the parable of two Bonnevilles

Any time you are told “nothing personal” you can be sure that an attack is coming that will be.  For the past few weeks I have been blessed to have ridden the first two 2016 Bonneville Street Twins in the US of A.  The recent replacement for Triumph’s best selling Bonneville series, they are what the riding heads say they are-incredible.  I have over 1800 miles of both highway and curvy back roads on them, and outside of Triumph factory testers I may have more experience than anyone.  We were a bit put off by the specs at first, but the bike is more powerful at all RPM ranges, will pull past 110 mph, is smoother, much better brakes, and gas mileage for me is in the mid 50’s.  Compared to the almost 200,000 miles on older Bonnevilles, they are an incredible improvement in every way.  My old T100 would be hard pressed to do 100, the brakes are OK, but plan ahead when you want to stop in a hurry, and no matter how I rode it, only ever got 37 mpg.  But it has an intrinsic value, a character that makes its owners fall  in love with it, and like Harley riders, would never consider anything else.  It isn’t about the specs, but about the ride, and how the bike makes them feel.  I have ridden both new and old Bonnevilles, and both my old ones are now for sale, I want a new Street Twin.  Red or silver.  Or both.

But yesterday I ran into a man who thinks his Bonneville is the only way to go.  The new are blasphemy, and he proceeded to belittle my Street Twin.  He too had read the the specs, and thought he knew it all, but had never seen one, let alone ridden one.  He proceeded to tell me how they were slower, they’re not, the ABS brakes are no good because you cannot turn off the ABS, he really got upset when I asked “why would you want too?” and stormed away, telling me he owned a website about Bonnevilles, and it wasn’t fair Triumph hadn’t given him one to review.  Only proving Triumph is smarter than him, for after seeing his website, he has set back riding a few years. It was bad, as in not good, but on the internet we all can share our opinions, no matter how far they stray from truth.  But the bottom line was he was forming an opinion, taking an attitude abut something he knew nothing about, and may never know.  Both bikes are Bonnevilles, both exude a certain Triumphness about them, but with his narrow mind he will never fully enjoy the new bike.  And at least unless he buys one, will never get to ride one.

So I pray for this man and his opinions, which he makes based on rumor, innuendo, feelings, and ignorance.  The new Bonnevilles will always be what he wants them to be, prejudice and profiling will do that.  But I have ridden the new ones, and I can say “please buy both my old ones, I want a new Street Twin.”  And I never thought I would be saying that...

Maybe you are amazed, or maybe not, at all the people who think they know all about God, can quote the Bible, can ditz on Jesus, but have never read the book, or met the man. I run into them form time to time, and find the more they speak, the less they know.  And can become quite a target for those who do, in love I hope.  It is not unusual to find someone who has taken a scripture, or part of one, misinterpreted it, and used it to substantiate their life or sin.  They can go on about it, and lately I have let them lead themselves into a trap.  After exposing how the Bible says something, usually what it doesn’t, I ask them a simple question.  “It is evident that you know your Bible.  Maybe you can help me, please explain what Jesus meant when he said you must be born again?  Or Romans where it says all man are born into sin and need a savior?”  Suddenly the mood changes, for they have established their own code of life, a religion, and don’t believe what they don’t know to be true.  They are like my friend yesterday who thought he knew it all, but had never ridden one. And we were all like that once before coming to Christ.  So many misperceptions, so many misquoted scriptures, and not knowing the person of Jesus, let alone anything about him.  It takes the spirit to open our eyes, and when he does, the scales of ignorance do fall away, and we see things through him.  And soon begin to see things his way, and we gain knowledge, and grow in Christ.  But without the spirit to reveal the mysteries of Christ, we are like the man who disputes Jesus after never meeting him.  They talk boldly, but their words condemn them, for they deny the only one can save them, they deny his deity.  And choose to argue and drag others down to their fallen level, based on studying the scriptures.  So here is one for them, and you.  And a lesson to go with it.

Peter in the garden was asked by a little teen age girl, three times about Jesus.  She saw him with him, he talked like him, and she wanted to know if he was with him.  Of course we know how he denied Jesus three times, and left, weeping bitterly, yet maybe we need to have a different attitude to those who ask.  He got defensive, he felt threatened,and he might have been, the soldiers were coming to take Jesus away, but what if she wanted to know Jesus, and Peter was the one she chose to ask about him?  Do we act like Peter when someone accuses of being a Christian, running and hiding, or do we welcome questions so we can share our testimony?  Some just want to argue to show how superior they think they are, maybe the little girl was scared, but had heard about Jesus and wanted to be saved?  Do we rush to judgment too often when we could be a bearer of the gospel?  Do we say we love God, but turn against anyone who doesn’t believe like us when we are to love those who are made in his image?  Maybe the parable of two Bonnevilles can help you, for when someone comes at you, maybe they are seeking, maybe they are lost, and maybe God has appointed you to share Jesus with them.  In love.  Have you ever just walked away knowing “at least I won the argument,” when the person is still going to hell?  Is that all Jesus Christ means in your life?

Peter would later repent, and on the day of Pentecost lead 3000 boldly to salvation.  In the spirit he was bold, loving, and told the truth.  But how many of us are afraid when that little girl asks us about Jesus?  Maybe you need to get out of church more often and practice what you are taught.  For we are known by our love, and that is how the world will know we are different.  That our lives have changed, and that Jesus Christ made the difference.

Or maybe you are the one asking and get put off by the lack of love of some saints.  Don’t use the church as an excuse to deny Jesus.  Don’t confuse the two, Jesus saves, we need to be saved.  We are the church, and for better or worse his ambassadors here on earth.  Only by the spirit will we see Jesus, and only by trusting in him will you be able to witness effectively.  In your Christian walk as in riding, there is nothing like experience.  Don’t be like the guy who knew all about the new Bonneville, but had never ridden or seen one, and had already condemned them.  We are condemned, Jesus saves.  He also rides, and has a common disease, he likes all motorcycles.  And loves all people, even the sinner, or he wouldn’t have died for us while we were yet sinners.

So welcome questions, and if you don’t know say so.  But find out and get back to them.  That lost biker just may be a little girl looking for Jesus, she just happens to ride.  Big bikers too.  1%ers, and others who ride Hondas.  Maybe that is why motorcyclists still wave to each other, a brotherhood the church doesn’t get.  Imagine what a simple answer can mean next time you are asked, you may be the gospel they need to hear.  Someone once told you about Jesus, isn’t it time to repay the favor?

Bikers and Christians, many have wrong attitudes about us.  Don’t add to them by becoming what they think we are.  Love conquers all.  If only Peter had changed his answer that night, we all might be saying “thank heaven for little girls.”  Ride one, then decide. Like the kid’s song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”  Do you, or are they just words to a song?  Sorry, I can’t hear you....over the sound of the Street Twin.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

 

end of the line

Mention a train today, and you may think of Amtrak, that money sucking rail line owned by us, the tax payers.  Or think of a freight train, and you see endless cars hauling containers full of Chinese goods.  But it wasn’t always that way, seeing a train at one time was a majestic thing, something that was compared with Superman for power, and hauling American made goods to Americans ready to consume them, or in a complete reversal, being hauled to shipping docks for overseas consumption.  And travel by train was the preferred route over air, both in prestige and mode.  The rails dominated the country sides, and many a young man watched and waved as the engineer made his daily scheduled run past their house.  Where I grew up they took most of my friend’s fathers to work in New York City, and as a teen it cost $1.25 to ride round trip in and back.  Train stations were things of beauty, and most reflected back to an earlier time around the turn of the century, the 20th century.  And in Pennsylvania where my relatives lived, trains were it, hauling coal from the mines to giant smelters for the steel companies, with rail yards in the two towns my parents were from.  After a dinner out, it was off to the roundhouse, where my Grandpa would explain all the trains to me, they looked just like my Lionel set down in his basement.  Or was it the other way around?  I thought he owned the place, as many waved, acknowledged and were friendly to us.  Who wouldn’t want to drive a train....cars and motorcycle were still too far off to be real.  Trains it was, and still is today for many. 

In the next town over, Pen Argyl, was a much larger terminal for freight trains.  My Pappy worked there part time, walking the yard and recording the car numbers, the sight, smells, and feel still can be felt.  Bigger than life, still some steam engines, and everything super sized.  But by the time of my teens, both yards were gone, the coal business was gone, the steel business was moving overseas, and the rails were being torn up.  No more waiting for the 5:06 to Portland, or the 10:20 to Tamaqua, the rail beds now sprouted weeds, with some old railroad ties left behind.  The roundhouses torn down, trains hauled off, and only the memories left behind.  Jobs went with it, as did boyhood dreams, and today just thinking of trains connected with Amtrak is repulsive.  The Lehigh Valley and New England was the rail world to me, and now only lives in faded memories.  Along with ever driving a train...

But never stop dreaming, as one Mother’s Day in 2012 my dream came true.  While at the Perris Train Museum, friends were taking a ride on the old train, old meaning electric diesel and passenger cars from the circa 1950’s, to me the golden age of rails, the times I knew as 5 year old and into my teens.  I was sitting waiting for the train to go on it 3 mile run, when the engineer waved at me, and I waved back, except it wasn’t hello, he was inviting me up.  “Wanna ride in the cab?”  My speedy run up and in told him a loud “yes!”  And soon Theresa was with me and we were off.  The sound, the power, the view, waving back at kids like I once waved was great, then he asked me to take the controls.  And for over 3 miles I cruised at around 16 mph, slow on a bike, faster than the locomotive on Superman to me.  I could feel the power, and think I did OK. We all arrived safely, and some 50+ years were erased and I was that 5 year old with my Grandpa.  The smells came back, the sounds, the view was incredible, and I wondered if it was all a dream?  Do dreams really come true if you wait long enough?  Do little boys really ever grow up?  Were there really words to express my thrill and thanks?  Suddenly Lionel was a distant second, as I had driven a real train, and all the buildings of Plasticville had become real. 

Mention peace in a dream today and many would think without wars.  No SUV’s cutting me off while riding.  Short lines at Walmart, and friendly neighbors.  Streets not crowded, politicians telling the truth, and no more wars.  Not at all bad dreams, but totally unreal.  Or are they?  Isaiah tells of a time when the lion will lie with the lamb, the ferocious king will lie with the most timid in safety.  Wolves, leopards, and other predators will lie among once fair game.  A time when children will not have to worry about playing with them, the zoos will be empty and peace will reign.  True peace, as it will come from God, and his spirit will guide. A time beyond words or comprehension, and a time when a little child will lead them.  Of course it refers to Jesus, the child of God, in a perfect world when he returns to earth.  One many cannot or will believe in, because their world is in such turmoil.  A time in the future offered to all, but only received by those that claim Jesus. To me a place where the trains again will run, the highways will be free of SUV’s, and I will be forever the right age to ride and enjoy.  A time I look forward to, and not just in my dreams.

You see whatever you think heaven will be like, it will be better.  I Corinthians tells us “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind imagined the things of the kingdom,” they will be that much better. And you are invited to come.  A while back a man at a Bible study asked me “will animals be there?”  He loves his pets.  But my answer was not a yes or no, the important thing is “will you be there?”  Which made him think,  will you be there?  Do you believe in the concept of heaven, or do you walk with Jesus, who is the only way there?  Still trying to earn your way, only to come up short and worry “did I do enough to earn it?”  It is a gift of God,so none should boast.  Because one thing is for sure, Jesus will be there, and noting else will matter.  I have known such peace, and the only way to describe it is “I want to go back.”  Heaven is real, Jesus is there, and you must be born again to enter. And the ride is free....

Some day we will all meet the end of the line, and like the railroads I once loved, we will be gone too.  Life will never end for Christians, but will never end for the unsaved also.  We get heaven, they get hell, their choice.  Today God via his spirit may ask you “who is Jesus?”  Deny his deity and don’t repent, hell is promised.  Repent and come to Christ and be saved, you are heaven bound upon death.  Really, we will never die, for we go from one address to another.  Where heaven may be the end of the line, but really is just the beginning of eternity.  You see, the lions will lie with the lambs, and can today in your heart.  That peace that only seems a dream can become real, and while all hell breaks loose, you can be saved, and have his peace.  From above to within, and you cannot do it without Christ in your heart.  You may be one decision away from the greatest ride of your life, or be left at the station when the train of God pulls out.  Do you believe?  Do you have your ticket?

The engineer’s view is a great one, one of power, majesty, and he can see what’s ahead.  Jesus knows even more, and is the only train on the only track you want to be on.  Some day all that will be left of your memory is where the tracks once ran.  Don’t be left behind, you don’t have to be.  The lion and the lamb are calling from the tribe of Judah.  Meet him today, and enjoy the ride in the cab next to him.  Heaven is real, I’ll be there, hope to see you too.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

it's February, do you know where your motorcycle is?

Here in So Cal we have just survived the coolest and wettest winter in a few years.  Suffering through lows in the 30’s, and highs touching the 70’s, it has been rough for many who ride.  Especially for those that consider 50 degrees the threshold for taking the car.  But with 70-80’s forecasted for the next few weeks, spring is springing like it should, and soon many cold weather sheltered riders will be hitting the roads.  Many for the first time since last fall in other states, but here it may have been just a matter of weeks.  We are ready, the bike should be ready, the road is calling, is it ready?  Let’s see....

Are we really ready?  Theresa makes fun of me for waving at bikes when in a car, it takes me a while to get used to driving after riding so much.  Some rarely if ever see me in a car, a woman I worked with once asked me if I even had one?  So it takes awhile to acclimate, to not drive like I ride, and cannot lane split, park close to the buildings, and share spaces with other riders.  But for the rider just getting out after winter, it takes a few miles, or many a few miles to get his riding head on straight.  Sudden power where before there was none, and cops just waiting to remind you of your speed experience.  So take it slow, ride some back roads, no matter how seasoned, take the time to get used to riding again.  I know how the transition from bike to car is....

Have you hugged your motorcycle lately?  Kept the battery charged all winter, so you don’t get that wretched clicking sound the first nice day?  Has it been covered or at least garaged?  Parked outside destroys a bike’s patina in a few days.  Have you checked the oil, the tires are probably low on air, the only thing I remember from chemistry is low temp, low , pressure, if I had known it applied to motorcycles I may have paid better attention.  Check your ride over, adjust your helmet, adjust the mirrors, push the button....and go!  And you are riding, and soon all winter is forgiven, you are riding again!  But what about the road?

With flooding here due to El Nino’s effect on poorly engineered drainage, many roads have dirt, leaves, and rocks on them, strategically located on corners where they cannot be seen into well into the curve.  Leaves are the worst, I am surprised no one has ever come up with a lubricant that is leaf based, they are so slick.  Same with road paint, one little slip can ruin your day or riding year.  Look around!  Sinkholes have become the new pothole, I once hit a pothole in Philadelphia that knocked my headlight out of the bucket.  They are there and to be avoided, and with gravel from them around, be even more careful.  More than one rider has gone flat tracking style avoiding them.  Around construction zones, look out for dirt, nails, rolls of duct tape, and other hazards.  And most of all, learn how to spot the rude and ignorant SUV monster who just has to catch up on her Facebook at 60 mph while crossing over into your lane.  A lot of new drivers on the road over the winter, just waiting to make their first accident claim, don’t be it!  Ride safe, ride invisible, ride looking for an out, and always looking around, back and front.  It’s February, do you know where your motorcycle is?  Don’t let someone else find it for you first!

Now that you are prepared to enjoy life as it should be again on two wheels, enjoy the ride.  The one of many ahead.  Not paranoid, but safe, in knowing your surroundings.  Do we walk with Christ the same way?  Are we confident in him as to say we trust him, or do we live constantly in fear of what may happen next?  Are our prayers one of restitution after an accident or event we knew to avoid, or are they from time spent in prayer before?  Or are they ones of hope that God agrees with your decision, rather than you agreeing with his?  So many things to check before going out, no one ever told me it would be so hard to be a Christian.  But yet it is all worth it, even in the toughest of days, for it is in our weakness his strength is made perfect.  Like the song Jesus Loves Me, we are weak and he is strong.  And knowledgeable too, and all wrapped up in a heavenly love just for us.  He meets us just where we are, and we don’t have to dress different, attend a special service, or go through anyone else to meet with him.  And if you ride, you know how precious that time behind bars with Jesus can be, no one to interrupt the time spent with him.  Another great but often discounted reason to ride. 

But remembering the most important part of prayer is to listen, he already knows what we need and desire, Jesus once asked “why do you call me Lord, Lord but don’t do the things I say?”  Sound familiar?  He is always speaking, are we listening?  He knows what lies ahead on the road, what careless driver is texting, and where the potholes are.  He also knows the condition of your heart, and of your ride, are you still with me?  This weekend, and many to come, the winter blues will end and the motorcycles will hit the road, are you taking the same approach with Jesus as we are with them?  Have we been in a winter of no fellowship, of waiting for the weather to change things, to be free from the conditions, or have we been spending time with him daily?  Are you just taking Jesus out of winter storage? Is your heart that cold?

Do you find your leathers are old and cracked like old wineskins, or is it what you are putting in them changed from last fall?  Jesus tells us to not put new wine into old wineskins, they will crack.  Religion may be the old wineskin you are getting back into after being away, but  he wants to make it personal.  Lose a few pounds of sin, and be the new creature he wants you to be.  Suddenly the jacket fits, the bike sounds better, the roads cleaner, and the ride improves.  Or are you stuck, repeating the same old tired exercise of religion?  Attending services, paying your tithe, taking notes, and listening to KWVE?  Not bad things, but without the spirit guiding you in them, they are just things.  Like a motorcycle without a rider, it goes nowhere.  How many of us are in with Jesus for the ride?  Wherever it takes us?  Can we call him Lord when it comes to riding too?  One quick decision to change can result in changing your ride forever.  Do you really want all the things of God in your life?

Many service departments will be filled with bikes that won’t run right after all winter of not being ridden.  Don’t be like them with your life, don’t wait for your annual road trip to church on Easter.  Get right with God today, start riding in the spirit and see all the things of God, not just from behind a windshield.  If Kawasaki can let the good times roll, can you even imagine what Jesus can do for you?  It’s February, and I know where my motorcycles are, and where I am with Jesus.  Do you? 

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com

we were all new once...or twice

As I cruise the new bikes on the floor at local dealers, I look at all ranges, not just what I ride.  But I find myself lately more interested in the people looking at the bikes, and really cast a careful eye to those attempting to throw a leg over one.  It doesn’t matter the age, or even the gender any more, with so many women riding, but you can tell who rides or has ridden and who hasn’t.  Watch a young guy, just got his license on Ninja, and you can see an accident in the making.  Riding home one day through Santa Paula a young guy on a new Ninja with paper tags was accelerating fast, Theresa and I looked at each other and agreed he was in trouble.  Maybe the tank top should have given him away too, but after a few light changes, a car stopped quickly, he was still on the gas, and hit her.  Biker and bike down....and it didn’t have to happen.  Do we call that an accident or an on purpose or a glimpse of things to come?  I see very few sitting on the new bikes carefully adjusting the mirrors, or looking to get acquainted with the hand controls.  With so many taking the MSF course, which I recommend to new riders, they may have passed, gotten a license, but now need a ride.  Thinking they can ride, they go out and buy what payment they can afford, and ride off like our friend in Santa Paula did, and are  left with a crashed bike with payments.  And it didn’t have to happen.

We were all new riders once, and with so many coming back after years away are new twice.  When I hear someone my age but not my experience telling how fast their old Honda 750 was, they think they are ready for something bigger.  Their ego will not allow them to get a 500, which will be faster, lighter, better handling and have better brakes, I used to ride a 750!  Which may explain so many used Harleys in metric shops, with low miles.  Just because they could afford the payment doesn’t mean you can ride, and they trade for something smaller and less expensive.  More ridable.  And cheaper to fix when it falls over.  But we all set off with dreams of being Kenny Roberts in our mind, of hanging out at The Rock Store, or riding to Sturgis.  We dream big, but live small, as Kenny is fast, real unusual bikes show up at The Rock Store, and Sturgis is 1800 miles away.  And you only have 1800 miles on your bike, and less than 3000 on you.  So I emphasize to all, ride your own ride, you will enjoy it more, and so will we.  Nothing ruins a rider’s day than seeing another rider down than them being down themselves.  The stories start of how many are killed, we all ride too fast, we are crazy, 1%ers, criminals, and organ donors. And nothing could be farther from the truth, or is it closer than we admit?

New Christians need to beware of the snare that awaits them.  Jesus is all new, their life is changing, and some well meaning old saint tells them “you need to go out and witness.”  They think they are ready, and go out and get pounded by someone who knows the Bible better, may have been institutionalized and trained, and they feel hurt and wondering where is God?  They don’t understand what happened, and are disillusioned.  They have been given bad advice based on bad doctrine, for we are to be witnesses, not go out and witness.  There is no magic switch I ever found to turn Jesus on and off for evangelical actions, but many act like there is.  And have a lousy walk, for someone is always watching for our real witness.  We were all babes in Christ once, or hopefully will be, maybe we can learn from Isaiah in a conversation he had with God.  When he heard God asking for volunteers to go out, Isaiah said “here I am, send me,”  and God sent him out with the following good advice, as if anything but good advice comes from him.  “Be ever hearing, but never understanding, be ever seeing but not perceiving.”  Good advice for all riders too.  God never tells us he who has a mouth let him speak, he says “shut up and listen, so you know.”  Emphasis mine.  They have a zealousness but not a spiritual leading, and instead of being as wise as serpents and gentle as lambs, the wolves eat them alive. 

Some volunteer trying to impress others, “I’ll go Lord, I’m brave,” and the congregation knows different.  Some pass the buck, “sounds good Lord, but Joe is better equipped.  Maybe if he went along.”  Or my favorite, or heard way too often “send me Lord, tell me where and I’ll go.  Just send me the funds, or show me how to raise them...” Jesus told his disciples just to take what was in their pockets long before VISA.  Where God guides, he provides.  Still waiting to be called?

But when God’s word is go, we need to go.  Scripture tells us “as we go to share the gospel,” the trip being our destination.  God will place Lazaruses before you, how many have you stepped over today on your way to church?  Bible study?  To spend time with God?  But denied his spirit along the way?  Gotta be in the word, but is the word in you?  Is that your witness?  Or are you witless?  As in riding we need application of our education.  Knowing the word is good, having Jesus, who is the word in you is better.  The only way to be an effective witness.  Today many new riders are recognized by their shiny leathers and new equipment.  Some are just posers, the real bikers can tell, the world will figure them out.  Works with us Christians too.  Just carrying a Bible, taking notes for all to see, having a KWVE sticker on your SUV, or reading Christian books or watching Christian movies doesn’t make you one.  In fact I try to avoid such types, seems I always arrive after they have cheesed someone off, and the crowd thinks that is what Christianity is all about.  So when God calls, make sure it is his voice, and not the children’s ministry overwhelmed again.  God has a place for each of us, and for even right now. 

Do like Isaiah was told, listen.  You will learn, and don’t try to understand.  One night trying to explain a spiritual concept to my son, God reminded me “don’t try to explain something to him after three weeks what took you 33 years.”  Keep your eyes open, and watch as when the spirit leads you, you grow closer to God, and he gives you understanding when you need it.  Don’t be like the well trained church goer,who when seeing me after my open heart surgery, told me “I understand what you are going through.”  “Really, I am the only one in medical history to have what I had, and I don’t get it.  Maybe you can explain it to me...”  But God knows, do you?  As the inner man grows, it will show in the outer man.  Ride your own ride with Jesus, and don’t make me keep up.  Or clean up afterwards.  If he can save you, he can guide you.  A world class racer asked me once to hand him a wrench as he was under a truck.  “What size?”  “I don’t care,”came the reply, “I want to use it as a hammer.”  Still confused, remember a Crescent wrench is metric only, until you flip it over to SAE.  And you think you are ready to ride?

We were all new once....now do you understand? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

what would you do with your 15 minutes of fame?

Troy, Illinois is one of my favorite places to visit.  Great people, great patriotism, and where my friend Jacob and his family live.  A simple introduction is order here, on my first Torches Across America ride, we met in Troy, and were greeted in a special way.  The absolute highlight of our ride, of which there were many, about 200 motorcycles greeted us outside of town, then escorted to the city park, where the entrance was lined with Cub Scouts holding American flags, and a hook and ladder at full extension with a huge flag.  Overwhelmed with emotion, when I parked I looked back and a little boy, Jacob was in a wheel chair.  As I talked with him, his Dad explained he has leg perthes, which I once had.  How rare is that?  And we visited, and later I felt a tug at my shirt, it was Jacob.  I was his hero, could he have my autograph?  And the seed was set for a friendship between two families, spanning three generations.   I even wrote about him in Wheels of Grace Magazine, touching his Dad, he loved the story, and it really became special when he discovered it was about Jacob.

In 2006, I was spokesman for Torches, and again Troy did not disappoint.  And I had a special treat planned.  Sharing about our ride, and the heroes of 911, first responders, and veterans, I told them of a local hero they might not know about, Jacob.  We had prayed for him, and the little boy in the wheel chair had greeted me holding a poster welcoming me as we entered the park.  He was walking, playing as any normal 7 year old would, and he was about to go up on stage with me.  The crowd roared when I told of his miraculous recovery, and suddenly all the attention was on him.  A true hero who had won a battle against a potentially crippling disease, and after the press from newspapers to TV wanted to interview him.  God had given me the idea, and Jacob and his family were basking in his 15 minutes of fame.  A night he will always remember when a group of bikers came to town, and a little boy got to tell his story.

But not all could get to him, and one local St. Louis TV station interviewed me, which I don’t mind, but I had wanted this to be Jacob’s night.  At first the questions seemed harmless enough, then she dropped the bomb, “how do you feel about Bush’s involvement in Iraq?”  As I tried to explain we were not a political group, but honoring America and its heroes, she got hostile.  And aggressive, I was trying to remain cool.  Just a few feet away Jacob was having the night of his life, no way was this woman going to ruin it.  As she pressed harder, she asked, “aren’t you afraid to go to sleep tonight because of the world situation?  Aren’t you afraid to die?”  And the door had been opened...

I explained I was a Christian, and not afraid to die, as I knew my final destination was heaven.  I trusted God to take me there, and she can too.  At which she made a face, and the interview was over.  Which left me smiling, as behind her, her cameraman was giving me the right on gesture, the one Kirk Gibson gave after hitting his home run in the World Series.  Go man it told me...I like what you are saying.  And the night was a success, and I would continue to hear from Jacob and his family.  On a trip to Disneyland, he spent an afternoon with us and his grandparents, we have become family.  I have a box with all the items he has sent me over the years, from birthday and Christmas cards to graduation dates of him and his little brother Adam.  A special hat he made me sits on my shelf in my office.  A door was opened that night in 2005, and extended again in 2006.  And God let me share Jacob and his testimony, for which I will be forever blessed.  And as for Jacob, he was excited as he joined the Cub Scouts, and would get to line the entrance next year holding a flag.  And when he was introduced at his first meeting, he became known as “that Jacob,” a hero.  His 15 minutes of fame extending....

I believe that when God gets the glory, we get the blessings.  But grace goes way beyond that, it takes a disease and uses it to bless us, so we can share his story about how he healed us.  It allows us to speak before a secular crowd and share Jesus, for Jesus and patriotism go hand in hand.  It allows grown men to cry when they hear taps played, and remember lost ones.  It allows us to seek refuge in our pain from the only one who can heal and comfort.  It allows us to be ourselves, and not be forced to worship as the state demands.  It allows us to succeed, or to fail, as our decisions allow.  It gives us a freedom that only can be found in the hearts of men, fully provided by Jesus Christ.  And it is fully expressed in the song “America, America, God shed his grace on thee...”  and when he crowns his good with brotherhood, it is found from sea to shining sea.  In the hearts of those who believe.  A lesson Torches taught me as we rode from sea to sea, but was sown first hand in the heartland, in a city park next to a cornfield.  By a little boy and his family....

I had the pleasure of meeting Jacob’s Grandpa before he died, a cool man.  And have met with his father, and I can see where Jacob gets his values.  Which I hope he will pass on.  If he doubts ever, I hope to refer him back to that hot September evening, in the park, where we met.  And a year later when he was the star, the hero.  And how he can pass it on to others.  Love is like that, you cannot keep it inside.  When you meet Jesus something magical happens, hearts and lives are changed.  And the blessings flow.  Sadly the TV reporter that night missed that message, but keep praying for her.  When others bragged on how they met Jacob that night, she went away she thought empty handed.  But I had shared the gospel with her, simple and in love.  Maybe just a seed planted, God will provide the harvest.  Like he did for Jacob, and others.  Troy, Illinois, just an exit off the freeway, across the river from St. Louis, but a reminder that where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  God Bless America, America bless God.  May his grace continue to be shed on thee.

love with compassion,

Mike

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