been away so long I hardly knew the place

A old adage says “you can’t go home again,” but at least you can go back.  And that was part of the last 26 day ride we took, to go back to Durango, and ride out on our motorcycle.  On my last visit I ended up being life flighted to Albuquerque and having open heart surgery, this time it was by motorcycle coming and going.  It was only 4 years, we had lived there in the seventies, when it was an old western town, described as quaint, even a t-shirt sold at the time said “Durango is what America was.”  Working for Coca Cola I knew most of the businesses, and it was hard to walk Main Avenue without seeing someone you knew, and even strangers said hi.  A seemingly great place to live, I was about to see how it and I had changed.

In 1978 ony one road came in from the south and east, today a four laner has replaced it, the old road with old businesses you have to be looking for to find.  Shopping malls and even a Walmart dot the new road, along with car dealerships.  Was I in Durango?  I had been away so long I hardly knew the place, maybe a trip down Main Avenue would renew the memories.  Jim Paris Tire City was gone, now a mini mall selling yogurt.  French Hardware was gone, a coffee house.  The radio station where we held our Snowdown meetings was now a trendy restaurant.  Francisco’s, once the premier restaurant in town was closed, Francis kept the building, the new owners didn’t have Francis’ flair for cooking and it went bust.  Now it held another t shirt shop, and some clothing, which will be gone by end of summer.  Gone also were the Chief, the old diner in the railroad car, Town House, where Manny the owner also cooked for the jail.  Durango Music, where Jim Rockelmann and his family before him sold instruments, records, and anything electric was gone, now a welcome center.  Strangely enough the girl at the information desk knew nothing of Jim or his family.  I found out you can’t go home again, but you can go back.

So many of the old buildings were gone, and replaced with new style new buildings, that ruined the image.  Eating dinner with an old friend who has been there for 40 years, we agreed not all the changes were for the better.  Durango was now a town who was looking for an identity, who was stuck between yuppie fusion restaurants, and The Ore House, selling steaks.  Only the train remained, as it has for over 120 years...but now cost more to ride than I made a day back then.  Somewhere in the years that had passed, Durango lost its way, outside money from Texas and California had taken over, and the old was made new, like Disneyland.  Maybe a sanitized environment, where you can still eat at Sambo’s, if you are old school, but never leave Cali or Texas urban areas and not feel threatened.  But as George Harrison reminded us “All Things Must Pass,” and Durango is and was.  But so had I....

When we are saved we instantly become a new creature in Christ.  The spirit becomes available to us, and we are told to work out our salvation daily through fear and trembling.  Work out, I thought it was a gift?  It is, but like missing one day of rehab took three to catch up, even though salvation is instant, we need daily contact with God to grow in him.  Paul asked the Christians in Ephesus, who he knew were saved, but also something different about them “did you receive the holy spirit when you believed?”  There was no joy or peace, no patience, or goodness.  Meekness was a foreign term, so where was Jesus in their lives?  They had gotten away from the fact they once believed by faith, and a certain expectancy of what Jesus would do, but it was gone.  The believing had ceased, and they had gone back to their old ways, or like in Durango’s case, newer ways still looking.  And had lost their identity in Christ.  There was no freshness, no vitality, no desire to see God in their lives, they were saved, yet not in the spirit, their lack of fruit displayed for all to see. 

Is your walk one of sterility, deadness, and dullness due to being religious?  The spirit offers the way back, and is the way back.  Jesus hasn’t changed, we have.  We become seduced by power and money, and soon forget about who saved us, knowing the king, just not benefitting from his kingdom.  And so this story shows us how we need Jesus daily in our lives, how we need to work out in the spirit, and live the life he promises.  We need to exercise that continual faith that saved us, and see it grow into a trusting relationship.  Where the fruit of the spirit is evident, that the something people look for is really a someone, and his name is Jesus.  And we can be like him!  There is a fullness and a freshness to a spirit filled life, and it is available to all, so what are you waiting for?  Turn to Jesus, ask him to guide you, then let him.  Be sensitive to the spirit and see things through God’s eyes.  And experience blessings you have been missing, and become a true witness of Jesus Christ. 

We had great expectations of our trip to Durango, and were disappointed at first.  The town had changed, but so had we.  The new heart of today saw and reflected, and reminded me of just how far I had come in the Lord.  I was young and just starting out when we left, we returned older and wiser, retired and restful.  In the spirit.  So as you have received Christ, also live in him.  If your best memories are from years ago, you are missing out on today.  It’s funny, how I didn’t recognize the town, but then no one recognized me either.  Just two faces and we talked, and we both agreed, we didn’t want to go back, we had done our time.  Look ahead to Jesus by turning to the spirit now, why wait?  And you too will some day look back and see how you’ve been away so long you hardly knew the place has taken you farther than you ever realized.  In the sprit.  New memories start today....can you handle them?  The parking meters should have been my first clue.......

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

San Diego-the next morning

Tomorrow morning San Diego will be all a buzz about how great it carried off the Major League Baseball All Star Game.  It will brag about the crowds, the full hotels, and the generous boost to the economy.  The lines will be longer at the airport the next few days as the many who came for the game depart, and things will begin to get back to normal.  And for those who visited, they will have gotten the view of San Diego the Chamber of Commerce wanted them to see.  America’s Finest City, the claim goes, and based on the weather, it is.  And if you stayed within the ball park area downtown, it was clean, safe, and free from crime and the homeless.  The presence of police will have made the attendees feels safe, and only until they receive their credit card bill next month will they not know how much their good time cost.  And many will think of moving here, for the beaches, the climate, the cleanliness and friendliness of the city.  But tomorrow when San Diego wakes up, and things start returning to normal, those of us who call it home will return to the reality of America’s Not So Finest City.

The homeless who were herded out of the area for the week, will start to move back in.  Sleeping in tents on 15th and Market, just a few blocks from Petco Park.  The hookers will be back, the druggies and junkies moving back into the area they call home.  Regular season games will restart again for the last place Padres, while the mayor and the city will still be held hostage by the Spanos family, threatening to leave if they don’t get a new stadium, but still cannot field a team that can reach the .500 level.  Rivers will throw passes, and interceptions, and no other city in America wants them.  And as the referendum appears in November for a 20% hotel tax, hopefully the voters will say no to the mayor and his self seeking minions.

Come back to San Diego after a rain storm and find the beaches closed from sewage escaping from Mexico.  After every storm.  Try to find work and find too many undocumented aliens have taken it.  Try to find housing, and find multi family homes used to be single family homes, now with two or more families residing, just to make rent.  If they can find a place to rent.  Move out of downtown, and expect an hour plus for a 20 mile ride to work.  Gasoline here is a dollar more than most of the US of A, but hey at least the weather is always good.  And as San Diego wakes up from its stupor after the game, we see that maybe behind the curtain of the All Star Game our city needs help.  Maybe like Dorothy, we should have heeded the wizards advice, and not peeked behind the curtain.  For what we saw was not what we get.

A few years back I had lunch with a pastor friend, and when I asked “how was your year?” he responded “we met all our bills.”  What a strange answer, from a man who is thought to be serving God, but expected in today’s climate.  But success in many churches is found in the budget being met, the congregation growing, or the Pastor’s new book selling well.  Inside the four walls all is safe and secure, but outside all hell is breaking loose.  Really the church may be rotting from inside, safe and secure they kept the world out, not realizing they let it in, locked the doors and won’t let it out.  When Jesus told us to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world, he told us we had to get out and do it, not sit huddled behind locked doors with a security team patrolling the parking lot.  Until the church is out doing what the gospel promises, feeding the poor, and providing for widows and orphans, before the gospel has been shown to all in word and deed, the church is a failure.  Paul knew this, and was only encouraged by the spirit, as no church without the spirit could provide the help he needed. 

Today we have many huge churches, with campuses to minister.  Programs, processes, and procedures to keep the flock busy.  Entertained.  Some of the encouraging words God spoke to Paul were “I have many people in this city...” and we do, many Christians who call upon the name of the Lord.  But too many are like the All star fans, in it for the good time, what God can do for them.  How great a chance to witness of God’s greatness by showing his love, not only to strangers, but to the homeless, lost, and hurting who call San Diego home?  Are we really a fine city at all without the gospel going forth?  Where is our confidence in Christ that knowing he brought all these people here, that he will provide a means to minister to them?  Can the churches of San Diego even welcome the spirit that draws men to Christ, and deal with the stirring of the spirit when they come?

Today you may be the only Bible a person may read.  The only example of a Christian someone needs to have minister to them.  Will you stay inside or will you be out in the light of the Lord?  Will you be salting souls or pouring salt into wounds?  You may be faced with condemnation, ridicule, maybe even be threatened, but God promises to be with you.  You read your Bible, you study history, doesn’t it tell us every time the church was threatened the church grew?  Or doesn’t your in house philosophy allow that?  Paul came to the Corinthians in weakness and with fear and trembling.  Yet he knew what the spirit was calling him to do, and he knew God had gone ahead to make a path.  America’s finest city isn’t until we get out of the church and into the community in the love of Jesus.  The spirit is calling, the flesh is weak.  What city you wake up to tomorrow depends on who you wake up with.  Do not let the sun set on your anger or shame, or pride.  God will provide where he guides.  Imagine a stadium built to house God’s people to meet!  How the church responds to the call of the gospel will tell more about you and your church than you may want us to know.  So get out and live the gospel you are taught in church.  See Jesus in action, cast a vote for him and freedom.  And with no tax increases.  All but a Democrat would vote for that!  Is it possible only you and your refusal to share Jesus are keeping San Diego from truly becoming America’s Finest City? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

rental car religion

We’re back!  Did you wonder where we have been for 26 days, 13 states, and 7300 miles?  We were out among the people of the US of A, on the back roads, where life is and life continues to be.  Where all the weeks of planning turned flexible the first night, as a fire in Yarnell detoured us to Surprise, Arizona.  As our new Tiger left home with 630 miles on it, not even broken in yet, but came home a seasoned road vet.  Where we saw how and why and who make the verse in America the Beautiful come to life when we sing of how “God shed his grace on thee.”  And it was hard coming back, for when the road calls, an answer must be given.  And in our case, we said “let’s ride!”

We started with a destination, Loess Hills in Iowa, pronounced “Luss,” and only took 4000 miles to get there, only 2000 miles away.  And because of our back road mentality, we ate at great places like Los Amigos in Santa Fe, far off the beaten path.  An old house, where the locals meet.  Don’t forget to have a sopapilla.  We ate a great breakfast in Bellevue, Iowa, Grandpa’s Café, on the Mississippi, where a man brought us a paper to look at, his wife told us about where she was born down the road, and the owner directed us to Savanna, the motorcycle roads are better on the other side of the river.  It was Linda at the Husker Motel, on old US 30 in North Platte, Nebraska, in a renovated 1960’s motel, where $62 got you a great room, quiet, and when checking in, gave us a huge container of chicken soup, she had just made.  Along with a muffin and cocoanut chocolate candies.  To welcome us along the road.  It was the guys at Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa, where in an old town of 400, maybe, they sell collector bikes all over the world, and welcome travellers like us, and call us by our first name.  Who give the tour of the back room, a museum in itself.  And it is breakfast at Dave’s Old House, in the only commercial building left being used in Pisgah, where a hand printed sign tell you “credit card machine broke.”  No need to explain to a yuppie that means cash only.  And everyone is greeted by name, and for $4.25 you get a tenderloin that covers the plate.  And it is Elida’s in Springer, New Mexico, more locals only, with the occasional riders like us, meeting Elida, and talking with a couple outside, who remind us New Mexico is really the Land of Entrapment, just one sunset will tell you why. And not a rental car to be seen....

At the same time some friends took a similar trip through the west.  Flying to Denver, they picked up their rental car, with GPS, and then drove down I-25 to Santa Fe, and then dropped it off at the airport in Albuquerque.  We may have been in the same states, but saw different states altogether. A completely different state of mind.  In climate controlled comfort, they went from car to hotel, car to dinner, then back.  Following a AAA guide, or any other sponsored tour, they missed all we saw and did.  And if shown pictures of our ride, Theresa took over 6500, would wonder where we had been.  They never left the sanitized life they have at home, and never would have encountered Jeremiah Brinkley and his horse Skipper, walking across America, when we stopped by a rushing stream at 9000+ feet.  Not in any guide book, they really were prisoners to someone else’s trip, where we got to plan our own.  And see the real America, and meet real Americans.   Where at the Siesta Motel in Durango they provided towels and a hose to wash your motorcycle, never heard of any one washing their rental car have you?  We left home...I’m not sure if they ever did.  Are there any good pictures or memories taken from behind the windshield of a rental car? 

You may hit the road, but that doesn’t mean you are going anywhere.  It is like a life with no joy in it.  Or a relationship with God but not being personal.  Call it rental car relationship, you know exactly what to expect, because it is preplanned, and no surprises are included.  They are purposely deleted, or planned out of the relationship.  And if you don’t like it, turn it in for another.  So many witness of a personal relationship with Jesus, but then fall into organized religion, claiming theirs is different, but really the same, just packaged different.  Their relationship may be Sunday church, Tuesday Bible study, Thursday lunch with some other Christians, but it is the same every week, down to where and what to have to eat.  They know that at 30 minutes into the service the teaching begins, that there will be an altar call, and the same ones will go forward for prayer.  They brag about reading through the Bible in a year, but don’t live it.  Their lives are like a rental car, used then cleaned up for the next guy to use, safe and secure including a GPS, just in case they miss their exit and are lost.  They have no leading of the spirit, but are encased in a church based, organized life.  Their relationship with God is like the movie Pleasantville, until the color of Jesus comes into their lives.  And when they follow the spirit, they stand out, and soon feel unwelcome, they are different, not the same.  They are free, the rental car mentality turned in for a new life in Christ, and the blessings begin to flow.  At one time they looked at the pictures, dreaming of taking them someday.  Now they desire to be in the picture.....if a story was written about your life in Christ would you want to read it?  Would you want to rent it? 

Life is not measured in miles or church attendance, it is more personal than that.  Get to know Jesus, be led by his spirit.  Ditch the GPS, and ask God which way to go, which road to follow.  30 years ago I remember when Gary bought the Durango Diner from Jim, and he is still there today, maybe the best breakfast you will ever eat.  But he only sees life from behind the counter, we see it from a different viewpoint, and his wistful look told us he would sell out if the right offer came along.  Is your life in Christ the same as it was 30 years ago?  Have the promises of God been in others lives but not in your own?  Trust God, take a trip in the spirit.  Get off the between track of the same old same old.  Detour like we did to Riverside, Iowa, where behind the beauty parlor, and between old buildings, is a marker showing the future birthplace of James T.Kirk, in 2228.  Or to Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska.  Ever heard of the White Pole Road?  Neither place found in any tour guides, but available when you leave your trip planning up to God.  He promises you a full life of abundance, he calls it freedom, in the spirit.  We call it life.  Get out and live it, God’s way.  Truly where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  Along with good food and memories yet to be made.  If you have to ask, I don’t think you would understand.....live a life in the spirit where supersized doesn’t mean extra fries....experience Jesus, don’t settle for just an education.  And go boldly where many men have never gone before......

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

live life as if it were a story you would want to read

“Life is for the living,” my friend Ken signs off in his letters.  And one of my favorite songs tells us “life is worth the living just because he lives.”  Yet Hunter Thompson, the original Gonzo reminds us to live life to the fullest, used up and wasted, crashing at the end, “what a trip.”  And for many of us, what a long strange trip it has been.  Thanks Jerry for the inspiration.  Ask anyone “if they are happy?” and they will lie “yes.”  But we know better, we listen to their conversations, listen to their dreams, and hear of their bucket list.  Some wear license plate frames telling us “he who dies with the most toys wins,” never mentioning they still die.  So many avenues are taken in life, some safe and secure, some just off the mainstream and some Gonzo.  But years ago without knowing it, I chose to live life as if it were a story that I would want to read.  Influenced by The Hardy Boys, detectives who would solve crimes while still in high school, I loved the excitement of them riding motorcycles, speed boats, dating girls, and brushing with danger chasing criminals.  I wanted to be out where the action was, and wanted to be the one telling the story, rather than listening to others and their excitement.  As I spent time in locker rooms, listening to the stories of past victories, great catches, shots made with two seconds left, and the crowd roaring, I wanted to be part of it.  Motorcycles introduced me to bench racing, and men who once were considered old by us, now who we wanted to hang out with, we loved the stories of how it used to be.  Of brushes with death, of riding in the rain, of impromptu races, and the brotherhood of fellow riders.  I wanted to be part of it, and the invitation had been extended in each case, the question was “how would I answer?”

After 44 years of street riding, I still find the call of the open road as strong as ever.  For every road I have ridden, when I revisit it on a new bike, it is like it is the first time.  Along the way I now take the time to see where that road goes, and when asked about destinations, I answer “directions.”  One trip for two weeks had no destination except follow the road, while others have preplanned stops, and change along the way.  Flexibility in finding new roads, dealing with weather and detours, and tips from others we meet add excitement.  Perhaps my son’s answer to his friend who was bragging about his vacation says it best, at age 9 he got it.  “My dad and I rode his motorcycle to Canada.”  How many lines did you stand in at Disneyland?  Or suffered through another staycation?  How many vacation films or pictures have you looked at and wish you were in?  Again a woman on a trip in an SUV filled with kids, getting out and looking exhausted at Crater Lake.  One look at our motorcycle, she asked “wanna trade?”  Theresa’s smile said no with more than any words can speak.  Next time you walk across the parking lot, do people stop to look at your sedan, or are you mesmerized by a motorcycle, wondering where they have been and where they are going and even if you don’t ride, wonder “I wonder what that feels like?”

But when Jesus enters your life, things begin to happen.  You change, and soon you become excited about life, and can break free from religion.  When asked how long he had been preaching a man replied “30 years,” to which the questioner replied, “I know, the same thing over and over.”  Not taken by surprise, the preacher answered “and if you ever listen to what I have said, I can move on to the next subject.”  Sound like your life?  Is your service so predictable, that you know when the songs are finished, when so and so will walk in late and make you move, and when the service will end?  And how?  Is that all that god is in  your life?  Maybe you need a vacation, a spiritual retreat from the ordinary, you need a trip with the holy spirit.  Ask Jesus to take you places you have never been, to add excitement to your life, but be prepared.  When you pray and ask to be more like Jesus, remember how he suffered, never owned a home or car, and was on call 24/7.  Did you forget his crucifixion?  But have you forgotten his resurrection too?  Is your life stale, in need of resurrecting?  You can only resurrect something that was alive once and has died, where are you with Jesus?  Our answer is not important, be honest, where is Jesus in your life?  Is the spirit as fresh and alive in it as it was the day of salvation?  Do you look forward to your weekend as much as your next ride, or are both the same as last weekend, and the one before that?  Have you cut yourself off from the world thinking that was the way, and found it was lonely?  A quick trip to the Bible and some simple advice may help.

“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so you will have the right response to everybody.”  Colossians 4:5-6.  Get out and live, and live life as if it were a story you would want to read.  Maybe something as simple as trying a new dish at the diner, turning off the TV and going for a ride with the family down to the drive-in.  Maybe be real bold, and ask God “what would you have me do?”  You may end up working with homeless, elderly, ministering to hookers and bikers, and taking the knowledge of what you learned in church out to the lost and dying.  You will be building a testimony and encouraging them!  Maybe be brave and sell a toy or two, and take a trip in one.  No trailer queens in our garage, with each mile new memories are made.  Are you tired because you are tired of living?  In a rut?  It is really only a grave, but with open ends, and an escape route.

I want everything from God I can get.  He likes to bless, and I like being blessed.  But I find when I am out where the action is, I can become a blessing, and share the Lord, many times just being part of a conversation.  We are told to go out and share the gospel, evangelism is not just inviting someone to church.  We are the church-so start acting like one.

We all fail, but never succeed if we don’t at least try.  The disciples were all losers, and many failed while following Jesus, Peter gives example after example.  But he never looked back, he kept going, pressing on.  Knowing that Jesus forgave him, and was urging him on to greater things.  Not content to sit on the bike in the showroom, or on a simple test ride around the block, he wanted the full ride in Christ.  Do you?  Or are you content just cruising around your neighborhood revving your engine?  “Jim’s home..” as they hear his rumble.  Or when they see you and ask “what’s new?” you have stories to tell?  That you would want to listen to, and so do they.  The ride of your life is calling, for now your answer has been at best, “later.”  Today was tomorrow yesterday.  Tomorrow never comes, but yesterday stays forever.  Get out and live life, let the Lord into your plans, and see how exciting life can be.  Even dogs love to go for walks, what do they know we don’t?  On your motorcycle you can find out why they hang their heads out the window.  The rushing wind in your face, the rushing wind that the spirit brings into a life is waiting, what are you waiting for?  If you were a book would you want to read about you?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

like trying to herd cats

Joe came by walking his cat last night, yes walking his cat, a rather large brown and black striped male named Tiger.  As Joe attempted to push Tiger with the leash, it was really evident that Tiger was in control and doing the dragging, who was walking who is still under debate.  But the first time I met Tiger, I was warned he is aggressive, and may scratch, and I showed respect, along with restraint.  But as he began to trust me after discounting the dog smell on me, he began to rub my leg, and let me pet him.  And started to purr, a loud purr, and soon he was on my lap, having his head, then his belly rubbed.  Which amazed Joe, as he won’t even let him do that.  But Tiger and I became friends, and now when he sees me, he will wake from his nap, and run over, and the games begin.  Head, then belly rub, all accompanied by a loud purr.  He will continue until I put him down, and if he isn’t ready to stop, he will jump on my lap again.  All the while the purring continues...

Ever wonder why a cat purrs?  Physically I don’t know, but I read once it means whatever is going on right now I don’t want to ever stop.  Pretty accurate description don’t you think?  And having been around cats all my life, have found once you make a friend with a cat, it is loyal forever.  Years ago when we had a Tigger of our own, she would sit on strangers laps, welcoming them into the home.  And even people who hated cats would like her, as she sat and purred.  After getting over the feet going, and finding out they are happy, not attacking.  Questioning a friend one day while holding Tigger, I asked him why he didn’t like cats.  “Because they don’t listen,” he answered, “just like you” I answered.  It seems you cannot make a cat obey, they have their own free will, the popular saying “like trying to herd cats” intimates at the impossible.  But really describes us more than we care to admit.

Scripture tells us we are all like sheep that have gone astray, but really I think we are more like cats.  Cats are smart, God has given us a brain, although for some the last time they visited with it was a while ago. We like to have our head rubbed, to have our belly patted, to be fussed over, when we want to.  We don’t like to be on a leash, but to go where and when we want.  Without being tied down.  We like to make the choices, and when everything is going our way, we purr, a heavenly purr from inside that tells us “I wish this day, this ride, this meal, this moment would last forever.”  And sometimes get so concerned over the moment ending we forget about the moment itself.  Not sure if cats do or not.  But unlike sheep, cats and us cannot be herded, and anytime anyone tries to control us we rebel.  The purring stops, and our claws come out...sometimes as a warning, sometimes foregoing any warning, and scratching out someone’s eyes.  So maybe we may be like sheep that have gone astray, but really we act like cats that aren’t getting their own way.

But unlike cats, we can ask for forgiveness, and Jesus forgives us.  But we have trouble forgiving others, and those we have scratched may not forgive us.  In the answer Jesus gave about how to pray, he replied “to forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”  It starts with us, not the forgiveness the unsaved ask for, but when we become a Christian, we need to forgive others to show how God has forgiven us.  If we are unwilling to forgive others, a barrier is formed between us and that other person, but also between us and God.  We cannot think or act like him, or how he wants us to if we harbor hate or just plain anger towards that person.  So Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies.  When is the last time you did that?  Not a prayer to have them get hit by a bus, or beat with a Jesus stick, but for their salvation?  Do we forgive others as we forgive ourselves?  Jesus also said that no man can hate himself and love his brother.  Is forgiveness keeping you from purring?  Are your claws out to attack, or to show affection? 

So maybe we are more like cats, reminding ourselves that cats are cool.  A dog will cower, but forgive and come back.  Cats won’t, it seems they remember better, like us.  Maybe we need to forgive more like dogs, but stay cool like cats.  You can herd sheep, you can walk a dog, but you cannot a cat.  But only Jesus forgives, and once forgiven, we need to forgive others too.  If we truly would like to purr like a cat, we need the peace that comes via the holy spirit, a peace that goes beyond conditions, finances, feelings, and emotions.  It comes from inside and is evident on the outside,  and if we withhold forgiveness, we are robbing others of the grace of God that shines through us.  If only we remember the huge amount of sins Jesus forgave us for, maybe then we could better forgive those slight sins of who sin against us.  And keep our claws where they belong. 

He who has sinned much has also been forgiven much.  What beautiful words to hear, “go and sin no more, your sins have been forgiven.”  Remember that next time someone rubs up against you, or wants to sit on your lap when you are reading.  Or wants to eat just when you sit down to.  Are we nicer to our pets than our fellow Christians?  How does Jesus react to us when we go against him?  When we disobey, or interrupt?  And how does he react when we ask forgiveness?  Sheep are stupid, and have no defense mechanisms, they rely solely on the shepherd to lead them.  Cats cannot be herded....do we call him Lord but do not do the things he says?  One attempt at pushing a cat on a leash, or trying to herd one should be enough to remind us of how we have gone astray.  We were all stray cats once, only in Christ do we find a home.  And someone who loves and forgives us.  And that is what makes cats and Christians purr.   Jesus in our lives, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  And why you never stroke a cat the wrong way.  Git along little doggie, but never a cat....and a wacka wacka good night to you.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com