the more things change

It is hard to ride across America anymore without encountering three ever present men, Wally, Mickey, and Davey.  In a world where we look to express our individual thoughts, where many desire to be their own person, travelling on the Interstates for many is challenging, “what exit do I get off at?” And thanks to the Interstate System, you can go coast to coast, or border to border and never leave home.  For these three familiar men will be there wherever you go, or don’t go.  Wally refers to Walmart, once a five and dime store in Arkansas, that grew way beyond Sam Walton’s wildest dreams.  Perhaps the largest distributor via retail sales of Chinese goods, remember that next time you see a train with containers on it, they are coming from China via a port.  And for a cheaper product, the store that once bragged about only selling American made goods, now is a pipeline from overseas.  The only thing they exported was local jobs.  But at almost every town along the Interstate, you can find a Walmart, and even in remote America, Wally can be found.  A ready source for us when travelling to replace things we used up, or neglected to pack.  Knowing Wally would be there...and he is.

At one time the McDonald brothers had a good thing, and thought they had a better thing selling to Ray Kroc.  Mickey D’s now line the Interstates also, and can even be found in Walmarts.  What can be more American than that?  Mickey and Wally at the same location, yet our experience shows us that when Mickey and a local chain go head to head, the local chain is always busier.  Maybe why you seldom see Mickey by an In-and-Out, and while they still try to reinvent themselves, you still can be safe and secure your Big Mac will taste the same in Portland as it does in Miami as it does in Dallas.  Kids will look for the prize in Happy Meals, and by law they have to sell them to any age, not just kids.  Two men who grew up in small towns, but now dominate the highways we travel.

They never refer to them as Davidsons, although the Harley end of Harley Davidson has been gone for generations.  On one Torches ride two guys set out to stop at every Harley Davidson store along the route, and ended up spending a fortune in t shirts, they are everywhere.  And always found per their marketing plan along major exits along the freeway where they can be seen and found easily.  Davey is everywhere, and I wonder if they were made in China if Walmart would sell them?  But their new brand identified stores are everywhere, including across the street from the Polaris plant that makes Indians and Victorys in Spirit Lake, Iowa.  One of the few non-interstate sighted dealers we saw along the way.  Davey is everywhere, and new franchisees are still gobbling them up.  I found it interesting how they all look the same now, and most have new owners or change hands regularly, while many a Triumph, Honda, or Yamaha store has been in the family for generations.  Not by any freeway, and safe and secure from the influence of Wally, Mickey, or Davey.  From generation to generation things will change, my history is different than my sons, I wonder where they will travel, and where they will stop along the way?  Maybe the more things change they do stay the same, and Wally, Mickey, and Davey are doing their best to see they don’t anymore, we’ll see what Target, In-and-Out, and Indian have to say about that.  Me, I still like walking the old hardware stores where if it cannot be found you don’t need it or it isn’t made, eating at locals rather than the chains, Steak and Shake an exception, and visiting the old bike shops, where I’m greeted by the smell of grease and oil, rather than the sanitary conditions of $40 t shirts.  All within reach, but not on any freeway, back roads and small towns.  That’s America.  Road names instead of exit numbers, and may all your meals be happy ones.

There is a pioneering spirit when we travel, and it takes a certain amount of trust going into some small towns.  Whereas the major roads have been homogenized, they are all the same, a certain amount of faith and trust must be exhibited in other places.  But we go in faith, many not based on God, but knowing by experience what to l look for and what to avoid.  And we haven’t had a bad meal yet, some unexpected ones, but never a bad one.  If only we would trust God the same way in our lives.  To go out where he said, to meet those when met, with no agenda, and to see lives changed.  Yet we see men like Moses, Gideon, and Isaiah, along with Jonah who shied away from what God had planned for them.  But ultimately followed and saw God in the  midst of the situations.  Jeremiah was told by God to not be afraid, don’t make excuses for age or experience, just trust me, for I will provide.  Sometimes we are honest in our denial, we are afraid, or we just don’t want to go, but where God leads, he provides.  When he says “thy will be done,” he means his, and will take care of you.  He promised a young Jeremiah that he would “be his voice, his courage and his wisdom.  That no matter what demand is made on you, I will provide.”  How many of us start our day with that assurance, yet go our own way from God?  Yet Jeremiah found nothing but defeat for over 40 years, that’s a long bad stretch of road, and never knowing when it would end.  Do we recognize that the new covenant we made with Jesus isn’t the same?  That he will never leave us or forsake us?  That our lives are not our own, that when we obey we find it better than sacrifice?  That when we step out in faith, when guided by his spirit, we get out of a religious freeway of exits and find life at the cross?  Jeremiah told of impending doom, we have the gospel, good news about Jesus and heaven.  Somehow we got saved, definitely nothing we could do on our own, and if it wasn’t a gift, could never afford to pay for it.  And yet we see the mighty men of the Bible, those in the Hall of Faith were all failures until they trusted God, until they were moved by the spirit to do things that were and are impossible without him.  When Paul bragged “I can do all things with Christ’s strength,” he meant all.  All that the spirit showed him he could do, and without the spirit would fail.  And have the wisdom to know the difference. 

Wally, Mickey, and Davey all have set prices.  No discounts, no dickering.  The price is marked for you to see, to buy or pass.  Jesus made his price plain also, free.  A gift.  For you to accept or reject, for true love demands a choice.  You cannot legislate love or morals, yet some churches try and do.  And when religion sets in, we need a savior from that also, and Jesus is there.  The spirit makes us able to do the things God asks, and gets us off the freeway of life and into a life abundant.  An exciting life, where the unexpected becomes the expected, and in each case we grow closer to God.  We see the spirit in action, and see Jesus as we never have before.  We see him on the road in action, not in some class learning about him.  The more things change, Jesus never does, it is us who needs to make the change.  Now do you want to super size your religion, or are you happy with what you have?  Do you ever wonder, ever wander away from religion and see what God has to offer?  Some are outstanding in their walk with Christ, while some are just out there standing.  Or sitting.  If the seat of your pants wears faster than the soles of your shoes, maybe you need to exit religion now and trust God.  He will never ask of you what he cannot supply you to do.  Try that one on your next fund raiser...

Wally, Mickey, and Davey, three men who never set out to change the world but somehow did.  It’s true we never refer to Harleys as Davidsons, we reserve that right for Jesus, for he is David’s son.  Says so in the Bible.  I rest my case....

love with compassion,

Mikematthew25biker.blogspot.com

the summer of bad tattoos-revisited

Summer is here, and we have found one very effective way to deal with the heat is at the Dropzone Waterpark in Perris.  Last summer we even had season passes, but this year priorities dictated a month long motorcycle ride first, and then the park.  And last Friday was our first visit, first chance to get sunburned in places my clothes usually cover and to get those places tanned that don’t get the sun when riding.  A few looks from the younger ones may question my white hands and body, but my dark arms, riding a motorcycle the second best way to get a tan.  But while taking our first few laps around the lazy river, it was evident that one thing in particular hadn’t changed, the multitude of people of all ages who are covered in tattoos.  Once a sign of your stint in the Navy, reflecting your love of mother and country, now they have and are showing up on all classes of people, and both sexes.  This year it seems there were more attractive young women who had their arms covered with tattoos, legs covered with sayings and tribal designs, and no matter their size, from petite to NFL lineman, they are covered.  And two things cross my mind, if I was pretty, why would I do that to my body, and second, so many of them are only revealed in the shower or at the beach, why get one and hide it?  Or worse yet, not hide it?  Years ago a man with a huge anchor on his forearm, guess where he got it, told me he wished he had never gotten it, for as it faded it now looked like a bruise, and made his arms look old.  How many of these colored tattoos when fading will give the same illusion?  How many already are?  Will they someday have to cover them in shame because they have become unsightly?  Too many look like bruises already, I only hope they aren’t....

But the summer of bad tattoos is being revisited, and from good to bad to ugly, one woman actually had angel wings tattooed on her back, to Hawaiian flowers whose colors have run, to old boy friends names crossed out, only the tattoo remains after all else ends.  But unlike my open heart surgery scar, which also fades, many have no testimony to share about how and why I have it.  I wear my scar as a thing of beauty, to prove Jesus literally gave me a new heart, a miracle I can prove, I have the scar and the files to prove it.  What are your tats telling us abut you that you want us to know, or not know?  And please, men are just as bad, how many Harley tats are seen on men, with USA first emblazoned below, getting into their Toyota truck?  At least I have never seen a Prius tattoo, maybe the pain and embarrassment of owning one is to much to print on your body.  And never have a bad speller do your artwork, “NO REGERTS, “ will leave with many regrets.   But still the business flourishes, they continue to fade, and the message that they send is fading with them.

And of course even the church has joined in, condemning them at first, using scripture to denounce them as marking the body, forbidden by Mosaic law.  Until you get a cross, or star of David, or a scripture, then it is OK.  Again dividing people over laws, while finding excuses to not get along.  “Yes I know they are wrong,” a pastor once told me, “but I use it to witness.”  Covered up by his long sleeves, not to offend anyone, now that’s love.  But he isn’t the first to cover up after spending time with God.  One Moses had a similar experience after meeting God on a mountain.  And retold in 2 Corinthians as an illustration of our outward showing of God in our lives.  No t shirt or tat to show the world I am a Christian, just a mask, which many still wear today.

When Moses left the presence of God, his face was aglow, and because he didn’t want to scare the people, he wore a mask to cover it.  But as the glow began to fade, he didn’t want to lose the illusion of the glow of God, so he kept his mask on to conceal its fading.  It was all physical, when God had shown him a spiritual depth.  A mask first to protect the people, drawing attention to himself, then to hide the fading, to protect his pride.  Again drawing attention to who-himself?  An evangelical veil, how foolish to think that a mask could cover God’s love, or keep people from seeing through the ruse?  How many would love to look under Batman’s mask, but don’t out of respect for who he is, and never do, yet we give less honor to God in concealing him in our lives, living behind a cover.  Has a whole generation of people learned to hide behind tattoos because they are afraid to say how they really feel, and what do they do when the tats fade?  More tats, long sleeves, or a mask to hide like Moses did?  Do we really think people are as stupid as Moses did, that they couldn’t see the heart behind the mask?  Do you know God does?  What is your mask concealing? 

Maybe a simple reminder that Jesus has written his word, himself on our hearts when we are saved.  That from the inside out we are changed, and no amount of clothing, masks, or trying to cover up old tats will work.  For God looks on the heart, and that is what is reflected in our daily walk.  For what is on our heart will come out of our mouths, and our attitudes and actions will be long remembered after the words are gone.  Or the tattoos fade. Only the things of Christ will endure forever....what are taking into eternity with you?  Just as the stickers on a race car tell of the sponsorship, who is paying the bills for the car, what shows in your life about who is sponsoring it?  God calls it the fruit of the spirit....has your fruit gotten old like your tattoos?  Jesus also tells us you cannot put new wine, his spirit, in old wineskins, our old lives.  How many despite fashion and physical changes still wear a Speedo in public?  And you think some tats are bad....so we need to ask what does our life show about Jesus?  How is his life and death and resurrection shown in us?  A Bible cover, bumper sticker, a tattoo, or in our actions?  Has you relationship with him faded like your tats, or is it alive for all to see?  Now I am not anti-tattoo, although I don’t have any, but we need to look deeper and see Christ in our lives, remove the mask, and be honest.  On days the spirit shines through us, let us be led by it.  And on days it has faded, be reminded how much we need Jesus-everyday in all ways.  Go deeper than skin deep...Jesus does, are you ready?

And why when sun tans fade, hair gets grayer, and nail polish has to be redone, do you think your tattoos will somehow survive unchanged?  One summer of bad tattoos may change your viewpoint, but will it change your heart?  Again from the inside out with God, who loves us all despite our masks, tats, and sin.  Who forgives us and wants us to be like him.  On earth as it is in heaven.  Where only a heart changed by God will get you in, one way so it is easy, free so we can afford it.  Moses thought he could lose something and tried to fool himself and others, maybe Jim Abbott said it best, “a man is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”  Only two things reveal things we hide from others, removing clothing at the beach and our hard hearts toward God.  Don’t be like the girl who was afraid to come out of the water, in her itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini.  Show the love of Jesus in all things....the rest of you stay in the pool.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

is your cell phone set on photo in case of an emergency?

Sometimes we refer to them as Monday morning quarterbacks, with the ability of 20/20 hindsight to either indict them or release them from their decisions.  Sadly many have never played the game, but still feel free to offer the wrong advice whether it is asked for or not.  Opinions, are like Hondas once were, when everyone had one, but like the popularity of Honda, things change with time.  We may not all have a crystal ball, or insight to the future, but 100% of us have the ability to look back, run a post decision review, and see if what we did was right or wrong.  And then still go on making the wrong mistakes.  Such is the way of life for us, making the decision we would have made more important than the situation the decision was made in.  And in discussions, the question comes up “what would you have done differently?”  Sadly the answer soon becomes all about us, just like 99% of our prayers, and only a merciful God gives us the chance to be wrong again, or right.  Maybe football plays and decisions that fail may be a bad example, but what would you do if asked in a pressure situation?  Who calls the plays in your life, and then who takes the responsibility for them?

Harry S. Truman once said “the buck stops here,” even put a sign on his desk announcing it.  You had a problem, Harry would solve it, whether you liked it or not.  But at least you knew where he was coming from.  Listening to Mayor Guiliani talking about 9/11, he made a comment that has stuck with me, and maybe some insight into making better decisions.  First things first.  The medical field calls it first aid, we dial 911. But his remarks about the 9/11 bombings were different than what I had heard.  We now have the ability to look back, and see how things played out.  Back then they didn’t know how long, how many, how much, or when the attack would end.  So they responded quickly, “do something!” and deal with the problem at hand.  Deal with what is immediately in front of you.  Just like we do in panic situations, right?   Not panicking in a panic situation?  Or are you still taking a picture with your phone....is it set on photo in case of an emergency?  Do you know the number to 911?

But it affects our daily lives also in our prayers.  We don’t know the future, how long the situation will exist, or how it will end.  A man and his scripturally educated friends once told me I wasn’t nice, because I diffused a situation harshly before it escalated.  Rather than take their abuse too, I confronted the man, using his son as an example.  “If your son is playing by the freeway, do you stop and tell him it is dangerous?  Show him stats on kids hurt while playing as such, equip him with a helmet and cell phone if an emergency arises, or tell him “STOP, NOW” and get him away from the danger?”  His answer was I would get him away, he’s my son, no matter how rude it sounded...doing the right thing isn’t always politically correct.  The decisions we make today will definitely affect tomorrow, now what have you learned from this?  Bad decisions may make better stories, but they are still bad decisions.  And the only way to get God’s mercy...yet some are still snatched from the fires of hell by their collars...

Paul knew in his heart that he was to share the gospel in Rome.  God just never told him how he was to get there, or the events surrounding it.  For like us, we would take safest route, and miss out the road God had laid out for us.  It is in these tough times of indecision that God offers us his spirit to comfort and assure us he is with us, and if he says it, it is truth.  All the men on the ship were in the same danger, only Paul heard from the spirit via an angel, reassuring him that what God had said would come to pass.  Through the storm, not around it, not knowing when it would end, or how God was going to do it.  The pressure and danger was the same for all, but the comforting of the spirit gave Paul a reassurance that he could share with the others.  A testimony of God’s faithfulness and love, that would later give his words strength and authority, his testimony.  Remember Peter’s walking on the water, but how many times do you hear about how Jesus promised his men that he would meet them on the other side?  Where they ended up immediately when he was in the boat with them, no matter how bad the storm, his word is true.  So there is hope in any situation you face today, and when inspired by the spirit, you see the words on the pages of scripture come alive, give you a testimony, and your relationship in Christ goes deeper.  Not by what you read, but in the midst of the storm seeing it all come alive!

The spirit reveals what Christian faith is all about, not the situations, but the one who controls them.  In the spirit we have secret hidden resources that the world doesn’t, for it is the spirit that reveals the mysteries of Christ, the things to come.  Then we need to trust the Lord for his how.  This is one characteristic of Christianity that should happen all the time, if you had a chance to see your life via instant replay, what would you change?  My answer is easy, “nothing,” for God has all things under his control, and in the tough times when I was weak, he was stronger.  When I doubted, he reassured me, and when in the storm, he promised the other side.  Which is where all believers will be some day, crossing over to the other side, how many caught that meaning when Jesus said he would see them on the other side?  Another precursor to resurrection, remember Peter yelled “Jesus, save me!”  Both his life and his soul.  Hmmmm....

And so man plans and God laughs, just like Jesus wept over Lazarus, because we don’t get it.  The message is true, his son truth, yet we don’t believe.  A friendly, chuckle not at us, but one of “when are you going to get it?”  And since he knows, and has set the path for us, he smiles one of love, not of emotion.  In Jesus the buck stops here, and life displays that.  His love.  No Easter without Good Friday, no resurrection without death, and no forgiveness with no sin.  And he knows how we will screw up again today, yet will get us to the other side.  The question is, whose side are you on?  How good is your vision, all hindsight or foresight?  Why not trust the future to the one who knows it, and trust him today.  Today was once the future, as today was tomorrow yesterday.  Or is your life best described as sacrifice is better than obedience?  Obedience is better than sacrifice, all expressed in God’s answers to our prayers.  The most important part of prayer, listening....for Jesus didn’t say he who has a mouth let him speak, but he who has an ear let him hear. 

Just for history’s sake, Honda never mentioned the word motorcycle in their ads, the stigma of The Wild One still present.  Does your life, your actions mention Jesus, or are you still not over it? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

summer night rides

If you only travel in the constantly monitored confines of a car, you won’t get what I am about to share.  But for those who ride, you can relate and reflect.  We dress in layers when riding, some early mornings are cool enough for a jacket, and by 9am, a breakfast stop refreshes us and we take it off.  Later as the day warms up, the sweatshirt comes off, and we enjoy t shirt riding, and experience even the slightest changes in temp due to elevation or going from ocean to inland.  And how refreshing each change can be.  And how at night a similar process occurs, and last night I was reminded of that.  Earlier in the day it had been 100 degrees, and only 8 hours later when getting ready to leave friends by the coast, my helmet was wet from the marine layer that was settling in.  And a coolness, not quite cold invigorated me.  For about 15 minutes I wish I had a sweatshirt, but soon the cool air felt good, and I began to miss it as I headed inland.  By the time I got home 30 minutes later, it was warm, and sitting in the house many would have turned on the AC, we found the porch with a breeze adequate.  But riding at night always gives a different perspective, the buildings that during the day are filled, and now dark and empty.  Others are less visible, and so are we, and a privacy among traffic sets in, and as the temp changes, you exercise all your senses, along with the spirit.  There is something about summer night rides that I can’t quite put into words, and even when riding in the country with less people, there are more critters to look out for, giving the ride a new sense of paying attention.  But starlit skies, add a full moon, and in a car you now know why we call them cages.  Set the cruise, adjust the AC, put in a CD, and locked in privacy you are really locked in a cage.  Ever wonder why a dog puts its head out the window, what does he know you don’t?  Or that we do?

Now no one likes to be uncomfortable, just ask Goldilocks or the thousands like her.  They live a homogenized life, where anything different is not a challenge but a threat, and don’t upset their world if you want them to turn into a bear.  Dress alike, act alike, and drive your SUV alike, looking for that individuality by being just like others.  If your idea of a hot day is rushing from the mall exit to your car and having to wait 30 seconds for the AC to kick in, you probably don’t ride.  If you pay $100 to style your hair that looks just like my helmet head, you don’t get it.  And if you wear faded denim to look cool at $100/pair, I have some worn out Wranglers that I paid $15 for.  And any biker already knows what he could do with all the money you waste on yourself, we’d go for a ride!  But maybe he next example helps you understand us better, a not about riding scenario.  My friend Pastor Doug was telling of his trip to Israel.  Sorta boring, then he showed a map.  Putting it in perspective to other places.  Then he showed some pictures of cities, getting better, but when he showed pictures of himself there, then it became real. Personal.  We could relate to it, we knew Doug and he was in the pictures.  Ask yourself, would you rather look at the pictures, be taking the pictures or be in them?  Maybe you need a summer’s evening ride to help you decide....

So many talk about the freedom in Christ you can have from religion, then live religious lives.  The same church, same seat even for years.  A ministry trip is helping the youth pack for a trip, while you stay at home.  You see, some are content with the knowledge of Jesus, of studying to find themselves approved, but never knowing the man behind the scriptures.  They never experience him, but based on knowledge think that is all there is.  And then catastrophe strikes, and quoting scriptures doesn’t work, for it is only a one way relationship, they never knew the man.  They may have walked where he did in Israel, but never walked with him anywhere.  The freedom found in getting personal has escaped them, sadly by choice, for we are all confronted by the spirit, and some live in a cocoon like existence, isolated from the one who gives them life, and it more abundantly.  A simple recommendation of a summer eves ride creating havoc, their tombstones reading “we never lived that way before,” and being dead but still inhabiting a living body.  Just like my cardiologist told me, he can keep me functioning, but he cannot keep me alive.

So maybe it is time to start removing the insulating layers and go for a ride with Jesus.  Feel the wind of the spirit in your face, look up at the stars he created and put in place.  Listen to his voice rather than the radio, and instead of learning about him, experience Jesus first hand.  And when the road gets rough, you know who to hang onto, and just not a scriptural quote.  For without the spirit they are just words, for even Satan quotes or misquotes scripture, and you may be no better.  Saved but not living, just functioning.  You need the spirit to give you life....to be in the picture, to live a life in Christ, not just in church.  Not just about him.

There is nothing like fresh air, maybe your hound or purse rat knows more than you do.  Ask him what  2 minus two equals and he’ll say nothing.  Without thinking, can you?  Maybe a ride tonight out of the city, not far but looking up at the stars is in order.  Turn off the AC, silence the radio, and turn off the phone.  Roll down the windows, and take in the fresh air.  And see Jesus without all the artificial enhancements.  Or stumbling blocks.  You can either walk where Jesus did or walk with him.  Or really be daring and take a ride on a motorcycle.  Come home with a badge of honor of helmet head, your cheeks flushed from the wind, and feeling invigorated.  Your senses heightened.  Or spend an hour getting ready for church...personally I rather be riding my motorcycle spending time with God then sitting in church thinking about riding.  Some enchanted evening, you may meet a stranger...and find you know all about him, and what a joy it is to finally meet him.  Face to face.  Personally.  Can you say that about your walk with Christ?  I can....maybe there is more to Jesus than just religion...take a ride and find out.  And feel the romance in the air....or you can listen to what the radio decides to play....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com