summer meant the smell of canvas

Summer meant no school when we were growing up, which meant no homework, no going to bed early, and lots of time to play.  In our neighborhood we were into building forts, borrowing wood from the new homes they were building, and then hanging out in them.  Even sleeping out in them with our buddies, making the summer nights special.  I was the youngest and nerdiest on our street, and was able to sleep out in Joey Coleman’s big tent with some of the older guys.  After begging to sleep out with them, it was having your parents OK it, and then off to the Sweet Shop to spend  your 15 cents wisely for candy, as it would have to last all night.  Maybe score an Archie comic, for Betty and Veronica, as the older guys, Kenny was a sophomore and Joey in eighth grade knew all about sex and girls.  And on some special nights would sneak a Playboy from under their dad’s underwear drawer for them to look at, giving me an occasional look, as I was too young to look, I was told.  But as it got dark, and the Coleman lantern light got dimmer, it was time for their stories, all about life in high school, maybe they would let me sit on Joey’s new ten speed, someday, and the ghost stories.  Seems every area has its share of ghost stories, and in the dark they could be pretty scary.  Never knew if they were made up or real, this was reality, and often times you were glad the older guys were there to protect you, just in case.  In the dark, even birds sounded scary, trains sounds seemed to be heading right for our tent, and when bored, time spent looking for UFO’s in the sky.  With my imagination on high alert after the stories of girls, ghosts, and things that went bang in the night.  With only the smell of the canvas tent to remind us that it was summer...the best time of the year.

But sometimes we would wander the street with our flashlights, and how everything was so different, and quiet.  Even the old grouchy neighbor’s house was quiet, but somehow we knew he was spying on us.  Every car that went by within hearing was out to get us, and sneaking back unscathed had us falling asleep.  Only to awake a few hours later, exhausted and tired, with whoever’s back yard we slept in, their mother making us breakfast.  Learning at an early age, no one cooks as good as your Mom, all eggs aren’t sunny side up, and toast can be burnt and eaten, showing manners we called it.  Then home before eight o’clock, shower and off to bed.  Later when meeting your friends at the park and bragging about your night out, you were the big guy, where as last night you were the little guy.  From Playboy girls to ten speeds, to ghost stories and Archie comics, you were the man.  Wiped out, bed coming early, except when you got the call, “hey, do you want to sleep out tonight?”  And the sudden burst of energy was all it took to be ready.  Sleep and rest would have to wait, it was summer, and it only lasted ten weeks, and their were new stories to hear, old stories to be retold, and more arguments over who would you pick, Betty or Veronica?  School was out for summer, long before Alice Copper made it a hit song, sleep would have to wait for when school started.  Summer was borrowed time from life, and no better summer nights were spent than those with your older buddies, sleeping out in a tent in a back yard.  If you are nodding and smiling you know what I mean...

We didn’t know it then, but God was always watching us, and watching out for us.  Still is today, which should be a scary thought for some of you.  But not true from God’s perspective, as he is love, and in him we find no darkness at all, or his wishing to scare us.  Funny how we enjoyed being scared by the ghost stories, the stories of the unknown, and about the responsibilities of growing up, but we are never afraid of God.  We may fear situations, fear evil people, but Jesus’ claim of never leaving us or forsaking us means he is always with us, no matter what dark path we go down.  To guide us out, to experience the evil he delivered us from, and to see his light, so we can live in him.  Yet many read how we are to fear the Lord, and how it is the beginning of wisdom, like being scared will make us better.  I was scared too often of tests in school, of bullies, of being caught, I didn’t want God chasing and scaring me too.  But here the word fear means respect and revere.  Just like I envied my older friends, and held them in a high esteem, God wants us to honor him the same way.  To be worshipped and given the proper place of honor, as the creator of the universe.  To worship and honor his son Jesus, who is the way back from sin, and who loves us as we are, and his spirit, who guided us to Christ, and is given to us to indwell in us forever.  We are never alone, yet many tempt God, don’t trust or believe him, and show  him no honor.  Some, fools the Bible calls them, deny him altogether.  How easy it was for us to believe in ghosts, to look for UFO’s, but to deny the truth of Jesus Christ.  Yet God is patient so that none of us perish.  Trust, honor, and obey, things we are told to do to our teachers, police, and the bigger guys, yet we fail when it comes to God.  Aren’t you glad he doesn’t look at us like we look at him?

Many a scary story is told in the Bible, some so gory they would not be shown on TV.  But in each case, God gave the enemy a chance to repent, to honor him, to fear him and respect him.  Yet too many stories end for them in total destruction, with no more chances to change.  They have been given the evidence, but chose the lies instead.  Choosing misery over joy, stress over peace, and Satan over Jesus.  Two men born of the same father, yet one blessed, and one cursed.  Ishmael, the one born out of sin, would be a man who would cause dissent among men, he would turn his hand against man, and they would turn their hand against him.  His mother had been told to return to the circumstance that threatens you and I will rescue you, and she does, claiming that God is the God who sees all.  Ismael chose a different route.  Yet his brother Isaac, the one who was promised, would find the blessings of God and be tested, yet found worthy.  Both the same choices, but both with different choices made.  And today God still calls us back to him, return and I will restore you.  Submit and honor me, and I will bless you....

So he has given us summer, to enjoy with friends, to show off his handiwork, to show how he revives all things that winter had taken the life from.  To extend the day so we can enjoy it more, and give us the night skies to show how infinite the universe really is.  And how it is made for us.  Consider the fact he is God, shouldn’t that be enough to worship and adore him?  Those summer nights in the tent made me feel cool, because the older guys allowed me hang with them.  It was only later when I became the older guy that I too enjoyed how the younger ones looked up to me.  Somehow when I heard the noises in the night, I knew they would protect me.  Today I can say I know God the same way, he takes care of his kids.  Jesus calls us friend.  I have chosen Jesus as the better way, now if I could only decide between Betty, or is it Veronica?  Some of us never grow up...

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com

help me Ron! Duh?

I first met Ron when he and his family moved here from Pasadena.  He was a very successful insurance agent making six figures when that meant something.  His family lived like it but Ron was becoming bored, and his family wanted more.  As in income, as in money.  So he sold his profitable business, and bought a quickie oil lube franchise, using all his cash to get started.  Based on the franchise promises, he would be rich again soon, but one thing stood in his way.  Ron knew nothing about cars or their repairs.  Within a year most of his finances were gone, he was behind to his vendors and mortgage on the shop, and ended up losing everything.  Including his wife, who had some strange religious beliefs.  She had been healed by a famous evangelist, and followed him religiously, and he had become her knew savior, and with Ron losing everything, she left him too, but didn’t divorce him, hanging on so he would have to support her and his son, who she had turned against him.  The last time I saw him was when I helped him moved his few suitcases of belongings into his room he rented in a house.  After renting here a huge house in the custom she was used to.  He should have seen it coming, but his boredom with success and her greed fueled by bad religion led him to ruin.  Help me Ron!  Duh?

I must admit I hadn’t thought of him for years, but while waiting inline for lunch last week, and watching a franchisee folding under pressure, it all came back to me.  This guy was trying to prepare the orders,  the girl had walked out in while serving them, and they were out of meat, salsa, beans, and Coke Zero, every time he called back to the kitchen for help, the answer was “five minutes.”  The guy in front of me started to get upset with the situation, but as the more we watched the futility, we became sorry for him.  Just looking at him you could tell he had been successful once, but probably not with people.  I would label him CPA material, who looking at the potential jumped on it.  Never knowing to be profitable fast food must be fast, and restaurant owners work long hours with low pay.  Bet they didn’t mention that at the franchise meeting.  And I thought of Ron, and how many like Ron had sunk everything into a business that would leave them empty and vacant, and losing everything.  Even Subway will confess it takes two stores to make a living...and the dream becomes a nightmare and goes on.

Sara and Abram both had different views of the promise God provided.  Abram trusted God, while Sara took the promise and thought she had to do it herself.  So many Christians get led astray like this, thinking it is something they have to do to please god, to make him love them more, to make them successful.  To carry out the dream or vision he had given them, only to end up in defeat.  An emptiness sets in as they flounder, and soon more meetings, more processes, procedures, and programs are added, with interest at first, but then they begin to dwindle.  Studying God’s word, but forgetting his words, “unless he builds the church, they labor in vain.”   Hanging on to the false words of going out witnessing, they fail to be a witness, and soon their actions differ very little from an atheist.  As the ones who they try to witness to avoid them, you hear “why should I become a Christian, they act no different.”  With too much truth there to overcome.  If only we listen to what Jesus had for us, and let his spirit guide us.  But we are more Sara than Abram many times, and pay the price.

Sara wanted to fulfill God’s promise of the countless people God promised, so told Abram to have her maiden Hagar, who gave him a son, thinking he was the one God promised.  Only to give birth to Ishmael, who would fight with his brother Isaac, the one God had promised.  Ishmael becoming the Arab people, Isaac the lineage to the Jews.  One promise, but one direction, self directed, not spirit driven, and look at the results even today.  Two brothers who couldn’t get along as kids, leading to two races who cannot get along today.  One race bearing fruit, chosen as promised, the other a bastard, not as promised, but as Sara chose.   We read these things shall follow them that believe, maybe the first words sent by telegraph apply, “what has God wrought?”  Instead of what has man wrought?  Sara never set out to fail, but by trusting God, not following her husband’s faith, it led her to ruin.  Selfishness instead of selflessness.  Abram was found righteous not because of who he was, but because God’s righteousness, and his trusting him.  As he would prove again and again, even a trip where God asked for his son Isaac. 

We call ourselves Christians, but do we trust Christ?  Do we act like Jesus?  Do we trust in him, or by some religious experiences claim his name?  When we come to realize it is not who we are, but what he has done, and who he is and not what we have to do, we grow in his love and mercy.  Grace grows from the relationship, God shows mercy when we fail, we walk in his grace when we obey.  One is our way, the other his. 

When Ron had spent his money on his franchise, then it was up to him.  Unexplored territory, and with no guide he was lost and lost everything.  We have come a long way from when a good mechanic would open his own shop, or a good cook would open her own restaurant.  Today you pay for the franchise, and they will teach you how to fix cars or cook meals.  Jersey Mike’s are everywhere, did you know they are owned by a guy named Pete?  Who gets a cut from each sandwich you buy?  Buying all your supplies and meats from him, to provide a consistent quality, but also feeding his piggy bank.  Whoever sells the franchise owns the franchisee.  Who ever we give our actions to owns us.  You cannot serve both God and man.  Many have lost it all via franchises, sadly too many have lost it all via religion.  From which Jesus came to save us.  So you can say “help me Ron!” And hear a “duh.” Or follow Jesus, and find his promise fulfilled.  It isn’t always all about money, but when we follow the money to where it leads, we see where our hearts really trust.  After coming to Christ, the rest is up to him, just like when we were saved.  We save no one, and only Jesus saves.  Jesus paid it all, so let him do it all.  Alive in the spirit, a vitality that only comes from God.  You will hunger again after eating, and your car will always need service.  Franchises bought on a single promise.  Are you willing to risk your future on a franchised hope or the blessed hope?  Who we depend on will show.  Too many have strayed from the faith when they should have kept their day job.  Jesus never fails.  Sara proved it for all to see, “no, you can’t have it your way.”  But you can be in the way.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the new Harley next door

A friend stopped by and saw the Harley parked next door and went to look at it.  He came back telling me how well the guy had taken care of his bike, it was spotless, looked like new, and on and on he raved about it.  I smiled to myself, because this friend is known for not listening, and not wanting to embarrass him, didn’t tell him the bike was only a month old with 600 miles on it.  It better look new!  Seems the first impression still reigns supreme, at least to the unknowing or uneducated.  Some stereotypes still ring true, but so does the “don’t judge me,” crowd. But a few years ago while looking for a car, I did see some patterns form....

We never have been nor will be a mini van family.  So looking for a used car I could afford, I narrowed it down to a Z28 Camaro, or Mustang GT.  Convertible.  I was partial to the looks of the Chevy, but the Ford won out, with some observations along the way.  Almost all Mustangs were higher mileage, had a five speed, and were owned and maintained by men.  Well taken care of.  The Z28’s on the other hand, were all women owned with automatics, low miles, and needed maintenance.  I must have looked at dozens of them, to come to this conclusion.  Now some might call this a judgment call, some a poll taken and some would come up with any excuse that fits the moment.  But it was an observation, and I ended up with the Mustang GT, and was happy.  So was my wife, as it would be her daily driver.  Turned out to be a good buy, as when we traded it, I got more on trade than I had paid for it.  I just love it when that happens....

Too many times it is buy for love and sell for money, and the converse is also true.  But when our worldly mindset dictates our decisions, it tends to leave God out of the equation.  We are told you cannot serve both God and man, and living in a fallen world we are pressured, but we as Christians have the assurance of the holy spirit in our lives, and that should make the difference.  But first impressions still are powerful, and as the bumper sticker says, “bad decisions make for better stories.”  But it doesn’t have to be that way, as we will see.

Abram and Lot were cousins, both men of God, but only Abram chose to follow God’s lead.  When offered a place to settle by the Lord, he let Lot choose first, and he chose what his eye could behold, the beauty of the land in what was Sodom and Gomorrah.  Leaving the desert land to Abram, but with God’s promise, “you shall inherit all you see and your descendants shall not able to be counted.”  Seems God sees not only the present, but sees the future, do we in all our decisions?  In any?  It turned out Sodom and Gomorrah were the sickest and most sinful places on earth, two names that represent debauchery today.  It was not at all what Lot had envisioned, and soon it almost killed him.  It did his wife, as she looked back at what was her dream instead of looking ahead to God, and turned to a pillar of salt.  Meaning death and a message that is still told today.  But it was Abram who prayed and God allowed him to rescue his cousin.  Like the new Harley next door, Lot’s first impression was wrong without all the facts. 

God was so upset with Sodom and Gomorrah he wiped out all traces of them from the earth, today they have never been found, but we know they once existed.  Representing sin, we have a picture of how Jesus wipes out the sin form our lives, the scripture means as if it never happened, leaving no trace, no S&G to remind us.  Past, present, and future.  We are forgiven, a new heart is installed and our sinful nature is wiped out.  We will still sin, but with every sin see how it comes between God and us, and as our heart changes, we do too.  That day Lot’s life was changed forever, so was his wife’s.  Sin will do that, but going back to Abram’s decision, his life was forever changed that day he let Lot choose first.  And God still lets us choose today, for perfect love demands a decision.  The things of the world may look good, but come and see the new Harley after 10,000 miles.  If not maintained, it will be old and worn before its time.  So are we if we don’t maintain a solid walk with Christ.  If we don’t pray continuously like Psalm 1 states, if we don’t recognize the spirit and give him a place in our lives, if we don’t read the Bible with his influence, and if we don’t fellowship with other believers, we stand a good chance of the world influencing our decisions first.  The devil does seek to destroy, but can also ruin us one bad decision at a time.  You may not die from an illness, but death may be welcomed after enduring one.   But God had never abandoned us, and can restore the relationship if we want, but on his terms. 

Today you may be in a point in your life where what the world has offered seems better than the promises of God.  It worked for Adam and Eve, but did it really?  Are you willing to give up all God has for you and heaven too, for a shiny new ride?  A desirable place to live?  The right job at the right salary with the right office?  Or are you willing to let the spirit guide you?  It is always best to trust the one holds the future....even when buying a car.

So look twice at the shiny Harley, ask “how many miles?”  Then decide.  After the new fades, it will just be another used bike.  Don’t think so, try to trade it in, see how it has depreciated.  That’s life and that’s the world.  Maybe Proverbs says it best, “ an empty barn stays clean, but produces no profit.”  Just like a low mileage bike, if not ridden, it still gets old.  Second Law of Thermodynamics, everything is in a constant state of atrophy.  Don’t you.  Grow in grace and the love of Jesus Christ, high miles mean better stories, like riding, we don’t quit riding because we got old, we got old because we quit riding....works with God too....but follow his lead.  All roads lead somewhere, only one leads to Jesus. 

Oh and if this seems harsh, no I’m not judging you, just describing you!

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com