the prodigal motorcycle-a lesson from Suzuki

Can it really be 30 years ago that Suzuki changed the world of motorcycling by coming out with its GSX-R750?  In an age when we had to custom build our bikes to look like a race bike, putting on low bars, rear sets, and exhaust systems, the GXSR came ready to ride or race.  Built to a single purpose, and it still continues today.  But taking a step back, I worked selling Suzukis when they were the last Jap bike to build a four stroke.  No more racing castor smell, 4 strokes were in, and the 1977 GS 750 was the last to arrive.  A great bike, I had a blue one, and it spawned the GS1000 in my garage.  Suzuki was winning races, setting sales records, and leading the way.  But the chief project engineer had a different approach, and calling his staff together challenged them.  He had them disassemble a 750 motor, and paint all the parts blue they had no problems with.  The ones that had broken in the field they painted red.  And with very few parts being red, they felt satisfied about their work.  Their boss didn’t.  He accused them of building the bikes too well, they didn’t break, and as a engineer found that wasteful.   They had lost the challenge and their drive for better things.  They had lost the vision that had created the original GS 750, and he gave them three rules to challenge them.   One, don’t copy.  Two, go for new technology.  Three, avoid conventional wisdom.  The third being the hardest to overcome, as they had set the standard, and now were the industry standard.  They needed a vision, and they were given one, a new challenge where they might fail, but we see the 1986 GSX-R750 as the result.  It took a man of vision, and a vision to go where they might fail.  Truly the only ones who fail are the ones who never try.  Who have no vision, and have no spirit driving them.  They never know the true measure of success and the joy it brings because they never try.  So they never fail.  And churches are full of folk like that.

I get weary of listening to pastors telling their flock to get out of their comfort zone.   My friend tells me those types live in a box, never seeing all that God has to offer.  Yet they are in a comfort zone, a don’t bother me situation, and never get out of the four walls of the building.  They think that is church, and they talk among their clique, their small group, and never venture out of it.  They agree with the pastor, do all the right things the church says, and really are miserable deep down inside.  They aren’t comfortable by Biblical standards, and appear satisfied.  They are the little engine that could, but are never tested.  They boast in what God has done for them, just look.  They have good jobs, kids aren’t in jail, and they have a good standing at church.  But they are like a meal of oatmeal, they are filled up, and never hungry.  But never satisfied either.  They seek after themselves, not after God.  They fail to see what a failure they are.  They have met the world’s standards, the church’s standards, just not God’s.

So I take exception to being told to get out of my comfort zone.  The holy spirit is the comforter, and when I’m following the spirit, in the spirit, I am comfortable.  It’s taken me years to get there, and I don’t want to leave.  I want my life in Christ to be challenged, and I welcome a vision from God.  While some are told to go attempt something for God where they could fail, I rather attempt what the spirit has shown me.  And with that vision know that God will provide, I don’t have to.  If he says it, it is done.  God won’t fail, and so I won’t when I follow his vision for me.  Yet so many go the route of raising money, losing the vision and losing the comfort of being in the spirit.  They fail to trust God, and leave Jesus behind as they go out on their own.  Paul simply tells us in 2 Corinthians 12, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.  The more weakness in me, the stronger God is in the situation.  And the three things the Suzuki engineers were challenged with can apply to Christians.  To strengthen our walk, to allow us to be in the spirit, to be in God’s comfort zone.  So don’t copy others, or share your vision so others copy you.  If God shows you, do it.  No programs, processes, or procedures needed.  No budgets.  Jesus is enough.  Two, God’s way may be a new technology to you.  Trusting his spirit takes you places you have never been, and without God you will fail.  His technology may be old, but is new to you.  Nothing is new under the sun.  So trust the original creator to get ‘er done.  And lean not on your own understanding.  Finally avoid conventional wisdom.  Trust God, and follow the spirit’s leading.  How many have quit saying “we’ve never done it this way before?”  Jesus chose 12 men with no talents or abilities to start his church.  You may be over qualified, yet God will find a purpose and place for you.  If God never challenges you, you are a failure already, as you have denied his spirit that is calling you. 

My 1978 GS 1000 has half the horsepower, and weighs 150 pounds more than today’s super bikes.  It took the vision of one man in charge to inspire his staff to new heights.  Who inspires you?  Or are you satisfied with your religion?  Is church boring, are you in a comfort zone that is really uncomfortable?  Or do you hear the spirit calling you out, to walk with him, and see blessings that you never knew existed?  It takes men of vision to walk with Christ, to trust he who you cannot see or touch, but who you know is real.  I am so glad my God is not happy with my situation, and wants me to change.  To be blessed, and a blessing at the same time.  Get out of the box and into the spirit.  Riding my GS will now have a new meaning every time I ride it.  I will remember that where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  And that I once rode in faith, now in trust.  The words you are reading now, a vision God gave me, far from anything I was qualified for.  And I would fail if not for Jesus in my life.

Be all you can be in Jesus Christ.  Be yourself, maybe the single most difficult thing you will ever do.  But trust God, get into his comfort zone and see God as you never have seen him before.  The fastest motorcycle that sits in the box will never show all the potential it has until it uncrated and the throttle twisted.   Get out of the box, and into the spirit.  A lesson from an engineer in Japan.  Who realized great was never good enough and challenged his team to greater things.  Think of it as the prodigal motorcycle, prodigal meaning wasteful.  Like the son who stayed home and missed all the blessings of his father.  He was the true prodigal.  Religion teaches different.  Bound by religion, or riding in the spirit?  If you never try, you have already failed.  If you never screw up you will never need mercy. It all starts with being in the spirit.  You may be riding a prodigal life and not knowing it.  Avoid conventional wisdom and seek wisdom from above.  Like the fastest motorcycle, you need to take it out of the box and try it out.  Take Jesus out of the box.  And join him.  Think I’ll go for a ride. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

north of South Dakota

With apologies to Stephen Austin’s immortal lyrics, “it rained all day the night I left, the weather it was dry...” I had two more states in the contiguous US of A to travel through to have seen all of the lower 48.  So planning my trip to go through both North Dakota and Montana was my main consideration on the way back from seeing my dad on his birthday in Jersey.  When riding cross country you must be prepared for all sorts of weather from blistering hot to freezing cold, and this early June gave me a chance to see both.  But like any presummer spring day, expect rain, and I had been fortunate.  I had been in rain, but only showers, but hitting Minnesota it got hot and muggy, the clouds just looking for any excuse to soak a biker.  Out here we would ignore them, but when riding in the Midwest they spell rain, so I took the freeway all I could, plus I was due back at a wedding that weekend.  Which left me only four days to get from Minnesota to Escondido via Montana, not the most direct route.  I would end up doing it in three, the weather being the catalyst to get home as you will see.

I spent an uneventful night in Fargo, hot and muggy, eating a steak dinner.  What else in farm country?  I went to bed full, planning on an early departure, and slept good, until the thunder woke me up about 2am, and kept me up.  And if it wasn’t the thunder, it was the wind and rain.  All conditions my Tiger had been in before, but that I wished to avoid all I could.  But the weather and my route choice dictated different...Showering I was in the breakfast lobby at 6am, which already was full of farmers who were travelling, maybe mid morning for some of them as they get up early.  But the talk was of spending another day as the weather was bad all across the state, with wind warnings for the next 200 miles west.  So my choice was simple-rain suit and ride slower as the weather dictates, or stay there for the day again.  And I prayed as I started putting on my rainsuit.

Now north of South Dakota is pretty flat, farmland and grazing land.  Wide open spaces of endless prairies.  You’ll have to take the tourism promise of it, what I saw was much different.   Fortunately I had filled up the night before as is my common practice, and off I went.  Now rain is bad, wind is worse, but the combination is insane on a motorcycle.  And for the next 200 miles I faced insanity.  Straight as the wind would allow, I rode at my usual 80+, passing huge trucks who only made it worse, and leaning to the left all the way, as the wind was blowing hard from south. It was so bad that when I stopped for gas, the left side of my front tire was scuffed like it had been on a track day.  But the sun was out, it hadn’t been too cold, but that was on its way.  Filling up and taking off my rain suit, a local women was intrigued when she saw my California plates, and wondered why anyone would ride from there to here.  “Just out for a ride,” my usual response, and she told me of some great roads to ride in the area, the middle of the state.  “Just turn north at Mandan, and enjoy the ride...” and on any other day I would have, but I had a schedule, never a good thing on a long ride.  But passing through the area, I could see how the topography changed, and with a river to follow, the first curves other than an exit ramp called, but I rode on west.  North by Northwest, still north of South Dakota.

Now Montana is known for the mountains in its western half, and I had even planned a detour through Glacier National Park and the Going to the Son Road, but again time was not on my side. Sunny, no wind or rain, and with the open speed limits, ran 90-100 making good time to Bozeman despite taking old US 10 and riding through the fields and hills, just north of where Custer made his last stand. And with all the weather behind me, I again had a great steak dinner, and was up early the next day.  No clouds in sight, but it was cold, 39 degrees.  But obviously not to a local couple, who rode in and sat next to me at breakfast in t-shirts.  Maybe I am spoiled by So Cal weather, but I was cold and drinking tea, an only on the road beverage when I am cold.  And then south, cold and windy, with more rain south of Salt Lake, but I made it home a day early, taking just three days.  Dry ground and 70 degree temps never looked so good. 

God had brought me safely home, through the storms, the wind and rain, and the cold.  Just like when Nehemiah completed the walls despite enemy influence in record time, it was all because of the grace of God.  Even my well traveled rider friends must admit it was a gift from God.  And of course I had spent much time with him, what better place than behind the bars of a motorcycle.  He reminded me how he takes us through the storm and not around it.  On days where semis were pulling over, God made a way.  When it got cold, God still made the way.  And gave me warm shelter at night, with a good night’s sleep.  And plenty of rest.  Despite all odds, and absence of common sense, mine, God delivered.  Making it through the wind and rain, I thought I had it made when it stopped.  But the devil never rests, and fortunately Jesus never sleeps or slumbers.  When it got cold, he was still with me.  It is always amazing to me that in the midst of storms we seek him most, and he never disappoints.  Yet on nice days, we forget, or neglect to spend time with him.  Isn’t he the God of good weather as well as bad?  But we must battle against the weather and keep going, seeking him in all situations, and then praise becomes a common result.  The world will throw everything it has at us, God is greater.  It is in the storm we see the greatest blessings, and his love made real.  To man it was insane riding, but with God it all makes sense.  Jesus never leaves us despite the weather or the storm.  I know he held me upright in the wind, gave me shelter, and got me there safe.  But not without much praying and spending time with him.  He is shelter from the storms of life, or the weather just north of South Dakota.  We will never cease to have battles against the world, the flesh, and the devil until we arrive home in heaven, and only Jesus will get us there.  Wet, tired, and cold...but we will arrive. 

Some day I hope to see North Dakota, to ride north of Mandan to see the pretty country I was told about.  On a sunny day, maybe in the middle of summer with Theresa taking pictures.  Some tell me I am crazy for some of the places I ride, and that I ride at all.  Those same ones also think I am crazy for being a Christian.  Jesus and motorcycles makes good company.  Never leave him behind, he never leaves you.  Seems Peter and the lads were caught in a storm one night, and there he was walking on the waves.  So it makes perfect sense to find him riding in the storm across North Dakota.  Or Montana, or south of Salt Lake.  Where he performed another miracle on the road, but that is another story.  No better place than to find Jesus than riding, he spent his ministry on the road.  And so he calls us too.

We don’t know what tomorrow brings, but we do know what he took us through today.  Start the morning as you end it, praising him, and find he never left you.  Even when you don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain.  And you don’t have to travel north of South Dakota to find out.  One afternoon in LA traffic will have you yearning to go home, back to the Garden as quick as you can.  But he is patient with us, so be patient with him.  He who controls the weather will get us safely through the storm.  Better rides lay ahead of us, only when we follow the Lord.  And just like Oh, Susanna, “don’t you cry for me.”  But praise him.  There are songs for that too.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

outrunning the bear

Two men were going to go for a hike in the woods, it was an area known for wildlife, among them bears.  And both men being city folk, and not familiar with the terrain, and wildlife, sought out a ranger before entering.  After the usual precautions, they were ready to go.  Excited, they had their packs and water, and as they left the ranger had one more bit of advice, in the form of a question.  “What do you do if you see a bear?”  One answered “run,” and the other agreed.  “Do you think you both can outrun a bear?”  asked the ranger.  But the smarter, seemingly wiser of the two responded, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, just my friend.”  Survival of the fastest, not necessarily the fittest. And not quite the response the ranger was looking for, but true. 

How many times when speeding down the road have we seen a cop on the side of the road, slow down quickly, and feel relieved when you see he has pulled over someone else.  Glad for you, but not always sad for them.  Very rarely do we think that could have been me, and race on.  How many times have you been the one, and wish someone would stop and provide support?  In both cases, trying to outrun the bear, but needing only one to get caught to save the other.  One night, actually early morning, BH and I were riding in rural Pennsylvania, much faster than common sense would dictate.  When suddenly a highway patrol car appears out of nowhere in our rear view mirrors.  And that sinking feeling overwhelmed us.  Busted!  He was nice, very professional, and advised us of our high speed antics.  Looking at our licenses, he was about to write us a ticket, when a biker on a chopper appeared coming towards us.  Helmetless in the bright moonlight, helmet laws were strictly enforced back then, as he passed, the officer had to make a quick decision.  Handing us back our licenses, he said “wait here, I’ll be right back.”  And a soon as he was out of sight chasing the chopper, we took off the other way.  We hadn’t needed to outrun the bear, just the chopper.  Secretly we would have liked to see his face when he returned and we were gone.

It seems the child hood game of hide and seek is played at different levels as we get older.  We are told we can run, but we can’t hide, yet the truth catches up to us when least expected.  I once worked with a man who was a highly respected football coach.  Until one day when he was called into the superintendent’s office, and fired.  He had falsified his resume, and never had done the things he said, including attending college.  So they fired him, some 10 years after he was hired.  He lived knowing someday he would get caught, but as each day passed, he forgot about it a little more.  The bear of truth had caught up with him, and he was the only one to blame.  Truth had found him out, but really it was his sin that had surfaced.  He had become a legend at that high school, infamous instead of famous.  The truth had seen him fired, not set free.  In each of the examples, advice was given, but changed to use for someone’s selfish advantage.  Funny thing about good advice, it only works when taken.  Bad advice catches up to you.

We see Nehemiah in a situation where men are out to get him, and is given advice that sounds good, but isn’t of God.  A man claiming to be a prophet tells him to find sanctuary in the temple.  Sounds good if the enemy is closing, but Nehemiah thought about it and refused.  A true prophet of God would not cause you to sin, and it was forbidden anyone but priests to enter the temple.  A place of sanctuary had been provided, just outside the temple.  He asked “should a man like me run and hide using illegal practices?”  He didn’t as he recognized in his heart, his spirit that it was not of God.  What would you have done?  Fear makes us do things we normally wouldn’t do, yet when Jesus arrives on the scene, so many times his opening line is “be of good cheer.”  But God, it’s the cops, my career, my finances?  My friend who runs slower.  And suddenly we forget God’s love in the face of survival. 

We need to be in the spirit as many people will try to screw you up.  Give bad advice, sounds good, but is not of God.  Knowing Jesus provides us with all the help we need.  If we turn to him in every situation.  Yet others try to screw you down, miring you in laws, regulations, and rules, that they themselves don’t often follow.  Screwed up or screwed down?  When we don’t have to be.  The truth in the law is that it points out our sins, or failures.  Jesus forgives them.  And calls us to follow him.  With only one law-love.  Maybe the hardest one to follow on your own.  So he left his spirit to guide us, to protect us, and counsel us.  That same spirit that informed Nehemiah of the truth is available to us.  But be careful, the counterfeiter also has advice that sounds good, but leads to destruction.  The bears are out there, the traps are set...so be wary lest you fall into one away from God.

Screwed up?  Turn to Jesus, he forgives, and will set you free to follow him.  Your choice.  Screwed down?  Turn to him also, find freedom in the spirit, and from legalism.  From the ties that bind of religion.  Know when to run, know when to hide.  And where.  When we walk with Christ we walk at a different level.  We walk to the beat for a different drummer, as Henry David Thoreau espoused in Walden Pond.  Only in the spirit do we hear God’s voice personally, and know it is him.  Counterfeits reveal themselves, and we can walk not in fear, but in confidence that God is with us.  And if God is for us, who can be against us?  Nothing will free us from fear and from the bear other than Jesus.  Who came to save, our souls and also walk with us daily.  We need Jesus, we need God.  Nehemiah knew God, and his voice.  He knew where to run to, and where not to go.  Do not be deceived.

The best way to know someone is by spending time with them.  Works with God too.  Pray, read his word, and meditate on it.  Hang out with believers, and when the bear comes, know what to do.  Turn to Jesus, who has a way out that many times we have never thought of.  Fear does that, it confuses.  Jesus has overcome, have you?

Your sin will find you out, but the truth will set you free.  We belong to God and do not have to fall for the pressures of the world.  Be of good cheer, for Jesus has overcome the world.  Outrunning the bear takes on a whole new meaning when walking, and not running.  With Jesus.  Let’s pray.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the lights are out in Trollhattan

There is only one car company left in Sweden today, Volvo, kept alive over the years by the endless queue of drivers with no driving talent, and who shouldn’t be allowed to drive on public roads. Volvo has been their choice of cars since the fifties, based on their safety engineering, which today is standard on all cars, even though Volvo helped pioneer it decades ago.  The Volvo plant helping to keep the lights burning in Gothenburg.  Cars for people who know nothing about cars and driving, and intend to stay that way.  Just the opposite of SAAB, the other Swedish auto manufacturer until GM pulled the plug on them in 2010.  SAAB, known for its winning rally cars, and unusual engineering.  Again safety, but built for sport, at least when compared to Volvo.  Did you know many safety devices are racing based?  How many driver types entered a SAAB for the first time, and couldn’t find the key, where it has been placed for safety reasons on the floor behind the shifter.  Accident studies showed injuries from key when hitting the dash.  But they were quirky cars, and I had two friends that owned them.  John bought a new 1976 that the headlights went out on the first night.  Driving home in the dark in Albuquerque was a rally unto itself.  They mysteriously came on the next morning, and never failed again.  It was also this car when parked in Gallup, that he found what he thought was a drunk Indian on the hood.  After no response to get off, John pushed him, and he rolled off dead.  Leaving blood all over the hood, and soon the car was sold.  Terry had a 1980 red one, that many a road trip was taken in.  Never maintained, it never failed, and I can remember one cold winter in Colorado where it was the only car to start at –20.  Maybe it felt at home in the cold. 

But one little known statistic about the SAAB automobile, is that their owners were the best educated.  Not an inexpensive car, high end professionals, along with the Aspen Police bought them.  Using that formula, maybe that explains all the idiots in Hyundais, Kias, and SUV’s.  Parts falling off, while they leave you in a cloud of smoke, parts falling off.  But still have the talent to cut you off while using the cell phone or applying make-up.  Or maybe just trying to preserve the balance with Volvo, no one ever drove a Volvo fast, SAABs were built for speed.  With the possible exception of a trip around Sears Point in my sister in law’s Volvo wagon, that my nephew kept shouting “Uncle Mike, the wheels are coming off, this car never has been this fast.”  They shook, but never fell off.  Can’t say if I felt safe though.  And so it is the best educated people, not necessarily the best drivers now have to seek alternative rides, for the lights are out in Trollhattan forever. 

Many cars are out there fighting for your hard earned dollar, or kroner.  Many attractive prices to go with the hype built up behind the ride.  While the Millenials seem to be more interested in gadgets than speed.  Such are the pitches of the ads, boasting about Wi Fi, great gas mileage, how many USB ports, and the size of the computer screen.  They think this sells cars, and to some it does, but some of us still want performance.  We want handling, acceleration, and braking.  Good gas mileage is expected, and we don’t want to pay too much.  Just like the God we seek.  We want a god who can provide it all.  Love, joy, and peace.  A God who listens to us and responds.  One who forgives, one who came down to so that we can be reunited with him.  We want all the blessings we can get, not just shallow promises.  Yet some settle for an intellectual experience, knowledge is the best, know your Bible and know God.  Some want happiness, leave me alone, and I’ll be fine.  They seek a feel good God, who loves them as they are, and won’t change them for the better.  They see themselves as the example.  Some try to find God through good works, through giving, and attendance at all church functions.  But they end up finding a hollow relationship, and the lights are out just like in Trollhattan.  All the education, attendance, and religiousness cannot come close to knowing Jesus.  No salvation without Christ.  No peace, because there is no God, Jesus is the only way.  They seek safe gods, Volvo like gods who ignore their sin, and feel safe within religion.  They want performance, a selfish one, where God is like the genie in the lamp granting their wishes, and getting mad when he doesn’t.  They have become Godlike in their own eyes, deceiving themselves. 

They are like a missionary to China who was offered a job with big money to join a company.  He refused, the dollars got bigger, he finally told them the money wasn’t the problem, the job was too small.  How big is your calling and relationship with God?  Those who call upon the Lord as their God, know this.  We don’t try to limit our God, we try to become more like him, rather than making him more like us.  While some just live carelessly, claiming God is looking out for them despite their lifestyle.  With no concern for others, they don’t see the residue they leave behind.  They may have never been in an accident, but may have caused many.  They never look behind, but they never look ahead either.

The youngest 4 year old who knows Jesus is much smarter than the highly educated who denies him.  Knowing Jesus opens us up to all we ever want to know, and gains us access to the God of the universe.  But it starts in the heart, then transfixes the mind.  Not the other way around.  Many who try to prove the absence of God end up proving he is who he says he is.  God is not on trial, we are.  And on judgment day who would you rather have defend you, Jesus who took your sins, or yourself still a sinner.  Even in front of God, it is a fool who has himself for a patient.  And so just as it doesn’t take driving skill to own a car, it takes no skill to know God.  It is a choice we make, and I am glad I chose Jesus.  His performance is unmatched, styling is timeless, talk about power, and handling....so what will it take to put you with Jesus today?

The lights are still out in Trollhattan, and without Jesus the light is out in your life also.  The smartest people in history are the ones who chose Jesus Christ.  Don’t fall prey to promises of safety, when you can have eternal security in Jesus.  Education, just like money will not get you to heaven.  And just because the Bible warns the rich doesn’t mean the poor have a free pass.  Jesus is the only way, so simple I can get it, free so I can afford it.  Even the disciples were in one Accord long before Honda.  It is like trying to find where to put the ignition key in a SAAB, it is there all the time, right in front of you.  Just a place you didn’t expect.  Try Jesus today, read the owner’s manual that comes with him, and check into a service, his church.  Knowing Jesus is the smart thing to do, no matter what you drive or ride.  One test ride and you are sold forever.  Just ask a 4 year old.  Now, doesn’t that make you feel safer already?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

the day I became a man I became a child

I always wanted to be 12.  Not sure why, the movies went up to adult prices at 12, and the dollar that used to get me in and buy a Coke and pop corn was now needed just for admission.  Not quite a teenager either, and not quite junior high either.  But for some reason I did, and it came and passed with little or no fanfare.  13 was different, and meeting Jewish kids in school learned enough about Bar Mitzvahs that I wanted one, just for the gifts and party.  I had no desire to be Jewish.  17 for Jersey boys meant driving privileges, and I got  my license, then my motorcycle license a year later.  Turning 18 we could vote, the Congress just changed the voting law from 21 to 18, urged on by many chanting that if they could go to a Congress sponsored war, they should be able to vote.  Still kids many of us, and them, many remained kids as Viet Nam was there final destination.  And along the way learned a bit about social injustice from Janis Ian and her hit song “At Seventeen,” where she sang “I learned the truth at 17,” while some heard the words, the rest of us just liked the song. 

Somewhere between 18 and 21 adulthood sneaks up on us, and on my 21st birthday we realized we were no longer kids.  But adults, at least in age, definitely not in maturity. When Neil Sedaka sang how “growing up is hard to do,” he must have been singing about me.  For even today I feel like a kid, have more energy courtesy of my plastic aorta, and think young.  The old farts call it immature.  They’re just jealous.  But a funny thing happened at age 21, most unexpectedly, and definitely not planned, nor in my plans.  While running on the beach in Santa Monica while on vacation, a man told me about Jesus, and my life changed.  And still is changing.  I had been faced with career choices, moving out, then back in, out then in and again, and finally in....and finally out.  Again.  But when I became born again a transformation took me over, and still does to this day.  We are expected to become adults, men and women as we grow up, and even the Bible tells us to leave the foolish things behind.  But I found, and I still find today, that the day I became a man, I really became a child.  The day I became a Christian I became a child of God.  With all the inheritance of an heir, becoming a joint heir with Jesus.  And I find being a child in Christ to be more beneficial than any man I ever had hoped to become.

To be a child in Jesus I find interesting, because the Bible tells us very little about Jesus as a child.  He ministered for only 3 years, after 30, the age that priests begin, but lived a full life, with a career up until that point.  We are told to come to him as little children, yet we are given very little background to go on.  And so I find I must rely upon his spirit to guide me.  To remind me I am a child of God, but also to man-up when needed.  And much of it has to do with my attitude.  The day I was saved God opened my eyes to the holy spirit, and I began to see things differently.  At each age we are expected to act or behave a certain way, now I was an adult according to society and the government, but a child in God.  Of God.  And all the burdens started to fall away.  I found that as a child, I had depended on my father, now I knew my heavenly father who would take care of me.  An adult in life, a child in afterlife.  I learned that at any age, and in all situations he would listen and forgive me, and love me tenderly.  Just as Elvis sang, and never let me go.  He would discipline me to keep me safe, and advise me, but still all decisions were still mine to make.  A unique dichotomy of child and adult...one you can only be in Jesus.  And only when you live in the spirit.

I found that God wants us have fun, to be happy, he calls them blessings.  And many religious types get upset with you.  It seems the shortest verse in the scriptures, “Jesus wept” is their mantra, and aren’t happy unless you are unhappy. But having the spirit of God, I also have the fruit of the spirit, which includes joy.  Way beyond happiness, it is the presence of God when situations would make him seem absent.  So we can laugh and cry at funerals, at weddings, and even at church.  Freedom of living in the spirit, being the child God lets you be, and allowing yourself to be.  And for 40 years now I have been a child.  Adulthood was a phase, being a child of God lasts forever. 

So next time the enemy comes knocking, turn to your father in heaven and say “it’s for you.”  Let him handle it.  Turn to Jesus and be the kid you can be.  Without burdens, without boundaries.  Which opens up doors that being an adult closes.  Like last week at the water slide park, talking with a 10 year old in front of me, telling me how to ride down it, and then asking “do you want to go with me?”  By the way, I was the oldest person in line by 45 years, but I prefer to think of myself as the biggest kid.  Grow in Jesus doesn’t mean you have to grow old.  Or even grow up, just grow in him.  And find freedom and joy you never knew before.  Works in line with kids, now if it would only work in church.  Or at least among the other so-called religious.  If only they knew the freedom I have...

We are not all God’s children, it is reserved only for those who accept Jesus.  Who turn to him and recognize his deity.  Become born again.  No matter your age, you too can become a child of God.  And become a kid again.  Mature in the Lord, but not in years.  My full face hides my grey beard to the younger riders trying to shake me, I laugh.  I find younger kids talking to me when waiting in line to go down the slide, and it all opens up conversation to share my Jesus.  Expand your ministry today by becoming the child God wants you to be. Don’t let anyone rob you of your joy.  The word maturity means growing to the point you cannot any more, and then dying.  At my maturity rate I should live forever.  Funny, that’s just what Jesus promised, forever life in him.  Be that child today, and keep smiling.  It makes others suspicious, and maybe gives you a reason to explain why.  Or really who.  Growing in grace, and growing in the Lord mean different things to those living in the spirit.  For where his spirit is there is liberty.  A renewing of the mind.  Trust Jesus today and find out how much fun it is to be a kid.  And being a Christian should be fun.  What good is fun if we don’t enjoy it?  Maybe a whole different way to look at Jesus, adding fun to the relationship.  God bless the child...may the only growth you experience be in him.  After all, who wants to be a grumpy adult when you can be a happy kid?

Amen.

love with compassion,

Mike

,atthew25biker.blogspot.com

what a long, strange trip it has been

Dorothy Gale of Kansas was famous for reminding us “there’s no place like home.”  Even if it is Kansas.  There is something about where we come from, not necessarily about where we live that binds us to it, and when away from it we long for it.  40 years ago I left New Jersey and never looked back, but have been back numerous times.  Those who live there day to day don’t notice the changes, but I did, and do.  Someone else lives where Scottie used to live, the Sweet Shop is now a beauty parlor, and a bank sits where a gas station used to be.  Maybe not a big deal to many, but landmarks form my youth are gone, but not the memories.  Million dollar homes now sit where we used to ride mini-bikes in fields.  Even my junior high school is now a middle school.  Roads go through woods that were once bike paths, and stop lights dot the landscape, or road scape.  But somehow you know where to go, and although it isn’t home any more, things remind that is once was.  Some remind you of why you left, and others remind you of why you came back.  At least for a short visit. 

Today is August 7th, no big deal as far as dates go.  But to me it marks a day of returning home from Albuquerque.  After 54 days away, leaving on a motorcycle, taking a 250 mile life flight ride, and being taxied home in the back seat of a rented Camry, I can honestly say “there is no place like home.”  And with all due respect to Toto, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”  We were home.  And at first we noticed changes, but really it was us that has been changed.  I used to think that time went faster as you got older, but really we get slower.  Just two months earlier I had been counting the days till we left, then we had started counting the days until we got home.  And there were times we never thought we would.

After being released from the rehab center in 5 days, I was supposed to be there a month, friends of a friend gave us a house in Rio Rancho to live in.  And it became home for us, but we missed home.  Our home.  We had even started counting the days, first until August 2, 5 weeks after open heart surgery, my final release from my cardiologist, then August 6, the day my pic lines finally came out.  Dr. Ross my infectious disease doctor had hinted we might leave early, but wanted us to stay and be observed.  Daily for awhile, with Theresa being taught in changing my IV meds.  We had been counting the days, and August 5th, we checked out of Rio Rancho, with one more night in Albuquerque, at the Hilton, courtesy of a sweet lady.  August 6th, a short 5 minute visit and the pic lines were out, and we were heading west...a day I thought would never arrive.  I may be in the back seat, but I was going home.  And was a little scared.  I was out on my own, with only Theresa to help, without all the hospital doctors and nurses.  I was returning a much different person than when I left.  I had truly left my heart, or part of it in Albuquerque, who would even begin to understand what we had gone through, when we even didn’t.  How many things and how they changed awaited me.  Was I ready? 

I had already tired of people, well meaning telling me “they understood” what I had been through.  My answer became, “really, explain it to me, because I don’t.”  And some days I do, some I don’t.  I found so many well meaning people saying the right things, but saying nothing.  It wasn’t from the heart, and I know a little bit about that.  See we are trained in church how to react in certain situations, when to cry, when to laugh, and how to show concern.  The Byrds even sang about those seasons, but until it comes from the heart, it is just words.  Yesterday I caught a man off guard, sticking out my hand I asked “how am I doing?”  He responded “I’m fine,” then realized what I had said and changed his answer.  But his answer about heaven, and where he rather be amazed me.  He rather be here than heaven.  And when I mentioned being with God is better than being on earth, I know, he mumbled something about doing God’s work.  A trained response, not one from the heart.  And oh by the way, he is a pastor.  Do we really listen, do we really care?  Do we really love Jesus?  Do we listen before we answer?

Or are we like the man on Jeopardy who blurts out the answer, a wrong answer,  before finishing the whole question.  I am getting better at listening, and hopefully my answers are getting better.  And I know that truly there is no place like home.  Our heavenly home.  But do we desire to go?  Are we afraid of death and what God may have for us?  We say we trust, but are our relationships with Christ no more than religious rhetoric?  Do we know about Jesus, or do we know Jesus?

Crosby, Stills, and Nash had a hit called Woodstock, about getting back to the garden.  Do we seek the garden, the Garden of Eden where Adam walked in the cool of the day with God?  Do we seek to be with God or with his things?  Do we call heaven home, knowing we are sojourners, visitors here but for a short time? How am I doing?  We are told to set our sights on things on high, where God awaits our return.  To be called back home.  But until that day, we need to live expectantly, to miss God so much that we share his love with others.  So they may go too.  My two day trip back home seemed to take forever, maybe it was the back seat of a rented Camry, maybe it was the anticipation of getting home.  But stepping out onto my driveway, and being home brought joy.  Familiar surroundings where I felt safe.  The place had changed, I had changed more.  I had a new heart...in addition to the one Jesus gave me years ago.  And my desire is now more than ever to go home to heaven.  Even on a good day of riding, I still seek heaven.  And in the bad days, I ask God, “what are you waiting for?  When will I finally arrive?” 

Maybe that is why I went out of the city, and back to the country.  God has created a yearning in me to get back to the garden.  His garden.  Where time won’t matter, only Jesus will.  My aorta will not be plastic any longer, and all of us will be perfect.  Except for one.  He will bear the scars of our sin.  And it is him I want to see most.   To thank him for my new heart, and saving me from death.  For giving me life.  And suddenly it will all be worth it.  For behold the past is gone away, and I will be that new creature in Christ.  In heaven.  Forever.

Not whatever, but forever.  For now I will celebrate August 7th, the day I returned home.  Just as I celebrate June 25th, the day I got a new heart.  But really I celebrate everyday because Jesus is in it.  Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is still something about that name.  And I can’t await to get there.  I hope you do too.  What a long, strange trip it has been.

And I wouldn’t change any of it. And you know, Toto knew, and it wasn’t any surprise to him either.  Will it be for you?

Now, where did I leave my ruby slippers?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

  

salt of the earth

For the second straight year, Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats has been cancelled.  This barren mecca for land speed record seeking junkies has been shut down, and deemed unsafe for two or four wheel consumption.  Reason, safety or lack of it.  The salt is too soft, or really it has too much moisture under it, and the hard crust that forms when the water evaporates hasn’t formed.  Tell that one to drought stricken California.  Few consider the absence of water is what brings a hardness to the salt surface, but having walked on such surfaces, they give an eerie effect when water is present.  Think of walking on a thin crust that shifts under your weight, giving the illusion that you may fall in, but don’t.  Leaving indentations of where you walked, but no footprints.  Strange yes, but some can be 6-8” deep, unsettling at best.  And this year, like last year, the soft salt has given way to cancellation of Speed Week.  And although I have never attended, I have always wanted to go, especially after watching “World’s Fastest Indian” about Burt Munro. Backed up by the Rocket 3 powered Triumph racer I have seen at Triumph, the need for speed makes me want to go fast.  And faster.  Yet I am on a low salt diet, both food and Bonneville wise, so I am on an asphalt and concrete supplement, feeding daily.

0-60, and with the accompanying 1/4 mile times and speeds, we gauge how fast a car or motorcycle can travel.  Even slow economy cars go 0-60 in under 8 seconds today, fast for the horsepower robbed seventies Muscle Cars, and even comparing the real muscle from the sixties, today’s cars are faster.  And quicker.  The new Mustang 6 cylinder is 0-60 in just over 5 seconds, the turbo 4 the same, and the V-8 in just over 4!  Less time than it took to read this sentence.  To me that is quick, but nothing compared to today’s motorcycles, which can rip off 0-60 in under 3 seconds-if you can hang on.  Whereas under 15 seconds in the 1/4 was fast, now cars have dipped into the 11’s, once motorcycle only territory, and the fastest bikes are in the 9’s.  Quick, and with a speed limited 155mph, fast too.  But the price for such cars will set you back as much as my first  house, while a motorcycle for under $10,000, way under sometimes, will get you there quicker. 

And speed being relative, how about 0-100 in under 5 seconds?  0-150 in under 11 seconds?  All for the price of a new bike, if you can swing the payments on a $15,000 note.  Try that in your Prius sissy boy!  Personally I have been into the rev limiter at 155, and it is fast.  Been over 130 on my Tiger 1050.  And just yesterday hit the rev limiter at 113 in third gear merging onto the freeway on the Trophy.  All on the street, which only makes me want to do it on the track, which leads me back to Bonneville. Quick is fun, fast is fun, and the combination where it is safe is attractive to me.  Leading me back to the salt of the earth.  Where cars and motorcycles give it flavor.  Which this year will have no flavor, for the salt will be barren.  Without life, without speed.  No people, no thrills, no records to be set.  But El Mirage will open up this year, with a 12,500 foot runway of asphalt to substitute.  Closer to home, do I feel a road trip coming up?  It may not be the same, for what happens when the salt has lost its flavor?  Will a new  high speed have an * next to it, denoting a substitute for a salt free track?  Is fast at El Mirage the same as fast at Bonneville? 

Yet so many fall short of paying homage to the God of Speed.  But you don’t need to go to Bonneville to enjoy the salt of the earth.  You can when you come to Jesus.  He tells us we are the salt of the earth, and without us the world loses its flavor.  Think of that, we are the MSG of life here on planet earth, if we have Christ in our lives.  And we can be that salt and flavor on the track, in the garage bench racing, at work, or even in church.  Wherever we go Jesus is with us, remember he never leaves us or forsakes us, and therefore he gives the world flavor through us.  If you would, imagine the diet I was on after my open heart surgery.  Bland, diabetic, a thrill was broccoli soup.  No salt, few spices, and no Frosted Flakes.  Food devoid of sodium, which hardened my aorta causing it to disintegrate. The silent killer.  The same salt that is hard enough to race on, hardened my heart.  Yet many hard hearts are here today towards Jesus, not because of diet, but because of unbelief.  And just like high blood pressure brought on by too much salt causes hardening of the arteries, a life without Jesus causes a hard heart also.  No love, no compassion, and devoid of passion.  For God’s gives us passion for the things we love, without him we are hard hearted, leading to death.  Which is why the gospel is such good news, it brings life to the dead and dying.  It takes too much salt, and proportions it in the right amounts and provides flavor.  And a fragrance that is sweet smelling to God.  Think of the sweet smell of racing castor, to us heaven, but our love for Christ in our daily lives is even sweeter to him.  Bonneville may be the salt of the earth for speed, but Jesus is the salt of the earth, working through our lives for the human race.  And who runs the race not intending to win?

But just as too much salt is bad, love without Jesus doesn’t work.  Too many preach at us, becoming a loud clanging symbol, or a bell pushing us from Christ.  For without love we have nothing, for God is love.  And without God, no love, no salt for us to be.  We lose our flavor, and our purpose.  And no matter how fast we live, it is never fast enough.  Until we crash or burn out.  And Jesus is still there, offering the salt shaker of life.  Just not at Bonneville this year.

God gives life flavor through is son Jesus Christ.  Hungry for more after religion?  Talk about God but don’t know him?  Filled with church but no Jesus?  Add the salt of his love to your diet today.  Turn to Christ, he is waiting.  When he comes into your life, it has flavor.  The best witness of Jesus you can have, the spirit living in you, and you becoming the salt that life needs.  Some religion promises quick, some fast, but without Jesus you may run the race, but will never win.  You may gain trophies, but not be entered in the book of life.  Where there are no * by any names, no conditional salvation.  All of God or none of God.  No Jesus, no salt.  No salt, no spirit.  And no spirit, no life.  No matter how fast or how far you go.  What part of no don’t you understand?

0-60 in time comes up faster than we think.  Don’t delay, you can be saved today.  0-25,0-12, 0-80, all are eligible.  A class for everyone, where Jesus lets you run what you brung.  And all go home a winner.  Don’t let your God be an El Mirage, race the real race and win.  Speed Week starts now, the salt flats may be closed, but God is open now waiting to hear from you.  Now excuse me while I take a break to water a lemon tree.....no MSG added.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com