there's no app for that one

When my friend’s wife allowed him to get back into riding, he wanted a Kawasaki ZX14, all 150 horsepower of it.  Finding one at the local store where they knew me, they agreed to let me test ride it for him.  How could I say no?  So on an unusual morning with no traffic on the 78, I opened it up, into the rev limiter in second and wide open in third, before coming up on a 55 mph curve, and no time to slow.  So in my best Kenny Roberts knee dragging imitation, I leaned, and kept leaning, and the bike did its thing.  Without a shimmy or shake.....the last time I had looked at the digital speedo it said 121, what a rush.  Nowhere will you ever find an app for that!

The three of us had taken off early, on a lightly travelled road Bouke knew in Jersey.  On his Z-1 he led, followed by me on my R90S, and BH on is Dunstall 750 Honda.  Three young and crazy,and fast guys, when looking in my mirror, all I could see was flashing lights and grill of a State Patrol car. Looking at Bouke, he nodded and we took off, easily outrunning the cop, but after a few miles stopping, still not faster than the radio.   And Bouke was unusually edgy, seems he had a plate from an old Triumph on his bike, and of all things he knew the cop.  Who it turned out was a captain in the Jersey State Police, it didn’t look good.  But the Captain’s opening line took us all by surprise...pointing at BH, “that thing is fast, that BMW is unreal, but that Z is a rocket!”  He rides!  And after writing us all a ticket for improper registration, in his words,” I called it in, I have to write something,” took off, giving us his business card, for emergencies.  Talk about a rush!  But after, Bouke confided in me, he knew the captain, and was a bit scared.  He was a witness when another friend killed his brother in a mercy killing, and guess who was the investigating officer.  A landmark case then and now, no wonder he was freaking out.  A guess being stopped at 111 was no big deal after that.  Try to find an app for that!

Saturday morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a great ride but with a 45 mph speed limit.  Until meeting a local at a rest stop, who had a Sprint ST like mine.  “Follow me,” he invited, “this is my back yard.”  And so with Theresa hanging on, we raced, using his lines and braking markers down this surreal road for 45 miles.  He pulled off with a wave, we went on....a chance of a lifetime behind us.  Ain’t no app for that!

Or the night BH and I stayed out too late, and ended up with no place to stay.  Riding faster wasn’t the cure, and at 2 am we were pulled over by a county sheriff.  While he looked at our licenses with his flashlight, suddenly a chopper flew by us, catching air,and with a helmetless rider.  Handing us back our license, he said “here, wait for me, I’ll be right back,” and took off after the chopper.  Looking at each other, as soon as he was out of sight, we took off the other way!  No app for what had just happened that night.....

And so we ride on, not knowing what the road ahead has in store for us.  But there is a store on your i-phone, where you can have an app for almost everything.  From dating to farming to fashion to riding, all you need is to download their app for instant gratification.  Without ever leaving your i-phone world.  Virtual reality, close but not really real, has become a go to for many.  A way to satisfy the emotional or physical urge or need at any given time, just a 5” screen away.  And give a merchant an opportunity to sell you something he tells you that you need.  Not having a cell phone, I have yet to fall into the trap, but I watch those that do, and it seems anything I look up on line has an app tied to it.  Which may be a quick fix for bike parts, or a kind word, but when the spiritual is addressed via app, I can see problems.  There is no way eve virtual reality can wire into all your emotions like reality can, and some carry that faux reality into religion.  The right verse app, if not the one you need, sign up for more.  Read a pastor’s book, and after a few pages, buy it to complete it.  Don’t like the webmaster’s take on Jesus, Google it again, all the time seeking self satisfaction, all without the benefit of the holy spirit.  Devised by man, supplied by man, but never a substitute for Jesus, never.  Yet for all those who fight wars via video games, go off the track and hit the rest button to start again, and all those with a sound byte relationship with God, they miss out on the reality of who Jesus Christ is.  But apps are nothing knew to God, for when he created us, he left a hole in us that only he could fill, revealed to us and then fulfilled by his spirit.  No limit on what we can do in Christ, or beyond our pocket book.  The gospel is free so we can afford it, and simple so we can get it. Even the packaging is simple, he writes it on our heart.  Truly he is always with us, ever leave home without your heart?  So is there an app that can satisfy like Jesus....

Many will fall short, not trusting him, thinking that the apps are all there is.  Again based on man, not God.  Created by man, the creation, not the creator.  For you see Jesus goes way beyond emotion, way beyond physical satisfaction, he includes a spiritual satisfaction found no where else.  A rush that cannot be described, a peace beyond comparison, and a friend who stands by you, never leaving.  Why settle for technology when you can have spiritual reality?  No app needed, just Jesus, and you can have him right now.  Google Jesus and you get some weird ideas, seek him and you get the truth of who he is.  And even the shipping is free...keep you VISA in your wallet!  He doesn’t want it or need it!  If your church, your denomination, your pastor has an app, does it also have a place to donate?  Jesus doesn’t, he wishes to give.  And you cannot out give him!

Today we will all come up short, if only for a moment emotionally, a physical need will face us, and where do we turn?  Before technology, before Google, before the app world, there was Jesus, and after they fade away, there still will be Jesus, all you need in one package.  Nothing to download, no Instagram to brag, just Jesus.  When pictures fail, words cannot describe, and feelings are coming apart, there will always be Jesus. 

No matter what you ride, how fast you have been, or the horsepower you have, there will always be someone who will outdo you.  God offers the supreme test, hang on a cross for everyone’s sins.  Any takers?  But we can partake in his resurrection if we believe and trust in him.  And unlike the sheriff who we didn’t wait for......we look forward to his return.  There is no app for salvation, for heaven, for a personal relationship with God.  No quickie nirvana to heaven.  Man plans, Apple sells.  God plans, and the price is paid.  Want a rush, try Jesus.  There will never be an app like him!  Before Facebook he friended you, not all rushes come from twisting the throttle!

If your life is like a ride on the dyno....you can have joy stick or joy.....I think I need a ride.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

destination: everywhere!

 Much of what I do remember is based on what Theresa and my son Christopher have told me.  What I do remember was the nurse telling me to keep my feet down because the helicopter was small, and not to interfere with the pilot’s feet.  My veins had collapsed and only the flight nurse could find a vein.  And for the next 250 miles I would be life flighted from Durango to Albuquerque.  Then landing and being greeted to what I thought was a SWAT team of medical personnel.  Then eight days later, waking up and looking at the ceiling, knowing something had happened, but not sure what.  The room was filled with all kinds of monitoring equipment, I had numerous IV’s in me, and my chest felt funny.  Reaching down, I could feel staples and counted 13, turned out there was 27 of them, and I had just endured and managed to live miraculously after open heart surgery.  Among other things, I now have a plastic aorta, mine exploded, no one lives through that, and my heart was out of my body for 5 1/2 hours.  After the surgery until just before I woke up, I had been on life support, as Peter my cardiologist explained, “we can keep you functioning, but cannot give you life.”  A concept that I still hold dear, and I decided at that point, I was not a victim, but a victor, I had seen Jesus, he held my heart in his hands, and all I believed became real, and with access to things I didn’t know about God.  We all think we know God pretty well, for me it took a coma, and a new aorta and another chance to live to see the truth.  But I was alive, more than functioning, and I took the attitude I could do all things in Christ who gives me strength, and life.  Abundantly.  I would soon be released, the nurses telling me they had never seen someone so sick that weren’t dead, and all I wanted was fresh air, and another chance to see the world, my new destination, everywhere.  To go for a ride....oh and I was hungry having not eaten for 12 days, do I hear road trip?

I have learned over the years of planning trips and then adjusting them due to weather, a road not seen and taken, detours, and food excursions.  Flexibility in life as well as traveling has its benefits, we are definitely not cruise ship or tour group participants.  When we travel we want to see the locals, eat at the counter at the diner, pronounce names correctly, and see things not in any brochure.  Saying we have been there is not enough, we cherish the memories of people, places, food, roads, and just being with each other.  So many times we limit ourselves, thinking we cannot afford it, don’t have the time, the finances, or a fear takes over.  Sadly many Christians live like this, which is revealed in their prayers.  Limiting God by asking for a specific, not asking him first what he wants for us.  Some have a prayer list, checking off their desires as they ask, which God hands back, marked “none of the above.”  For he has more and much more than we could ever hope or ask for.  So why settle for our desires when we can have all the desires of God, opening up a new life and and hope for it?

Scripture tells us the spirit intervenes in our prayers with groanings which are too deep for us to understand.  Add being in a coma and not being conscious to pray, yet the spirit is alive, was alive, and I was listening.  Maybe the most private of times ever spent with Jesus, for when I am asked to describe the things of heaven, what does he look like, how does he sound, all physical attributes, all I can say is “I want to go back.”  To me, that says it all....

And so although I have an eternal destination, I am unlimited in where I choose to go on earth.  My first ride seven weeks after surgery was a short 30 miles, after pushing the Bonneville around in the garage with my feet.  Every time I thought I was ready, God showed me it wasn’t my strength, it was his, and the timing wasn’t right.  But when it was.....I was.  On the wall when you come in our front door, friends come in the proper way, through the garage, I have a list of press bikes I rode the first year after surgery.  Something I never thought I would do again.  But Mickey took a chance and kept me riding, maybe the best therapy I could have had, he’ll deny it, but I know.  22 bikes that year, and the miles still accumulate.  So many roads and so little time, so I make my choices differently, better, with so many destinations left I have never heard of.  And roads to take me on to get there....

To some this is a sad story, and they would ask “why me?”  My answer is “why not me?”  We say we trust God, but do we?  Do the words of my mouth really give glory to God, or curse Jesus, backed up by actions and attitudes?  Consider the alternatives, I could be dead and in heaven with Jesus, or alive on earth with Jesus.  So it doesn’t matter, for wherever I am, he is.  We must love God in the trials as we do in the blessings, which sometimes cannot be differentiated.  Jesus never left me in my coma, on the helicopter, or when my heart was out.  If a plastic aorta is how I go into heaven, that’s alright too.  For I know in whom I trust and believe, and where I will spend eternity.  But until then, my earthly destinations remain unlimited, I can go anywhere and everywhere.  In Christ.  You are only given one life, why not spend it living, preparing for eternity? 

All things, not just good things, not just our desires, work together to those who love the Lord.  And are called according to his purpose, which is knowing Jesus.  You cannot have Easter without Good Friday, or be resurrected unless you die.  Your final destination is up to you....all I know is “I want to go back....”

Don’t you just love happy endings?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com 

ten years after, with apologies to Alvin Lee

Now that I am retirement age, 65 going on 16, my peer group is making decisions for life after work.  With a common question, as we all find out we come up short in money for our new life, “would you change anything in your past?  If so, what would you change and where would you rather be today?”  My answer has been and always will be the same, “nothing.”  I am content in Jesus Christ, and even though we all hate the word change, and few if any of us like to, I looked back on my life when retiring, and the one thing in my life was change.  Along with Jesus, motorcycles, and Theresa, the only stability, which have all gotten better.  So why would I want to go back and change anything....when I have so much to look forward to?

At age 10 I was in Mrs. Vanderbilt’s fourth grade class, always in trouble, she told my parents I was too much boy, my life being all about kickball, my Schwinn Sting Ray, and The Hardy Boys.  I was in her class the day JFK was shot, we were sent home early, never understanding the impact.  My least favorite teacher.

Ten years after, I was working at Polychrome, had a career and was hating it.  We had been chased from Florida by various law enforcement agencies, had two BMW motorcycles totaled from out from under me and was riding my R90S.  My life was all about riding, partying, and girls, hating my place in life, yet having a good time, so I would tell people.  It was also the last year before I met Jesus Christ, and it seemed all hell was breaking loose.  But just at the right time he appeared, and looking back, he had saved me many times when I wasn’t saved.  How could having fun make you so miserable....

Ten years after, I was married, with a son, having met and married Theresa in Albuquerque, moved to Durango, lived in a cabin at 8300’, and moved back to New Mexico.  My life was all about Jesus, Theresa, motorcycles, and Coca Cola, but never in that order.  Jesus was always there, but sometimes put on hold.  Riding my KZ750, then my 650 Nighthawk,  interfering with priorities, I was happy and blessed....not knowing it would only last a short time...seems I never had enough.

Ten years after New Mexico, I was living in San Diego, having been hired away by a competitor in outside selling.  I had two sons, was making great contacts in off road racing, with little time to ride.  I hated selling, but it fed my family, and I had learned to trust in the Lord, not man or my job.  The three things in my life that were constant was Jesus, Theresa and my boys, and motorcycling.  With not enough time for any to enjoy like I wanted to.  I was told that was life, not true.  But God was doing a work in me....and in the next ten years, how things would change!

Ten years after, I was working for Mercedes Benz and making more money than I thought possible.  Jesus, motorcycles, work, and Theresa were the most important things in my life, changing all the time.  My sons were growing, not yet grown, and we were a two Triumph household.  We were active in our church, but growing in Christ outside of church also, with my heart drifting towards ministry.  We owned our fourth home, and all seemed right with the world, but that too was to change suddenly.  But God still had our lives under control, even if I wasn’t sometimes.  If only I could get my priorities right, how my life would be fulfilled......

And then ten years after, I had a plastic aorta, had made medical history, was living on disability, and pastoring to people living on the edge.  No one had prepared me for this, but in Jesus I had all I would ever need.  I was able to enjoy life more fully, able to see God at work in me daily, and by his spirit I had a new life to live.  I was changing still, we call it growth, and closer to God than ever before.  Something that would not have worked before, as his timing and my experiences would serve me then and today.  More time to ride, more time with Theresa, and always with Jesus....and today...

At age 65, retired but still pastoring when needed, still writing devotions, and still have my prisoner ministry, and my friends in it.  We are down to Theresa’s Mustang and four motorcycles in the garage, I am working on my second million miles riding, too many bikes and still not enough time, and a happy grandpa.  Still a father, always someone who needs me for something, it seems some things never change, and Jesus is more real to me today than ever.  He has been with me when my aorta exploded and I should be dead, when I was left for dead on the side of the road when hit and run while riding, he has fed us when food was in short supply, money a dream, and wondering how to raise kids.  He was with me in the good times, the bad times, and the in between times, all the time, even when he wasn’t my first choice.  So would I change anything....

I have no idea about ten years after this, but know where I will spend eternity.  Can you say the same thing?  I plan on riding another 20 years, want to see my grandsons saved and growing in the Lord, to see my sons successful and blessed, and to be with Theresa forever.  I have been blessed way beyond my imagination or any prayer I have ever asked, I have seen 48 states from behind handlebars, met famous people, and seen Jesus at work daily.  So should it even surprise you that “no, I wouldn’t change anything, but glad that Jesus changed me.”  Ten years after I am in heaven, I hope your legacy is one filled with memories and a testimony of Jesus Christ.  The only thing I hope to pass on to my family.  Suddenly ten years seems so quick.  And only after Jesus came into my life did life truly begin.  Who could ask for anything more? 

with apologies to Alvin Lee and Ten Years After, by the way Happy 50th Anniversary!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com