the day after the circus left town

There is much talk among many different groups about the next generation, from Lincoln owners who are one step from the grave to churches with a dwindling attendance, all are wondering how to get the young people involved.  Even in motorcycling it seems that too many great bikes are wasted on us older guys, Harley has done numerous studies trying out find out how to get the younger generation to buy its product, and no product is exempt from it.  It seems that with each generation their values and desires change, mechanics are now techs, janitors are environmental controllers, and no one goes to personnel, but to HR.  Based on human resources, we all may be at a standstill and don’t know it, just treading water as the background changes and we don’t move.  We were part of a focus group once about a new Chrysler car to compete with the Japanese, al cars had their badges removed, and you couldn’t tell one brand from the other.  How sad.  A Toyota was a Nissan was a Mazda.  Look at today’s cookie cutter SUV’s, a market even Ferrari will be entering next year, and they all look alike, a box to carry the goods, people. Tradition in our buying may be a good thing, but it has gone on too long.  Just because is not a good reason anymore.  If it ever was.

Just as Harley is selling a warmed over version of a 1936 engineering exercise, others have jumped on the so-called retro theme.  Triumph continues the Bonneville from where it left off, and it is their best seller, still a Bonne.  Honda tried to sell a new CB1100, and still has 2014 models, new ones at dealers for sale.  Kawasaki is selling a new Z-1 styled ZR900, which looks a lot like the old one, and is what they would look like as they evolved, getting great reviews, and talking to those who rode them, tell me it is a great bike and fun to ride.  Maybe that is the one thing missing from too many products today, trying to be something they aren’t, where the product cannot match the advertisement, and once the word gets around, it is doomed.  How long can we continue to market an old product in a new package?  The only place I see it some changes are within organized religion, where they are trying to market Christ, via crusades, festivals, special church events, and kid’s programs, using all the human resources except that of the holy spirit.  Will a new generation buy into the same old gospel message?  Like that old time religion that was good enough for Mama and Poppa, is it good enough for you?  Yet we see how the holy spirit grows us still as he did the first church.

When a raging Paul sought to destroy Christianity on his own, the spirit blinded him and he was told to meet a man named Judas, who would take him to Ananias, who was praying for him.  Just think of the two names the spirit used, Judas who betrayed Jesus, and Ananias who was the first priest to openly mock Christianity.  What a first test for Paul.  But with no human relations involved, via the spirit he was taught, attended to, and fed and watered in the name of Jesus.  Maybe the first ministry outside of the apostles in action.  They both had to be a bit reticent to encounter a man who was dragging Christians from their homes and throwing them in prison, but based on what the spirit revealed to them, they obeyed.  How different his new life in Christ began, maybe a little more dramatic than ours, but really the same way, drawn by the spirit, confronted by the spirit, acknowledging the spirit, and trusting the spirit.The same spirit Jesus said he would leave for those who believe and who still is alive today and well.  If only disorganized religious denominations would see that.  Talk about revival.....

There was a time when I attended so-called Christian crusades or rallies.  I stopped because they turned out to be mostly Christian get togethers, with very few unsaved at them.  And if the numbers they brag about are true, why aren’t the attendance numbers in local churches growing?  I know many get saved at these, but where is the follow up, where are the Judases and Anaiases of the church to minister to a new believer when they are most vulnerable?  Or are we too busy getting our picture taken with a famous person than spending time with the new nobodies?  We all were new once, who came beside you?  Who are you leaning on now?  Is your Christian experience just a photo op?  Where is Jesus in the picture?  Did not Jesus tell us to go and make disciples, to educate and minister to the newly saved, or are we too proud and only brag on the number of salvations?  Are they really saved, and if so they really need help now.  Which Judas are you?  Which Ananias are you?  One photo op may be worth a thousand words....

Alfred P. Sloan the architect of General Motors once explained “you can sell and old man a young man’s car, but you cannot sell a young man and old man’s car.”  Marketing at its purest.  We need to ask, are we marketing Jesus, or true ambassadors of him?  If the thousands that go forward on Easter are really saved and welcomed, why aren’t the churches overflowing the next week?   A quick examination of where we are is needed.  Where is the holy spirit in your life?  Do you need a Judas or do you need to be one?  Mine was Larry Peoples, who killed 27 for profit and 8 for revenge, and Jesus saved him and sent him to me.  Young and stupid, I needed the spirit’s help and he didn’t disappoint.  I was just following what God put on my heart.....so what about the new generation, the new Christians to come?  Maybe it all can be found in the hardest prayer you will ever ask, remembering all things begin in prayer.  THY WILL BE DONE.  The shut up and listen, and become part of a winning team.  Where the spirit of the Lord is, and watch as we all grow in grace.  The vacant lot was sure empty and lonely after the circus left town, don’t miss what the spirit is saying to those who are new to Christ.  Be the mentor, the discipler, maybe invite them to church.  But they have already met the holy spirit, now it is time to get to know him.  Any takers?

Some have the t-shirt and photos, I rather have the spirit.  What you do the day after knowing Jesus may make all the difference.  Ask me, I know...you probably do too.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

talk to Mr. Ed

“A horse is a horse, of course, of course...” goes the lines to the famous talking horse Mr. Ed’s theme song.  But it is not unusual to talk to a horse, but the fact that the horse talks back.  And so it goes when meeting people sometimes, like celebrities, we all know what we would like to say to them, but would they give you the answer that you endorse?  I was at the Anaheim Motorcycle Show circa 1989, just wandering around, when I walked up to a man who was sitting at a podium all by himself.  Making eye contact we had to talk, so just small talk about the show, riding, and where we were from.  We had done all the small talk we could, and he asked “do you want me to sign a poster for you?”  “Sure, who are you?”  It was Eddie Lawson, two time Superbike Champ, as he introduced himself, grinning.  Nothing fancy about him, we both got a laugh out of it, and when others saw him, a crowd rushed over.  We shook hands, grinned at our chance meeting, and I left him to the autograph crowd, without a signed poster.  I wish I had a signed poster to prove it...what was I thinking?

I was hanging at Mickey’s doing a bike swap, when an old pickup backed in with a Bonneville dressed for racing.  He started talking to Mickey like he knew him, and soon both guys were hurling cuss words at each other, joking at first, then it got heated.  While I stood waiting for some action, that didn’t happen.  The guy in the truck threw a shirt at Mick, he threw it back, “who the $%^&* are you?”  “It ‘s me, Eddie!”  And suddenly it dawned on us who he was, Eddie Mulder, famous racer from the good old days.  And the joke was on all of us, and we began to talk a different tone as I was introduced to him, I knew the legend, now I had me the man.  He left the Bonneville as arranged on the phone with Mick, and gave him some signed shirts.  I wish I had one, would make a nice piece with the Lawson poster I passed on...

You might think, where else would you expect to meet champion racers except for a show or a shop?  But as we will see, God has his apostles in places we least expect, with results even more unexpected.  While some seek all the glory, these two men were there for the crowd, a crowd of one or two including me.  But just as the show was filled, somehow Eddie and I met and visited without pretense, with Eddie Mulder it was a bit different.  In Acts we see Philip on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, when he comes upon a eunuch.  A much different setting than Peter addressing the 5000, but with the same results, salvation. On a dusty, desert road, dry and barren, an angel of the Lord directed him to his appointed date, and salvation occurred.  The same spirit that directed Peter directed Philip, meeting him in the desert, far away from any type of religious meeting place.  But it is the way Phil reacted, while some of us would call around bragging on what God had said, or call a pastor to pray, or spend time in prayer making sure it was God’s voice, Phil just acted as told.  He left the training session in Samaria and went out, and ministered.  We tend to think evangelism is inviting someone to church, but real evangelism occurs like Jesus told us, as we go.  As we go about our day, our job, our ride, or our life, he is with us, and we never know who we shall encounter.  There are more ways to show the gospel and this is what Acts is saying, in the spirit we have the power to override traditions, plans, programs, and processes in the name of Jesus.  We don’t have to wait for a church’s blessing, or a pastor’s approval, we need to move in the spirit that Jesus left to guide us. And when we do, the miracles occur.  We are not to be so organized, so legalistic that we miss the call, we need to allow the spirit to move within us.  When God says go, he means go....

Yet too many act like the other end of the horse, and can end up needing help to be rescued.  Thinking a big Bible, a Christian t-shirt, or bumper sticker is an evangelistic tool.  They may be a great way to meet other believers, but when I see one coming, I go the other way.  I don’t preach at anyone, please don’t preach at me.  You may not know who you are talking to.  I only ask one favor, please don’t do anything to me that I will have to forgive you for.  I met Jesus on a beach in Venice while running one night, not all get saved in church, some are saved from church. Listen to what the spirit is saying and then obey.  There may be more than a poster or shirt in it for you.

Angels are always ministering, even to us, many times unknown.  Sent by God to protect and deliver a message, the word angel means messenger.  You never know who you will encounter, I talked with two Mr. Ed’s, and have nothing to show for it other than the memories.  Meeting Jesus is no coincidence, don’t pass him by, or the chance to show his love, the great commandment.  You may be in the midst of greatness and not realize it.  But those who call upon the name of the Lord, it’s standard operating procedure.  At the show, at the shop, in the barn, or along the road, a horse is a horse, but Jesus will always be Jesus.  He’s always on a steady course....take the time, you’ll be glad you did.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

buying a used bike over the phone

I had this dream based on one of an old dentist I knew in Albuquerque.  He had wanted an old 1937 Packard V-12 Dual Cowl Phaeton, and finally found one in Minnesota.  Taking the train there, he was at first refused entry at the seller’s door, he looked ripe after a few days on AMTRAK, but when he dumped out the cash from a grocery bag on the porch, he gained entrance.  It turned out to be a good deal for him, the Packard as advertised, and so in my own dream, I wanted to buy a used motorcycle the same way.  I put 1500 mile radius out, and found a 1978 Suzuki GS1000E in Lynwood, Washington, at a dealer.  Who claimed the bike looked like the pictures, the mileage was accurate, and it had been safety checked, still not sure what that means.  So after agreeing to a price, he said he would hold it without a deposit, seems I was the only one interested, and so I flew up, he got me at the airport, and off to the dealership.  

When I arrived he had it parked at the front door, and it looked like I remembered them, we agreed to another price, greedy Washington taxes, and I talked with the parts guy, that and service always the best place to confirm or deny the sales department stories.  He confirmed it was a one owner bike, left in a barn, but stored well, and any parts needing replacing were done with OEM parts, down to the handlebars, where he showed me the part number stamped into them.  It wasn’t perfect, but for 20,000 miles, it looked great, money changed hands, and I was off.....with only the traffic jam between Seattle and Tacoma, think of the 91 on steroids, to slow me down.  I had planned on a four day ride, due to mileage and age of bike, and of rider, but it ran so well I did the 1400 miles in two days.  Running strong at 80 mph down the 5 past Redding, Sacramento, and then the 99 and again the 5 to home.  All without any problems short of a speedo cable breaking.....5000 rpm equals 80.

I had done well, almost the unexpected in the purchase, and for six years and 10,000 miles it ran flawlessly, replacing a clutch and tach cable, doing the maintenance, and new tires.  Selling it to a man from LA, who read the Craigslist ad, and gave me the cash without question.  I had made a few bucks on the deal....it was his turn to enjoy it.  Maybe fulfilling a dream he once had...I had lived mine.

I’m not sure if this story is more about me than the bike, or the bike more than the person.  But one thing Christianity should never be about is anyone other than Jesus Christ himself.  I have met many men used of God over the years, but very few great men of God, men who desired God get all the credit, rather than themselves.  I watch as pastors hawk their book at services, special events are held for speakers/evangelists, and celebrations that turn into a media event.  I once questioned a man who seemed right on about his signing being a paying gig, would he have done it for free?  I know too many who will not show up until a contract is signed, shame on both parties for not trusting, but he admitted he would.  He was sold out to Jesus, and it wasn’t about him or his singing, but how he was able to minister the gospel of Jesus, not himself.  I believed him, I hope I was right.  But in Acts we are reminded of a man called Simon, known as a great man, and a practicer of sorcery, who told everyone he was great, and they believed him.  But when confronted by the true greatness of the spirit, had no chance.  We all know of TV, radio, or even local churches who are in it for the money, you may be in one.  They may boast about prosperity, and how the richer you are, the more prosperous you are, but God sees it different.  He says as the inner man prospers, then does the outer man.  His way, not ours.  It is a counterfeit Christianity, close for awhile, then deviating from scripture.  Genuine Christianity makes all of Jesus and none of us, the counterfeit the opposite, it is all about the person’s ministry, how he tells the gospel, and how he is the final word on it.  Never mind the Bible, although it quoted haphazardly.  Paul reminded us we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ crucified. We do not need any mediator between God and us except for Jesus Christ.  Period.

This doesn’t mean all the message is tainted, but to be a wise as a serpent, yet as gentle as a lamb.  To be discerning, using the insight the spirit gives in judging, to seek truth over popular opinion.  You may get ostracized by man and his church, but that is better than being denied heaven without Jesus, our choice.  So beware, some men bask in the limelight, they love to hear their name called, they too are like Simon.  It is all about them, and God doesn’t share the bill or stage with anyone.  Selling lots of books, or selling out concert halls in the name of Jesus may not be all about him, listen to what is said, for many like to have their ears tickled, but run from the truth.  True worship is between you and God, and needs no musician to mediate.  Beware of book sellers, who are on a book tour, using pulpits to gain popularity.  If Jesus is not the main event, no warm up band will sway the elect, but many are fooled by the hypocrisy.  Don’t you be, accept nothing but the authentic Jesus....

So maybe buying a bike a long distance over the phone is like hearing the gospel, it may tickle the ears for awhile, the words and pictures make us want to believe the claims, but when we come face to face with him, the truth is there to see.  Not a 20 footer or even a 5 footer, but the closer you get, the realer he becomes.  So seek him first, then see if the words meet his.  If the photo op is all about him.  You may be trendy and popular at church, but are you in God’s eyes?  For me it was buying a motorcycle by faith, don’t make the same mistake with God.  I knew I wasn’t getting perfection, in Jesus I get nothing less.  Led astray, there is still hope, as when Simon heard the truth of the gospel, he believed when confronted with the truth.  But yet he was unwilling to let go of  his money and his past....a key to repenting.  He was still bitter and captive to sin....salvation is much more than an emotional event, it is heavenly in nature, and we must repent and be born again to enter.  His last words, asking of prayer that he may be saved...

Don’t wait until your last words are draining from  you.  The worst that could have happened to me was I would have had to fly back home, or broken down on the road.  Some say I rode by faith, but it was really trust, trust in the one I know intimately and personally, not through any person but one to one.  If your whole relationship with Jesus is church based, you may be saved but miss out on all the blessings.  If your life is based on any book or author other than God, you are being lied to.  Simon was confronted, “your heart is not right with God.”  Your heart may be physically OK but spiritually rotten.  Simon’s was, for there are great men, but only one who was and is the greatest.  Jesus Christ.  Anyone else is a lie.  Beware of subtle lies that tickle the ears, of opinions that make you comfortable.  Of how to books on how to pray, to be saved, to live for Jesus their way.  Jesus is the way....the only way. Now you know, what say you.....

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com

never let anyone who has done nothing tell you how to do anything

Years ago when involved in off road racing at a professional level, a sponsor not a driver, it was fun being part of the upper echelon at the races.  I got to know first hand all the famous guys, the not so famous and the ones who thought they were famous.  Egos tended to be very big, as no one ever set out to race just to finish, yet for many that was to be their victory that day.  It was fun to be able to walk through the fans and past the barriers and step inside, an area where the public only dreamed of going.  But like when Dorothy looked behind the curtain and saw the Wizard for who he was, things are always different on the inside.  Seems much glory and fame ends at the gate, and the hard work of becoming a champion and staying one begins.  But just as there are challengers, there are challenges, and racing in Mexico is one of them.  Fame brings fans, but it also brings enemies.....

One of the teams I sponsored was owned by a man from a very rich and powerful Mexican man.  A great guy, very family and team oriented, I knew him in racing, and later when he would bring his Mercedes Benz in to me for service.  I got to know his body guards, a necessity in Mexico at the time, as threats, kidnappings, and attempted murder were common.  At each race we were taught and had gone through drills in case we were attacked, and carried a card with a phone number in case of trouble.  We were told “don’t leave home without it...” which would prove to be good advice.

I love the Mexican people, but a few are in business for themselves.  Bribes are the way business is done many times, and once we were all riding to lunch in a group, with the chase vehicles.  We were going through a check point, and you could tell something was up.  Other race teams were in front of us, and you could see money and shirts exchanging hands, and then the trucks being let through.  When it was our turn, they demanded a fee for crossing, which the lead driver refused to pay, and we were all pulled over.  At that point, we were technically under arrest, not a good thing in Mexico.  The sergeant in charge refused to take the card and call the number we had been told if in trouble, and we were a bit concerned.  But after some heady negotiation, he was told he would be better off if he did, and finally relented.  Storming off, he came back in a much different mood.  He had reluctantly called the number, and was given specific instructions.  We were to pass, be treated with respect, and apologized to.  And escorted if needed, with a call ahead to he next checkpoints we were coming, and to wave us through.  One phone call, from one number, changed our fortunes that day, we were prepared to race, the truck prepped, and the team instructed, but because of the team we represented, rather the man we represented, we had been subjected to harassment and being detained.  A down side to racing in Mexico that is a part of racing.  We all wanted the glory, we were not prepared for what went with it. 

Becoming a Christian is easy, Jesus made it so.  But staying a Christian, and living a Christian life, well that is a different story.  We only are taught the promises of God, the ones about health and prosperity, but if we aren’t told the price we pay, we are lied to and deceived.  So many churches are so intent to keep the crowd happy, they overlook a side of Jesus ever present in the church and world today.   The first century church is often used an example, the teachings, fellowship, praying, and getting together.  But sadly the beatings, berating, and danger the apostles lived in is overlooked.  Not quite what they signed up for, but what we sign up for when born again.  On one occasion we find them before the Sanhedrin, told to never talk of Jesus again, beaten and sent out.  But they counted it as joy, and themselves worthy of suffering as Jesus did, and continued to teach, preach, go house to house, and not to stop declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ.  How committed are we to Jesus we would do the same, or do you get your feelings hurt when someone makes fun of you?  Calls you Church Boy?  Says bad things about you or condemns you for being a Christian?  That is what we signed up for, to be a light in a dark world, not to knuckle under.  We find in history every time the church is persecuted it grew, and not only is size but depth.  But another sad fact is that when the persecution came from within the body, it suffered.  Seems we could endure the world beating us down, but when it is within the church, we either crater and go along or abandon it altogether.  The apostles didn’t stop, Jesus never quit, yet we whine and complain if someone sits in our place in church, or we don’t like the songs.  We feel the church owes us, when we are the church.  Jesus suffered for the lost, the apostles continued the trend, do we?  Yet how many pastors wring their hands over worldly issues in the church, rather than dealing with Godly ones?  The day you make Jesus your Lord you have a target placed on your back.  You are identified by the enemy, and you need Jesus more than ever.  Peter warned of the fiery ordeal we are about to encounter, we are to call it a blessing when men revile you.  Thankfully the fiery ordeals we face here save us from a fiery ordeal called hell.  Momentary light afflictions, Paul called them.  They hurt, but in the end they bring righteousness.  So don’t think it strange if suddenly the world hates you, friends turn on you, and life is more challenging.  For like our race team, we have a card, we have our names written in the book of life, and when life is over here, we pass through the crowds who hated us, denied Jesus, and have no chance.  They blew it while alive, and their death is an eternal painful one.  We are not to wring our hands and say poor me as too many Christians do, but rejoice that our light is shining, that we are recognized as Christians.  It is not fun, but it is rewarding.  So don’t think it strange if we are persecuted, find it strange if you become a Christian and aren’t.  Too many pastors hide behind a pulpit preaching only to the choir, an audience that is safe.  The rest of us  go out everyday into a world that is lost and dying.  When I signed up I wanted to be where the action is, and Jesus is were the action is. 

Such is my experience with racing, and this one was not an isolated incident.  Being a Christian should not be an isolated incident either. Someone took a chance and shared the gospel with you.  They took a real chance with some of us.  Maybe the best advice comes from St. Francis of Assissi, “preach the word daily, if if you have to, use words.”  Always carrying about the death of Jesus in us, so that the world may see his love.  Even racers must pass through inspection and then a checkpoint.  All others, stay behind the barrier, or stay home and watch on TV.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com