separation of church from state

Looking over what he had created one day, God saw the sad state that it had fallen into, and decided enough was enough.  So he decided to resurrect Noah and have him build an ark to rescue those who had given their heart to him, and flood the earth again.  He told Noah he had 18 months to complete it, and it would follow the same pattern as before.  But after 11 months and checking in with Noah, he found Noah had barely started, and in no way would he be done within the 18 month period.  And asking him why was given the following answers from Noah.

“Forgive me Lord, but I had to apply for a building permit, and the paperwork just came back.  The boat inspector has been arguing with me over a sprinkler system, despite my reason for building an ark.  My neighbors have been in court against me a few times, it seems the ark will violate the neighborhood by-laws, and HOA covenants.  It also would exceed the height limitations, and block some views of the ocean.  I am still waiting to hear from the planning commission on that one.  Then the council informed me that I would need to get a special permit to move electric power lines, and are demanding a load of money up front to move or relocate them.  When I told them the water would be coming to us, they would hear nothing about it.  Sourcing the wood you required is still a problem.  The ban on cutting local trees is in force, seems a great spotted owl is living among them, and despite the fact I told them I needed the wood to save the owls, they said “no way, no go.”  The environmentalists are still picketing my site.

Next when I started to petition for the animals, PETA and the ASPCA took me to court.  Seems I would be confining wild animals against their will.  They argued the accommodations were to restrictive, and it was cruel to put so many animals in such a small space.  Inhumane they called me.  Then the EPA ruled I couldn’t build an ark, the construction site borders a flood plane of all things, and would have an environmental impact on the area.  Next the Human Rights Commission is telling me how many minorities I must hire.  The Immigration Department is still checking the visas on the number of men I hired from in front of Home Depot.  May take months.  And then the trade unions, and SEIC told me I couldn’t hire my sons to do any of the skilled work, they must be union.  And have ark building experience.  Arc welders, just no ark builders.  And finally the IRS seized my assets, claiming I was trying to launder money and leave the country illegally.  You can see what I am up against....”

And it is the liberals who want to separate the church from the state?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Now this may be an extreme example, but who hasn’t come up against the bureaucracy and found it wasted their time and money?  Yet the church, and many Christians in particular feel overwhelmed in life, with life, and feel hopeless in the face of adversity.  Maybe a quick memory jogging of Noah and the ark will refresh you.  He was 600 years old at the time God commissioned the ark.  And it took him 120 years to complete, with only his sons helping.  And it wasn’t raining when God told him to build it.  But we find him to be an early example of when God says to do it, then it will come to pass.  And that same process and promise is still alive today.  Yet how many get the call to ministry, only to fail because they cannot raise the funds?  Or cannot build a customer base of support?  Imagine the apostles going to Jesus, “sure Lord, take what is in my pocket and change the world.  That‘s all I have is hope and change.”  Now where have I heard that one before?  Yet these 12 men were sent out and changed the world without any financial support, no proceeds from book sales or sponsored events, no line of credit, and no VISA.  But they did give the Master Charge, and he took care of them.  And he still takes care of us today...if we let him.  So maybe we need to not only separate the state from the church, but the church from the will of God.  Programs, processes, and procedures only weigh down the will of God, if God says it will happen, and tells you to do it, it will happen.  Just ask Samson, who God told would overcome the Philistines.  Enter Delilah, then he was blinded, but still pulled down the pillars on his enemies, just as God had said.  Only he would not be there to see the victory...talk about a bad hair day!  So maybe what God asks us to do is not so difficult, to spread the gospel as we go.

To love, to let him change hearts, to share our testimonies, and let him be God.  But instead we have meetings, which sound all too familiar like the state.  I used to think that the world invaded the church, and I was wrong.  It invited it in, shut the doors and locked them behind them, not allowing them to leave.  They found they liked the things of the world, and started making excuses to keep the world involved.  Consider this, would we need a welfare program if we took care of the widows and orphans as the Bible tells us to do?  If we owed no man nothing but to love him?  If we lived an Acts 2:42 life, and finally Matthew 6:33, seek Jesus first then all things will be added unto us.  Yet our daily lives are much like Noah’s in the example, and we are frustrated.  Don’t think so, listen to your prayers tonight...

When God tells us he has a plan for our lives, it includes tough times too.  But because he is honorable, and his promises yea and amen, we can depend on him.  No wonder man plans and God laughs, or have you been listening?  If God gives you a vision, he will supply all your needs in Christ Jesus.  If he can save a soul, don’t you think he can supply your physical needs too?  But sadly we get wrapped up in ourselves, asking and not receiving because we don’t listen for his answer, and if we don’t like it, don’t obey it.  And we still call him Lord, but don’t do the things he asks?  Maybe a simple test from Zechariah will help.  God told the people to build houses, but after awhile were bored, they wanted to build buildings and cities.  God’s answer was simple, “if you cannot build a house, what makes you think you build a city?”  And we wonder why God laughs at our plans...if you cannot do a simple thing God asks, what makes you think he will trust you with something bigger?  Like a family, or a ministry?  Would you hire you?  And we haven’t even begun the paperwork yet. 

Now we know the Bible says God will never flood the earth again, but that judgment will be given.  And we need to live in the expectancy that Jesus will call us home at any minute.  Are you, are you about the things of God, or still fighting with him?  Separate yourself from the things of the world, but realize we still live in it.  Show love, compassion, and live like there is no tomorrow.  We are not promised tomorrow, so deal with the things of today, and don’t worry about tomorrow.  And if God asks, be able to give a good report.  Of praise for the blessings he gives you, and how he allows you to be part of his plan.  What if God’s answer to Noah’s excuses was “maybe I was too late, the end is already here, beyond repair.  Man beat me to it.”   Now, do you really know enough to counsel God?  For who has known his mind and given him advice?  God has everything under control, and no undocumented people will be in heaven.  So make sure your name is in the book of life today....don’t fall for “hi I’m from the government and here to help.”  And all these things will be added unto him who believes....for the wise man built his house upon the rock.  And when the storms came.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

driving 25-cruise nights will never be the same

Between the heavy garlic overtones and the heavy biker overtones of Hollister, SR 25 is 7 miles of boring straight.  And also very dangerous, as there is no passing lane, and most of it, although straight, has no passing zones.  So it becomes a dangerous road and the site of many accidents when the impatient, or the frustrated get stuck behind Mr. RV, who should be bedridden instead of driving his wobbly box at 45 in a 65 zone, under the influence of wife and grandkids, looking for the next McDonalds.  A road I always avoid, taking the long way around may take longer, but has some curves and I also avoid the 101.  But heading south from Hollister, SR 25 takes on a different personality.  The first 7-8 miles past Bolado Park, and through the expanding community are straight, but wide open.  But where civilization ends, and the road begins, for the next 60 miles it takes on the personality of a planned race course across the valley.  Not a road for the faint of heart, although Harley riders manage to maintain 55 for most of it, some sections are tight and technical, then suddenly open up into 100 mph straights.  But don’t get too comfortable, as suddenly another 25 mph sharp turn may appear, opening up another set of turns, then for no reason, wide open road.  A road that follows the topography, with turns, elevation changes, sweeping curves, and all the good things that make a great motorcycle road.  Sparsely traveled, with no gas or food stops, for 60 miles you are on your own....

Now at least once a year since 1997 the Hollister Rally brings in thousands of bikes from all around, and many will ride 25, enjoying the break from the 101, the ever present wind and fog in Salinas, and the perpetual back up of traffic waiting to turn off to go to Monterey, where no light helps or hinder the northbound riders wanting to turn left.  So many get off in King City at SR 198, which has its own set of curves to negotiate, or come up through Indian Valley Road, not a place to make time, but a nice peaceful ride paralleling the 101, just look out for farmers, and locals using it as an escape route.  It meets SR 25 at the 198, and we have ridden it many times.  But 25 has now become our standard route to Hollister, for even in a car, you are tempted to become Ricky Racer.  But back in the 1990’s, Car and Driver, let the secret out about SR 25, naming it one of the best sports car roads in America, and now it is travelled more than before, but still not heavily.  And on a ride from Monterey to Hanford last week, riding it, I came upon a sight made just for the road, and the ride.  Ever hear of a Bugatti Veyron?  Don’t feel bad, just finding a Bugatti dealer may be beyond your means, but for those who can write the check for this $2 million dollar supercar, it is worth the trek.  A car that will go over 250 mph in its stock form, it is both poetry and beauty in motion.  A car I had never seen at any car shows, with the most exposure on Top Gear, where James May drove one at the Nurburgring to over 251 mph, and they call him Captain Slow.  But last Thursday, after leaving Carmel, still in overload with the cars from the Pebble Beach Ride Experience, I was greeted by not one, not two, but seven Veyrons!  Driving together, yet apart, with a Bentley in the mix, enjoying 25 way above the posted limit.  A feast for my eyes, I had earlier passed a group of Porsches enjoying the curves, but these cars had no illusion of speed.  Fast but not too fast, they look fast when parked, they were out for a ride in a car that will cruise at Indy 500 speeds, on a public road.  Wanna bet at least one reads Car and Driver? And no cops in sight....

But 25 can also be a lonely and dangerous road.  On one ride to the Rally, we came upon a Harley rider who had used too much rear brake, and overshot a curve.  He would be OK after a stay in the hospital, his bike fixed again to avoid using the front brake,which would have saved him from crashing.  But in this area, and on this road, there is no cell phone service, and I had to go to a few farm houses, the first ones were open, but nobody home, farmers work all day.  But some 20 miles later I found a neighbor who had a land line, was able to reach the CHP, and soon our new found friend was off to the hospital, pretty dinged up but he would heal.  So lonely roads can be as  dangerous as crowed ones, and take on a new danger of their own because of being remote.  Something to consider when riding them, maybe why the Veyrons rode in a pack.  “Just seven of my closest friends out for a ride in the country...” on a day of everlasting love of the road.

God tells us of his everlasting love for us, we can only go back as far as our memories, God goes back before the beginning.  And into eternity...try to explain that to a 5 year old.  And his love is not bound by our boundaries of finiteness, but by his boundless, everlasting love.  Words that definitions fall short of fully describing, only in the spirit do we see how everlasting he really is.  Go beyond the vanishing point of the future, or back before time, and that is everlasting, that is the Lord.  When we go beyond what we can imagine or comprehend, everlasting is just beginning.  And we have been given Jesus as the portal to immortality, to the road that never ends, to a ride with enough thrills to last a lifetime, into eternity.  Jesus is everlasting, he has always been, and always will be.  But what of the rough roads of life, what if your ride is an old rental car instead of a super car?  What if your life is mimicking your ride, does that mean his everlasting love is failing?  Or is that where it begins, as through the trials our character is being built by him.  Is it possible that in the midst of hardships, that this everlasting love is showing us real love, of the ever presence of a loving God in our life, and who through the tough times is drawing us closer to him?  Why is it that we wish to escape the consequences, yet God wants to lead us through them?

When we are out of control, a situation we usually relate to just before we crash and burn, God has total control over your situations.  It is his perfect plan for us, and despite our poor choices, or even our good ones, still loves us the same with his everlasting love.  Instead of independence from God, you are independent in/on the spirit, who never leaves you, no matter the road, the conditions, or the top speed.  He is with us always, we don’t have to find him, we are lost, he isn’t.  And right there in the toughest of times, waiting to be turned to.  Everlasting.  Never changing.  Only our lives are different. 

Despite all the wrong turns, detours, and bad decisions, you are on the right road.  God is taking you through, not around, and will bring you through.  Sometimes kicking and screaming, sometimes alone, but never without him.  One ride down 25 last week reminded me that no matter what you ride or drive, there is always a better way.  Faster, newer, and more expensive.  But fleeting.  Only God is everlasting, and at prices you can afford.  The gospel is still free, and easy to get, so we all can get it.  But it is like where the bike and the road meet together, a perfect combination.  A road with no one on it may lead somewhere, but is useless until someone rides it.  A Veyron is pretty to look at, but until driven is just another car.  Religion can be like that, just another road, until Jesus comes into it.  then it becomes the ride of your life, everlasting.  And church and religion will never be the same.  Nor will Cruisin’ Grand....for I have found the better way to go, and his name is Jesus.  Life in him is meant to be lived, to be out on the road and alive, not parked and watching the crowds.  SR 25, curves, straights, and not a cell phone in sight....may the road you are on be as everlasting.   And as rewarding.  You may be stuck in traffic and not know it....until a Veyron passes you by.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com