kids, cars, and the stores that sell them

Being kids in the sixties, meant cars.  And many a Saturday or school holiday had us walking to Westfield, a whole mile away, and cruising the car dealers.  With all makes, read American, no Japanese invasion here yet, having some sort of Muscle car, it was a rush to look, maybe sit in, and collect the brochures we would drive in our dreams and in real life someday.  I vaguely remember Berse Brothers Studebaker, really the building where the store once sold new Larks, Hawks, and Avantis now shuttered, only the signs and some old cars remaining.  Not much interest to a kid then, but now...Down the street was the Chevy dealer, who we didn’t like and whose name escapes me.  Maybe it was Norris.  With Chevelle SS396’s, Camaros, And Corvettes to look at and sit in, the salesman had no time for us as they were selling 1 out of every 4 new cars sold.  But down the block sat Westfield Ford, with cool salesman who let us sit in the Mustangs on the floor, many a mile was driven without leaving the building.  Maybe the seed was planted then as I prefer Ford now, and hove had three Mustangs.   Across the street was Lindemann Buick, lots of old men and old men cars, but later when the Opel 1900 and Manta would arrive, a place to stop and visit.  Farther down the block was Reilly Olds, giving meaning as I look back to “your father’s Olds,” later George would have 1967 442, Richard a 1972, but it was cars like our fathers drove, nothing there for kids.  But across the street lay nirvana, as Rotchford Pontiac always had a row of GTO’s out front.  They sold excitement, and cool cars.  Walking around the back to the body shop, we often watched as the crashes were repaired, giving us a look behind the scenes sort of speak, under hoods and inside.  We heard the sounds, the smells of the garage, and somehow it was intoxicating, still is today.  The one thing we never could understand was they were sharing a building with Dodge, even then we knew the Big Three were separate, but Dodge and Pontiac?  Go figure....

I still remember the first Chargers, 1966 with the fastback.  And the center console that went through to the back.  Custom, WOW!  Suddenly it was noon and time to eat, and on across the tracks.  Where Bob Miller sold Ramblers, nothing there for us kids, my Dad drove a Rambler.  But a brochure called X RAY I would love to have again, as it compared all the models to each other.  I studied that book, with it’s AMC leaning, and still wanted a Mustang.  But all those facts and figure still couldn’t sway me, and many others too.  The Mercury dealer, Somerset had the new Cougar, and later would sell the Pantera.  Wow, a Ferrari in Westfield?  Well, almost...they too sold Triumphs, the cars, the Spitfire creating a desire in me for cornering and open top motoring.  Like a man once wrote, “nothing like the feeling of an open sports car on a country road,”  but I was years away from knowing.  But with bucket seats, four on the floor, and a hood that opened up the whole front end, it had to be a racer.  Said so on the posters....the dream ending at home with a Rambler in the garage.  By then it was 3 o’clock, and with a long walk home, it would be dinner, a bath, and time for Chiller Theatre.  And to read an reread the brochures that sparked our interest, and gave us cars to dream about that someday we would own.  Free entertainment, all for the price of burger and fries.  A far cry from today’s auto parks, but somehow it all seemed bigger when we were smaller.  If only those car dealers knew how they set the tone for future ownership....maybe Chevy would still be the way to see the USA!

It was on these test drives we got to know first hand about cars, to sit and feel and smell them.  To look under the hood, to speak to real men who sold and drove them.  To be given brochures, and treated with respect.  Maybe even a business card with the man’s name on it, we now had a friend there.  And someone to look up to....

Evangelism has been a sore subject for many years with me.  Too often it is street preaching, bothering tourists who want to go about their business like you do, without interruption.  Or it is passing out tracts, which later they end up picking up off the ground.  A last resort is inviting them to church, after all it is the pastor’s job to get them saved, heard that one before.  But the one ingredient missing is the personal touch, listening and getting to know someone.  Living for Christ so they can see him in you.  Most of the world thinks the church only wants their money, true too many times, they only want to build the church in numbers, or when a new person does come to church, is confronted with words that are new, and they cannot understand.  Because they are different, maybe they are given one chance to be saved, and if not forgotten about.  A scenario I hope none of us ever compete in.  Maybe if we treated people as the car dealers did us kids, let us look at the product, sit in it, answer questions, and maybe a test drive, perhaps evangelism would take on a different tone.  There are times I go to stores just to look, I don’t want to be deluged, I just want to look.  I know who the salesman are, and I will ask them if needed.  But don’t follow me around, I just want to look.  It is the attitude about them that helps me make the decision when it is time to buy, remember you buy from a person first, the start of a new relationship.  Same with Jesus....

The holy spirit starts a stirring inside, we all know someone who goes to church, maybe even might be a Christian.  So we talk with them, find they are the same except for Jesus.  We get to know them, and find out this Jesus is more than a Sunday revenue enhancing experience for the church.  Christians really do love, they really pray, feed the hungry, and work with those in need.  Just like Jesus said.  Sometimes a Sunday school lesson is remembered, and soon the spirit is moving.  Jesus knows when the time is right for them to be saved, no end of month special, no special speaker, or service.  Jesus saves, sometimes despite well intentioned people, but without that first interest sparked by the spirit, you labor in vain.  It is God’s job to save, not ours.  If in doubt, look to the cross, who died on it?  You?  Case closed...

But what about evangelism?  Yeah, what about it?  We are called to be witnesses, not to witness.  To live a life reflecting the love of Jesus.  Showing love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, meekness, and self control.  Who wouldn’t want to have those qualities?  But do we reflect them to win an argument, or do they come from the heart? How many have been sold religion and thought they got Jesus?  Again it takes the leading of the spirit....which influences car sales, motorcycle sales, dating, and every choice we ever make.  Why blow it on the big one?  Evangelism isn’t salesmanship, it should lead to salvation.  Were you talked into Jesus or di you come voluntarily?  True love demands a choice, it cannot be forced upon or legislated.  So maybe those trips to the car stores weren’t really wasted, maybe they were more than free time spent looking.  They led to car ownership one day, when we were ready.  How many cards saved were used to look up that salesman when we were ready?  How may times did we see a plate frame with that dealers name on it and remark, “ I know Joe there.”  We had the connection.  He may never sell us a car, but he planted seeds for the future.

So sew seeds of love and kindness.  Jesus was both.  Still is.  The spirit is calling to many today, maybe you.  But God’s servants have run you off.  Seek God, he will draw you unto himself, he will put real persons in your way to guide, and soon you too will claim ownership of salvation in Jesus Christ.  Way beyond a sticker, way beyond the church, you now are part of the family.  With a testimony to share to encourage others.  Inspired by the holy spirit.  Just looking, we all were at one time.  Questions, I still have many.  But now I know where to go to ask for the answer.  It is possible that the Chevy dealers attitude towards us kids influenced my car buying today.  Don’t let one bad experience keep you from Jesus.  You just might be that man a ten year kid has a question for, “hey Mister, can I sit in that car?”  And your answer would be...the seeds of today bloom into beautiful flowers tomorrow.  You always buy from the last guy you talk to.  So throw some today.  Life may just be a red convertible away...

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com

two fellows on the same ship

Years ago when BMW cars were referred to as British what? those of us who owned one would dip our lights when meeting another.  Much like bikers wave to each other, it was show of brotherhood, of unity, of sameness, that I am like you, and that we are a special minority.  Of course things are changed since then, as no yuppie would dare lower himself to wave to another, let alone detract from their i-pod for a second and miss a text about how wonderful they are.  Many times I too find myself not waving back, or waving at all to a fellow rider, it seems the newbies don’t get it, they are just trying to look cool and hang on, but the older guys, those of us who still remember being the bad guys, still wave, no matter the brand.  With a few exceptions..

One day Glen and I, he the ultimate lifestyle Harley rider, changed bikes, he wanted to ride a sportsbike, so I let him ride up the freeway on my Sprint RS, while I patiently gave chase on his Ultra-something, when he came upon a 1%er along the road.  He slowed and stopped, the guy waved him on.  I slowed and stopped, engaged him in conversation, he thanked me for stopping, but he had  help coming.  He had just looked at the bikes, not the rider, and boy had he ever misjudged us. Glen who loved Harleys, me who tolerates them.  We later laughed about it, but how many times has a black leather jacket prejudiced you?  Or seen a group of riders and thought outlaws?  Or seen a bimbo and thought yuppie?  Or even thought at all?  Seems we all belong to one club or another, but what separates us one from another?  What makes each club, group, church, gang, or pair different?  Unique?

A man once told of his fellow shipmates in the Navy defined fellowship as two fellows on a ship.  Fellowship is what defines us, and can divide us to.  But in Christ in unifies us.  It is only religion that separates us, that is so prideful as to say “my church is better.  My denomination is the only one.  My interpretation of the Bible is the real one, the rest of you are led astray.”  And then add rules, regulations, and objectives to be saved, and then pass a test of membership to belong.  Not at all how God intended it, or how his real church of believers is to act.  Today the church is big on relationships, which needs to start with Jesus Christ.  Beyond religion, he came to change the rules and establish love.  While many consider church the same as God, the truth is God is God, and we are the church.  While so many call themselves Christians, based on membership or attendance, Jesus has another criteria, one of the heart, not of the outward, but of the inward.  A recognition of him as deity, as the only way of salvation, and the only way to be forgiven.  Something no man can do!  He had to be both God and man to do it, Jesus is the only way.  But if your fellowship has become just because you are two guys in the same church, same ship, same club, or same brand, you are missing out on the experience.  For the spirit calls us to fellowship with Jesus, and no study, church service, or teaching can substitute for time spent with Jesus, in the spirit.  For God is a spirit, and must be worshipped as such.  His words, not mine.  Yet too many times we fall short, and think fellowship is just time spent with other believers, when Jesus shows us it is much more than that.

A relationship with Jesus gets us into the church, into the club.  But it is fellowship, the experience of Jesus in our daily lives, that defines us as Christians.  That is what makes us different than Sunday pew fillers, than churches based on membership, or on what they believe contrary to scripture.  It is what the cults portray but cannot deliver, because it is based on personal fellowship with Jesus Christ. It is spirit driven, and you cannot have true fellowship with God without Jesus.  Just like owning a motorcycle and riding one are different, so is attending a church, and knowing Jesus.  But the real fellowship occurs daily as we live in him, and he is with us.  He transforms our minds and hearts, and that shows on the outside.  It is his love that makes us different from any other religion, denomination, or cult.  And they will know we are Christians by his love! 

Which may explain who so many denominations, or even differences within denominations doesn’t work.  Why study may be important, experience is the way of life.  Why owning a Harley don’t make you a biker, or riding one make you an outlaw.  Or having a sportbike make you think you can ride one.  All good relationships take time to make them work, that is the experience Jesus is talking of.  The true fellowship with him, one on one, the personal relationship with evangelize with, is spirit based.  Spirit driven.  And man can try to alter it, but cannot duplicate it.  Only Jesus.  We may be two fellows on the same ship, same ride, same church.  But talk to witnesses who saw the same accident, and you get as many different responses as there was witnesses.  When did you see it?  What did you see?  Do we ask the same of ourselves in Christ?  Do we see Jesus as true fellowship that unties us with him, or those who have common mindsets as some churches advertise?  Like minded can be wrong and hell bound.  Again do you agree with Jesus in the spirit?  Yet while we all have the same Jesus, he personalizes the relationship, so we get it.  He is the when, the where, the how, and the why.  The someone you are seeking instead of the something.  And fellowship enriches the experience.  Is your whole relationship based on attending church?  Do you want more?  do you only wave to other believers?  Do you wear a Christian shirt to share Jesus of impress others believers?  Do you need a sticker, shirt, book cover, or setting set to KWVE to show others you are saved?  Are you saved but still missing Jesus?  There has to be more...

Remember wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he is with them. You are never alone, as the spirit is given to you upon salvation, and knows what to pray.  What words to give.  Still alone?  Call upon the spirit, conveniently packaged so he can ride with you.  Shower with you.  Sleep with you.  You can be in constant contact with him, as he is with you.  That’s fellowship.  That’s love.  That is the Christian experience.  Some read the book, some know the author.  But first you must have that relationship.  Do you know Jesus?  Ask him into your heart and life today.  Then experience all he has for you.  Life is a trip, would you rather send or receive postcards?  Who do you say Jesus is will get you into heaven, the first step.  Your fellowship in the spirit will make his words “on earth as it is heaven” real.  WWJD?  If you are in fellowship, you don’t have to ask.  It shows.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

break in miles

The owners manual for a 1966 Rambler Classic brags how their new car is “ready for the road,” and thanks to “advanced engineering,” your new car does not require  a prolonged break-in period.  It then goes on for half a page giving detailed instructions on how to break your new car in correctly.  For the first 100 miles keep it under 50 mph, can you imagine anyone doing that today?  Or under 60 for the next 100?  In So Cal that would be a tortuous 3+ hours on the road, being passed by everyone on skateboards and rollerblades.  All except another new car purchaser, observing the same warnings.  But after 25 miles, higher speeds are permissible.  I can remember breaking in my 1981 Kawasaki that way, counting the miles, “all right 100, now I can go 60!”  Whoopee!  With the next milestone only 90 minutes away, traffic permitting.  Back then we used to read the owner’s manual, it was the key to a new ride, and after all our hard earned cash from paper routes and cutting yards we didn’t want to blow it up.  We had no idea what a warranty was, but went by every word printed in the book that came with the car or bike.  I can remember a time with my friend Tom who had just purchased a new Harley Davidson in 1974, and out on a ride, he checked his oil, it was low, and with no Harley store in sight, was freaking about what to do.  The manual said only Harley oil, and would I risk the danger of ruining my engine by using another brand?  By the way, Tom was a research doctor,very intelligent and schooled....by the book.  It was only after we would accept full responsibility for any damage from a non-Harley oil did he top it off, and changed it immediately the next day with proper oil.  Today I do break in miles for Triumph motorcycles press fleet.  I have found my own way to break them in, haven’t lost one yet, and can even tell when a motor starts to loosen up.  How some are better than others, which the average owner would never know because he cannot go from one to another.  But even some fail despite advanced engineering, and even though they appear ready for the road, the road can be a cruel teacher.  How good a student are you depends on...

Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, to teach and reinforce a new believer, who are a target after being saved.  It is the job of the spirit to save, we get it backwards many times, thinking we save, and then go on to the next conquest.  If I spend a few minutes meeting a new friend in Christ, I can tell how well or not they were discipled after being saved.  How they react to teaching, to tests, and when hard times come, how they react, or over react.  Although we are all given the same owner’s manual upon salvation, many read it to their benefit, and ultimately their downfall.  My earliest teaching were from 2 Corinthians 4:

7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” It helped me with losing a job, having so called friends desert me, and having to deal with those who made fun of me, and my Jesus.  In some versions the jars of clay are referred to as cracked pots, and how appropriate that was. And still is.  With the “but not destroyed” part being the blessing I needed to remind me of how Jesus loved me.  And how he had everything under control.  It was important to us of how Jesus was portrayed by us, so we took great pains to live a moral life, which often brought ridicule, and left me out of some fun things.  But it was all worth it, as those proper break in miles when first saved built a strong foundation in faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  Which last some 40 years later.  Broken in, not broken.  I know the difference.

Paul goes on to write, “16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  I find that when my eyes are focused on Jesus, and I look to the spirit to guide me daily, my spiritual eyes that is, for it is the unseen things of the spirit that is eternal.  When I look at my current situation it may seem hopeless, but in Christ the job loss, the going broke, the broken bike or car, the open heart surgery, or death of a loved one becomes just that, a momentary light affliction.  And Paul would know, this book was written while in chains in prison, having an eye problem, and after surviving many beatings.  What momentary light affliction can God help you with today?

When is the last time you referred to your owner’s manual?  Do you read it to learn, or to be closer to Jesus?  Are you seeking the spirit to guide, or fulfilling a pledge to read thorough it in a year?  Reading it more and getting it less, maybe the same spirit that introduced you to Jesus, that inspired Paul and others to write, that was present at the beginning of creation and gave the earth form is just waiting for you to invite him in.  To guide, comfort, counsel, to give meaning to the Bible, and make the scriptures come alive.  And then to get out and let your light shine as we are told to do, not keep it under a basket in church.  Are you still living a life in a break in miles mode, or have you passed it, and as Pastor Fred Z. says “go full throttle for Jesus.”  Funny thing in the Rambler owner’s manual, there are no warnings, much different than from today’s book.  Was that part of the advanced engineering?  Did you realize how advanced your engineering is in Christ?  For only he died and rose again, and we will too.  Not a rebuild, but as a new person, a new body, and a new home.  No aftermarket parts, no threat of a non-Harley oil.  And God does it without all the fancy terms used back then, such as “life guard safety tires, a flash-o-matic transmission, a Powr-guard battery, cruise command, and an adjust-o-tilt steering wheel.”  All fancy names to inspire, but again a paragraph stating to buy your oil from a Rambler dealer.  To ensure maximum protection.  All taken care of by the holy spirit in our lives.  We don’t need fancy names, we need only one, Jesus.

So go back to when you first believed, spend time with Jesus and let him rekindle a flame that may be flickering.  Maybe seal up a cracked pot or two.  He understands about being struck down, but also about not being destroyed.  When we can see the invisible, we are able to do the impossible in Christ.  For it is true, the things seen are temporal, but the things unseen are eternal.  Walk and live in the same spirit that saved you, we may appear as a crack pot to the world, but we have this treasure called the holy spirit within. 

The booklet for the Rambler welcomes you to the family of American Motors owners. It tells you that it will need care and consideration that it deserves to work properly.  Maybe a quote form Jesus, if it works for cars and motorcycles, which can be seen, can you imagine what the spirit the invisible spirit can do for you?

Next week, protective maintenance.  And how you should keep oil in your lamps to keep them burning, and oil in your engine so it won’t!  All found in your owner’s manual...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

happy trails to you

The best tuners, the winning tuners, always seem to get more power from their motors somehow.  Skill, luck, experience, or a combination thereof, they do what it takes to win, to get that extra horsepower, and make it work.   But my friend Meredith tells me of a different type of horsepower, and the loving way she unlocked it.  Years ago when in high school, she rescued an abused horse, one that would let no man or saddle near him.  Beaten down, she decided she was going to rescue this horse and restore him, so after school she went to the barn where he was kept, released him into the corral, and would sit in the middle of it reading a book.  Not demanding of the horse, but just being there, quietly and kindly.  For over year, much longer than I would have lasted, this was her daily exercise, summer and winter, which can be brutal in New Jersey.  Until one afternoon, the horse came up and nuzzled her, he finally trusted her, and the relationship took on a new meaning.  It would still be months until she could put a saddle on him, but they grew together in love, the horse trusted his new master, and some time after would allow her to saddle him, and finally ride him.  It took years for the horse to trust, to be healed of abuse, but Meredith stuck it out, and the end result is miraculous.  That extra horsepower she was looking for, came down to one horse and one horsepower, only revealed, then finally released in love.  A horse whose spirit had been broken, trusted again, it had been saved from previous abuses.  Only love would change its heart, and that love can only come from a loving master who is willing to sacrifice the time and effort to see it through.

Many of us fall into the category of the abused horse.  Life has beaten us down, friends desert us, religion just burdens us more, and soon we withdraw, not trusting anyone, or anything, including ourselves.  We retreat to a stall, and go through the days in a trance, life has no meaning.  And then the spirit moves on us, the Jesus we may have heard about in Sunday school, or read about in the Bible becomes more than just a Sunday message.  As the spirit kindles God’s love for us, we see Jesus calling to us, but not demanding.  Offering love, coming down to our level, even if it takes getting down in the dirt.  Slowly all the hope we lost begins to come back, but a real hope not based on opinions, but on love.  Not on feelings, but of the spirit.  Words that before confused, now have meaning, deep meanings that cannot be expressed any other way but Jesus.  A love that loves you as you are, but doesn’t want to leave you that way.  One that may appear tough, but is really tender.  One that is personal, where you are not just another face in the crowd, or case number.  Jesus becomes real because he is real, and soon your life grows with him.  You nuzzle up close to him, and finally when you are ready, on goes the saddle, and the horsepower that was hidden is revealed.  You are a new creature in Christ, the old is passed away.  The saddle, the yoke of Jesus fits perfectly, and you look forward to the ride, and the next one.  Where will we go today?  And it will never end.....and we give thanks.

In giving thanks, we come face to face with reality.  We recognize God in the situations, and how his mercy calls us, his grace saves us, and the spirit guides us.  We find God is along for the ride, he is the ride, and the ride goes on forever.  Maybe not always the smoothest ride, but when we take his yoke, the saddle we have seems to fit better, we ride farther, and trust more.  Where once we were godless and all about ourselves, now we reach out to others as he has reached out to us.  We forgive because he has forgiven us, we show compassion because he shows us compassion, and we love because he loved us first. 

The groundwork that was laid before the beginning comes forth in our lives, and we are victorious.  We still face trials and temptations, but now we trust the one who saved us and loves us.  Love in the form of Jesus Christ is the panacea, and nothing else will ever satisfy.  It is in our total surrender that we like the horse get to know the loving master, and lives are changed.  If a horse has that much sense, what about us?  Isn’t it time to leave the barn and get out in the corral where the action is?  Where the spirit is calling, waiting patiently for our answer?  But do not be confused between waiting and delaying, we walk by faith, delaying the call can be deadly, and why would you not want to be at peace today?  Were, are the beatings that much fun you won’t give them up?

My favorite cowboy once sung “happy trails to you, until we meet again..” Leonard Slye, aka Roy Rogers today has his personal horse Trigger stuffed in his museum.  Trigger nor Roy ride anymore, Roy knew Jesus and rides in heaven.  Trigger was only his earthly mount.  Jesus took him home to heaven.  Today may the spirit guide you on happy trails that lead to Jesus.  As he sits waiting, don’t delay.  A ride like no other is waiting, and there is nothing like getting back in the saddle.  That search for that elusive extra horsepower may be right in front of you and you don’t see it.  Power not found nor shown on any dyno, only revealed through a loving God who wants to have his children back.  And gave his own son to do it.  So stop horsing around.....saddle up and ride.  Until we meet again...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com