the flags of Ft. Scott

In our continuing effort to exercise freedom from freeways, we skirted Kansas City using the beltways, and took US 69 south.  From four lane metro to two lane rural, nothing particularly special about it, no one gets their kicks on Route 69.  But down the road is Ft. Scott, Kansas, and here all history buffs need to make a road trip.  One of a number of forts built in the 1830-40’s by the US government, Ft. Scott has been renovated, rescued, and redone, preserving many of the original buildings, and reconstructing those beyond help.  A fort designed prior to the standardization of Army forts, it was laid out and designed by a fort commander who was a trained architect.  And it is park like more than fort like.  And definitely worth the trip.

From the visit, free admission, and park rangers who would guide you or just answer questions, we learned much about US history prior to the Civil War.  It seems the US government when displacing the Indians west, set up the row of forts from north to south to protect them.  Not much to do as far as protection then, and the worst offenses were falling asleep on duty and intoxication.  Seems much hasn’t changed.  But the troops from there were sent to help us win the Mexican War, and an important ally to the north in the Civil War.  But on this day, a week before the 4th of July, Independence Day, the courtyard area was decorated with 7000 American flags.  In a time when it is socially acceptable to deface our flag, these waved proudly, and brought tears to our eyes.  Not just laid out, but laid out evenly to the topography, with little bases to raise them to make them all even in height.  Quiet yet saying a lot, it was a great thing to see that our flag was and still is there.  Not a political statement, but one of pride, honor, and glory.  A symbol of the greatest country in the history of the world, where God truly has shed h is grace on thee, and still does today.  No matter how the fake news tries to make us believe lies, America is God’s country.  It is up to us to be his people, and he gives us a choice.  The 7000 flags that day reminded me of how thankful I am he chose me to be an American, and how glad I am I chose Jesus.  No one tries to break out of our country, maybe that says more than we know. 

Fr. Al loved singing God Bless America, and the words reflect our rides across it.  But as much as God blesses America, we need to bless God.  But we cannot do it alone, it must start in the heart, and as hearts change, actions and attitudes will change.  Jeremiah saw first hand how even his friends and neighbors turned against him, but really it was God they were against.  How true today also.  And God tells him “do not pray for them, for it delays judgment.”  Just the opposite of what we are taught to do today.  So in the midst of his troubles, he gave it all to God.  “You deal with it.” Much different from our social issues permeating churches today, replacing the gospel with social ideas and opinions.  He had learned to trust God, and let it be his problem, it was too big for him.  Instead of another man, he went to the Man, and God honored him.  Maybe he remembered the words from 2 Chronicles, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, if they change their heart, I will answer form heaven, and heal their land.”  It starts with a relationship with God, when God’s people, not the Jews, but those who call upon the name of Jesus and are saved, let him be God, when we honor him and bless America by turning to him, we see revival.  We see changes in social, personal, and religious relationships.  Can we pray the toughest four word prayer in the Bible, brought to us by Jesus, “thy will be done.”  The flag you wave, the God you represent is portrayed by your patriotism, who do you bow your knee to?  Remember, we are watching...and so is the Lord.

The 7000 flags that day reminded me we are not a perfect land yet, but when we put our faith and trust in God we will prosper.  So remember when singing, “God bless America, land that I love,” we aren’t perfect.  But God has sent us out to be his ambassadors from heaven to take the gospel to a dying world.  Maybe the American soldier is the only one who truly knows what Jesus meant when he said “greater love has no man than to die for his brother.”  When God confronted Cain, and Cain replied “am I my brothers keeper?” God never answered yes or no.  For Cain wasn’t.  But Jesus calls us family, brothers when we are saved.  And he wants us to love others as we love ourselves.  Which we cannot do without his forgiveness and mercy.  It always starts with Jesus, and it will always end with Jesus.

“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be well established.”  That morning 7000 flags waving in the wind reminded me of the victory God has won for us in Jesus, but also those who perished to preserve our liberty.  So thank you God for blessing America, now can we as Americans bless you too?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

located in Central Missouri

Way back in June of 2018, I rode almost three weeks and 5000 miles without riding on a freeway or Interstate.  With some interesting destinations along the way.  Ever been to Quanah, Texas, I spent the night there.  Named after a famous Indian chief, 10 miles south of the Oklahoma border.  1000 miles from urban life.  60 years form today.  How about Locust Grove, Oklahoma?  Famous for its Git and Split, a haven for all convenience store regulars, on old 412, the right road to take, not the newer toll road.  The ride north the next morning past lakes and farms was incredible....with even a Packard museum along the way in a mostly deserted old town.  Lunch with Cycle in Fair Grove, Missouri, chatting about roads to ride with the local sheriff and his deputies, no problems parking, and they were right, the roads are great.  You may never find Road CC on any best list of roads, but it has elevation changes, curves, and just enough straights to get into 4th gear.  Too bad it only lasted about 45 minutes....But located in Central Missouri is Sedalia, a major crossroads, but still a small town.  With everything you need, a Walmart and a Harley dealer.  Who despite the high temp and humidity hosted a bike night, with a live band and over 200 bikes that night-outside.  No one complaining of the heat, but no one interested in the six total Yamahas and Suzukis on the floor next to the Harleys.  It also is a Yam and Suzi dealer. 

Take another great ride up to Quincy, past the Triumph/Yamaha gold cart dealer, out across the country and never worry about traffic.  Seems Central Missouri is a rider’s paradise, but you didn’t hear it from me.  Back roads, low traffic, cheap gas, when you saw it around $2.60/gallon, you waited knowing it would be cheaper later, a low of $2.38 throughout Missouri and Oklahoma.  With my next night in Arcola, Illinois, home of Raggedy Ann and Andy, great old two block downtown, still paved in brick.  Just a mile and 75 years from the interstate.  The next day a ride past the Ernie Pyle Memorial Park, riding the Steve McQueen Memorial Highway, past King Tiger in Bainbridge, Indiana, and it was time to pick up Theresa in Indy at the airport.  First stop Culvers for a concrete.  You know you are back in America when even the Walmarts and McDonald’s are few and far between.  This is America.....was, is, and hopefully will be for next year’s ride!

Like my ride, there is also a simplicity to the gospel.  Like the dinner I had with three men riding adventure bikes from Brazil, they too loved America for all it had to offer, one man saving over 40 years to move here and ride, another a 17 year old son who couldn’t sleep at night, he just wanted to ride.  No religion to their ride, and if you look close, no religion to the gospel.  Which God emphasizes to Jeremiah, when the Jews were overwhelmed with the world.  Knowing Jesus personally goes beyond riches, I traveled light and still didn’t spend over $150 a day total.  The Brazilians packing light and riding smart.  We parked next to motorhomes and SUV’s, guess who had the better travel stories to tell?  Riches may give a man a false sense of power or security, they may even buy a false sense of respect when they are not.  Ecclesiastes warns the rich man doesn’t sleep at night because he worries about his money.  He obviously never rode the back roads like us. 

Even the smartest man cannot know everything.  Memorizing the scriptures does not guarantee the reward of heaven or bring you any closer to Jesus.  Wisdom will always be partial wisdom, for just like riding, there are so many roads yet to be discovered.  Religion is filled with new revelations, I guess Jesus isn’t enough for them.  And they are called wise?  And like the bikes we ride, a bigger engine doesn’t mean a better ride, just like more strength doesn’t mean more power.  Or influence.  Pride has a sneaky way of ruining a great day no matter the road you are on.  But Jeremiah is told by God to boast in him, that they are given the understanding from and of God, readily available to all, that to exercise wisdom and kindness it must come from the Lord, and find how God delights in those who seek his righteousness and justice.  How cool to make God happy.  You can buy a college degree, but you cannot purchase the wisdom God offers.  Need justice, only in Jesus.  Righteousness without rules, come to Jesus.  Want love, joy, peace, patience, goodness and kindness?  Only found in Christ. 

Take a side road today from mainstream religion, spend some time on a back road with Jesus.  Forget the legalism, the rote services, the hypocrisy of the service and the attendees.  Get alone with God, let the spirit reveal to you real riches, real wisdom, and real strength.  The time you step away from peer pressure in religion and choose Jesus, you will find a freedom not taught from a pulpit.  But found out among those who seek God first, then marvel as he adds everything else.  Boast of all the things you have in Christ Jesus, for in him you have it all.  Knowing that you may not know where the road leads, but where it will end.  Whether located in Central Missouri, Eastern Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, or any old Mississippi River town, see it best with Jesus along.  Seeing is believing, those who believe without seeing are blessed.  The road and ride, proof.

Who would ever think a salad form the Hy Vee would be a great dinner?  Or a free dinner of home made chicken soup taste so good?  Just leave room for the concrete....the road and the custard.  If that ain’t Godly wisdom I don’t know what is!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the bike that saved BMW and almost killed me

It all changed for BMW in 1974, prior to that they were great touring bikes, referred to as”the Cadillac,” because of their smoothness and shaft drive.  Staid and reliable, no one ever stole a BMW, they even had a generic key to start them, but in 1974 they went to a car type key, dual instruments, dual front disc brakes, and 900cc, 300 more than ever before. With the R90S they started the sport touring genre, and became the most expensive new bike ever sold at $3430 in 1974 dollars, when a Z-1 cost half of that.  But they also borrowed a page from GM marketing by releasing a new product not fully tested, let the public find the problems, and it had two major ones.  The bolts holding the flywheel to the crank would sheer, mine did at 16,607 miles when the Wildman pushed the starter button.  And also at 111 mph, the bike went into a violent death shake, which went away at 112.  Accelerating through it was scary enough, but knowing you had to go through it when decelerating was even scarier.  The physical forces of slowing down made it almost unrideable, more than one rider got white knuckled following me as I slowed down, “Man I thought you were a goner...” as I hung on for dear life.  When I sold it after two years and 45,000 miles, the new owner swore she had never been over 100, and would be careful.  I never saw her or the bike again, I can only wonder....

A lot of praying went on at 111, and before and after.  But I also learned there is a time to pray, and a time to listen.  Too many are confused when asked “what’s the most important part of prayer?”  We are trained to ask, but yet fall short of listening and receiving.  God has shown me there is a time for prayer, and a time for listening, and preaching and reading the word are part of it.  When in danger I don’t need more prayer I need answers, sometimes right now.  In a message to Jeremiah, he told them it was a time to listen, and obey, they had fallen away, and needed guidance. But in listening comes judgment, which should lead to repentance, which should bring us back to our relationship with Jesus.  Prayer can delay judgment or the answer, preaching or listening to the spirit hastens it.  We need answers, not more rote prayers, not long prayers thanking God for everything when called for a specific reason.  We need all of Jesus he has to offer, we need to cease speaking and start listening.  God knows before we pray what we need and has the plan in action.  Yet many drone on informing him as if he was new on the scene.  “OK God, here’s the situation,” at least as we see it.  Yet we go on and on holding back God’s answer, because we don’t listen. 

Judgment is not God’s final answer for us, but a way of love to bring us back.  For us to realize our sin and see Jesus for who he is, turn to him, and repent.  Too many fear judgment as if it were a hateful act, but for those of us who have gone astray and been shown judgment via the spirit, it was and is the way back.  In our pain sometimes God must shout to be heard, to be taken to a place where we will listen and hear the spirit.  His answer more important than our asking many times, for he knows the situation better than we do, or will admit.  When God showed Jeremiah the state of the nation, God allowed the nation to fall, so they could see their sin and rebellion.  To admit they had turned their backs on God, to repent and return to prosperity.  Just like I needed to do at 111...

In our prayers we so often start them, but the spirit has never left us, and is constantly telling us “we need Jesus.”  In all our senses and spirit we can see our weakness, and God provides the answer.  Ever wonder where God is, but really ever wonder how many times he called you and you didn’t reply?  God is patient and wants you back, not to ridicule, but to restore.  To shine through, to let you be an example to others of his love and mercy.  Like the prodigal father, he longs for our return.  From any sin, from any situation, and from any speed.  What does it take with you until he can say “now do I have all of your attention?”

So there is a time to ask, and a time to receive, not always in that order.  I knew going up I would have to come back down, but did it anyway despite the danger involved.  My riding has changed radically over the years, the more seat time the better rider I become for all situations.  Same with God, the more seat time with Jesus, our relationship strengthens, and we converse more.  Read that, I listen more.  The spirit has never stopped talking to us, we stopped listening.  And in love, God will allow us to fall as far as we desire until we turn and return to him.  Both sin and speed are fun or we wouldn’t do them, but each has a consequence.  The words of discipline or correction may see harsh, but in the end they bring righteousness.  My riding world changed in 1974 when buying my R90S.  My forever changed when I met Jesus a year later.  He not only made me a better person, but a better rider, too.  In one 18 month period, BMW and Jesus both changed my life.  MY R90S would let me down, Jesus never has.  Ask less, receive more.  It is no coincidence that you can control your mouth and your throttle hand, but not your hearing.  Hear what the spirit is saying to you today, no need to repeat Jeremiah’s message, “While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Jeremiah 7:13 “

Even in my Arai I can still hear that still small voice....can you? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

longer, lower, wider...

With The Ford Motor Company fazing out new car production, hopefully they hang onto Mustang, longer, lower, and wider, the magic three words of cars when growing up will be gone.  Already the Wide Track Pontiac is long gone, my Grandpa’s 1959 Electra 225, 225 inches long that is, barely fit in his garage, the front bumper kissing the wall.  Three across seating has been long gone in American cars, replaced by buckets seats with consoles, once reserved for sports cars.  Years ago manufacturers went from 16 to 15 to 14 inch wheels, to make the car ride lower and look longer, now only Low Riders have that look.  At a car show yesterday, it was shameful to see so many 1960’s cars stock except for 20 and 22” tires, disgusting.  It seems that the low must be from custom cars, and the higher the pickup sits, the more manly it is.  Making cars of yesterday that were large by comparison, now look small.

How many $50,000 pickups must sleep out each night because they cannot fit in the garage?  Too tall.  Even my old Ranger barely fits, it used to be a compact, now its replacement due out soon is the size of what a full size truck used to be.  Wonder how many garages it won’t sleep in?  But the manufacturers will give the public what we think we want, it used to be stepping up was going from a Chevy to a Buick, now it refers to gaining entrance to the cabin of a 4x4.  Remember the quote Henry Ford never made about black only Model T’s?  Now that is the only color available, stylishly called charcoal, or light black.  Give me the old brown leather or vinyl of the old trucks, bench seating, three on the tree, rubber floor mats.  A cup holder meant you held your drink in your hand, alternately shifting hands while shifting gears.  It seems the only thing that is getting longer, lower, and wider is me!  What a hit I must have been in 1954! 

I can remember the view from my 1972 MG Midget, looking into the doors of Chevy’s, reaching up to push the button at Sonic, and barely touching the ground with my fingertips while at rest.  Lower, no self respecting sports car was longer or wider.  Maybe I am just dating myself, as cars 100 years ago were taller and longer, but not wider.  I’m sure that someday at a car show with my grandson, he will ask “Grandpa did you really own a car like that back in the day?”  And like my Grandpa did with me, we just went on, him telling me about how it was.  With a far away look in his eyes...

But how many of us are in it just for the ride?  The first century church were the ultimate rebels, giving in to Jesus, resisting sin, and willing to give it all up for Christ.  I have been part of too many conversations of “why can’t we be like the first church?” only to look at pathetic men who hide their Jesus.  I visited a man’s office once, and on the secretary’s desk was a Christian calendar.  When I mentioned it, and the man I was to see, I told her he was a Christian.  Which made her aghast.  “HIM?”  And I let it drop.  A true Sunday Christian, who lives a double life at work and at home.  Going with the trend, I don’t think many of us have enough Jesus to have been part of the early church.  Programs, procedures, policies, and processes have become the religion of today.  Special effects, big screens, and special speakers, we lose the intimacy Jesus offers.  Even small groups may not be the answer, as they only propigate the Sunday message.  Where are the ones who in today’s generation, the longer, lower, wider brothers and sisters who we look up to?  Quick, who is your Christian hero today?  How many hide behind a pulpit, instead of reaching out outside the church?  The first church was on the road.....longer, for days and weeks, lower, as they were cast down in public, and wider, as the gospel grew through them.  Men and women we look up to now, instead of taller in the pulpit.  I recently received an email to attend a Sunday morning church service for the pastor’s new novel, and he will sign purchased copies afterwards.  Has evangelism changed or have I?

Christianity will never be stylish, no matter how many diamonds your cross around your neck has.  No matter the bumper sticker you proudly display in your SUV while cutting someone off while talking on the phone.  If your car can barely fit in your garage, can your God fit into your life either?  Or do you leave Jesus out because he doesn’t fit?  Tough questions, we cannot do it alone, it takes the spirit.  Who tells us that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.  From the Bible, not the pulpit.  Not an ad, but advice from above.  Styles change, Jesus never does.  And he will never be stylish until he becomes real in your life.  Pastor Rick who got saved after being a mainline preacher for most of his life, used to tell us “man is taller when he is on his knees.”  He knew, and his testimony inspired many.  He had lived through the trends, but came back to Jesus.  Who welcomes us all back today.  I remember when Jesus was big and religion small, now I cannot tell. 

Some live for kicks, for speed, for style, for the moment.  He who dies with the most toys still dies.  From cars to motorcycles to golf, to fashion to movies and TV, we will always lust for what is out there.  This is what happens when we drift away from the Lord.  What looks good might only feel good.  I can still feel the buttons on an old Cordoba’s seat in my back side.  Stylish, yes, but not for the long haul.  Something to remember pulling your normal garages sized vehicle into your garage tonight.  Count the tall trucks out on the street.....mine sleeps in a garage.  Like my Jesus, safe and secure within, its black seats not withstanding! If size truly matters, what does your life tell us about the size of your God? 

Stickers like a relationship with God can fade....any takers for a first century church?  We can always meet in the homes like they did, maybe the garage.  What do you think?  And in Christ they were all in one Accord, which fits in the garage.  Hmmmmm...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com