everyone owns a black car once

It was one of those days I had no intention of buying a new car, or even to look.  It was one of those days that we were almost out of groceries, and out of cash, that I saw our next car.  It was meeting the family for a Padre game that I almost didn’t make it to, that the new car came into our lives.  I had seen the ads for the new Ford Probe, and they looked cool, but when I saw an all black one, still on the transporter when doing a business call at the Ford store, that all common sense and financial history disappeared, almost like on cue.  It was like looking at a sporty Batmobile, and only seeing it from on the upper tier of the truck, I had to have it.  So going in and seeing my friend who sold there, I walked out an hour later, with a lease on a new 1989 Ford Probe, black.  Rushing him, making it to the game just before the first pitch.  The only car I would ever lease, and the only black car I will ever own.  I should have learned from black motorcycles how hard they are to keep shiny and clean, every weekend washing of the Probe reminded me.  But it was cool, looked cool, and many lessons learned from the transaction.  One never lease, you are renting and just throwing money away, at least in my case.  After the lease ran out, it had been maintained, miles kept down, and still looked new.  With an option to buy it, based on a prearranged value at the end of the lease.  I had been almost paranoid about turning it in and being dunned for damage or mileage, imagine my surprise when I called Ford and told them I wanted to buy it.  “Honey, we don’t care what shape it is in or if it comes in boxes.  If you want to buy it, the price is the price.”  Maybe all the hard work was worth it....or maybe it wasn’t.

I look at the shiny new black cars in the showroom, and how the new buyers are drawn to them.  Not like Harley black, of which my friend tells me there are only two colors for a Harley and both are black, but shiny and rich looking.  Until they sit out in the street because your garage is filled with so much junk your new car doesn’t fit or is welcome.  And soon it is isn’t shiny anymore, or even black looking, I vowed the Probe would never get like that.  And so it didn’t.....with no reward for upkeep to the buyer, but no penalty either.  With my car salesman friend telling me “the best used car is one you know the history of.  And you know the owner.”  But never again a black car, a lease, or buying a car while going to a Padre game.  I gave up on the Padres years ago...

That day and sadly too many others, my desire overcame my sense of reality.  Call it lust, as in I have to have it now, I deserve it now, and anyway, if God didn’t want me to have it, I couldn’t get financed.  Ever try that one on God?  We like to think we are self made, that as God as our banker, and negotiator we have the upper hand, and can get what we want.  But as Michael Jagger and the boys sang, “you just might find that sometimes you get what you need.”  Or in one case of a man called Herod, you don’t get either, just what you deserve.

Herod was a king who demanded he be worshipped as a god.  He kept the people of Galilee dependent on him for food, and when going out in his robes, they called to him “he must be a god, he has a voice like one.”  And so he believed it, he must a god, for no one else is like him.  Only to find out how pride only leads to the fall, and can happen at any time.  When the crowd acknowledged as a god, God stepped in and struck him down, and left him for the worms to eat.  God will not share his title with anyone, lest you boast.  There is only one Jesus, one holy spirit , and one way to salvation.  Promoting a man, worshipping a man, or even his values will lead to destruction.  On God’s timetable, not yours.  And always unexpectedly.  Like a thief in the night, our Probe was stolen, recovered, but after insurance paid off.  Life can happen that quick......

So beware the gods you worship.  Learn from Dagon, a false god who kept falling over and had to be put back on his perch, finally losing his arms and legs.  Sound like your god, maybe the black car you just had to have?  For after renting, and then buying, it was stolen.  It may be just a car, but God wants no other God between you and him.  He likes to bless us with things, but to praise him as he is the one from whom all blessings flow.  But God is patient that none should perish, and while rich and decadent men still thrive, and we wonder why, we need to know that Jesus loves them too.  That if he had come as a thief in the night as he promises before we were saved, we too would go the way of Herod.  That we are not to judge, but just love.  Not lust, but ask God, who gives generously.  Too may still are making the payments and still cannot afford to enjoy the purchase.  What looks good on the showroom or in ads, that which impresses others, usually ones we hate, will eventually lead us to destruction.  Mine was a black Probe, if only it looked as good in late life as it did that day I first saw it.

Fortunately Jesus is still making freaks into people, so we still have a chance.  But he is the chance, no other.  So let nothing come between you and him, no false gospel, no lust or gotta have it now desire, no rereading scripture to fit your sin, or allow it, and it’s time to get to know Jesus.  The Jesus of the Bible who loves us, who wants to bless us.  Who is patient that none should perish.  That Jesus.  The one that sends angels to protect us, but who also knows who are his, and who aren’t and never will be.  Don’t lease Jesus like you would a car, that’s religion.  His price is not negotiable, yet everyone can afford it.  Yet out of the ashes, we got more from the insurance company because I could prove the shape the car was in, and it was a string of Mustangs, convertibles to follow.  First a GT, but that’s another story...

So that is my only have one black car in my life story, and I am sticking to it.  Maybe the real reason I’ll never own a Harley.  You see, we drive red Mustangs now, and blue Triumphs.  Not too bad for a color blind guy.....if only religion were as black and white, it would make the choice so much easier.  Funny how Henry Ford is misquoted as saying you can have any color as long as it is black, which he never said.   Don’t misquote scripture, for as the children’s song says “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” 

And I still don’t cheer for the Padres....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

bedside manner and those in between meals

Just got back from my cardiologist, who gave me the thumbs up, “whatever you are doing, keep doing it,” a far cry from six years ago when I needed a miracle and became a miracle.  My infectious disease doctor told me my labs were phenomanol, and still calls me Miracle Mike.  This is the kind of doctor visits I can handle.  But both have a quality of bedside manner that goes far beyond their trained skills, which both will admit is missing in many new doctors today.  The new breed may have the technical qualities, but lack the compassionate caring of a Doc Welby.  Like my cardiologist, Dr. G, loves to travel, not by bike, but is fascinated by my rides.  Even sharing places I would like to ride, and of course places to eat.  He is real about life, and health, inspiring me to take care of myself so I can ride more.  Bedside or roadside, he has my back.  A man after my own heart, no pun intended.

But joking yesterday about road food, he told me “if it tastes good, don’t eat it.”  I do have to watch my diet, as bad eating habits almost killed me once.  But he suggested for me a better way to eat, a better schedule if you will.  On the road it may be a small motel breakfast, avoiding the latex eggs and sausage cooked in Castrol.  Ride 100 miles, then a late breakfast or early lunch, a big meal.  Then a late dinner, because  am starved by then.  That was the old me.  He suggested many smaller meals during the day, skip the big ones, and avoid getting hungry and gorging.  It will help me lose weight and not tax my system so much.  Don’t wait until you are starving to eat, stop and munch as you go, just enough to sustain you.  Today will be my first test or application, and I am excited for it.  For food and riding are so much of my life. Eat to ride and ride to eat.....

But it made me reflect on how a relationship with God can develop bad habits.  Too many only wait until they are in trouble and starving for what God has to offer.  They don’t snack on Jesus during the week, and take in a big meal on Sunday, sleeping it off that afternoon.  Forgetting that even the 5000 that Jesus fed were hungry again the next day and would need food.  Jesus provides our daily bread via his spirit, and he tells us “as you go to make disciples.”  People do love God and show it other than at Sunday go to meeting.  Maybe we are neglecting the in between meals, the times of prayer and fellowship, of thinking of Jesus when riding or singing a song.  We get hungry for the gospel, and will gorge one day and starve the next.  Like binge eating, some are binge Christians, on a steady diet at church, but on a diet of low spirit during the week.  Their moods and witness suffering, along with their relationship with Jesus.  Sometimes the guilt is revealed in a long prayer before the meal, thanking God for everything while the food get cold, or silently chastising those who don’t eat up to their standards.  So Dr. G’s advice on changing my eating habits directly reflects my walk with Christ.  Seems I am hungry all the time for him, and waiting for meal time just don’t cut it.  So I nibble all day, and find he is more of my life than a once a week church service can provide.  Or nightly prayer, or blessing before a meal.  So maybe riding to eat when applied to being a Christian can improve both diets, spiritually and physically.  Sounds like my kind of food....

There are times when you just gotta have a Tootsie Roll, and times when you ride too far without stopping to have one.  Dulls the senses, and cuts into enjoying the ride.  And why do either if you don’t enjoy it?  So as a Christian, are you getting all the nourishment you need, so you can ride all the miles you desire?  Now I don’t condone living on Tootsie Rolls, mix in a Baby Ruth every once in awhile,  but eat healthy and often.  For it is not what goes into a man that is important, but what comes out.  I like to eat and love Jesus, now I can do both more often.  At my doctor’s orders.  Gotta love a man like that, to be encouraged to enjoy life, but do it healthy too.  And while you are enjoying your second or third plate, I will be full and refreshed and out riding.  With many stops along the way, and new face and places to see.  So don’t wait until starved to eat, and don’t wait until spiritually hungry to know Jesus.  Road food somehow always tastes better, and who better to show you than he who spent his life on the road.  While an ad tells us to “stay thirsty my friends,” I rather be full of the spirit.  You only starve after you miss something, I see my diet changing already.  On the road, or in the home, at the table or at the counter, never miss a meal again without Jesus.  Don’t bother leaving a tip on the table, this one was free....I’ll save a stool for you.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

are you in good hands?

For some reason, my mother yesterday brought up the topic of when I was in eighth grade, and how we got hit in the rear on my way to school.  I can remember it, we were in my Dad’s 1963 VW, blue, going down Cooper Road, when suddenly we were hit from behind.  It damaged the bumper and left rear fender, both of us were delayed in getting to school, my Dad taught there, and it was exciting talk all day.  And like a good citizen, my Dad turned the accident into his insurance company, and to the person who hit us.  And from there it unraveled....

The person who hit us, claimed I was driving, lying through their teeth, and the insurance company backed them up.  With no attorneys to advise, and no witnesses other than those involved in the accident, my father’s clam was denied.  He even write to their insurance company and was denied, they stood by their insured and the claim was denied.  Which left my Dad paying for the repairs himself, probably under $100, but a lot in 1967 car dollars, and he would trade his beloved VW in for a 1969 BMW 1600 two years later.  But for some reason this story has always stuck with our family, of how a lie perpetuated still didn’t change the truth, nor the outcome.  Back in the days when you trusted your agent, I too was to find out how they were representatives of the company they represented, when I got hit in Florida, and they tried to just let the case go away.  I may be wrong, but insurance is only as good as when it is needed, and in this case and others, despite Ed Reimers and his claim, “you aren’t always in good hands,” no matter which insurance you have.  Seems right and wrong are debatable when money is about to change hands....

With the failure of the world’s largest tax increase behind us, aka the Affordable Care Act, which raised deductibles to a new high, we could afford the premiums, maybe, but be paying on our deductibles forever.  You could afford to get sick, you just couldn’t afford the deductibles.  Add in the fact that if you didn’t have insurance you were taxed, I am personally glad it is gone.  But before the government intervened, before insurance companies denied claims, the truth was still out there.  And no amount of arguing would change it.  When God set up his family, he called us the church, and we are his representatives.  Not a choice I might make, but God does, and before mega churches, deviant denominations, and private insurance, God would provide through his church.  Which falls short today.  When hospitalized, the church of 7000 I attended, a rich yuppie church, sent me flowers.  Asking if I needed anything, and when we told them we were out of funds, we needed money, found out that saying nothing was saying no.  Our request fell on deaf ears, but our eyes were opened.  All the teachings of giving and loving, laced with scripture meant nothing to us in our time of need, but what the spirit showed us did. The blessings were huge, and many were blessed by blessing us through God, too bad our own church denied us.  I guess personal needs come first, until they are someone else’s....

But back in the original church, a prophesy was given about a famine to come.  Being moved by the spirit, and not being bound by economics, the two men running a fellowship in Jerusalem sent food and needed supplies ahead of time to Judea.  Prophecy today is interpreted as predicting the future, its original meaning was to show the light of God in action, to draw attention to Jesus, which it still does.  Not drawing attention to a church or a pastor or his books.  That is false Christianity.  But true Christianity reflects Jesus, where no man or action gets between god getting the glory, while we get his blessings. This church sent the blessings ahead of time, inspired by the spirit rather than a bank account.  Remember it is not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of it.  Lest you boast incorrectly.  But this is recorded in Acts so we can see the true heart of God in action, not inaction.  How the body shares with each other, love in action.  There is no hierarchy, no church board to act or react, or over react, but men being moved by the spirit of God and doing what scripture demands, and God provides, loving and taking care of one another.  Meeting the needs of others, how excited the church in Jerusalem must have been to give, and the Judeans to receive ahead of time.  Love in action, a verse I never heard taught in any church.  If we are the church, we are only in good hands when in God’s hands, in his spirit.  His witness is made real through us, and manifested in how we love one another.  If only the songs we sang reflected our walk in action, how different things might be.  Sadly too many tithe to the church, thinking they are tithing to God, but he knows the difference.  Running a ministry I know, we never solicit money, but will put out needs, and God meets them every time, usually before we ask.  Isaiah 65:24 in action.  Truly I know the difference of being in good hands, so did the first church.  Does yours?  Do you?

So here we have a wonderful picture of how God designed the church to function, of the words of Jesus in action, and the power of his spirit.  All the essential characteristics are there, gifts of the spirit, the life of Jesus, the proclamation of the word, the teaching of scripture, and the sharing of the body.  This is how the body of Christ, aka the church of today is to manifest itself in the world.  What a testimony to those who were hungry, both Jew and Gentile, how the love of God inspired one church to help another far away.  And how God, Jehovah Jireh provides.  The body didn’t wait for the famine to occur, or form a task force, hold special offerings or sell t-shirts, the people gave as God showed them.  What does your giving show others about your God?  Are you in his hands? 

We buy insurance for what may happen, just like we trust Jesus for what may happen.  But when it does, who is holding your policy?  How big is the deductible, and can your company cover the loss?  Of all insurance companies in the world, only John Hancock can cover all of its insured losses if they occurred at once.  Seems the rest of us are underinsured at best.  But God knew about a famine to come, he knows your future too.  Are you trusting him or man?  Your church or God?  Teaching or application?  All the rules are subject to change except when Jesus is involved.  You only find out how good your coverage is when you need it.  Don’t wait to know God before you do.  His care is affordable, it is loving and compassionate.  Just knowing Jesus makes me sleep better at night, knowing he can take care of me.  If the hands you trust aren’t nail pierced, you need to check out your policy, not just your life insurance.  In the darkness of despair, God’s light shines brightest.  Each one giving as they were able.  With no deductible for tax purposes.  Only in Jesus will all our needs be met.  No fault may be an insurance term, you won’t find it in scripture.  Don’t let it become part of yours.  Just another example of the church in action, brought to you by Jesus Christ himself.  Are you in his hands?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

finding love at the gas station or why did gas used smell so good

While pumping the most expensive gas in the US of A into my Tiger, being careful not to spill it all over my tank, I looked up to see the SUV next to me going into the $50 range.  A quick glance had him looking at me suspiciously, almost jealous of my fuel bill, but not wanting my mode of travel.  Seems the fact he could afford to fill his truckster made him proud, as if using more and getting less MPG was an attribute. Like I was not as good...as I topped off and left under ten dollars, him still pumping away.  But it was the pumping of my own gas that made me think more about the self serve than of the high price, of a time when we could drive in and a pump jockey would check the gas and fill the oil, wash the windshield, ask if we wanted stamps, and drive off under two bucks.  I recall how on our motorcycles they would hand us the pump, a sign of respect, if not jealous admiration, and many times I felt bad for only using 80 cents, and having him return with the change.  How gas used to smell so good, and being a pump jockey was the job of preference for high school gear heads long before self serve, and fast food became the first rite of teenage work.  A job we were proud to do, but a job also where sometimes we were looked down on, as a big Cadillac owner would tell us to “don’t spill any gas, and hurry.”  Reminding us if we missed a bug or two on the windshield, and demanding his five cents of change.  Sometimes we felt looked down on, but truth be told, for some, no matter the career we chose, or it chose us, it was the best time we ever had working.

Late nights with no business we could use the lift to change our own oil, rotate the tires, or for the faster guys, install glass packs or do suspension work.  It was a time where we learned from the fast guys, and even if at the bottom of the pecking order, “keep the crappers clean kid,” and as you rose up through it, you were part of the guys, sometimes getting hand me down parts, with the added bonus of learning about life first hand rather than in sex ed. or health.  Dirty hands and dirty minds didn’t necessarily go together, but to the nerdy, trendy crowd, as they looked down at you, you laughed a them.  It may be a low paying job, you may get your hands dirty, but the world was your customer, and you somehow knew they couldn’t get by without you.  Almost makes me miss that clanging bell signaling their approach....

But the cool guys got to know the tow truck driver, and wished we could go along, just to watch or be seen in the cool truck, going to the rescue of those in distress.  Digging that Caddy driver out of the muck, “hey aren’t you the kid who pumps my gas?” and getting a show of approval and respect from him, if only he would remember that on his next visit.  But those days are gone, I wonder how many kids dream of their first job flipping burgers, if the free meal per shift was worth it, and wonder how it feel to go back.  As we both stand there pumping our own gas....at least there is no self service burgers yet.

At any new job we take, we want to show our boss just how good a choice he made, and how good a job we will do.  Over trying to a point until he reels us in and back to reality.  Paul went through the same thing when called by God to minister.  He wanted to tell the whole world about the Jesus he had found, but encountered trouble, heartache, and humiliation instead.  He may be employed by the world’s richest Jew, but he was to learn humility by being humiliated, to see a side of the king he didn’t know.  After campaigning too much, the other Jews set a trap to kill him, manning all the gates, laying in wait for him, but instead he had to leave town in a basket over the wall.  The ultimate humiliation, escaping and hiding from his enemies.  In the dark, a failure in his own mind, cast off and rejected, humiliated and distressed, how alone he must have felt.  But never abandoned by Jesus.  But yet later in 2 Corinthians 11 he relates this as his greatest triumph, how it drew him closer to Christ, how he learned dependency and reliance on him, and not on his skills.  He would later write all I gained to be counted as loss as compared to the greatness of Jesus Christ.  All the things he felt were necessary God showed him were useless, if not the spirit it was all loss, but in the spirit, he and we can truly do all things in Christ who gives us strength.  Too many Christians brag about all the Christian books they read, the studies they do, claiming to know Jesus, but really just knowing about him.  Perpetual study but never meeting face to face the one who can save and bless.  With knowledge brings pride, until a need to escape over the wall in the basket occurs.  Some then run from it in shame, while others run to him in repentance.  While some are intent to study to find themselves approved, the world’s smartest man tells us “study is wearisome to the flesh,” Ecclesiastes 12:12.  We may be so educated that we don’t see the basket God has planned and waiting for us.  But like for Paul, it may be the defining event in our ministry. 

God isn’t interested in our abilities, only our availability.  Look at the apostles resumes, but in Christ they changed the world.  If we take our eyes off of ourselves, and see us how Jesus does, we can then become the servant he calls us to be.  To wash windows, to be chastised for missing a few bugs, for spilling a few drops of gas.  To not be ashamed of flipping burgers, to feel good about asking if you want it supersized.  Or your oil checked.  To remember that Jesus told us he was meek and lowly, you may be the new pump jockey that is the only Jesus someone sees today.  Your attitude may be what the proud see.  If your prayer is like the rich man who thanked God in his prayer he was not  like the poor man, maybe the basket is ready and waiting.  You may not see it, but God does.  Having been both humbled and humiliated, I can tell you I rather be humbled.  Humiliation can be humiliating, but it will bring the peace of Jesus to you. You may be big in the eyes of the world, but small in the eyes of the Lord.  Paul learned a valuable lesson that night, when he gave over his pride in humiliation.  All who truly serve the Lord will be a basket case some day, and to that I say “go ahead and fill’er up, and I’ll take the stamps.”  Full service from a full service God, all without asking.  And he won’t spill any gas on your tank.  Jockeying the pumps of life, best left to Jesus.  Your paycheck awaits....maybe self service isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all.

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com