Within 90 days in 1975 I had gone from pot smoking, womanizing heathen, to
being born again, to losing my job and being glad about it, and heading west to
New Mexico to live with a man who led me to the Lord. A place I had never been,
“they speak Spanish there I think,” I was told, and my life was changing at the
speed of grace. I was young enough to not have much to look back on, but some
40+ years later I have much and many thanks for God’s plan for me. My dream was
of So Cal, where you can ride all the time, the weather is always great, and oh
the women. I would finally make it some 12 years later, still riding all the
time, despite the weather, and with a great wife and family with me. How God’s
plans changed me for my benefit was amazing. Many times when the times are
tougher than we are, we look back and say I wish I had done something different,
taken the big paying job, married the boss’s daughter, or won the lottery. We
look back to times when we thought we had it made, before we had to grow up and
be responsible, like living at home with only a room to show for it. But when
God comes into your life, you start to see things differently, and your friends
start to see you differently too. You desire to move on and up, and the
naysayers go to work for their fathers, never leaving the town they grew up in.
Safe and secure, the two weeks away more than enough of a change of venue or
reality, and it is back to the same old same old, with the future looking just
like the past. So why look ahead, when you can look back and see your future.
But God had something different for me, and he has for all who choose to follow
him.
Abram had it made, a secure job and career, a wife who loved him, but had
no children. He saw no future, only his past, until one day God spoke to him,
and he listened. God promised him riches and fame, not for his own, but to give
God praise, and he gave Abram the choice of where to go. His choice is
legendary, and he grew and became very rich. A richness based on knowing and
trusting God, but one that still allowed him to be as wrong as he wanted when he
didn’t follow him. Sound familiar? That’s mercy. But God rewarded him with
everything, and today from him on down we trace the Jewish people, God truly
made him father of many. Where would Israel be today if he had decided to stay
home and ignored God?
Sarah was barren, no children before the pill was popular for birth
control. For 90 years they tried unsuccessfully, a lot of fun and practice,
just no kids. Life was no picnic, as at one point Sarah even lied about Abraham
being her brother to save his life. Following God is never easy, but always
rewarding, as she finally did conceive, and through her Israel was born. Two
old people, who chose to look ahead, instead of looking back, their dream was
their ticket out. So often we look back when in despair, but Jesus promises us
that each day we are closer to eternity and heaven. And that we are not
promised tomorrow, so make the best of today.
Paul talks of momentary light afflictions, we call them disasters. It
seems some days the light at the end of the tunnel is a train bearing down on
us, and we are tied to the tracks. Sin will tie us down, only Jesus will set us
free. He promises not to take us around, but through the turmoil. We may get
cuts and scrapes, but we win, and grow closer to him. A lesson we neglect when
talking of Abraham and Sarah, for in each tough time, God showed himself and his
love. In his time, all things were made right, and in ours they will be too.
His timing, for just as night will come, sun light will greet us the next day.
And even though clouds may cover, he will shine through them. We are not stuck
where we are, for when the Bible tells us “it will come to pass,” it does. We
will follow where our eyes focus, so focus on Jesus, and follow. Out of trust,
for his plans for us are good, plans of welfare,and a future. We will spend
most of our times in the future, so get today right with God, so you have a
bright one.
But in looking back, has God changed you? Where are you with Jesus today?
Still seeking and suffering? Or have you found the one in who life belongs?
When he offered the ticket of salvation out of life, did you take it, or get
left behind at the station? Looking back I sometimes cannot believe all God has
done for me and my life, so it gives me a good cause to look ahead. When he
says no, it is because a better yes is coming. And when he says yes, I know it
is from him, and I am blessed. But many times I just need to trust, for I know
his voice, and like the good shepherd, the sheep know him. Lost sheep, or black
sheep, he will go back for you if you are lost. Seek him and ask Jesus for
dreams of a future today. But first ask him to guide you through today. Each
ride begins with leaving home, the first turn, without it you are stuck. To
live in the future we need to get there, so listen today, deal with today, for
God has plans in it for you too.
I didn’t know I was going to hell until some one shared Jesus with me. I
was 21 and knew it all, had a job and a career, and a girlfriend or two. A fast
motorcycle, friends to ride with, it all looked good. But I had never been more
than a few miles from home to live. Until Jesus entered my life, and showed me
the way. Stuck in a rut, Jesus is the ticket to way out. Depressed and
lonely-he knows. But he continues to love us where we are, as we are. He just
doesn’t plan on leaving us like that. Only when you trust and follow God will
he show you the dreams that will be your ticket out. For some it is next door,
some the next time zone. For Abraham it was leaving his hometown of Ur, and
only one. God made him father of many, when he looked to the rock from which he
was cut, the rock of God.
The wise man builds his house upon the rock, and Christ is the rock. You
are never too old to follow God, nor too young. Nor too smart or too stupid.
Make the right choice today, and see your life change forever. Abraham did,
setting an example for us to follow. As did the 12 disciples, their dreams were
their ticket out. And Jesus is the ticket to heaven, boarding now. Don’t be
like the old saying, “when they were handing out brains, you thought they said
trains and you missed them.” So “People get ready, there’s train a coming, you
don’t need no ticket, you just get on board.” When your life is examined, don’t
look back and say “I wish I had,” let it show the grace of God you were given.
“Young men will dream dreams, old men will have visions,” maybe the skeptics are
right, Jesus is way out. If only they knew he was the way out. Far out
man....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com