when cars were personal and religion wasn't

 As a young and upcoming, at least in my eyes, young man, what you drove was important.  Four door sedans were out, Mercedes Benz had just announced its 450 SEL, and BMW was still making its name on 2002’s, sporty coupes.  But it was the up and coming, the cool, the respected, the ones we wanted to emulate that were driving the cars that made a statement.  It was all about two door personal luxury cars, GM led with the Olds Toronado, Chevy Monte Carlo, Cadillac Eldorado, and the Buick Riviera.  My favorite the Pontiac Grand Prix.  All those cool cars with long hoods and big V-8’s under them, that was going to be me someday.  Ford had the Thunderbird, all 5500 pounds of it, a long ride from the two seaters just 20 years ago, and of course, who doesn’t remember the Cordoba, the car that put fine Corinthian leather in everyone’s vocabulary, and made Ricardo Montalban a star, before he became Mr. Roarke.  It was these cars that showed us who was up and coming, who could afford the payments, and who got the girls.  While some car ownes bragged of miles per gallon, when asked what their cars got, they answered “dates.”  Lots of them.

On any freeway ride you can see the cars of today, BMW sedans, Honda Civics, and SUV’s, all bigger than they started out, and all without definition.  Various shades of gray, no matching interiors, unless you buy black, and all four doors.  Exactly the kind of car we begged our dads not to buy.  But take heart, as Ford last week announced it was getting out of the car business, with the exception of Mustang, it will be all about trucks, SUV’s, and crossovers.  Seems America has spoken, and it wants trucks.  I already have one, as any responsible motorcycle owner does, but our main car is a Mustang.  I guess this also means no more convertibles, unless you can see an F150 topless.  Roll up the windows, shut the door, turn on the climate control set to your desired temp, push the button your sound system and make sure your i-pod is charged.  And get used to traveling in complete isolation.....so personal it’s impersonal.

Just as we used to have 327, 351, 383, 454, 440, and 426 engine designations, big and powerful, we now have 3.7, 2.7, 5.3, 6.0, and 1.6, all in liters, some smaller than the two liter bottle of Coke in your refrigerator.  Lift the hood and see engine covers, no more Chevy orange, Ford blue, Olds gold, or Pontiac green.  Covers, to keep the unromantic silver block covered, as they all look the same, sound the same, and can easily be misidentified without looking at the car itself.  Which may be difficult, as so many cars look the same, blame aerodynamics, and a buying pubic put to sleep with creative styling.  It is quite possible that the Golden Age of Automobiles is over, who will collect a 2018 in 2038?  Yet where are all the Mustang II’s from the seventies, they made over a million of them?  A nineties collector car?  Please don’t wake me when it’s over.....

Seems the auto industry has fallen asleep, much like many churches.  If your pastor feels he must preach for an hour, ask him why “can Billy Graham preach for 20 minutes and they rush to the altars, yet he preaches for an hour and they rush for the door?”  The answer may sound more like an excuse, because....Yet some time back, I was confronted with a woman, homeless, who fell asleep during my lessons, restricted to 45 minutes.  She apologized after waking up when I was done, my words surprised even me.  I told her I was glad she felt so safe that she could sleep, rest being the one gift we all think we have, but never realize how much we don’t have and need it.  I too was known for dozing off in church, bored, not feeling secure.  But Paul, encountered a man who fell asleep and died after over 12 hours of teaching.  If that wasn’t enough, he fell three stories to his death, as recorded by Dr. Luke in Acts.  Yet Paul, maybe not quite yet finished delivering his message, proclaimed he wasn’t dead, and prayed new life back into him.  No record if Paul went on preaching after.  But he had provided a life demonstration of resurrection power, how many would remember the man brought back to life, or all the words of Paul?  How many came and went during the service, either missing or just arriving when he fell.  All of Pauls’ words would be hollow without a demonstration, and God provided one.  What better way to leave a service than seeing Jesus in action.  To see the sick healed, the lost saved, and the dead given back life.  No telling when God will perform a miracle, I wonder if anyone jumped on the opportunity to sell shirts and stickers afterwards?

Even while asleep Jesus is in action.  The holy spirit never rests, lest he be separated from you.  In cars and trucks styles change, also in religion.  Seminary will say he wasn’t really dead, just as the excuse makers made up stories about Jesus.  They will try to rationalize resurrection power, claiming it makes no sense.  But to those of us who believe and know, it means life, and life eternally.  Forever with Jesus.  Where we die and how will not matter, all we know or memorized will be counted as filthy rags, all it takes is Jesus.  The same simple message Billy proclaimed for years.  Falling asleep at church, maybe you need your life in Christ resurrected.  Become just one of the crowd, you aren’t to Jesus.  The world will try to make us all equal via what we drive, only in Jesus will we be the individual we desire.  Sometimes it takes a fall to prove the point....don’t you be misled.  Jesus makes it personal.  A lesson from the cars we used to desire, do we desire that same kind of personalization ourselves?

Today Olds and Pontiac are gone.  Chrysler is FIAT owned, and GM cars are all clones of each other.  No more T-Bird either.  Remember to be like Jesus in one Accord, not to own one, but one in the spirit.  Alfred P. Sloan once said “you can sell a young man’s car to an old  man, but not an old man’s car to a young man.”  Same old style religion, Jesus never changed.  Nor did his gospel.  Just ask the man who fell three stories, he’ll tell you.  Something to consider the next time you fall asleep at church, just don’t do it at the wheel.

For everyone’s last ride is in the same car...a hearse.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

give me oil in bike, keep it running, running, running

The old phrase “jack of many trades, but master of none” has become more evident as I travel these days.  As so called technology has advanced, it has left behind the very people who administer it.  Take for instance a recent need for a quart of oil for my Tiger, no big deal, I knew what it needed, stopping at a BMW shop, I asked the parts man for a quart of 10-40 synthetic.  “All I have is BMW oil, and I ‘m not sure if it will work in your bike.”  When I suggested a quart from his bulk oil in service, again not sure if it would work, and “I wouldn’t know what to charge.”  I thought the days of you can only use Harley oil in a Harley were gone, I see they have moved over to BMW.  I’m glad I moved away from BMW too.....

Although certain parts are specific to any motorcycle, an oil meeting the specs can be many brands.  We find running Motul fully synthetic makes the bikes shift easier.  110,000 miles on my 2006 Tiger is good enough for me.  But yet I have ridden with guys who only will use what the store sells, and pay too much, or don’t get the best for their bike.  Another case in point is while in Pennsylvania I needed a front tire, it was going away faster than I thought, and with rain coming, I figured now was the time.  But calling around no dealer had the Tourance Next I needed, so I went with an Anakee 3.  I have them on another bike of mine and like them.  First thing I noticed is the bike now steers quicker, if they wear like the old Anakees guess which will be my new tires of choice.  Sometimes you just have to bend and do the right thing.  Or you can stay at home and read all about my ride...

Too many shops today measure their success by their own success, rather than the overall condition of the market.  As the motorcycle sales drop again and again, we now see mega shops, and in one case, I saw a Harley, Suzuki, Yamaha store in Missouri, with six total Japanese bikes, all non-current, and ones that never sold to start with.  A Kawasaki shop in Raton taking on a Chinese ATV brand to stay competitive, and a family owned Honda store in Jacksonville, Illinois still alive, still a stand alone, but living on its 44 year reputation.  And Honda’s product mix isn’t helping them much either.  At one time it was Honda or other, now it is Harley or other.  Or BMW.  Competition is good for business, but is it good for motorcycling?  Can a Honda tech change a tire on my Triumph?  Want names of those who can’t?  Or won’t?  Have we become snobbish, ignorant, lazy, or do we just not care?

Talking with a pastor years ago, he commented how they had had a successful year, they had met all their financial obligations.  I saw his priorities immediately.  At one time we were Christian brothers, now too many churches are competing with each other for attendance, and basing success on size, giving, read that forcing you to tithe to them, programs within the church, and not engaging in the world as Jesus instructed as to keep themselves pure.  Maybe that is why we see so many rich churches in industrial areas away from those who need to hear and see the gospel in action.  A friend who isn’t saved gives discounts to churches, until a pastor in his Mercedes asked him for a larger discount.  Seems the light only shines on the congregation, his, and not on the world.  And as I ride around and see so many church building boarded up, I see religion and its influence on man, yet I see so many smaller meetings in homes, at lunch, or even in bike shops on Saturday mornings.  The gospel is alive even if the method God chose to convey it dead.  If the church is only bragging on what is going on within and not within the community it is in, it is dying and a poor church.  Jesus didn’t stay confined within the fours walls of the tabernacle, he went out among the people, as did his disciples and their followers.  Many support only foreign missions, maybe they need to ask “how many Lazaruses have you stepped over today?”  Remember the rich man did, proud of success, but a failure in God’s eyes.

It starts with us the individual, and we are the church.  It isn’t about social programs or even once a year crusades.  It is getting out and living for Jesus, being the light he provided and seeing him changing lives.  No government program can force morality on us, and money is not the answer to social programs.  If Jesus is not your main focus, if the spirit is not leading you out into the communities to represent him, then you are like a group of pastors I know, described by a guy who should know as “guys who like to swim, but are afraid to go into the water.”  Imagine the first church behaving like the church of today?  It is mercy God gives when we screw up, and grace he provides when we walk with him, our choice.  As your congregation dwindles in size or spirit, maybe it time to come back to Jesus, we are not to become one with the world, but to go out and be in it.  Or you can run out of oil because they don’t have your brand and just stay home like so many safe Christians do, telling each other how good they are and what a good job they are doing.  Jesus Christ is alive and well, and his spirit never left.  We turned away for better things.....only to come up lacking.

Don’t let your headstone read “we never did it this way before.”  When Paul had a poor reception from the Jews, God sent him to the Gentiles, who received him and the church grew.  And that cheesed off the Jews, wasn’t god only for them?  If your books balance but your gospel doesn’t balance with God it is time to fix the holes in your theology.  The parable of the ten virgins tells about the importance of having the proper oil and the correct amount.  Oil represents the holy spirit.  If we checked your spiritual dipstick would any show up?  If there is any encouragement in you let it be of Jesus Christ.  Some go to church, some are the church.  Some fill pews, some are a p.u. 

And whatever you do, if you visit a church I know, don’t sit up front.  You see a family who is influential sits in the front row.  The last time a stranger did so....well let’s say there are dipsticks and there are dipsticks....if you are judging your success by the size of your meeting hall, the cars parked in the lot at church, how pure and clean you are, and how great your congregation is, be careful, for it is dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker.  For God so loved the world, not the church, but the world, he sent his only son.  Can you say the same?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

road scholars

We were on our way from Muscatine to St. Joseph with a stop in Clarinda to visit the Glen Miller Museum when we needed to make a pit stop.    Crossing over an Interstate in the middle of Iowa, we met and talked with two couples on Harleys, who were heading home from Bryce and Zion National Parks, their turn around point.  It seems they were much closer to home than we were, with less than two hours left to their ride.  When touring people meet we instinctively talk about the roads we ride, and they had been mostly on freeways, making time as best they could, and sadly missing the best part of riding.  They had started riding Highway 12 in Utah, but turned back, and had spent too much time judging riding by which exit they would need.  Talking with the one guy, when I told him where we were going, he asked “why didn’t you just take the interstate?”  And as I began to explain why, his face lit up.  He lived in a small town outside Iowa City, and to him it was all cornfields, and farm roads.  To us it was much different, as I explained.  You see when the Interstate Highway System was created, it did its best to eliminate curves, changes in elevation, and to provide a smooth, wide open motoring experience, designed to be driven at 85 mph, 1955 miles per hour.  Replacing the many US Highways that preceded it, and which I travel on today.  Visiting the towns that the interstate bypassed, roads with names and numbers, not just freeway exit numbers.  And as I explained how the roads were different, he nodded and started to smile.  He was beginning to get it, there is more to riding than freeways.  But then I mentioned how the state road, and even better yet, the county roads, were much better rides.  State roads follow the topography much closer, not bulldozing hills, going up and over them, following rivers, and adding curves and life to the ride.  But county roads elevated the ride even more, lots of 15 mph turns after running at 70, slowing down past farms, 25 mph speed zones through towns, and curves, turns, elevations, and excitement that was eliminated by freeways.  And he smiled...to him it was just riding through the corn fields, he never realized how good the roads he lived on and rode were.   And what he had missed riding cross country on I-40, 80, and others.  We finished our ride across Iowa in the same amount of time, and were refreshed, he was tired from riding freeways.  You decide, which ride is better for you?

If you think the Midwest is flat, get off the freeways.  State Road 92 had so many elevation changes and hills and dips, the cruise control couldn’t keep up with it.   Many a small town was ridden through,with a detour to ride the old downtown, past the municipal court house, and local drive in.  America at its greatest, a life photo many times of life just after WWII, when all was exciting and we were victors and led the world in freedom.  So much of America is like that, get off the freeways and live, see history on more than just the History Channel, be greeted by smiles, welcomed and conversed with.  Learn about the people in the area in a short meeting, rather than dodging semis at a truck stop.  Travel may have changed, but the traveler hasn’t, and there is so much to be seen and learned out on the road.  Where a quote in Hannibal, Missouri by Mark Twain reminded us, “traveling is the best way to learn.”  And back roads across America just make it better.

Jesus spent most of his ministry on the road, no coincidence that he draws us out and about.  Yet for years the main thrust has been on education, memorization, and study.  Knowing all about the man, but many times never getting to know the man.  Facts and figures may tell us something, but don’t give us insight as to who he really was.  Like the road, you need to experience Jesus first hand, to ride with him in the curves, see him in action via hearing other’s testimonies, and bless and be blessed by others.  It was on the road where Paul met him, where the Philip met the eunuch, where the Samaritan met the wounded man, and where Jesus was crucified.  There are many other instances of road scholarship, but nothing beats knowing Jesus personally, and not just from a book.  When you see the storm clouds ahead and start praying, when the sun breaks through and you rejoice, when you meet someone who wants to pray for you, or you for them, you see Jesus in action.  Jesus never hurried, and was never late, can you say that about your freeway experience through the Bible?  Constant study leaves no time for life, and why do we study, to pass a test, to find ourselves approved.  Then forget it after the test...only to be reminded when we need to use it on the road.

So have you really experienced Jesus in your life?  Are you out living the gospel as you go as scripture advises?  Of all people I met on the trip while stopped, it was the religious man who wanted to force a tract on us who didn’t show respect and courtesy.  He had an agenda, what’s yours?  When you stop to talk do you force Jesus on the other, or do you let your light shine?  Do you listen or just hurry to the next stop?  Or are you still looking?  Or waiting.....

Consider this today, so many teachings emphasize the return of Jesus.  But how many remind us that his spirit never left?  That in all things he is with us, at all speeds, on all roads.  Yet we neglect to slow down and spend time with him.  We noticed that many old churches were empty this year, religion is dying, but Jesus is still alive.  We don’t call them rest stops for nothing.  The church is leaving the building, and getting out and living and loving.  God pours out, he doesn’t need to take in.  We need to do both....traveling is the best way to learn, I know, because I also have the best teacher.  My homework called life.  You study, I’ll live.  Knowledge puffs up....we all need Jesus.  Knowing about is different than knowing him.  Of course you already knew all this didn’t you....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

Ernie and Ora

I don’t know much about the Amish people, even after my last stay in their area of Indiana and Illinois.  I do know they are private people, keeping to themselves, who live a simple, country, farm type living.  They are community minded, they can raise a barn in a day with their neighbors help, they only drive in carriages pulled by horses, they don’t use buttons, only pins to keep shirts and pants connected, and only after marriage can the men grow beards.  They make great food, real American comfort food, the women dress conservatively, and they tend to be very friendly.  They live an existence quietly removed from the world, not sure about their religion, or if being Amish is being religious, but they live under many laws, customs we would call them, and over the years I have seen their customs slowly changing and becoming more worldly, you make the call, or better yet, let them if it is right or wrong.

Staying at Das Essenhaus in Middlebury, Indiana, it is a beautiful resort in the rolling countryside.  Downtown Middlebury reflects the current Amish, carriages parked outside stores, using the shoulder of the road, and being found working in various retail stores.  A far cry from just down the road in Shipshewanna, where it looks like an Amish Disneyland, Middlebury and other small towns around reflect much better today’s Amish.  At least from my observations...

But within Das Essenhaus are many stores, where both Amish people and non work.  In one Amish furniture store, we talked with Ernie, and how he wants to travel to California, but will have to do so by train.  I began to see the holes in his Amish-ness, as he also rides a bike to work, as many do, and not just in carriages as the older generation does.  It seemed to me that his legalistic lifestyle has many holes in it, as any legalistic system does, and he can pick and choose what he wants to do and how to live.  Which may or may not make him a target among other Amish folk.  Why a bike and not a motorcycle, why a train and not a plane?  Why not your carriages, or is the belief system only local?  Questions I wanted to ask, but passed on.  I didn’t want to appear judgmental, but still am curious.

Maybe what I found most entertaining was a group of high school age Amish girls, who were looking over our bike, and us, then smiled, trying to get our attention.  Seems kids of all cultures like motorcycles, how many horsepower versus your one?  But one last encounter, a buggy ride around the grounds with Ora taking the reins, opened up more questions.  I asked “how are winters here?”  His answer took me aback for a second, “I don’t know, we go to Florida for the winter.”  By train I imagine.  Seems the old ways are giving way to the new ones, again the problem with living within certain laws only gives you a greater chance to break them.  The Amish are coming into the 20th century slowly, and I welcome them, and respect them.  I just hope they don’t lose their identity in the process.

Now I didn’t stop and fact check the Amish ways or ways to live, just based on what I saw and was told.  But I will, because I am interested in them, and my friend Ernie.  But fact checking is nothing new, just to the press corps of today.   When Paul and Silas travelled spreading the gospel, the Jews in Berea were counted as being noble, they checked out the facts before believing their words.  An open mind, but a cautious heart, backed up by scripture.  I encounter too many believers who just believe what is said from the pulpit, or what the pastor’s book says.  Following a TV evangelist and never reading a Bible or testing the spirits via scripture as we are advised to do.  Luke writes here in Acts it is a noble thing to check for accuracy, using scripture as the only barometer, not book sales, not attendance, or even popularity.  In all cases other than spirit led, you can fall victim to writing your own gospel, your own belief system like Ernie and Ora, choosing which to follow and what not to.  Sound like church?  And you wonder why Jesus was against the Pharisees teachings and they hated him. How noble are your beliefs?  Are they spirit based, church based, denominational based, or based on a set of rules and ways set forth by your fellowship?  Do you pick and choose which ones you like?  Are you willing to risk becoming a rebel for Jesus by checking and then following him?  Never take me at my words, check them out and let me know if I am off, I don’t want to be.  Forgive me if I am, give God the glory if I am right.  Follow his words, not mine.

The Amish way of life is changing, the word of God never does.  Do not believe the book of Mormon, the JW version for they are not accurate, and deny the deity of Jesus Christ.  Which is what it all comes down, who do you say Jesus is?  The scriptures proclaim boldly he is both God and man, both Lord and savior.  The only way to heaven, the only way to be forgiven, and salvation is a free gift.  You cannot earn it or buy it at a Christian book store.  Scripture tells us “these things shall follow them that believe.”  What are you leaving behind?  Is it all about Jesus or all about something else and Jesus?  Or you?  Pray for Ernie and Ora, and the other Amish.  Include anyone stuck in legalism, for where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  We all write our own gospels to a point, where is Jesus in yours? 

I find it interesting that if you take money out of the Amish equation, it all reverts back to their simplicity.  Maybe there is a lesson to be learned from them after all.  As for me I’ll stick with my horsepower.  And the one who knows how to get it to the ground.  With only one law, love.  Bet you didn’t know you were nobility did you?  Love, what a noble thing to do.

love with compassion,

MIke

matthew25biker.blogspot.com