are you being fed or franchised?

I found myself in Moorpark yesterday after the noon hour appointed for lunch.  Putting miles on a press bike, a 2016 Bonneville T120, the restaurant I was looking for was gone, now selling fast food, and  I was past hungry.  So I settled for a Jersey Mike’s, and a sub.  Now being from Jersey, and being named Mike, I know a bit about subs, and although these have become the latest hot franchise, the Mickey D’s of sandwiches, I always come away a bit disappointed.  Growing up on Duke’s, you either got a whole or a half, their way.  You trusted the maker to do his thing, and Duke’s ruled.  No how do you want it, where else do you go where they ask how do you want them to make your food?  Then Hershey’s came along, and the subs were even better, same ingredients, but different.  In Plainfield it was JV’s, and again, the same only different.  Real meat, a thick sandwich, not this thin sliced hide the meat in the veggies we have become used to, a meal in your hands, you ate without it being cut into smaller halves.  Your hands smelled good and tasted good for hours after.  And of course Greasy Tony’s, where they had paper towels instead of sissy napkins, if you have to ask I can explain, but you still might not get it.  A real sandwich, filled with the owner’s special way to make it, not taught at a school for franchisees.  Men and women who loved to cook, and got into business, the food first, and when it was good then came the profits.  And on every trip back to the fatherland, a trip to Hershey’s is a must.  And for a week my hands still smell like the spices...

But in 1976, I saw the future when meeting my friend Bob Allen for a late dinner at his friend’s sub shop in Albuquerque, the owner was excited.  He had just signed a contract with a new chain, Subway, and felt he had a good future.  Subs were not the hot setup in Albuquerque, but this was to change with Subway.  And would change the way America looked at submarine sandwiches.  What Ray Kroc had done for burgers and fries, Subway was about to do for subs.  Where were Duke’s, Hershey’s and Greasy Tony’s when we need them?  Is it possible that something good could ever come out of New Jersey?

We tend to frequent small hole in the wall places, where the owner makes the food, and it is his way.  His recipe.  If I had been patient yesterday, a trip of 5 miles would have brought me to Old School, a great sandwich place where for the money you get fed, not franchised.  Maybe a lesson in patience was in order yesterday, a lesson I hope will not repeat itself. 

A few weeks ago in our Tuesday night study Jeffrey asked what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ.  He was a Christian man, but wanted more than religion had to offer.  He was tired of the franchised way of worshipping God, and knew there had to be more.  After I did my best to explain, he said he got it, and in the past few weeks has grown in the Lord as the spirit is now upon him.  And he knows it.  What a difference getting personal means, not only in subs, but in knowing Jesus.  Knowing about where the best subs are has value, knowing has vitality.  Life, excitement, new flavors, and a new take on an old meal.  Works with Jesus too, as Jeff and many others have found out.  Franchised religion via denominations will do for awhile, but to grow in Christ you need more than a premade sermon every week.  You eat 7 days a week, you need Jesus everyday too.  Casual contact on Sundays or Christmas and Easter are not enough, it comes from constant contact via the spirit, where the red words spoken by Jesus take on the face of God, not the face of church.  Where you can go directly to the man, instead of a man.  But yet many take the casual approach, and eat at Subways, never knowing what a real meal can taste like.

Maybe my father in law described it best.  A Catholic by culture, he told me once the thing he liked about the Catholic religion was no matter where he was, it was always the same.  No challenges, very little participation, and no growth.  He felt comfortable and when his time was up, he left until next week.  And repeated the same.  Pick any religion, and when the pastor hides behind a pulpit, but encourages you to get out, maybe it is time to get out, and into Jesus.  To see why we celebrate a risen Christ, why he suffered, and why in our suffering we draw closer to him.  To meet him personally, if Jesus showed up at your table for lunch, would you recognize him?  Would you be comfortable with him?

When we see ourselves as God does, we see things differently.  We see Jesus clearer, and scripture comes alive.  No longer do we whine and cry in suffering, we know since he suffered, we will too, and that he will win the battle without our help.  Which one of us was there to help him at the cross?  We find a new freedom in Christ to be who we want, and things become less important.  People do, and we see opportunities to minister that we stepped over before.  The love of Jesus makes it personal, and we want to know him more, not about him, but to know him.  Just like a best friend, we always want to see him, and make the time to do it.  Religion ends up franchised like many a good sub, but there are still better places to eat, where you can meet the cook, watch them prepare the food, and just the aroma when the door opens makes you even hungrier.  Just like the holy spirit does for us...

Dave Thomas made a fortune selling burgers with his red headed daughter Wendy on the sign.  His philosophy was simple, a better burger, his way.  And based on his philosophy, the best two bites of the burger are the first, ahh, you gotta have another, and the last, I can’t wait until I come back.  How do you meet Jesus, and how does he leave you?  Are you excited to see him and spend time with him, and cannot wait for more, or is it just time for church again?  Are you just eating because it is lunch time?  The hunger for more of Jesus cannot be self fulfilled, only by his spirit will we ever be satisfied.  And it is offered to every believer, free of charge.  And you cannot get it by trying, struggling, or stressing.  It comes from knowing Jesus personally.  Face to face, sandwich to sandwich. 

By the way, Jersey Mike’s was started by a guy named Pete.  Jersey Pete’s?  So here is to all who go it alone, seeking more from their meal.  To Duke’s, Hershey’s, and Greasy Tony’s.  The ladies at JV’s, who each took a good sandwich and made it better.  Tired of franchised religion, Jesus is the way.  Always has been, always will be.  For love or money, you will get what you want from religion, but will never be satisfied.  The best meals are ones with the recipe made from the heart, not our way, but their way.  The way to the cross is the person who we will find there, Jesus Christ.  If he can feed 5000, imagine what he can do for you.  First the prophets, now it is about profits.  And you don’t have to go to Jersey!

Are you being fed or franchised?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the white car by the side of the road

“You are cruising down the highway at an indicated 75mph.  On the side of the road ahead is a white car, and as you pass, the man leaning against it nods to you.  The car is low, and you take note.  Less than 45 seconds later your car shakes as the same white car rushes past you, shaking you as it passes.  Within another 10 seconds, it is gone, and you wonder, what just happened, what kind of car was that?  What was that, it was so quick?  Gentlemen, that is speed.”  With apologies to Ken W. Purdy, the dean of all automotive writers, there is fast, and then there is fast.  George Carlin one remarked “anyone slower than you is an idiot, anyone faster than you is a maniac.”  While talking with a new rider the other day, he was impressed, but also wary of those who do wheelies and stoppies, claiming they were a safety nuisance, until I remarked, “no, you’re just jealous,” and he agreed, he wishes he could ride so well.  So do I.  But as in speed, wheelies, stoppies, or driving/riding in general, there is always someone faster, someone better.  And for awhile our egos will burst, torn or shattered, but we will get over it.  Maybe if we realize the person getting the best of us we can relate to a quote made by an Olympic competitor about Bob Beamon, who set the new long jump record of over 29’, almost 4’ longer than the old record, “the rest of us are all children.”

I was riding with friends on a Triumph Storm, dragging pegs and wearing off the feelers Saturday morning, when a group of Ducatis, and BMW S1000R’s passed me in a tight curve.  I was fast, they were faster, and my first thought was “they’re nuts,” and they were, but soon it turned to admiration, I wish I could ride that well.  Or have no fear, or at least the confidence to do it.  But we each have our limits, and my goal of returning home safe after each ride is a strong influence on my riding.  Some may think other wise, to them I am that white car on the side of the road, to me, I don’t ride any faster than I enjoy. For if riding isn’t fun, I rather do something else.  Wouldn’t you?

A group of us were talking one day, when a woman came up and accused us of judging her.  Now no one likes to be judged, and Christians are real good at it.  But we weren’t, and so I asked her “why is it only someone caught in sin accuses someone of judgment?  And didn’t you just judge me by your accusation?”  After a few sentences of futile rebuttal, she agreed, and we told her we were not judging anyone.   To some what appears to be criticism is really just describing them.  But yet we all seem to compare ourselves to someone or something, to ease the pain or realize how far we have to grow.  Paul, the apostle one, had to deal with this, as we do, and his take is recorded in scripture.  His facts vs. our opinions, maybe we need to take note of his writings, and follow them, after all they were inspired and endorsed by God. 

No matter where we are in Christ, newbie or seasoned citizen, we set out own boundaries and sets of standards.  Paul tells us that “to gain Christ is everything,” and it is, but not to add him to our list of collectibles.  When Jesus truly comes into our lives, we start to lay aside the things of the world, but some things we still caress as much as we embrace him.  Moses had his staff to lean on, and only after God removed it did he have someone rather than something to lean on.  We need to see everything as garbage, as things not worthy of worship when we come to Christ.  God wants us to surrender all things in our lives to him, and let him be truly Lord of our lives.  When he said he considered everything loss compared to Jesus Christ it was a process of a relationship building that brought him to that point.  His life was changed, and he was saved on the road to Damascus, it was when he turned over more of his life to God that the growth took place.  When the things in your life become unimportant, or you want to rid yourself of them, then you truly to enjoy what Paul describes as “the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ.”  When you truly let him be Lord, and shed the skin of a double minded man.  And find true freedom in the spirit that he has given us.

When Paul started to shed those things, he began to see the endless love that God had for him, and wanted nothing to stand between him and God.  We call it sin, and it can be subtle, but still sin.  When he considered his possessions dirty rags compared to what Christ had for him, when his values were based on Jesus rather than things, he saw the greatness of God first hand, not through the dark mirror we do. Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters, it will end in ruin, at best frustration.  You cannot hold on to both, it is either one or the other, and saying yes to both is saying no to Jesus.  Do you call him Lord but yet not follow him?  And when we do finally surrender all, we find no adequate words to describe it.  How do you describe an infinite God using finite words?

Maybe that explains your confusion, your ineffective witness, your unhappiness.  Some things or someone?  Tough choices, only one will save your soul, the other leads it to destruction.  Records are meant to be broken, there will always be someone faster, quicker, or have more money.  Only in Christ will you exercise your true potential, and have everything you want or need.  For he who dies with the most toys still dies.  This life is just a warm up for eternity, a bracket race, where when you eliminate all but Jesus, you win the race.  You rise above the bar set, and you are set free.  Salvation is a one time process, life goes on forever.  And until heaven calls, we will continue to deteriorate.  But we can grow in Christ, in his love, by his spirit.  Why is it only people on the way down claim “it’s all gonna burn anyway,” when we can choose Jesus over things, and he will guide us?  What seems like down will really lift us up, and he will give us the desires of our heart.  And when he is that desire, we can experience what Paul did, the promises of knowing it is all about Jesus.  And things will take a proper place in our lives.  Your life will tell us where Jesus in in it long before you can perjure yourself using words.

Every day like every ride will be different, so go and enjoy today.  Give the day to Jesus, and let him plan, not us.  And when trouble comes knocking at the door, and you see it is the devil, just turn to Jesus and say “it’s for you.”  For truly we can do all things in Christ who gives us strength, and a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.  No matter how fast he can ride.  For there is always a white car parked somewhere just waiting for you.  For there is horsepower, and then there is power.....’'

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

have you ever been experienced? an open invitation

The sign on the building says “Church and Christian Education,” a rather large, rich imposing church set in an industrial area.  A church with many programs, stressing being in the word via daily devotions in the Bible.  And like any other church, wants to set itself apart from others, by its motto or creed.  For just down the street sits another huge building, advertising they are a church of the gospel.  And still within shouting distance, another boasts of a huge cross on the property.  Beautiful campuses, well manicured, modern, and inviting.  All wanting to welcome you and have you join their fellowship, and bring you closer to God.  All very admirable in their mission statements, but so many based on education.  A buzzword of today, as many espouse the more education, the better chance for success.  In the world we find low end managers, who we used to refer to as clerks, now need a Master’s Degree to qualify.  We place a high, or higher value on the education of the person, hoping in the process to have learned something.  But finding that like, most of us only studied to pass the test, to get the degree.  And then it is forgotten, while turning to the current lesson at hand.  Did we really learn anything at all?

Ironically one of the best college professors I had I can’t remember his name, but I remember his class.  On the first day of class, in a small auditorium, on stage he sat with a table, a wooden chair, and an old metal trash can.  After getting our attention, he stood up and introduced himself, a former executive from IBM, and then held up the text book.  “This is what they want us to use,” and promptly dropped it in the waste basket.  “But in this class you will not learn theory, in each study we will go through a problem that we encountered in real life, and see how we either succeeded or failed.  You will learn to experience the problem,and have to think for yourself.  There will be no wrong answers, but some will work while others will be based on theory.  You will experience rather than learn about business first hand.” And we did, but almost instantly the students of grade versus the students of learning were separated.  Rather than study from a book, we studied from experience, and were made to think and apply our education.  Which made us explore potential most of us didn’t know we had.  Yet some didn’t get it, they needed to be taught, and had a very low threshold of learning. 

I am blessed to sit among a generation of the smartest Bible teachers and students in history.  With more Bibles, study tapes, notebooks, and how to books, the church is overwhelmed with education.  But yet recently one church needed some volunteers to feed the poor, and out of 7000 who attend, 16 inquired.  Where is the application of their education?  Have we all become mind numbed robots to education?  Like progress, it was a good thing, maybe it has just gone on too long.  For me, God put it plainly.  “If the seat of your pants is wearing out faster than the soles of your shoes, you have a problem.”  Maybe we need to check our wardrobe.  For the ones I see out in the battle field, the ones who get it, who experience Christ first hand, are low on education.  They may not know the Roman Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, or name the parables of Jesus.  But they have the heart of Jesus, and it shows in their life.  And others see it.  They care, they love, because the spirit drives them, not religion, not even church.  A problem Paul addressed 2000 years ago.

Paul refers to the men who promote the outer man, in a religious setting as dogs.  Dogs were the worst then, and both Gentiles and Jews referred to low lifes as dogs.  And here he found them in the church.   Concentrating on the external, what they knew or did publicly, how they earned their reputation.  But at a cost to salvation and spiritual growth.  They taught Jesus and the law, circumcision, and knowledge as requirements  to be saved, or to grow in Christ.  Sound familiar.  They pushed their views on people, usually picking on the weakest, and spreading their false religion.  Serving God’s people trash like the dogs ate, and expecting them to be loyal to a teaching.  A philosophy.  But never wanting to make it personal.  A desire to advertise their holiness by good works, recognition, and knowledge.  Sincere in their endeavors, they were sincerely wrong, as they missed the mark of Jesus, that we change from the inside and it is Jesus who changes us.  It is the experience of knowing Jesus Christ, not knowing about him that changes us.   When is the last time you were invited to experience Jesus first hand? 

Application of education will upset the traditional church.  Safe and secure behind a pulpit, the pastor has a safe audience.  Try the teaching out on the streets like Jesus did.  True some knew him as Rabbi, but when it was personal, when they knew him it became Lord.  And that same Jesus wants to make it personal today, to go beyond education and have you apply the love he gave you to others.  And you have a huge audience waiting to be loved, not educated.  When Jimi Hendrix sang “have you ever been experienced?”  how many can refer to Jesus as saying “I have!” 

My friend who happens to be a pastor, taught yesterday about sharing Jesus in a crisis situation.  While many quote scriptures and try to influence the afflicted, why not try love?  Compassion?  Listening?  People only care about how much you know when they know how much you care.    Maybe it is as simple as meeting a need, which is what ministry is.  When I met two businessmen yesterday, and they inquired as to my ministry, I told them it was simple.  Sometimes the need is spiritual, sometimes physical, sometimes emotional.  Just like Jesus told the church in Matthew 25.  And they offered to help, and donated free delivery of a mattress.  They wanted to be involved, to experience the love of Jesus, in a simple non-religious way.  All from a guy who who has 3 semesters of the same teachings from college.  You see it is not what you know, but who, and I know Jesus.

Have you ever been experienced?  Do you want to be?  Or are you content to hide behind your degree, your studies, your DD after your name?  Or do you wish to see all the blessings of Christ?  You may be a dog and not know it, just fitting in, or willing to share scraps from others relationship.  Make it personal, and Jesus offers to do it.  The things that are seen are temporal, the things not seen are eternal. If you were a building, what would your sign say?  The genuine experience starts in the heart, then changes the life. Faith begins in the spirit and grows from there.  Studying to find yourself approved, or for people to see the gospel alive in you?  Some are content to listen to a song on the radio, I want to sing it.  Application of your education, the first lesson Jesus taught was love.  What can we learn from you?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the best first aid kit to have along

My first experience riding a real motorcycle, not a mini-bike, came in 8th grade, riding my friend Ricky’s Honda 50.  Not the scooter style, but with the conversion kit giving it a seat and tank so it resembled a real motorcycle.  And to us it was.  But he replaced it with an Ossa Plonker, a 250cc trials machine, a huge bike for us kids, and no one outside of the quirky few who rode trials knew what a trials bike was.  Not a trail, but a trials bike, where you covered a pre-marked course, trying to make the best time.  Losing points for putting your foot down or crashing.  Sounds easy, until you see the course, which was riding up straight walls, crossing running streams, hopping over logs that are 2’ in diameter, and navigating sand pits.  While going slow, sometimes coming to a complete stop, and then starting again...learning the truth about technical courses first hand.  A sport that requires great coordination, and surviving falls from slow speeds, over cliffs.  Not really popular in the colonies, it is an European sport, but for awhile it took hold, or almost did over here.  And of course when all others got into motocross, I rode trials.  And suffered the abuse of going too slow, or not being able to ride fast, no big jumps, etc, but when they tried to ride trials themselves gave it a new appreciation.

My friend Gerald was a chiropractor, and on Wednesday afternoons while other doctors where driving a golf ball on courses, we rode trials bikes and made our own course.  We both rode Suzuki TL250’s, mine the newer one with the aluminum tank, which meant it was lighter, but dented easier when I fell, or hit tree branches.  We rode the foothills of Albuquerque, where today there are houses, but back then some desert trails, lots of rock formations, and the Sandias begging us to try them.  Which we did on many occasions, one time navigating a stream so well we took a moment to brag on ourselves.  Which only lasted until we looked back to where we had ridden, and saw no way back.  Sometimes uphill is easier, and going down can take twice the time.  But we made it, with more bruises than the bike, and riding with a doctor along is always the best first aid kit to have along.  I miss those afternoon rides, as they were peaceful, and we had a good time not only riding, but he was older, and taught me fatherly lessons.  And of course we had times to share God with each other.  Fellowship on two wheels, God would add the trials to our trails.

But one afternoon we had any unexpected trial added to our ride.  Riding along an old foot path in the foothills, skillfully dodging the football sized rocks, and trying to stay upright on a path 18’ wide, I started to fall.  This pathway, really an old hiking trail was cut into the side of the mountain, and looking up it was over a 1000’ to the top, but looking down, only a few hundred.  And I was about to take the shorter route, the one to the bottom, past the cactus and the rocks.  My bike started to fall to the left, and I cried out “Jesus save me!” and I suddenly was upright, and back on the course safely.  My prayer had been answered, in a way I never would have thought, and when we stopped to talk about my near crash, Gerald burst out “did you see that, did you see that?  You went over and it was like a big hand reached out and grabbed you and set you back on the trail.”  He described exactly what I had felt, I felt the hand of God set me upright, and although many thought us crazy, they knew the trail, my riding skills, and what would have happened if I had fallen.  But my first response was to call out to Jesus, before I could physically react, my spirit intervened. Some may call it an angelic visitation, all I know was I had lost my balance, and if not for the grace of God would be dead or mangled. 

Prayer can be many things, but also first aid.  The first rule not panicking in a panic situation, I didn’t even have time for that.  But my heart cried out and God heard, who was never far away, riding the trails of trials with me.  No long dissertation, or supplication, sometimes one word prayers are the best, “HELP!” and the answer is there when you need it.  Faster than we can stop to listen, God knows what we need before we need it, and already has the solution in progress.  Paul tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” which he does many times in Philipians.  But many of our brethren don’t and sadly Christians have become characterized as long faced, pious, suffering, fun robbing, rule imposing religious fanatics.  When the truth is we have fun, and we should.  Blessings means happiness, would you want to serve a God of displeasure?  Who you could never please?  Does your witness tell of the love of Christ, or of the laws of Moses?  The first church of the Thou Shalt Nots? 

Rather than become hermits or live secluded in monasteries, we are to get out among the people.  Not to hide from the world, not to cross over like the priests did in the parable of the Good Samaritan, but to engage in daily life.  Not avoid it.  Not to hide within the church, but to get out and share the love of Christ by being there.  Caring and sharing, riding and sometimes falling.  Your greatest testimonies come from the greatest trials, which come unexpectedly.  We need to be in tune with the spirit, and even when we are not, he never loses touch with us.  He was ready to catch me when I was falling, he is ready to minister to your needs today.  Who you gonna call?

The best ministerial tool, the one that says more about Jesus than your quoting scripture, is how you handle the trials.  Who do they see in charge, you or God?  This invisible servant, the holy spirit is evident in believer’s lives, and has been for 2000 years.  Is it in yours?  My experience in falling is nothing new, man fell first in the Garden and needed to be righted by the hand of God.  Today show the hand of God by extending yours in love, no matter the situation.  An open hand will show the scars of Jesus open hand, where the nails penetrated.  With a clenched fist you cannot see them....and we miss out.  Still grumbling, griping, grousing, and being grouchy?  Those are your choices, but you can rejoice today and enjoy the life that Jesus Christ has granted you.  Rejoice in him daily, and again I say rejoice.  And sharing your testimony is a great way.  For we are saved by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony.  So go tell someone today about Jesus in your life.  How he saved you, and how he changed your life.  And still does.  While riding, driving, bench racing, or working on your ride, I still find the best prayer for immediate assistance is one word “HELP!”  Followed by rejoicing, either while waiting or resting.  Rejoice in the Lord always, and be glad that his hand is always upon you.  Trials and trails, Jesus loves me, this I know. The best first aid kit to have along.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot,com