see the USA in your...

Gone are the good old days when a single brand of car sponsored a TV show.  Probably the most important influence on me was Bonanza and Chevrolet, even to the ads of the Ponderosa boys driving each of the new 1965 models.  Mostly convertibles, what else would a cowboy drive other than a pickup, not to be confused with today’s luxury cruisers, but real life open air driving.  Per reruns how many catch the big switch from Plymouths to AMC’s on Adam 12?  Or all the Ford products on ABS shows from the sixties?  Even Edsel and Ed Sullivan in 1957...so cars used to play a big part in TV shows and their production.  Which I miss a lot....OK the eighties brought us Magnum in his not so fast Ferrari, the A-Team van is iconic....should I say any more?  But it was the sponsorship that brought out those great commercials, that allowed Dinah Shore to encourage us to “see the USA in your Chevrolet....and America is calling.”  As I step back a decade....so which car ads from TV influenced you most, which ad made you a Chevy, Ford, Plymouth, or Rambler junkie?  And as the seventies encroached and power went away, along with styling and affordability.....where were car junkies to go?  What was left to influence our buying....to make us want to get out and drive?  See the USA in your Vega.....at least Ford had one up on them via Charlie’s Angels and their Mustang II and Pintos.  After living with exciting cars and their ad media for a decade, where were we to turn?  And how would our choices affect us and cars to come? 

It seems that like Mark Twain once muttered, “progress is a good thing, I just don’t like the change that goes with it.”  Maybe found nowhere else in the world than at any time except for Jesus.  Talk about progress and change, yet the disciples who lived with him were faced with issues when he was crucified, but also before.  Think about being a disciple of Jesus and how life might have been.  He was frightening and maybe hard to live with.  He was all about love, but love that demanded an answer.  He was offensive to the people that were in the news of the day, by telling them the truth.  They saw first hand miracles and things they couldn’t have imagined, and in the marvel of them, must have not understood a lot of the time.  Just like the church folk leaving the service all abuzz, but when asked why have a hard time explaining it.  And in their journey must have questioned why, and come to the conclusion after talking with Jesus, admitting how tough life was with him, but asked in reply, “to whom shall we turn?”  Ever feel like that...becoming a Christian is easy, but living the life will inevitably bring problems, problems overlooked by our previous sin.  And decisions to make...while being hounded by those who aren’t saved, but also from within.  So they admitted two things to Jesus about himself...

First his words penetrated their hearts like none other ever had before.  They not only save but guided their hearts, remarkable words freeing them from fears.  He explained life to them like no one else because he is life, no one understood them better, and that was what held them together.  But the second was his character, he not only spoke of life and redemption, he lived it, he never sinned, they saw his words in the body and life of him and his actions.  As they watched they saw him who bore no sin bear their own, they saw prophecies fulfilled and were drawn to him like no other, and they realized that there truly was no other way to go.  That Jesus truly was and is the way!

And their lives after his death bore witness to him.  Persecuted and dying horrible deaths, they took the gospel via his spirit around the world, never quitting nor giving up.  Not to say they didn’t question why, but they perservered, just like we do today.  Maybe the one unique characteristic of Jesus in the life of a true Christian is that no matter the circumstances, we never leave.  True Christians are those who don’t and won’t quit, who know that in their weakness that he is made perfect, and we will win via heaven in the end.  How many times have we confessed “we cannot make it or cannot go on,” even to questioning “where are you God?” but afterwards repenting and acknowledging Jesus all over again?  For after knowing Jesus, you know there is no other place to go to find what he offers and delivers on.  So in Peter’s answer to Jesus, he admits that true Christians truly have no other place to go, and after Jesus, ask yourself, why would you?  Free from religion, forgiven of sin, and given all you need via the holy spirit....and you want what?  You’ll turn to who or what teaching?  Many books have been written about life, but only in the Bible will you find the truth that sets you free, Jesus.  A gift based on freedom of choice, heaven or hell, life or death, freedom or bondage?  Others may have all the answers, but evidently have never heard all the questions, and the most important one, “who do you say Jesus is?” 

So as the times changed for the disciples and change when Jesus enters our lives, we too must change with him.  Life isn’t always a Bonanza, a Dragnet, or Angel of Charlie’s.  In some weird way we got the cars we deserved, not the cars we wanted.  In Christ we find mercy, not getting what we deserve, and grace, getting what we don’t deserve.  It’s time to see the USA via Jesus today, top experience him personally and get out and enjoy the world he gave us.  The key word is here is getting out and seeing it via Jesus.  Not stuck in four walls, not held down by religion or a denomination, but truly in the spirit.  Going places you never knew of, and with a relationship with God you never knew possible.  The news today will be the movies of tomorrow, live them today.  Top down wind in your face, all the senses enhanced.  And when asked “where you going?” remember where you came from.  And how you got here now.  “We have come to believe and know that Jesus is truly the holy one of God.”

If only Jesus played as big a part as cars in our lives, the places we could go......a single brand promoting life.  Sponsored by....let him put you in the driver’s seat...today!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

See the USA in your Chevrolet

America is asking you to call

Drive your Chevrolet through the USA

America's the greatest land of all

 

On a highway, or a road along the levee

Performance is sweeter

Nothing can beat her

Life is completer in a Chevy

buying a new motorcycle in the dead of winter

I met Tom when my Z-1 broke down over the 4th of July.  He answered the phone number I called on Tenderfoot Mountain Cycles in Salida.  A quick fix for him, we became friends, and he told me if I ever sold my Z, he wanted first grab at it.  And that winter, with over four feet of snow on the ground, I did.  And he still did, so borrowing Don’s truck, we drove over Wolf Creek Pass, and the 200 miles in Colorado winter mode.  Doing the deal, it was back over the Pass, one of the most notorious in Colorado, C.W. McCall of Convoy fame even had a hit song about it.  And back to our cabin in the mountains at 8300’.  Where we struggled getting it down the hill on a BLM road hastily plowed, and there it would reside until the spring thaw, some four months away.  I cannot count how many trips were taken to the basement in those months, but it was sheer torture not being able to ride my new bike.  By the way, it was a 1981 KZ750, against which Tom gave me full retail against his retail price, a fair deal for all.  Except both of us had to wait until spring and the snow melted to ride.....

I was inspired to do this in the dead of winter by an old Kawasaki ad telling how you could fly to Washington, DC, and buy a new bike cheap enough to pay for the flight.  But only in January.  I sold bikes in January, in fact I have one for sale now, and the phone isn’t ringing.  So my deal in January would work out good for both of us, and like the rest of us in the dead of winter, we couldn’t ride anyway.  I cannot tell how many hours of seat time were sent going nowhere in those months, but when the first signs of warmer weather, and we could see the snow melting.....I just couldn’t wait any longer....and out came the snow shovels.

Now we not only lived at the lake, but on a hill some 100’ feet down from the road, the first sign of pavement.  With weather hitting the fifties, and snow melting, we dug all day, a three foot wide path from basement to street.  Revealing mud where the melting snow was running, and at 8300” near exhaustion from the shoveling.  I had my youth and ambition going for me, but little else.  So as Theresa and I finally hit pavement, the hour to ride we had all waited for arrived.  And as the bike started, warmed up and I backed it out, the slow, dirty, muddy, slippery, and dangerous first ride began.  With no traction other than Theresa pushing, we finally made it, and as I looked back after hitting the street, she was covered in mud.  Everywhere, her pants, jacket, inside her clothes, shoes, and I mean everywhere.  But so was my new bike, who initially got the attention, and that would sit out on the street until the ground dried enough to ride it back into the basement.  But I was riding, there were hints of spring, and both Tom and I had new bikes to ride.  The long answer when someone asks why we moved to So Cal, it’s is truly all about the ride.  And a wife devoted to the beach....

But with the rip off California registrations coming due, it seems new bikes in winter are still a hot item around here.  Without all the side effects of winter.  Something to consider the next time you think you are a hard core rider, I might be, but also smart enough to live where I can ride all the time if I want.  And I want! 

So when the motorcycle couldn’t come to me, I had to go to it to rescue it.  It took work, devotion, some crazy time, and perseverance.  But I attained the goal I had set out to do, from obtaining the new bike to getting it out to the street to ride.  Somewhere between bragging and complaining here. A miracle.   It seems my desire out weighed my means, only by sheer desire was I able to make it.  Now knowing what I didn’t then.  A theme we find in John where Jesus was faced with feeding 5000.  Here we find the crowd hungry to eat, the disciples without any means of food, and after hearing Jesus teach, after being witness to his miracles, they become witless to the situation.  Imagine 5000 people at the event, and only one kid had the smarts to bring anything to eat.  But five loaves and two fishes later, Jesus was able to do what they couldn’t or wouldn’t, feed the crowd.  A true miracle, as even today I see so many homeless and needy fed with meager means, but when the physical problem was placed in Jesus’ hands, the spiritual went to work.  One surrendered meal, meant food for the multitude.  An example of how one man surrending his life, would be the salvation of all who chose to place their trust in him.  Jesus saves, but also feeds, all we need to do is bring our problems to him, and let him have his way.  And not be in the way....

That winter like the 5000 hungry souls, I was in a remote place.  But God sent me two willing hands in Theresa, and we  got ‘er done.  You may be alone or in a remote situation, look at your resources and feel empty.  But Jesus saw what his men could not, he saw what he was given, and used it.  A miracle, but not the last, and we haven’t seen the last.  He is still in the miracle business, if only we come to him and let him save us, and serve us.  He told the disciples “feed them!” and how they must have been shocked when they kept reaching in and finding bread and food.  So much we are told they had doggie bags full for later use.  We forget Jesus often after we rescues us, he left them a reminder to show others, and to feed them too.  Remember his conversation with Peter on the beach, telling Peter to “feed my sheep” three times.  Physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  One meal that day changed many lives.....still hungry?  He still provides....

So maybe buying a motorcycle in the dead of winter isn’t so crazy after all.  The deal was there, the truck was there, but so was the snow.  So God sent Theresa, and 42 years later next month, we still ride in winter.  With one exception....she rides instead of shovels.  For once again Jesus saw my need for a wife and a riding partner......and the weather to do it in.  And still adds the increase.  To which I say, “amen.”  It is truly amazing what you will go through to go for a ride.  And you thought you were hard core!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the original social media

David and I always got along, a sort of respectful respect for our differing views.  But one thing we agreed on was BMW motorcycles, I had just arrived in Albuquerque on my R90S, from Jersey, and his family owned the multi-brand dealer there who sold BMW’s.  He was a skilled rider, a self trained engineer, and could tune by ear better than most with the specs.  He hand built a dyno and could provide jetting and tune up specs for any place you lived at any altitude.  I watched as he used to be a field rep for Champion spark plugs, reading plugs and making adjustments in the pits at a motocross race.  All things I could not do, I just rode.  I hadn’t seen him for over eight years and on a trip back to Albuquerque stopped in to see the new models.  Three cylinders mounted sideways and laying on their side on the frame, and fuel injected.  Just out of the crate, “would I like to be the first to ride one?”  As he tossed me the keys before I could answer.  But this new modern bike took some instruction on how to start it.  On my five previous BMW’s you turned on the gas, tickled the carbs until the gas soaked your foot, pushed the starter and hoped it would start, Varta batteries were junk then.  Then let it warm up.....no matter the temp.  As David turned the key, and pushed the starter, this new machine roared to life, “go, ride it,” and off I went.  Twenty minutes later coming back impressed, but a bit confused, a light had come on the dash, I was on reserve but no petcock to turn.  What the.....

And that was how I was introduced to the future of riding motorcycles with fuel injection.  No more physically turning on reserve, now a light would direct you.  And with the old BMW style of two petcocks you always had a reserve of reserve, now it was a light you hoped was as electronically accurate as the old style was physically.  His “oh by the way I forgot to mention the reserve light,” was laughed at, then a new way to ride, now accepted on all bikes.  But in one ride I had learned a lot, and my starting procedure would never be the same, as would be my time to get gas routine.  Sadly I can tell you on some bikes just how far to go until the light is still on, but the bike isn’t.  Seems progress was a good thing, it may have just gone on too long....

Now jus because you have a license doesn’t mean you know how to ride.  Like in life, you cannot teach motorcycling by a classroom technique, it must be experienced.  Once you get going you can learn to build speed, but whoever practices panic breaking.  Which may explain so many rear brake only Harley riders sliding to a crashing stop instead of stopping upright.  Or ending up on the hood of the car in front of you.  We used to play chicken seeing who could go the fastest and slam on our brakes.....which in real life came in handy more than once.  But the more miles the more experience, and the more familiar you become with riding.  And for those who love to ride the education is another excuse to just go for another ride.  Even the greatest talents practice, their level of expertise not reached until they do.  So where does this leave a Christian in today’s world?  With various teachings and ways to become a better Christian, where and when do we practice?  And by whom are we taught.....

Galatians 5 tells us to walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the flesh.  Becoming a Christian is not accepting a new set of rules, it is welcoming Jesus Christ into our hearts and yielding to the holy spirit.  Just as you cannot legislate love, you may know the rules, but it takes the spirit to guide and protect.  Although salvation is a one time event, walking in the spirit is a daily one, here the word Paul uses tells us to walk around and around with something, to journey.  Sound like any rides you have been on?  What a difference the holy spirit makes in your day.  More rules will not make you a better Christian, only by walking in the spirit will.  Memorizing verse may win you a contest, it is the holy spirit that saves and changes lives.  It was not a set or rules that met Paul on the road to Damascus, it was the holy spirit, yet we cling to rules as a sign of our salvation and God’s love.  Remember how Jesus told us he writes is words on our heart?  We are to be set apart from the ways of the world, which lives by rules, and called to live in the spirit that called us to Christ.  And as we listen more and more to the spirit, we become better at hearing his voice and being led by his spirit.  All the law of the Lord can be said in one sentence, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  Is your walk no better than a scorecard of the day’s events and your reactions?  Do you fall over the smallest sins and hide them?  But miss the objective.  The holy spirit just may be the original social media!

When Jesus comes into your life God just doesn’t throw you the keys to the kingdom, hoping you make it.  He gave us his spirit to guide and protect.  To know when to refuel and when to rest.  When to stop, and how to stop.  While more studies, knowledge, and church seat time may look good, and aren’t bad, without the spirit it is just religion, and a chance to brag on ourselves.  Does your walk reflect you or Jesus?  Who does it give glory too, all you think you know or who you know?  Next time you think you are schooled in the scriptures, engage an atheist, or a non-believer on the streets, and see how facts without the spirit will fail.  Absent the spirit, we are absent of God.  See how impressed they aren’t with your knowledge.  But show love.....even the lost get hungry and thirsty, lonely and tired.  Jesus fed the 500 who showed up, not who believed.  Or had manners.

Jesus will give you a  new starting procedure for your day.  Seek him first, then let him add in everything else.  You may be a push button away from a great ride or from pushing to a gas station.  Everyday in life will become a challenge, give yourself the advantage God offers.  And when life throws you a new set of keys, enjoy the ride, knowing the owner.  Lead us not into temptation, but let’s go for the ride!  Of our life.  Now that is one down and how many up.....

And if you ask about my next ride, I’m just out practicing....I already know the perfect.  In life as in riding, it isn’t the size of your motor, but who controls the throttle.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com