jesus know where you are, do you know him?  Before DVR’s you had to make a choice of what to watch, is he on your watch list now?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

free parking

Many a rainy New Jersey day was spent playing Monopoly as a kid.  When candy bars were a nickel, and a peek at Betty and Veronica was 12 cents, playing for big money was a big thing to us.  We were budding young land owners and land lords, even if we didn’t know what either meant.  We were out to make all the money we could and beat the other guys.  From 2-4 of us would play, and as we went would make up new rules to gather wealth.  Free parking, that space on the board that meant exactly that, where nothing happened, we changed.  We turned it into an early casino before Atlantic City, starting with $100 in the middle, for every fine paid, it went into the Free Parking fund instead of to the bank.  From $10 poor tax, to $200 big fines, it all went there, and could grow into big bucks.  And the next lucky guy to land there, got it all, tax free.  A huge windfall, before we used the word to describe anything but the willow that fell in our back yard during a storm, it was free money.  And the enterprising ones would add hotels, pay off the mortgages, and soon was on the way to winning it all.  Free parking was more than a rest stop between rival owned properties and paying rent, we turned it into a spot to be desired, with a reward tied to it.  Many a game turned after one of us stopped there, not in the rules of Monopoly, but in our neighborhood, and in many like it, free parking helped pay the rent.

Parking has become a problem in this US of A, as from $8 for 15 minutes in San Francisco, and no multiple bikes parked, to parking meters everywhere that now take credit cards, free parking seems to be a dying concept.  Parking meters, then pay to park lots, and now valet parking at restaurants, sporting events, and now even malls is popular.  Rather than park and hike a mile, we grin and bear the $5 to let some hormone enhanced teen park our precious car for us.  Do you think they are going to walk the mile back?  They rented all the good spots close, no free parking for them either.  Some places are even bending to pressure from motorcyclists, and providing motorcycle only spaces, where we can enjoy the benefits of parking our ride, closer, and with other bikes.  But although paid parking, now $20 to see the Chargers lose, is growing, many free spaces are available.  Like Disneyland for instance, I guess when you spend over $100 to enter the happiest place on earth, you ought to get something for it, besides the opportunity to stand in line all day.  Looking at a picture of the parking lot at Disneyland on opening day, 1955, it occurred to me that where do we park is very important.  And takes up a lot of space.  Drive around Qualcomm, it is more parking lot than stadium.  Same with malls, and funny how we don’t mind walking the malls with packages in hand, but grimace when we have to walk the parking lot to our cars.  So much land that is not revenue producing, maybe that explains the higher mall rental rates for tenants, all we want is a place to park for free.  How cool if they even came up with a Free Parking pot like we did in Monopoly, I bet people would even pay to park, hoping to get some money back.  I’m surprised Vegas hasn’t come up with this, sort of a Wheel of Fortune for parking.  With Vanna an added free feature.  Now if only I could remember where I parked my car?

We talk about freedom in church, talk about giving, then pass the collection plate.  Years ago I read about Ray Stedman passing a bucket on Wednesday nights, and if you needed some cash, reach in and take some.  Be honest, don’t steal, and if more needed, see a pastor.  A pleasant reversal on church themes of today.  And I always wanted to do it, and one weekend in Laughlin, speaking at a Triker rally was able to.  With unpredictable results.

After teaching, I passed the pot, using the example of Mr. Stedman.  Not fully trusting to God, I put in two $10 bills, just in case the first guys needed some, then passed it around.  After we were done, I gave what was left in the bag to the president, tradition says it was for me, for expenses, I was out on a limb here trusting God.  They were blown away, it seems the triker group was very poor, I didn’t know it, but should have guessed by the parking lot.  But later the president of this group came up to me in tears.  Many had only wanted a Sunday speaker as a token for the Christians at the rally, but this had changed many hearts.  And with the money, they had started a benevolent fund, something they had been talking about, but never had enough extra cash to initiate.  Now they did, and many were excited, and were going to use the principal of helping others need, starting at the club level.  A simple desire that God had placed in my heart 30 years earlier had become real, and I was blessed beyond words.  A simple giving, a simple trusting of God, had allowed me to be part of a blessing.  Many who were fussing how they would get home, low on gas funds, now could without worry.  And as the board talked, they were excited on how they now could help others.  In giving, we had all received.  Maybe we could approach our pastors with this story, have them initiate giving to the needy within their ranks, can I hear an AMEN?

Imagine if you would, getting something back from church?  When Jesus fed the 5000, he asked for no money, the food and the parking was free.  All he had was a kid’s meal from some kid, and look what he did.  He fed, ministered, and proved the miracle of giving, and its consequences.  When we give, we truly receive, and pass it on.  But it starts with Jesus, who loved us first, so we could love him.  Pray about giving more, not necessarily at church, but as you go.  Invite a mom and her kids in for a lunch.  Sit with them, maybe wait on them.  Give her a rest, and also a blessing.  Which is huge to her, but even bigger to you.  Free parking may give you a windfall in our version of Monopoly, but Jesus set the example in Matthew 25, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit those in jail and in hospitals.  Give of more than your money, and find if you give to the least of them, you are doing it unto Jesus.  And he never forgets.  What a better way to show the love of Christ than preaching at them.  Ministry should not be a mystery, it is simple meeting needs as we go.  And one Sunday in Laughlin it was for trikers. 

With an interesting payback for me.  When walking across the lot later, a man came up, and had bitterness towards the church, confusing it for Jesus.  He explained God had changed his heart towards him, and he saw a whole new side of Jesus in the giving.  He didn’t need the money, nor had he given, but was anxious to start back to church,and get close to God again.  One step of faith, following an example of giving, had changed his heart.  I call it evangelism, and I didn’t even know I was.  All I wanted to do was give based on a testimony I heard years ago.  And look at the fruit!

Go love on someone today, you will recognize the Lazarus God places before you, and act. You never know the eternal ramifications involved.  For you a few dollars and minutes of your time, for some an eternal decision for Christ.  Ministry is simply meeting the needs, for some salvation, some need a bed, some a meal, some a hug.  Some a place to park.  Jesus offers it all for free, so we can afford it.  He just uses us to minister his blessings.  If a woman can afford a few cents, don’t you think you can afford a few minutes?  Don’t let Jesus have a Monopoly on giving.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

The Great American Pastime

Ever tune into a movie in the middle and wonder what is going on?  I did yesterday, but with the help of the description from the movie guide I figured it out.  Tom Ewell, a successful lawyer, was asked to manage his son’s Little league team, and hoping it would draw him closer to his son, he took the job.  His wife Anne Francis, she of Honey West fame, kept score and the boys were taught by him the basics of baseball.  With an emphasis of playing fair, and you may not win every game, but try your hardest.  And have fun.  Which they did, have fun.  Until in one game a smaller kid retaliated by pushing his catcher, and the catcher pushed the smaller kid back.  Kids being kids, a small melee soon took place, and then parents being parents joined in, too. Later in the locker room, the parents were upset the coach didn’t have his players retaliate, but he rather had them try to break up the fracas.  And when he gave them the chance to pull their kids from the team if they didn’t like his coaching, they all did. 

But came back later for practice, and the season went on.  They won some, lost some, some were rained out, but the parents never forgot.  It was about winning at all costs, giving them bragging rights in their 1956 subdivision.  But in the last game of the year, against their arch rivals, the kids go out all out to win, but do it by playing the game hard, like they were taught.  And found out how much fun they were having.  They end up winning when the smallest kid on the team is put in as a pinch runner, and keeps running, disregarding the throws and finally scores.  Playing hard as the coach had told him.  They had won, fair and square, and the kids were happy, the parents still sore, holding a grudge. Then we fast forward to the coach’s home, and he is feeling sorry for himself.  He gave it his all, even gave up his vacation to Mexico to manage, and no one seemed to care afterwards.  Finally we get the happy ending we all love, as the kids show up, they loved their coach, and took to heart what he taught them.  The parents showed up too, from the coach through their sons they too had learned a lesson.  And the kids gave him a stein he had wanted, and he was offered to become scout leader.  Much to the chagrin of his wife....who was to feel abandoned again.  But cheered up when told she could be den mother.  Tough choice of giving her up for a troop of boys, one brief shot of her in a a bubble bath may have swayed my decision.  And it all ended happily ever after.  Just like in real life, right?

I played a lot of soft ball in my day, but none so competitive as when I played in a church league.  These pious holy men in church became raving fanatics one the field.  Pastors who played were called names, ridiculed, and some of the dirtiest ball I ever saw took place.  The idea was to win at all costs, and rather than representing your church, family, or even God, it was all about the individuals, then the team.  And once when reminded that you don’t win every game, they fell onto scripture, incorrectly, and claimed as church members, they should always win, because God always wins.  And when reminded God was God and they weren’t, men within the team started fighting with each other.  And the last thing we had was fun, and even though we won a championship one year, the dissention among the players had spread to the wives, and to others in the church.  Suddenly brother so and so wasn’t so holy because he was a  lousy shortstop.  The things of God became secondary, if at all.  It was all about winning, and sadly through winning it all, had lost something along the way.

We were created in God’s image, lest we forget like these men did.  We are to be holy, but fortunately he added mercy and grace to the game plan.  In being holy, he expects us to be whole, to be like him, a whole person, the same one on the field and off, as in church and at work.  Or play.  A whole person performs the function we were created for, and we were created to be that expression of God as a witness to others, to enjoy all the fruits of being a Christian.  Whole, which produces holiness.  To not miss what he has planned for us, and to be richly blessed, for as our heavenly father, he loves to bless us.  So why not let him?

We find that God is not interested in the things we do to try to please him, but bring attention to ourselves, but he wants us to represent him.  To maybe be the only Bible some ever read, the only Jesus some may encounter, to be a witness of him, not of us or our winning.  He is interested in the character within us, at church, at work, at home, and on the playing field.  To be an example of the wholeness of a living, loving God, who gave it all through his son Jesus so we can be reunited with him.  Only in Christ will we become whole, and finally holy.  And so he has put a hole in our heart, that only he can wholly fill.  That without his fulfilling it, we can never be whole or holy.  No matter how great a team, church, or record you have.  Without Jesus you can never be whole.

And his desire is we become holy because he is holy.  So take heed to the things the spirit shows you, stand against wrong, stand up for the right, but do it in love.  God has taught us through his word the things we should avoid and why.  Yet many feel they are above God, it will never happen to me because I’m saved, I can do what I want.  And suffer, if only because they went astray, not doing what Jesus showed us, what God wants.   The same God who brought the Israelites out of captivity, who fed them manna, and who sent Jesus, has given us his spirit, but also a choice.  For true love demands a choice.  We can be holy, or unholy.  Sadly the team I played on was unholy, and men I respected at church lost all my respect after one season.  Teaching me many lessons, among them forgiveness.  And we don’t get to heaven as a team, family, or even a church, it is our choice to follow God or not.  You choose, he leaves it up to you. 

Funny but maybe not, how a secular movie showed me things about being holy.  That is the holy spirit, wishing to make us whole.  Winning may be everything to some, but God is more interested in how you play the game.  In every contest, every game, every decision there is a choice to make.  Choose to be holy, as God desires, and find when you make him the desire of your heart, holiness follows.  You cannot teach it, learn it, buy or sell it.  For like grace, it is a gift from God via his spirit, you must experience it.  In the movie, the kids got it, the parents took a little longer.  Do not neglect the children or hinder them from seeking Jesus.  “Come as children,” he advises, if we could only see God as children do, maybe we would listen more.  It was prophesied “a child will lead you,” if it works on the playing field, imagine what it can do in your personal life!  Through a son, we are taught about the father.  The spirit is willing, are you?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

selling at no reserve

If you follow auctions at all, you can tell the pulse of the market for cars and motorcycles.  Cars have now become so expensive that only the privileged few can afford them, whoever thought between $100,000 and $1 million for a MOPAR Barracuda that they only made 7 of?  Because no one wanted them when new?  But now scarcity adds to value, and the few who have the much can afford to own one.  Now each car sent to auction has a perceived value, one that the owner has in his mind that the car is worth.  Add or subtract the sentimental value, mileage, condition, rarity, and desirability, and you have a value for the car.  And the seller then can place a reserve on the car, a number that until it obtained in a bid, he doesn’t have to sell the car.  But some sell at no reserve, or lower the reserve when the bidding gets close, to sell the car.  But few cars sell at no reserve, as many do not wish to gamble on the bidders that day, have set a number they need to get for the car, or feel it is really worth.  And if not bid to the reserve, take it home.  So selling at no reserve can really heat up the bidding, or depress the value of the car, it comes down to what the bidders are willing to pay for the car that day.  Buy for love, sell for money....

But now that cars have reached a higher buy in plateau, old trucks are taking over, and the prices are going sky high.  $50k for an old Chevy or Ford?  Again the market is telling us what sells, and old trucks are hot. The one time workhorse of America, the work truck, the one abused and under maintained, the one that ran until it died, is now collectible.  And even parts only trucks sell for $10k, and whereas they were once parts trucks, as the supply dwindles, they are restored.  And a buyer is ready in each case.  But with their prices outta sight, now motorcycles are moving in, and moving up.  Look at the ridiculous prices paid for old Harleys, Indians, and Triumphs.  Just to sit and not be ridden, and if it happened to be owned by one Terrence Steven McQueen, you will pay double, to put your seat where his sat, but never get ridden. So many car, trucks, and motorcycles that were once used as transportation are now collectible, and sit unridden, undriven, but highly cared for, far from their initial use.  We all like to look at them, but it is more fun to drive them, to see how fast they really perform, and remember how far we have really come, or not come.  For somewhere between memory and perception lies truth, and the answer to “what’ll she do?” 

But recently a new class of collector vehicles is emerging, ones that have patina, and are left as found.  High miles, maybe a barn find, they are not restored, and the stories they tell by looking at them add value.  Compared to an over restored car, that is restored better than it ever left the factory, old unrestored cars tell a story.  From lube and oil stickers on door jams, to window sills worn form arm resting on them, to pedals worn, and paint faded, they tell a story better.  Because they have one.  And the proof is there, push an old button on the radio, maybe 77 WABC comes up, or WOR, and you can be given an insight to the driver.  They have character, and a class all their own, because they are real.  Because they have a story to tell, and spending some time with them the story is told.  A value not worht dollars and sense, but one that no value can be placed on.

Life is like that.  So is walking with the Lord.  We are advised to seek out and listen to advice from the older men and women.  To seek wisdom from them, to gain information to help make decisions, and to pass it on to others.  Driving an old car from the 40’s may seem slow at 50, but when you remember the speed limit was only 35-45, the car seems to fit the speed.  But if it tries to keep pace with today’s speeds, it can’t, and will suffer if it does.  So the Bible also advises us to help the older ones, to aid them, and learn from them.  Going through some old cook books from my Grandma, from when she was married in the 1920’s, that same recipe works today.  Real ingredients, when home made was all there was, as store bought was still a decade away.  A glimpse into yesterday that still works today.  Looking back to look ahead, do you?

It has been written that the chemicals in the human body add up to about $20, more in California.  But Jesus bought us with a price, at no reserve.  No matter how high the bidding for your soul, he tops it.  He calls it love, and his forgiveness is like no other.  For your value is not based on condition, but him, and he is priceless.  He takes the old bodies, old minds, old hearts, and makes them new.  He renews the spirit, giving it life and value. He renews the mind, giving insight and wisdom not found any other place.  And he forgives, loving you as you are, but not wishing to leave you that way.  And we get new bodies some day, perfect, not restored, but new.  No patina in heaven, and the reserve has been lifted.  Others may know about us, but he loves us. 

And we become bond slaves, not a slave bought, but a slave who offers their allegiance to him.  Our choice.  At one time a hole in the ear lobe to signify it, now a changed heart, shown in action and attitude.  We are changed, yet many live like a high priced collector car, hidden away.  Our initial purpose when created was to worship God, to get out and share his love with others, yet many hide in churches, stay home and don’t participate.  And we miss the story of their testimony, and the blessings God has planned to share through them.

Cruise nights are popular now, bringing the old cars out and sharing the stories, reliving the good old days.  If it works for cars and trucks, why can’t it work with testimonies?  How about a cruise night for Jesus?  Before and after pictures of who you were, and how Jesus changed you?  Many will gather around a 1954 Corvette, imagining how it was, how about a 1954 Mike sharing how it was?  First hand?  Maybe for the first time coming to grips with how valuable you really are, and the price Jesus paid for your soul.  Yet some will go the beauty parlor route, the nip and tuck route, and even the personal trainer route.  And wonder why their wine skinned life cracks under pressure?  Spend some time with Jesus today, tell him your story, let him add details you forgot, and then tell others.  Tell them at no reserve, for no value can be assessed for your testimony.  In real estate and collector cars you didn’t pay too much, you just bought too soon.  God’s timing is always right on, the stories told in scripture thousands of years old, yet contemporary. 

Somewhere under all the grease and oil of life lies a heart.  One that needs changing.  One that is crying out for God.  And only Jesus can fulfill it.  Today is the day of salvation, let the restoration begin.  Add value to your life that no one else can, and that no one else could afford to.  When the price for your soul came up, only Jesus had the reserves to purchase it.  And he still does today.  Jesus saves, and someone once said “and at today’s prices that’s a miracle.”  Bidding at auction will tell you what a car is worth, only Jesus knows the value of life.  Put a sold sticker on your soul, sold out to Jesus.  No matter how much you think you are worth, you will only true value in Christ.  Patina is back in style, the patina of a lost soul never lost its value to him.  And you always get taken home. 

love with compassion,

Mike

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