corsets-diet plans that really work

Between you and me, I am sick of hearing about Marie and her diet plans.  How a miracle shake will help you lose pounds.  How you can skip the meetings and weighing of food.  That hers and every other diet plan, whether from a sports star to South Beach to Carb City is the best. No tummy tuck as we used to call them, just discipline.  I know people who in their quest to lose weight and be pretty, health reasons are low on the list, go from plan to plan, and after losing a few pounds, gain it back with an additional poundage-for free.  Some years back I lost almost 50 pounds, which has since returned uninvited, and lost again, and in a losing/holding position now, just by cutting out snacks, watching my portions, and eating healthy.  No fast foods, no pizza, and I missed it for awhile, but soon it lost all appeal.  So for free, within six months, it can be done.  The secret is-stop eating!  And eat different.  Cut to commercial....

Years ago I heard Pat Robertson of The 700 Club make a statement, jokingly, about losing weight.  “Lose a pound a week for a year, that’s 52 pounds!”  Change your habits.  Of course we laughed, but it’s true.  With weight loss, and also your relationship with God.  Christians should take note that giving up one habit religiously does not make you a Christian.  Following certain teachers and teachings, are not the answer.  More rules, more religion, and less fun-ask anybody who isn’t a Christian, and still an answer, just not the answer.  But we’re getting close, but many stop here.  AA members are still alcoholics, they admit it, and a higher power can mean God, or Satan. Which in many instances they cannot distinguish between the two.  I am not bashing AA, just pointing out what they say.  Unless the higher power is Jesus Christ, unless you repent and are saved, you will not be saved.  From drugs, drinking, over eating, and hell.  Step one, Jesus.  And off they go, saved but without joy.  So what’s the deal here?  Where is the pastor’s promise?  Is being saved like losing weight, just another program?  To some it is, and less.

Scripture tells us that to grow in Christ we have been given the word of God.  Logos, all the Bible.  Which explains the explosion of Bible studies around the world, do you ever get tired of some bragging brother trying to impress you by asking “are you in the word?”  When I answer “is the word in you?” throws them.  Is the word in you?  If you are saved, Jesus is the word, and when the Bible studies begin, knowledge grows.  But maybe not the person, as so many are in the word, but not in the spirit.  You must read being in the word as reading the Bible and then practicing it.  Living it.  Knowledge, knowing what to do, and obedience in the spirit, the when, what, and why.  The how we are supposed to live in Christ.  The who that Jesus left for us to counsel and provide our needs.  Many grow in knowledge, but fail to mature in Jesus because they lack the obedience led by the spirit.  Reading what they desire, taking copious notes, then hiding them in their Bible, until needed, and then searched for frantically.  But God gave us a better way, before ink and pens, before pencils and i-pods, he had us, so he wrote his word on our hearts.  Always with us, and available via the spirit when needed.  It is the spirit who reveals the mysteries of Christ, who exposes the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

God also has given us the rhema, the personal word needed for certain situations.  While many concentrate on the logos, Jesus makes it personal with his rhema.  Via his spirit.  Which changes the way we study, and changes our life.  If the study of God’s word has become a hobby, or worse yet another homework assignment, it needs the rhema to reveal the personal side of what you need.  To go beyond lessons and memory, and live in and for Christ.  Low calorie Christianity has become a staple for too many, just reading, just praying, and just going on, but with no changes in their life.  Just like just stopping eating will lose weight, just stopping your old ways will change you, but what fills the void?  Can it be we neglect the gift given to us by the one who bore our sin so we can live in him?  The spirit  is always with us, but are we always with him?  Remember Jesus never will leave us or forsake us, he left us his spirit, himself.  Maybe a four course meal of the rhema is needed.  If only we can get through the first course, how our lives would change. 

Jesus taught to abide in the vine.  Not just the scriptures we want, or looking for an escape route for our sin.  To live, to abide in him.  He is the vine, and every branch not bearing fruit is pruned.  Why, so it can bear fruit, the fruit of what, the spirit.  There he is again!  So that your joy may be full!  So your relationship with him is more personal than study, and deeper than just religion.  Abide, obey the spirit, lose the weight of sin and live again! To my fellow branches in the vine, seek his rhema today.  Listen then act.  Low calories may be an effective weight loss plan, no low cal Christian diet, we need all of Jesus, and the word for just that moment.  Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty!  Free shipping included-only God delivers to heaven while we are still on earth. 

You know the drill, you know the scriptures, but do you really know the spirit?

Or if you are lazy, ask Marie where she buys her corsets....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

would you ride with Kowalski?

 Like vice presidents, significant others, and co-drivers, those who are along for the ride never get the credit they deserve.  They either exhibit an incredible amount of faith, just plain stupid, or are in it for the thrill of it all.  Think of famous passengers in movies, Jack Nicholson riding on the back of Peter Fonda’s chopper.  Hutch hanging on for dear life as Starsky blows through red light after red light in LA.  And Hutch returning the favor.  How much courage did it take to ride with Rockford?  How about the passenger in the Charger in Bullitt?  Trying to fire off shots while hanging on for dear life.  Nobody ever rode with Popeye or Clownie in The French Connection films.  Would you get in if picked up by the guy being chased in Duel?  No passenger when McQueen jumped the fence in The Great Escape.  How about your Bonds, James Bond.  Roger does a twist in The Man with the Golden Gun, with the red neck sheriff in tow, and Sean loses his captor when he hits the ejector seat button.  Can you imagine Elwood without Jake being chased.  “It’s a cop car...”  And how about the Good Ole Boys in the Winnebago.  “I’m the driver of the Winnebago and leader of the band.”  How crazy was Frog riding with the Bandit, or was it really love after all?  What you think about that one Fred?  “WOOF!”  But when it absolutely has to be there overnight, would you go FEDEX or Kowalski in the Dodge Challenger?  Too many instances when Mom never should have let him have the keys.

How many time shave you gotten into a car with a crazy and wish you hadn’t?  Or didn’t know or heed the warnings of friends?  Designated drivers may be sober, but are they necessarily sane?  We live in a strange world where if you can navigate a few blocks without hitting anything you can get a drivers license. To drive a truck or motorcycle you must have a special license, but not to drive an RV.  Ever notice the grinning idiot trying to keep his beast in the same lane, while pointing out the sights to his kids who could care less, while driving 45 in the fast lane?  Maybe it is a talent to ignore other drivers, to me it is just plain rude.  I think I would rather take my chances with Kowalski.  I just hope those aren’t bulldozers up ahead....

Imagine you are Peter, and your little brother Andrew introduces you to a man, who invites you along, telling you to drop everything and follow him?  Ever wonder what it was with the disciples that made them follow Jesus, some without hesitation?  Some had careers, some had plans to overtake the government, but each one gave up what he was doing to follow Jesus.  The spirit calling to them, in a way that made the answer easy, but still not knowing what lay ahead.  Today that same spirit is still calling, and we were called and answered like they did.  Maybe not as famously, but we took a chance on this man who claimed to be God, and followed him, trusting him with our lives and our eternal destiny.  He rescued us from darkness, one so blinding dark we didn’t see it, and tells us anyone who hates his brother still walks in it.  Signs like hostility, indifference, and lack of concern for others show where our hearts are with God.  Funny how we are not enticed to follow the dark, yet we live in it while believing the light of the Lord is guiding.  Today while so many evangelize, maybe a look back at one Juan Carlos Ortiz, and the message God gave him for the church may enlighten us.

Although we claim to be individuals in Christ, we tend to walk in whatever the denomination, pastor, or teachings tell us.  We want to fit in, but yet stumble when it comes to the truth.  It is easy to ignore the spirit we cannot see, but hard to ignore the peer pressure at church.   Sadly the world has interpreted the church as Jesus, and religion as his gospel.  It is true he chose some questionable ones like me, but through guys like us he can show his love and power.  It is in our weakness his strength is made perfect.  So Juan took his message of unity in the spirit to the churches in his city.  Who at first didn’t want to hear it.  Dismayed he knew what God had told him, and it was God who brought the churches together.  Much like the lion and the lamb who will someday sit and eat together, it may be easier for two animals than it is for two religious groups of people to eat together.  And they have no access to the spirit!  Yet so much hate goes on in religion, is not a true believer supposed to love others, not just those he chose?  Didn’t Jesus die for us while we were yet sinners?  Didn’t someone take a chance and share the gospel with you?

When Christians hate, or don’t get along, we have an appearance no different than an atheist.  If we pick and choose what we believe, it takes no faith, and the works it fosters are not of God.  God is light, how can a brother hate another and still be called a Christian when he is walking in darkness?  Darkness is the total absence of light, not a dusk or dawn light, no light at all.  Only in God’s light will we see clearly and love, and only Jesus can change a heart so it will.  Something to remember next time you brag “I could never forgive him..”  Jesus did, are you better than him in judgment?  Is your gospel greater?  Even the apostle of love had his heart changed by Jesus.  Who’s changing yours?

Yet many choose to ride with Rockford, get chased by Duel, and even ride with Kowalski.  Unaware of the God who loves them keeping them alive to give him one more chance to be saved.  You can only revive something that was once alive but now dead, except in a graveyard.  A true revival starts in the heart, and is led by the spirit.  It not only wants us to pray more, read more, study more, and fellowship more, but to love as Jesus did, the one great commandment above all others.  Some may live by the 10 Commandments, but there is no salvation in them.  A great way to live, but not forever.  Love the Lord with all  your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.  No man ever hated himself and loved others.  Until he was forgiven and forgave himself.  The key component to salvation, forgiveness.  So give me and others another chance.  That RV driver may be your son, father, or uncle.  You may have Rockford blood in you, be as cool as McQueen, and have a French Connection, but without Jesus you have nothing.  Would you ride with Kowalski or with others in one Accord with Jesus?

Make your choice soon, those bulldozers are getting closer....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

why you could and should be riding

When the road calls many us answer with a resounding “yes!”  As much as we love our home, sweet home, there is a romance and a siren’s call that says “go!”  And so we do.  And when that final moment arrives and we push the starter button and the electric leg fires off, our mind set changes, and as the house disappears in our rear view mirror, we have nothing but the road to look ahead to.  With one dilemma that needed to be overcome, the time to leave and who we are leaving with.  Over the years I have ridden with groups, by myself, and with certain friends who ride like I do, Or as they do.  You quickly learn you only ride as fast as the slowest guy, and only as far as the smallest gas tank can go.  So the list of co-riders has dwindled, and today almost all of my rides, our rides are just us.  We have confidence in each other, and spend more time in the saddle than talking about it.  For example.....

I have a friend who to beat the crowded traffic, leaves at two in the morning, finishing his riding day before noon.  Exhausted and his body now out of synch, to me  he has put himself on a schedule we are trying to get away from.  So our variation on the theme is leaving the night before after work.  Bike packed, fueled the night before, and ready to go.  Just kiss the dog, say goodbye to whoever is watching her, and we are off.  Taking a short 200-250 mile ride before darkness hits, getting a good night’s sleep, and starting off ahead of the game, after waking up on our first night on the road.  It may not work for everyone, but it does for us, and the hundreds of thousands of miles prove it.  Prepare Thursday night for leaving Friday, instead of packing at the last minute.  I might have only made it to Tenderfoot, but the Boy Scout in me still says “be prepared.”  At least when it comes to riding, I am.

But for many, their life is mostly “at the last minute.”  So out of control, they inflict their malady on others, so again, we ride alone.  Nothing like spending a late afternoon by the pool, and going to dinner, only to see the clock waster just checking in, exhausted.  Wondering how we do it, but rather it is how they don’t do it.  We have taken care of last minute things the night before, and reduce the burdens of our ride.  It seems to work in other things too, would you want open heart surgery from a guy who isn’t prepared?  Who hasn’t studied what to do?  Who asks “which patient is mine, and what is he here for?”  How many trips to Home Cheapo does it take to complete a job you started?  Got the nails but forgot the hammer.  Remember the things your mother taught you, drop it, pick it up.  Open it, close it.  Turn it on, turn it off.  Leaving on a trip, be ready the day before. The last one at our house, not all moms are so cool.  So why you may be packing, getting fuel, looking for your keys, arguing with whoever you are going with, or waiting for whoever was supposed to arrive at 530 and now it is 8 o’clock, we’re riding.  And you wonder why ever time you ask to go with us we are not interested...

If you have been paying attention, you might notice many Christians a life in Christ like this.  Their relationship is all over the board, and when they get together, they seem to congregate with each other.  They have Jesus in their life, but there is no evidence of him.  They have become harsh and critical, and become unloving and demanding of others.  They are the ones who are always late for church, walking in and interrupting the service, and if anyone calls them on it, they call them unloving, inconsiderate.  I guess when they are rude it is OK. And don’t try to counsel or help them, they are convinced it is not their fault, they pray, but don’t listen, study but have no wisdom, and fill a pew, leaving a pew of their own.  Walking in darkness, because no evidence of the spirit is evident in their lives, they follow their own understanding, and soon find themselves segregated from the group, before they cause damage to it.  Blaming the church or the pastor, but never looking at their own sin.  They are in darkness because they do not walk in the light of the spirit.  Darkness is simply the absence of light, and God is light, in him is found no darkness at all.  They believe in God, but live like he doesn’t exist. 

Have you ever noticed that the growth that comes in Christ comes when you acknowledge your sin, then repent and are forgiven?  Many do, but stop there.  Jesus is my savior, but not my Lord.  And no one who is not saved can say “Jesus is Lord.”  If we had to study to find ourselves approved to get to heaven, how  many would fail the final?  How many would even study? 

It is tough to catch the train after it has left the station.  Or to ride with the group after it has hit the road.  In all cases we knew when the train was leaving, when the kick stands were up, and when church started.  What we don’t know is the time or date when Jesus will call us home.  So he warns us, yet many cannot even be like the Ten Virgins who at least kept oil in their lamps.  Without the spirit there is no light, without light we are in darkness.  Stumbling through life is bad enough, but when it happens to a Christian, how does it look to the world?  “They do that thing they call sin, and so do I, why are they different?”  Well, go ahead, explain that one to me.  But when I get back, you see I’m already packed and gone.  All your planning is wasted if you never leave the driveway.  All of God’s blessings are wasted if you aren’t in his light.  Paul asks us “to examine ourselves in the faith.”  Only in the light will you see the answers, and know what question they answer. 

Or of course you can take the bus, just don’t be late.  It leaves on time.  And no, I don’t need anyone to ride with....on my motorcycle!

love with compassion,

Mikematthew25biker.blogspot.com