it ran fine until I worked on it

When Dean didn’t show for dinner as planned, I knew he had a problem.  A quick call found him frustrated, his truck and he were still at the repair shop where he had his diesel serviced.  In for scheduled maintenance, it went in running fine, now wouldn’t start.  Lots of cranking and soot, but no start.  So I went down to console him, and found the owner and his techs trying to figure it out.  It was after closing, but they were insistent on staying.  As they explained what they had done, I asked if maybe it was a bad filter.  Over and over being told they had never seen a bad new one, they finally relented and switched it, again, the truck instantly firing up, and Dean joining us for dinner.  They had overlooked a simple premise in repair, go back to when it was running OK, and then diagnose based on what you had done after to make it not run.  The old it was running fine until I worked on it, professional version.  But also a take on psycho babble, a term called normalcy bias, which means just because I haven’t seen it means it hasn’t happened or doesn’t exist.  I’m sure the shop owner and his techs will never forget this lesson....but do we?

Born into sin, we needed a way to get back to pre-Adam no sin and a relationship with God.  God being holy, the only way we could be in his presence was to be found without sin.  So God sent Jesus to fulfill his wish that he fellowship with his man made in his image again.  He created forgiveness, the taking us back to the working fine relationship man had with him before we sinned.  Yet many reject the offer Jesus makes us of reconciliation with his father in heaven, just because they haven’t been able to see a God that does exist.  They deny that God is a spirit and must be worshipped as such, denying the power of the holy spirit to change lives, and denying Jesus as the way to do it.  Yet those of us who do believe know that it goes much deeper, deeper than words can express, while some try to explain a supernatural experience with an infinite God using finite terms, God has give his spirit who provides the words we need, when needed.  And to the lost the spirit still is calling to them “you need Jesus.”  But do we stop to consider him?

Consider the times Adam and Eve had in the garden, the daily walks with God.  But when faced with an adversary they didn’t know, dismissed the only warning God gave them, and fell from grace.  We are all part of the geneology of Adam, who has the genes of God in him, from him who created  him.  Without the spirit to remind us of our sin, we would still be seeking out adverse and perverse religions, cults, philosophies, and ways of life detrimental to a relationship with God.  But when we confess our sins, and choose Jesus as our savior, we get his Lordship also.  We are like the men trying to fix Dean’s diesel, doing the same thing over and over gaining the same results.  When the answer was there all the time. 

Now I’m no diesel mechanic, or any type mechanic, but they have taught me how to diagnose.  Do we look at ourselves the same way, examining our walk with Christ as we are told to?  That daily working out of our relationship with him?  Maybe a tip from investigators here makes sense.  When they believe they have the right suspect, they do everything the can to prove him innocent.  Satan works to prove us guilty, only in Christ will we be found innocent, as if our sin has never occurred.  So go back to the basics of Jesus, how we sinned, and how he is the way.  Or we can live like Adam and Eve did, looking back at how it was, and living knowing the mistake in judgment they made ended the best and most perfect relationship ever.  That same perfect relationship is still available today because he wants us back, he wants none to perish, he made hell for the demons and the devil himself, but left the decision up to us who to serve.  Just like he did Adam and Eve.  Just another example of man interfering with the things of God....if you are stumbling now go back to where you were before.  A series of bad decisions can destroy you, one turning to Christ will rescue you.  When you find the sin and realize it was wrong, then your heart will change.  And we don’t have to look very far to see all the lives changed....

Jesus Christ still changes lives.  And won’t make you late for dinner.....and honestly, I am not that smart.  Just experienced.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

you can come in but you cannot use the bathroom

Durango 40 years ago was not the tourist trap it is today.  Small town USA, with a local t-shirt that said “Durango is what America was.”  That was soon to be replaced by a new one, based on the sign on Smelter Mountain, “DURANGLO, COLORADIATION.”  Things were moving fast, as the tailings pile that had greeted you from the west was found too radioactive, and had to be removed.  Soon Highway 550 would be rerouted going through Bodo Park, and many old buildings that had stood 100 years would be torn down and replaced with new ones that looked like Disneyland.  But two things remained constant, at least for the moment, the train and the La Plata County Fair.  With the fairgrounds conveniently placed on Main Ave. north of 25th street, walking distance form downtown.  It would be my first fair, I never got to go, but it was a lesson based on the cultures in the area.  I was working the Saturday shift at La Plata Motors, the Ford store, I was the assistant service manager.  Not much work got done on Saturdays, mostly broken down Texans who had their car tuned to the altitude, and guys bringing in their own cars to work on.  Still a busy place, with lots of traffic walking by, and our doors open.  When an older Indian with a young kid came in, and asked to use the rest room.  Looking at one of the mechanics, who shook his head no, and said “no way,” I informed him they were closed.  But he persisted, and finally feeling sorry for him, or the kid, I let him use it.  Watching close as I had been warned.  And I was about to find out why...

15 minutes, then 20, then 30, and he didn’t come out.  “Now you see why we told him no,” and I was faced with evicting him.  I beat on the door with no response, and finally we took the hinges off the door, and he was just sitting there.  Without a word, he got up and left.  And I was the butt, no pun intended of the joke for a week or so.  No one knows why they do that, my Southern Ute friends laughed when I asked, but to this day, any time anyone asks to use the rest room, I keep an eye on the door, and the clock.  You can come in, but you cannot use the bathroom!

One day when discussing the people who judge us most harshly, a homeless women jumped on me, figuratively.  “You’re judgmental, and Christians shouldn’t judge.”  Her statement more telling than she thought, first she was judging me, second if her words were true, she wasn’t a Christian, by her own definition.  But my reply is simple, “lady I was describing you.”  And she left, and later would join our Bible studies, known for falling asleep in the front row.  Which made a couple upset of “how could she do that , how rude?”  With the homeless women within ear range, I told them, “I take it as a compliment she feels safe enough her to find a few minutes of rest.”  The couple before leaving told me they had learned a lesson as well that day...but what does the Bible say about judgment?  From judgment day to judging others, over 121 times in the NIV.  So sit tight, lest ye fall asleep and someone judges you.  And no, you cannot use the bathroom.

The first time it is mentioned is in Exodus, where God says his judgment will free them from slavery.  1 Samuel tells us we are blessed when we use good judgment.  While Psalm 1 exhorts us not to stand in the judgment, nor with sinners in the assembly.  Later in Psalm 119 it is written “Lord teach me good judgment.”  Yet Isaiah tells us that he will exercise judgment and many will meet their fate with the sword.  Jeremiah says “he will pass judgment on those who say they never sinned.”  While Matthew tells us “we will have to give an account of every word we have spoken.”  Seems judgment takes on many facets in scripture, to us it just means being nasty.  Yet one day we will all stand before a judgment seat, and what will be your fate? 

When Paul stood before Felix, he told him about the judgment to come, and Felix told him to go, “I’ll call for you when it is more convenient.”  How often we react the same way when caught in sin.  “I’m saved, leave me alone.  don’t be judgmental,” as our sin finds us out.  Note that it is our sin that finds us out, not Jesus.  He doesn’t condemn nor accuse, that is the devil’s handiwork.  Jesus came to save, so that on the day of judgment before God, we are found not guilty and sin free, because Jesus took our place.  Today is the day of salvation for many, sadly also the day of judgment for others to whom the gospel was inconvenient.  God’s justice will be based on truth, and when faced with our sin that day, will know why we are guilty.  But you don’t have to face that day in fear, if you face up to the fact of you being a sinner, repent and accept Jesus’ forgiveness.  We will be shown because mercy triumphs over judgment, in Christ.  Don’t dare think you are the one who can escape, for even the angels who rebelled against God will face judgment, forever in the lake of fire and brimstone.  But we can have confidence if we are like Jesus in this world, making his love complete.  Loving him first, than loving your neighbor as yourself.  No man loves himself if in shame and facing judgment, only when forgiven can we truly love ourself and others. 

So fear God, respect and revere him, and worship him who has made you holy.  Worship the one who died on the cross for our sins so we will not be found guilty when judged, and worship the spirit that led us to the truth and guides us today.  We are told we will rejoice in the heavens, but we can now.  Worship him and the one who sits at his right hand, who called the heavens, the earth, and all creation into existence.  Jesus is God, and if he can create a world and a heaven for us, don’t you think he can sustain us here on earth today?

The train still runs in Durango, La Plata Motors and the Fairgrounds are both gone.  They met their judgment and were removed.  And you....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

bragging rights

We are a nation influenced by numbers.  Once upon a time it was longer, lower, and wider, and the more your car was, the more bragging rights you had.   Less than 20 years later it was miles per gallon, and who got the most, leaving the who has the most horsepower crowd in the dust.  Didn’t matter how fast you went, or how wide or long your car was if there was no gas to put in it.  But the numbers only meant something if compared to another number, which was made evident in the late 1970’s in the motorcycle world.  Big once meant 350 cc and above, now 500 or even 750 cc was the buy in number, with 1000 cc’s and up to six cylinders giving you bragging rights.  But one survey done put speed in the right perspective, and how narrow minded California bike riders had become.  If bike A was quicker than bike B by .01 second, guess who got the sale?  Quarter mile times were the defining standard for speed, with manufacturers fighting to get the quickest bike tester and track for their ads, and bragging rights.  How many conversations, really arguments were had over whose 750 was faster, the magazine said this, another said different.  We never took into account track conditions or the test rider, what it came down to among us was on any given day, on any given road, who was quicker.  Who was faster, or who could avoid the police the best.  All the numbers meant nothing when it came down to just riding.  Many egos were bruised, some massaged, and many created on the street, despite the ads.  When cubic centimeters didn’t matter, it came down to the dyno.  But it always came down to the street.

Mickey is right at home in his dyno room.  And one morning while doing a press bike swap, he was arguing with a guy who wasn’t happy about the results of Mick’s dyno.  He was blaming the dyno, as when he had it dynoed at another shop last week it had a few more horsepower, something must be wrong with Mick.  And despite Mickey’s explaining to him the difference weather can make, the fuel you just bought, and other day to day factors, the guy went looking for another shop.  But when confronted with the truth, finally admitted, I just need to have more power than my friend’s bike.”  The statement that coerced his admission was “you can’t even ride the horsepower you have, you just care about the numbers.”  And he couldn’t and he did.  Searching from dyno to dyno for the biggest number.  Just how much did the bragging rights mean to him?  $300 a dyno test! And you think women shop too much.....

Having attended mega churches over the years, I hear too much emphasis on the numbers.  After one Easter when over 1000 came to the Lord at one church, I asked “can you name ten of them?  Five?  One?”  The silence you hear is the answer I got.  Now I am thrilled that many went forward, but that became the main topic among the church during the week.  But after a few weeks, where are the new converts?  If 1000 people got saved at your church one Sunday, wouldn’t you expect a larger crowd the next week?  Yet the crowd never grew larger....where did they all go?  Maybe a lesson hitting me closer to home was my flock grew to over 30 in a tight room.  The numbers were growing, but I was stagnant.  Until a wiser man pointed out to me how a group of 10-15 is just right for the type of ministry I do, and he was right.  We see real growth in the spirit, not reflected in numbers, we see names and faces, we get to know each other, and have bound together in the spirit as a family.  A small community of believers, and growth took on a whole new and exciting meaning.  Jesus taught of the one in 99 he returned for, and all of us were that one at one time.  If Jesus could take the time, why can’t we?  How many know we are his bragging right to his father in heaven, those of us who were given to Jesus to protect and raise up, then do for others.  One person at a time....

So I get blessed when asked for more clothes, that those in our group are taking to the homeless and showing God’s love.  Jesus may love you, but when naked and cold it is hard to hear.  They take food out to those hungry, and when asked “why?” share what Jesus did in their lives.  And all get blessed!  When it comes down to the person and not the group, it becomes more personal.  Individuals get saved, one by one, even in a crowd.  But who is there after the conversion, when it is toughest in their new life?  When those at work make fun of them, when older saints expect too much from them, when they don’t meet church rhetoric or expectations?  Jesus told us make disciples, we need to disciple them, invite them in, and love on them.  Be the older brother God calls us to be, yet too many are only interested in the numbers while getting ready for the next service.  Jesus gave up his rights so we can be his bragging rights before his father, not bragging on himself, but thanking him for what he has done in us.  It’s not “my church is bigger than your church,” but the size of the God you trust and worship.  The one who can save you from hell, and provide heaven on earth.  If dyno tested, how much power would our personal relationship with Jesus produce?  The answer is not found in things done, but how and why we do them.

If not done in love, no matter how many we feed, how big our services are, how much giving we give to orphans or missions, God sees us as a clanging bell, more noise than substance.  Like the bells a Pharisee wore on his robes to warn the people of his coming, it was all about him, what are you all about?  He also describes all our doings as filthy rags compared to love.  We may be highly fashionable, but God sees beyond the Gucci leathers and looks at the leathery heart.  But don’t despair, even the disciples fell asleep at crucial times, Jesus asking them “couldn’t you stay awake just one more hour?”  But don’t worry, he forgives.  Do we let his forgiveness change us?

Yet many still look to out perform the other, pride will do that and it is alive and well.  Read the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13, then the spiritual fruit in Galations 5.  If yours vary, we need to change.  God never does, fortunately, so we need to change to be like him.  Without all the man made and pride induced spirituality we possess confusing the issue.  When the blind man was given his sight by Jesus and asked, all he could say was “I was blind and now I see.  Good or bad, I don’t know.”  How blind are we?  3000 were killed the day Moses brought them the law, 3000 were saved when the spirit descended on them on the day of Pentecost.  You decide about your bragging rights...I know where I place mine.  And at less than $300 to prove it!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blog.spot

sleepers

There was a time when the badge on the front fender told the world what a fast car you had.   Numbers like 454, 426, 302, 406, 327, 396, and 428 along with others told the guy in the lane next to you at the traffic light, “don’t mess with me.”  Sometimes if the other guy hadn’t noticed the badge, a quick rev of the engine assured him you were bad, as in good.  Add in racing stripes, hood pins, mag wheels, Crager SS my favorite, and Wide Oval tires, and you at least looked the part, and might even sound the part.  But maybe about to be taken apart by a sleeper, a plain Jane car with big motor, without all the frills.  One car in our area was a 1966 Chevy Biscayne, two door white, with a 427, that except for its uneven idle, looked innocent enough.  But how many Dodges and GTO’s only ever saw his tail lights until the next red light.  Either looking over with respect or looking away in embarrassment.  Such was the sixties, but sleeper cars have always been, and still are to a certain degree.

Another favorite was a 1967 Chevelle four door hardtop, painted blue with skinny whitewall tires.  Looked like your Mom’s grocery getter, but under the hood was a hot motor in more ways than one.  Borrowed from a race team while everyone else was at the finals, it was a full race drag 327 from a Super Stock car.  Even the exhaust had a slight burble to it, and if you didn’t notice the uneven idle, where it sounded like it was about to die, you were fair bait.  I had a ride in it once, and was hooked.  Both on sleepers and fast cars.  And have never owned a car with racing stripes!  But I did have a motorcycle with one....

Mickey had built a Rocket 3 with a Carpenter head, 2300 cc of motor with 150 hp to start, redlining at 6500.  A torque monster with over 100 lb./ft at idle, more than a Harley at max.  But with head, it dynoed at 220 hp, torque was 189 and redline jumped to 9000 rpm!  It sounded like a NASCAR wide open, but at idle gave no pretense as to what was going on.  Until Mr. Loud Pipes Save Lives pulled up next to me at a light.  Looking at my flat black ride, with a faded white stripe, he gunned his motor, he wanted to race.  Smiling inside my Arai, I revved it up, backed off, let the exhaust pop, then did it again.  I had no intention to race, and suddenly neither did he.  The light turned green and he putt putted off, eyes straight ahead, just in case I blew by him, so I couldn’t see his defeated ego.  Over time I have ridden many fast bikes, and driven many fast cars, but my 15 seconds of glory will always be that morning in Orange County, on a borrowed press bike. 

A lesson to learn is that whenever you take a stand for what you believe in you become a target, like telling people you are a Christian.  They may call you on it, and every heathen knows just how we should act.  Timid, weak, short hair, and a Bible under our arm.  But they never take into account the sleeper Christians, the quiet ones, who sit in the back row, unnoticed, but always ready for action.  While others brag on what they have done for God, they quietly let Jesus show through their actions and attitudes on a daily basis.  Giving God all the credit for the good things, while admitting to still being a work in process about the bad things.  Never revving their motor, but showing love.  Just like Paul tells about in 1 Corinthian 13, the love chapter.  Like a Pharisee who made sure he had an audience when paying his tithe, they bask in the light of themselves, talking of Jesus, but really they are all about themselves.  And when the tough times come, find all the verse memorization, Bible study notes, conference weekends, and church attendance don’t matter without love.  They are exposing who their God really is by their actions, they fail to receive the love Jesus has offered, and fail when tried.  Given a chance to brag on Jesus, they choose themselves, and fail.  Like the Harley rider, fast until tested, then shown to be what they really are.  But God still loves them, and even welcomes them back into the fold.  Been there, done that, I can honestly say it is better to be humbled than humiliated, and in all things show love first. 

When we truly bask in God’s love, agape, the type talked about here, a will of the spirit to uphold and cherish others, then we can begin to fully love God.  We can begin to see Jesus as who he is and why he had to come, and the fruit of the spirit, the love, joy, peace, and patience will shine from us.  Only then can we love ourselves because God loved us first, and begin to love others as ourselves.  When we trust the spirit to show us and guide us how to deal with others, then we grow in his love, which is easy to do once you come to Jesus.  When you realize how much he loves you just as you are, you can love others.  Being forgiven your guilt is taken away, you can begin to be the person God created you to be, this supernatural love from God through you becomes a part of you.  But still Paul warns, that even if  you feed the poor, give all you have to keep them, and boast of anything but Jesus in your hardship, you are like a tinkling bell that no one can hear.  Your loud bark a whimper, your fast car a façade until a really fast one is encountered.  Without God in the equation,without operating in his love, and your love for him, you stumble and fall before the light even changes.  Sometimes exposed for what you really are, not what you claim to be. Better a sleeper believer than a loud bell.  Basking in the solitude of the spirit, you are ready for anything because you have everything in Jesus.

The fast guys are out there, in both religion and on the track.  They may post good numbers on a dyno, or in their church appearance.  But a day of testing is coming, and who you believe in and trust will be displayed.  Burn outs may look cool on shifting sand, but are no way to live for Christ.  He is the firm foundation, the rock that withstood the storm.  Burnouts may sound cool, don’t be one.  Wheel spin means no traction, you are already falling behind.  But look and sound cool....until tested. 

And God makes it easy to love him.  Just be aware of how much he loved you first.  How Jesus has redeemed you and you are forgiven.  The spirit that once stirred you to come to Jesus still is alive in  you today.  God’s love is supernatural, so it must come from him, but can be displayed in and through us.  When the spirit awakens us, and the smoke clears, where will you be found? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com