weekend fixes

I am amazed that after a hard and demanding week at work, Friday night brings an excitement for Saturday morning and going for a ride.  When I used to do the 9-5 thing, which really was a 6 to 6 thing, you may be physically and emotionally spent, but by Saturday morning you were up early and ready to ride.  Before traffic overtook the So Cal freeways and turned them into a parking lot, so many rides were taken up to The Rock Store and riding the canyons in Malibu.  Back roads to Santa Barbara, Santa Paula, Ojai, and into Santa Ynez, resulting in a 600 mile ride, getting back in the dark.  Worn out, but not tired.  These once a week respite from reality kept us going, and even though most of my riding is during the week now, with less traffic, Saturday rides are still when most guys are out twisting their throttles, being ministered to after a week of work, family, bosses, and other demands.  After spotty weather this spring, last weekend the roads were full of riders again, and it was good to see.  Stopping at the old Honda and now a new Indian store in Redlands, it was full of people checking out new bikes.  The lot filled with guys bench racing, and even food joints full.  For some a destination, for some a turn around point, but for all, a day to get out and ride.  To enjoy the freedom only found on a motorcycle, where the brand, the road, or who you were riding that day were of secondary importance, you were out riding, being ministered to and that was the main thing.  If only there were more Saturdays to ride...

But being retired, I have five additional ones, but somehow the vibe is different.  The shops are empty when I stop by, missing the lunch crowd I don’t have to wait in line.  There are lots of empty roads to ride, but somehow the brotherhood, the meeting and mixing with others who ride is missing.  It took some getting used to, but now I fully enjoy it for what it is, or it is what I had hoped for all the years of working.  Time to ride, and roads to do it on.  But I miss my old riding buddies, some all we did was ride as we had nothing else in common, but ride we did.  Our weekend fix was motorcycles, our drug of choice, and we could never get enough.  But then there is Sunday....

Like those of us who ride, I know many who look forward to Sunday for church.  Just for the fellowship, of getting out among fellow believers, to be among their own kind after a week in the world.  But just as some live to ride on weekends, some only live for Jesus the same way.  They divorce themselves from him during the week, no wonder they are tired and seeking fellowship.  They live a dichotomy of two lives, one at church and one at work, with maybe a third reflecting home life.  A sign on a church yesterday caught my attention, “don’t leave your family at church, take them home with you.”  Not sure of the point they were trying to make, but to me it reminded me of how Jesus is a 7/24 thing with me, daily not just for a day.  Yet religion brings out the worst in us, as some argue Sunday vs. Saturday for worship.  Traditional vs. contemporary services.  Some adhere to the Ten Commandments thinking that is all there is to church, but miss out on the salvation of Jesus, the personal relationship and the holy spirit.  When single we used to get our bikes ready on Friday night to ride, check the oil, the tire pressures, and top off the tank.  We were ready, yet there was always one straggler who was late, needed gas, or broke down along the way.  They didn’t prepare!  No commitment.  No respect of us. As Christians we can fall into the same trap of not being prepared.  If Jesus is an everyday thing, you are always ready, when spirit led, you know who to turn to and what to do.  While the religious go to prayer, those in the spirit act, they know and trust God, and don’t have to ask him about everything, or go corporate for someone to pray with.  The spirit is always with us, so we always have the perfect prayer partner, yet religion will steer us away and alone.  If you only spend one day a week with God you won’t be much of a Christian, just like riding once a week will not keep your skill set sharp.  Weekend fixes are OK, but the daily fixes, the daily bread Jesus talks of is what we need.  Maybe some time spent with him outside of church is needed and recommended.  If you only read or study what is taught, you will always be hungry, and just like the same roads, the trip gets boring.  Maybe just pick up your Bible and read it like a book, with no study or pretense attached, and see where God takes you.  Works for rides too....

It will always be about the ride, for just as some own, only a few truly ride.  Only  a few truly have the heart of motorcycling and get out and do it.  Same with Jesus, but he can change your heart if you let him.  Take a longer ride, go past where you used to turn around.  Set out alone, don’t driven by the pack, and see where the road takes you.  Same with Jesus, go farther being spirit driven, don’t just study, but spend time with God.  Don’t just ask in prayer, but listen too.  Dump religion for the real thing, and find a freedom in the spirit the Bible talks of and promises, but that religion won’t allow.  Break the rules and seek Jesus while you still can.  You will find the freedom exceeds Sunday and church limitations, and soon will be part of your life.  When Jesus changes you, the ride changes too.  But like bench racing, some just hear the stories while some are out making them.  Why wait for the weekend when there are five more days you can be riding?

Of course if you never get out and try, you will always have an audience of others who make excuses too.  Or think of it this way.  On a 60,000 mile motorcycle, at 60 mph, that is 1000 hours on the bike riding.  In church years that is almost 20 years of Sundays.  There are rides and there are rides, when the weekend ends, you don’t have to with it.  Defeat PMS, Parked Motorcycle Syndrome.  Enjoy your week, if only there were just two days in the year, Christmas and Saturday, how much different we all would be.  Sundays too, will never be the same!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

sure...but will she stop?

Quite honestly, we take brakes for granted.  We just assume we will stop when removing our foot from the go pedal and pushing on the stop pedal.  But sometimes it takes a wall, a curb, another car, or the supernatural to bring us to a halt.  Over the many years of riding, I have grown from pushing down on the pedal that motivated my Schwinns, to experiencing double leading shoe front brakes on my ?5 BMW’s, to graduating to disc brakes, and now having fun with radial brakes.  I still cannot explain how they all work double leading shoes still throw me, why will they stop you going forward, but you roll back when applied on a hill?  When Honda came out with the disc brake on the CB750, they stopped better, but still it was all about go fast 1/4 mile times, no one bragged about how quickly their bike stopped.  Or car.  Riding different bikes, in the past two weeks six different ones, they all stop differently, and it takes a few miles of getting used too.   The worn out discs on my 109,000 Tiger take some time to call ahead when planning to stop, yet the big Brembos on the Street Triple RS are a one finger assignment.  Same style radial brakes on my Tiger 1050, but yet they don’t have the same feel.  The same confidence.  And in between, my Tiger 800 and Bonneville both use the same brakes.    Please note we are talking front brakes here, an area most Harley riders never engage, fear of going over the bars, or stopping too quick.  I have seen too many Harley near misses and hits due to using only the rear brake.  I hardly use the rear brake on any bike, the front stops just fine, the other 30% of braking the rear adds is there if needed. And I do very few if any stoppies....

But with the abundance of power available in cars today, and that has been in motorcycles for years, brakes are forgotten until they squeak, pull to one side, refuse to stop, or only slow you down, or the smell is so bad you have to deal with them.  Friction applied via a shoe or a pad to a drum or rotor makes you stop when pressure is applied.  But what really goes on when you need to stop?  It takes a system working together, many parts, some now controlled electronically, to make you stop.  So simple even the dim bulb soccer mom under the influence of children while on her cell phone can use them.  But the word stop will always mean just that, not slowing down, but coming to a complete stop.  No longer moving forward.  Double leading shoes need not apply if stopped on a hill, if you ever rode a bike with them you know what I mean.

Sin is like that in our lives, we are told to stop, but no one really explains why.  Just stop.  But until you realize what you are doing is wrong, you won’t consider it.  Or do it.  Just like changing the way you drive will effect how you stop, how you live will effect how you stop, or should.  Some just indulge in a little sin, they know when they have had too much to drink, they claim, making excuses for their sin.  But you only know when you have had too much to drink after you have, for like sleeping, you don’t know you were asleep until you wake up.  And then the excuses fly....God tells us that a little leaven will go through the whole loaf, leaven meaning sin, as leaven puffs up bread, and sin puffs us up.  We can do it our way, by ourselves, we don’t need rules or the spirit to guide. It speaks of pride, of not needing God, of being self sufficient, until you find you aren’t.  Jesus referred to leaven many times, warning to beware of the Pharisees, the sin of hypocrisy or pretending.  Christians never do that, do they?

Perhaps the place where the biggest lies are told is when greeting someone at church.  “How are you?” And everyone is fine.  Can’t deny Jesus in my life by complaining, so I lie to cover up my problems.  When we know you lost your job, your kids or you are on drugs, you have money problems or are getting divorced.  Your words carry no power, and you wonder why.  If we don’t tell the truth among believers, why do you stop there, losing your credibility when sharing.  And the leaven spreads...yet God has made a way to stop.  It is called repentance, admit your sin, turn to him for forgiveness, and ask for help.  You cannot do it yourself!  Just as you cannot save yourself.  Paul once admonished the Corinthian church who were knee deep in sin, just stop!  No magic formula, just turn to Jesus and stop!  Just like slamming on the brakes may upset the others in the car, it also may save their lives.  We all want to grow in Christ, but do we want to stop what we used to do to do it?

Spiritually asleep and don’t know it?  I hope it doesn’t take a sudden stop, a panic stop to wake you up to Jesus.  Applying the brakes in each situation will get different results, we don’t need to slow from sinning, we need to stop.  Pedal to the floor!  Squeeze the lever until it hits your hand!  Don’t be afraid to use all the brakes, there is more than just the rear, and to many old wives tales.  You need all the Jesus you can get, and he is all available when you need him.  Living life in the fast lane may be fun, but living life to the fullest is knowing when to stop, and knowing how to apply the brakes.  Sure things may be going good, but will you stop when you see the signs?  Many will tell you that speed kills, but it is really what you may or may not hit that causes you to stop.  What you hit.  The big Brembos on new bikes may stop you quick, but a brick wall or tree will stop you quicker. 

God sent Jesus so we can be free from the sin in our lives, to rid us of leaven.  New rules or regulations may affect the way you live, only Jesus forgives.  Don’t let sin be like your new fast ride.  Man she’s fast, but will she stop?  The question now is, will you?  Jesus is the only power beyond what we can feel, taste, see, and smell.  Burning shoes are only a warning...so you don’t have to.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

The Old Home Fill-er -up and "Keep on Truckin'" Cafe

Trying to avoid the freeways of Iowa at all costs, we wandered off into the Loess Hills Scenic Byway looking for breakfast.  Never heard of the Loess Hills, pronounced Luss?  They are one of only three places in the world where the hills are made of blowing dust, and are beautiful to look at and ride in.  Think of terraced farmland over a 150 mile ride of winding two lane roads, little if any traffic except locals, small towns that are even small by small town standards, and you get the idea, and a must ride road.  But akin to trying to find a place to eat off a freeway exit, the small downtowns that service the farmers beckon you with signs about home cooking, and friendly service.  It was one of these non-descript places we wandered into on Father’s Day a few years back.  While all the bigger places were filled up, we rather be riding than standing in line, so we kept going, until needing gas and nourishment forced us to stop and refuel.  Still not sure of the town, they speak of counties in these parts, but we wandered into the Old Home Fill-er Up and “Keep on Truckin’ Café.  Getting there just in time to miss breakfast, so settled for their lunch special on this Father’s Day.  If breaded pork loin sounds good, this was excellent, and for $4.95 with fries, it was 1980 prices in 2016.  In between bites we watched as the locals came in, and were given their regular drinks, people greeted by name, I was glad we didn’t happen to be setting at anyone’s regular table.  We sat out in the diner part, but found a dance hall with a bar and booths on our way to the rest rooms in back.  Lots of lively conversation, generations of families coming in for their Dad’s Day feast, and we felt right at home.  Even a chat or two while leaving, with two older men sitting on the bench, commenting about when they used to ride, didn’t everyone, and about the things they had heard about Cal-EE-fornia.  Some pictures taken, and back on the bike, full and happy, with more Loess Hills to ride.

With the perfect afternoon dessert awaiting us in Le Mars, at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Factory and Museum.  Small town US of A at its best, good food, good roads, and good people.  And like the old James Taylor song said, “with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go..” on a trip of 7300 miles in 23 days.  With my apologies to James.  But back roads that go nowhere always seem to take us somewhere, to places we may have missed, and faces we would never have been acquainted with.  Maybe I should not have told about the Loess Hills, but now that the secret is out, the OHFEUAKOTC may have to run a second shift, or make more room at the all you can eat salad bar.  I just hope it doesn’t happen in my life time.

It has been said many ways that man plans and God laughs, I can relate to that, but he may be laughing with you in good fun and in joy.  So many are all about the road they are on, they miss the stops along the way.  Only eat at franchised restaurants, only at name brand motels, and never try anything to eat you cannot pronounce or never heard of.  They lead good lives, but boring and unexciting lives, just the opposite of what God promises, but what their religion demands.  Fit in with the crowd, don’t stick out, don’t make waves, follow the catechism, follow our study notes, and we will be the path to God you need.  Don’t even think of looking elsewhere....forgetting many in the Bible who did.  For instance....

Abraham,when given a choice of which road to take, took the one less traveled, and a whole race of people were born.  How many out of the way places did he eat and sleep?  Paul on the road to Damascus, and then roads to Malta, Corinth, the Collosian area, maybe time spent on the Roman Road, where he knew all the good spots, but allowing God to take him down roads he never dreamt of.  How abut the many roads travelled by the apostles, never mentioned by name, but familiar to them.  Imagine a group of fisherman going inland for the first time and the sights they saw.  Two men who encounter Jesus on the road after his crucifixion, now there is a road I would like to travel.  And of course Moses, who for 40 years wandered and never left the area, home cooking everyday, great weather to ride in and shoes that never wear out.  Yet they complained, which says more about us than we wish to admit.  But what about the road you are on, where have you been and where is it leading?  Maybe it is like my friend insists, as long as you are not out of gas you are not lost.  And running on and with the spirit is the only way to ride.

Leading a homogenized Christian lifestyle?  Know all the Christian artists, have the latest book cover, have a collection of different crosses for each outfit?  Can’t wait to see what your friends are wearing for Easter Sunday?  Sitting in the same pew, singing the same songs, and telling yourself “this is all there is to Jesus...” you may be under the influence of Moses, and the law.  For where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, but the law convicts.  Do you desire to go deeper in Christ, or just learn more?  Is he just a part of religion, or do you call him friend?  If he sat next to you in church, would you recognize him, and offer him a seat?  Would it matter if you did?  Yet so much of the gospel is yet to be revealed, as Jesus told us that if all the things he did were written, no library could hold them.  Is that old time religion still good enough for you?

Can it be that in our so called Christian walk we have become snobs?  Our church, our pastor, our way of fellowship is better?  Maybe a meal or two at some out of town café is in order.  Stop in a small church and see how welcomed you are.  See how Jesus is not only not restricted by religion, but by our selfish ways.  The best is yet to come, and along the way we can enjoy it all in Christ.  You can either super size your meal, or have a super meal, God sized.  The Bible tells of feeding the 5000, it is the small meals along the way with the disciples that they would remember best.  Maybe that is why when we have communion Jesus said “do this in remembrance of me,” of the good times around the table, of the conversations one on one, and of the strangers we meet along the way, but leave as friends.  There is a Loess Hills for each one of us, ours that day was in Iowa.  A Sabbath all its own, a day to rest on Father’s Day.  Get off the freeway and find a way that will set you free.  Now who among wouldn’t want to take a ride like that?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com