another choice at the fork in the road

It was the summer of 1973, and the aroma of Woodstock was still in the air.  So a mini-Woodstock, a big event today was planned, and BH and I decided to ride up to it after work.  Billed as the Summer Jam, it was to take place in Watkins Glen, New York, home of the fabled and famed auto racing.  A beautiful area to ride, the show was to consist of The Dead, The Band, and The Allman Brothers, all for $10.  I still have my Ticketron ticket to prove it, as we got close, but never quite made it.  But that is another story.  The story today is about a man on a BMW like mine who we met at the fork in the road.  And we decided to take it, to stop and help a fellow rider who had a flat tire.  But first  let’s set the scene...

The small and windy two lane roads perfect for gentle riding are jammed for miles.  Dozens of miles, and the sun is setting.  Coming upon a fork in the road, we see a blue BMW motorcycle parked under a tree in the fork.  Others more fortunate than he were hanging out, taking a respite from the crowd, so we stopped.  His rear tire was flat, and had no idea how to use the excellent BMW tire patch kit and pump.  So being experienced, I helped him get the tire off, broke it down, patched the tube, and we took a breather.  Hot, in the nineties both heat and humidity, we sat under a tree and talked.  No hurry, as the traffic was saying “you ain’t going nowhere fast tonight,” when suddenly a big car came rushing towards us.  As we watched in shock, it swerved to avoid us, narrowly missing everybody, but running over the rear tire I had just repaired.  Bending it into a V shape, and unusable.  As fast as the car had appeared, it vanished into the night.  How I still cannot figure, but it was here and gone that quick, our new found friend would not be so fortunate.  His ride was over, and we parted relieved and sad, we had stopped to help, only to be eventually disappointed by an errant and careless driver.  It seems when you come to a fork in the road, you have more than two choices, and this time the driver chose the road less travelled.  And with apologies to the poet, “the BMW rider’s life has never been the same.”

Yes and no answers are often hidden by a maybe, requiring no commitment, or action.  Wait for the other guy to make his move, and when he fails, sweep in and claim victory.  For us that night it was the fork in the road, but for one Samaritan, it was coming upon a wounded man on a dangerous highway.  It seemed the two religious men found plausible excuses within their religion to not stop and provide assistance, turning a blind eye and even crossing the road to avoid him, hoping they wouldn’t be seen in their sin, a far cry from the worship they demanded when walking the streets.  But we see a hated Samaritan, a half breed, not only pick him up, but put him on his donkey while he walks, and sets him up at an inn.  Having such a good reputation that the innkeeper trusts him to pay any moneys owed when he returns on behalf of the injured man.  A man of questionable heritage, but not one of questionable morals, and today his actions still speak louder than words, as does the two religious men.

In the Samaritan we see a heart after Jesus, willing to stop and assist when no one else will.  Ministering to the hurt and less fortunate can be demanding, but Jesus never lets us down.  As I watch fine men of religion brag hiding from behind a pulpit, I see the down and out just outside, some even within view, who are neglected.  Society can be cruel, but when the church turns it back on the needy, they neglect the words of Jesus, “anyone who helps the lesser ones is really doing it to me.”  Maybe put a better way, how many Lazaruses did you step over today?  We don’t have to go looking for people to minister to, God puts them in our way, yet we see them as in our way.  Jesus sees it different, and yet we claim to be like him?  Keeping a safe distance, never taking into account we were once like the ones, maybe not in social appearance, but lost and without God.  When you come to a fork in the road, do you choose Jesus or the easy way out for yourself?  Don’t lie, we may know you better than you want us to.

And so that night after doing all we could, we left the BMW rider.  We had gone as far as we could, and we felt bad leaving him, but knew it was the right thing to do.  Someone else would come along with the truck needed, maybe a better way to see it is in Paul’s advice to the Corinthians.  “Paul planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who provided the growth.”  Simply put, just do what the spirit shows you to do in the situation.  You may not be a doctor, but can provide first aid.  You may not be an evangelist, but you can show the love of Christ.  You may not be a mechanic, but can help by not helping.  Or knowing who to call.  Some 45 years later I still feel bad about leaving the guy, we did all we could, and it was time to go on.  There were two men who came to the fork in the road that night, one stopped and helped, the other damaged and sped off.  You see in between the fork is the area we spend most of our lives, the in between times.  And where your life in Christ is witnessed.  Jesus will always leave the choice up to us, the rich man chose to step over Lazarus.  But later begged him from hell for a drink.  Maybe God said it best, when David wept over Absalom whom he loved.  When Absalom was found dead, he acknowledged God by saying, “I can go to him, but he cannot come back to me.”  Jesus came for us so we can go back with him.  You reap what you sew, but also what you don’t sew.  Some are still learning to eat with a fork, some coming to one.  Only God still provides the growth.  Only by his spirit will you know for sure.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

truckin' got my car turned in...

GM and Ford have announced they are getting out of the car business.  Although they sell hundreds of thousands of these vehicles each year, somehow they are not desired by the public, passed over by SUV owners, or too expensive to produce, per GM.  After May of next year, such iconic names as Taurus, Impala, and some Cadillac models will be gone.  It seems 75% of the vehicles sold are trucks, with the market for cars shrinking.  It seems that Ford has chosen to be smart and is keeping the Mustang, but an SUV model is rumored.  A Mustang with a usable back seat?  Also no word on the Camaro, although its sales are dipping too.  No word from FIAT who owns Chrysler and is selling all the Jeeps it can make and is bringing out its own small truck in the spring, as is Ford, bringing back the Ranger.  Even my wife the Mustang convertible driver said if looking for a new car, er vehicle, would want to sit up, but won’t give up her Mustang.  So maybe a hint for you car owners, think ahead, in 20 years your sedan of today will be collectible for no other reason than they don’t make them anymore.  How will you explain to your grandkids you used to drive a car once?  “Grandpa, what’s a trunk?  They really had one of those?”  Are we witnessing the ending of our horse and buggy era? 

But still want a car, with a trunk to hide things, Toyota and Honda have assured you they are staying in the car business.  “Oh what a feeling” may only come from across the pond anymore, as American made will mean trucks and foreign cars. Now I have had a few trucks in my time, for cutting wood, and what motorcycle owner can do without one, but still like a car.  Maybe showing my age or ignorance, pulling up in a sports car on convertible on a warm summer night, top down, and V-8 growling, gets my attention.  Trucks are still a truck to me, but then I ride motorcycles, and cannot fit any of my bikes in the trunk of the Mustang.  So without being practical or agreeing to disagree, we need cars.  They are our heritage, our history, and I hope still in my future.  But maybe some names may give you an insight as to who they are, as opposed to what they are.

Harley Davidson, Ford, and even GM are all Motor companies, says so right in their names.  Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and the Motor Company.  They just make forms of transportation, and at the heart of it all I quote Alfred P. Sloan, who was the architect of GM, and its CEO and President in its heyday.  “GM is not in the business of making cars, but in the business of making money.”  And there you have it.  Finally, it is all about the money, and if they can make more money on trucks, you get trucks.  When looking your choice is what is on the lot, and trucks it is.  Go to a Toyota store, it’s car, then trucks.  Same with Honda.  Looking for an economy car, for our economical needs....start thinking used.  So much for Henry Ford who said “it is a poor company that makes only money.”  But poor companies don’t make it.....

So as we are encouraged to jump on the truck bandwagon, it is harder to tell the brand apart.  They all begin to look alike, with exceptions like the Raptor, that sell for $20-30 thousand over list, no dickering, or the short wheelbase work truck.  Shopping for a four door, look at a new sedan truck.  With one thing missing, the trunk.  Oops, and the don’t fit in the garage, too tall.  Which in So Cal doesn’t matter, no one uses their garage for cars anymore except me.  You ought to hear the comments....another anachronism right before our very eyes.  So vehicles choices soon will not include cars, only in religion will we find more choices....

There was a time when it was either Gentile or Jew.  With no other choices.  Then religion came along, using the word Christian to describe it, and it was either Catholic or Protestant.  But today with dozens of denominations reaching out with their version of God, in too many cases he is not available.  Churches have become a place to make a political or social statement, neglecting Jesus.  It is hard to go by a strip mall without some new fellowship popping up, promising to do it better that those that came before, as they pass the collection plate.  Seems some things are just to hard to give up.  But how God sees things is more telling, and his truth will set you free, if you let him.  God loves us all equally, while still sinners he sent Jesus to die for us, but he sees us as saved or unsaved.  No middle of the road.  In him you get everything, in religion you only get what they offer.  So why is it so hard to make the right choice? 

Jesus came to separate the sheep from the goats.  Not to unite us with each other, but to reunite us with God in heaven.  As I get the bulletins via email, most asking for money, some advertising selling trees, or other holiday goodies, I wonder where Jesus is?  But then remember he is at the right hand of God, the most favored position, but he left his spirit, who is readily denied.  But with the only power and ability to reunite us.  The Bible tells of a day when the lion will sit down with the lamb, we get the Lions playing the Rams.  But Jesus tells us churches are to be judged, as are the individuals in them.  It will not be what the market bears, but who Jesus is and who they choose to serve.  You may live and breath a religion, a denomination, or even a belief, only knowing Jesus will get you to heaven.  Yet in a market driven economy, how popular is it to be a Christian?

AAA may tow your car, the dealer may honor a warranty, but who will you honor and honor you on judgment day?  Cars change, who would have thought driving a truck would be fashionable?  Not June Cleaver, who had a fit her boys rode in one.  Is what you drive more important than whom you believe in?  Consider Jesus today, there was a time when there was no substitute for cubic inches, or no replacement for displacement.  But there has never been a replacement for Jesus.  He is the still the way, no matter what you drive or the size of your payment.  Forgiveness never goes out of style, or does mercy and grace.  The only choice we don’t have is that we will all take our last ride in the same vehicle, a hearse.  But who is behind the wheel and where it is going will make all the difference. Who drives you makes all the difference.  And no, the disciples were all in one accord, not stuffed into one!  With apologies to the Grateful Dead, “truckin’, got my chips cashed in...” 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the Leonard Law or clutch in, kickstands up

I was already upset laving the Post Office as the new and improved automatic teller was down, again.  Then pushing the starter on my Tiger 1050 and getting no response only added to it.  After blaming, or cursing everyone who could be connected with both, then asking for forgiveness, I called AAA, who said they would be there in 36 minutes.  But when I pushed the starter button this time, it started, getting me home just in time to call AAA, who now had a 43 minute ETA.  Checking the clutch lever, which must be pulled in to start the bike, I found the switch loose, pushed it in, it clicked, problem solved.  And I should have known better....

When it comes to regulations on motorcycles, I blame John Leonard.  He was the electronic guru/nerd at Durango Music 35 years ago, with a cool side, owning a ‘63 Galaxie with glass packs and riding a motorcycle.  One day he forgot to put up the side stand, crashed in a corner, with both he and the Honda never riding again.  Now per Federal regulation, the side stand must be up, or the bike stalls, and cannot be started until it is up.  Call it the Leonard Law, added to others like standardized shift patterns, on the left, one down the rest up, daytime running lights so you can see a motorcycle, until now it is stylish for cars to have them, making it harder to tell what is coming at you seeking to ruin your day.  And my least favorite, and the culprit of the day, the clutch interlock.  No more starting in gear, clutch must be in, and after time for many of us who really ride, the in wears out, the bike won’t start, and we go into our sin mode.  My 2006 Tiger had it bypassed, from 2007 on it is part of the starting program via computer.  Another case of “Hi I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  With shades of the seat belt interlock of 1974, seat belt not buckled car won’t start still in our memories...at least that one got repealed, faulty switches.  Do I see a pattern here.....

But I feel confident now said Tiger will start as the connector is connected, and as long as it stays connected, it will start as designed.  If only people stayed connected as designed.....You can blame it all on Adam and Eve, but only God allows us the choices we make.  Unlike the government who tries to legislate morality, for everyone but themselves, and Hollywood whose movies tell us what love is, based on their latest ne night stand, God allows us to choose.  And even has a back up plan, when you choose wrong, he offers forgiveness.  Try that one next time the CHP pulls you over.  God forgives, the law doesn’t.  So it just creates more laws, more ways to tell us to live, which only leads to more sin, as the more laws you have, the more you have to break.  Isn’t legislated morality fun?  But then comes along Jesus, and the rules all change. For he not only told of love, he was love.  He not only forgave sin, he was sinless.  He not only rewrote the laws from over 600 down to two, he lived them.  Loving God first, as he pointed all he did to his Father in heaven, and then loving man too, as he died on the cross.  But the highlight is he was resurrected and so we can be too!  He calls it love, for which there is no law against.  And they tried to bust him, but love covers a multitude of sins, and still does today.  But we need to stay connected, or like the Tiger, you may be pushing the right buttons, but nothing happens. 

So Jesus advises us to abide in the vine, we are the vine, and he is the vine dresser.  And as long as we abide in him, we grow and prosper, for when interwoven with Jesus, by his spirit we are interwoven with him.  A lesson I once learned when removing ivy from a fence, and the fence fell.  Abiding in the vine works in everyday spiritual applications too, not only with fences.  So maybe we don’t need another law, but the Leonard Law works for me, reluctantly.  Which brings up the question of my neighbors new 2018 Gold Wing.  So much technology including DCT, an automatic trans for those who speak only English.  He is having to learn to ride an automatic, think about that statement for a second, it seems it tells him what gear it wants to be in, sometimes downshifting when in a corner leaned over. And it has no clutch lever to pull in...how does he start the thing?  So he finds himself abiding in the owners manual....when he could be riding.  Must be a lesson in there somewhere....

Spending too much riding time fixing, abide in the owners manual.  Spending too much time upset and apologizing, abide in the vine.  Knowing that the vine will be pruned, us, but it will only cut out the bad parts and make us stronger.  Long before starter interlocks and government regulations, Jesus knew all the problems and has all the answers.  Found in the vine.  Written in his word, and revealed by his spirit.  Sometimes the remedy is right in front of you like mine was, but was too blind and stupid to see.  For there is a difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.  It all happens within the vine.  Which maybe explains why the Post Office only lost $2.7 billion last year.  Maybe if we stop mailing so many letters, their losses will go down.  And you thought it was hard to ride a motorcycle....long before we let those who ride decide, Jesus did and does.  Clutch in, kickstands up, let’s ride!

And by the way, the letter was mailed...now let’s see if it gets there!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the poor riders will always be among us

They are referred to as group rides, but more aptly described as crowd rides.  And I think I may have finally done my last and final one.  For many years we have been part of the Toy Store Invasion, riding en mass to Rady’s Children’s Hospital and giving out toys to the patients there, while ministering to both patients and families.  But times change, I blamed myself at first but was assured by others this ride it wasn’t just me.  A crowd of only 197, their head count showed up, as opposed to the 500 they advertised, and immediately the older guys could be separated from the younger ones.  True it was 47 cold So Cal degrees, but to the new ones in was Arctic cold.  And with more donuts than coffee, the latte riders had to face a reality outside of their SUV’s.  When it became time to leave, we had warned my friend, his first time here, watch out for yourself, too many of these people do not know how to ride... sadly they backed up my words.  But before leaving, I did visit with some old friends, seems most of them don’t ride much anymore, and even the so called motorcycle ministries segregated themselves away from the crowds.  Passing out info tracts is not ministry and inviting someone to a meeting is not evangelism, as one man learned, funny how he talked to me while the others in their cuts ignored him.  And he had wanted to join before he was snubbed!  I guess some things don’t change.  But soon we were off, and the chrome and leather set proved they had more invested in the look than learning how to ride.  With one group of HOG women, really piglets by their skills and looks, continually stalling, causing sudden braking form behind.  Then weaving in traffic while trying to catch up.  Their only attribute they all had on full face helmets to conceal their identity....and after one good look, for our protection, too.

Now it had always been the bikes that brought out the kids, but this year we had to park 200 feet away, leaving large open areas where we used to park and the kids could sit on our bikes.  Even Santa showing up on a Harley drew a small crowd.  True one to one ministry and memories, but not this last Saturday.  It seemed many kids bowed out this year, it used to take hours to let them choose a toy, this year the lot was half empty in 45 minutes.  True any kids were o sick to come out, but the attitude was different, and they could tell.  With the ministry performed looking like as selfie convention, except for the few who wanted to film the kids, with one person getting upset with me for pointing out the no camera stickers on the kids.  Maybe she forgot why we went, it wasn’t about us...But it seems the loud pipes save lives crowd reminded us that only loud Harley pipes do, as when some R-1 Yamaha showed up and revved up their bikes, the crowd booed.  Long after the stench of unburned hydrocarbons has left, that will still stick in a few minds.  And like my first time rider friend told me, “no more crowd rides for me.  Don’t these people know how to ride?  And sadly, where is the ministering?”

For us it was at lunch when we ran into a man from my flock, and we bought him lunch.  He doesn’t ride, the bus is a big ordeal as he is medicated, and passed over by society. But that afternoon he opened up and shared some memories, and felt right at home with the three of us on bikes.  Jesus told us the poor will always be among us, and how he was the original one percenter.  While some ministries brag on numbers, he reminds us how he went back for the one in 99 who was lost.  One may be the loneliest number, but when we put him first it is the most important one.  And it just isn’t the poor riders who are among us.

A couple tells me of how after over 30 years ministering on the street they are quitting.  The market for the homeless has changed, and they predict based on what they see that only 5% of the blankets and clothes handed out to the so called homeless actually receive them.  They are taken by those who take them to Tijuana and sell at swap meets, traded for drugs, and the leftovers for rags.  The really needy get stampeded and passed over.  But yet as many social groups, churches, ministries, and others give at Christmas, and go home feeling good about what they have done, it is cold in January too, and even after Jesus fed the 5000, the next day the crowd was hungry again.  At least he sent the disciples home each with a basket to share the next day, to remind them of what he had done, and also leave the area cleaner than when they arrived.  With one group of homeless mocking one day saying “I hear apples taste good, but we have no teeth to eat them.”  Or one church that sent over 100 prom dresses for the homeless.  But God did them one better, as they were donated to poor prom attenders, who wouldn’t have gone because of lack of funds.  God can and does take a bad time and turn it to good. 

When working for Roger Penkse we learned teamwork is seeing a need and filling it.  Same with ministry, how much do you give when no one is looking?  Does it take the poor riders to remind us of the poor around us?  And how they too have needs?  The world is changing rapidly, Jesus is the same now and forever.  We still are his hands and feet, not needed as he has angels to assist, but wants us to get involved and see him in action, to tell others of his blessings, and to bless us as we do.  Something to remember next time you wear your Jesus colors in public and cannot understand why they ignore you.  Jesus spent his ministry on the road, not in meetings bragging on how they showed up or the the great things they had done.  Remember it is the church he condemns for their selfish actions in his name, and claims he never knew them.  And you thought the Pharisees were bad enough!

So no more crowd rides for me, or runs.  I like to ride and to minister too much.  And to those in Christian ministry, I reach out to you, with a question. I’ve been there, and am actively involved in it. So I can comment.   What if I was the one in 99 and saw your patch and had questions?  Better yet, what if that one was you?  Loud pipes save lives on sport bikes too, only Jesus knows the difference.  Do you?

Jesus wore no colors, do you need them to show you are a Christian?  If Jesus took a selfie, would you be in it?  Would he be in yours.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com.
NOTE! all above photos from 2013 and 2011

but how do the windows roll down?

Back before an era of climate controlled interiors, those of us destined to ride in the middle class of cars referred to interior cooling as 360 air.  Roll down all the windows and let the air rush in.  Need a higher blower speed, accelerate.  And life was simple, if not warmer in these pre-fake news global warming times.  We usually had vinyl seats that our bare legs would stick to and burn, and the importance of calling “window seat” had a true meaning and purpose. Something most kids born after MTV have no inkling about.  Today Mom just pushes the button the remote to start the car and cool it off, then get in and drive away, while talking on her cell about how rough her day is and the unbearable heat.  With each other passenger on his or her i-pod, and we call it a family conversation....

My 2003 ford Ranger is basic, rubber floor and roll up windows.  “Don’t all windows roll up?” you say.  Well not all, witness to many sedans with fixed rear windows, not even a dog wants to ride there, no place to hang his head out.  But for the rest of us, yes they do all roll up.  A problem a nephew of mine faced a few years back.  Graduated from college now, he was riding in the Ranger with my wife and asked “Auntie, how do you roll the windows down?”  A strange request on two levels for a post MTV kid, one why roll them down, and two, he couldn’t find the switch.  So after carefully showing him the window crank, the puzzled look told her “by hand?”  And of course getting resistance, was smart enough too turn it the other way.  Almost exhausting himself after a few cranks, but he did get the window down.  And hasn’t asked to ride in the Ranger since!  I can hear his version of the bravery and persistence it took, bragging to his friends, “it was tough, had to use all my strength, but I finally got it...”  and the call them the good old days?

Maybe we aren’t quite removed from the past as we think, as some 25 years ago my son wanted to know what the dial was for on my Grandmother’s phone?  And dialing, found it a novelty.  But in an emergency what would he have been able to do, pick up the phone and just yell into it?  Start dialing, never knowing it only took seven numbers, at one time only three, and finally figure it out before the house had turned to ashes?  Same with that strange third pedal in old cars, what does it do?  Just think, driving a clutch, dialing a phone, or rolling down a window manually, all by ourselves.  Take that i-pad!  Cue in Twilight Zone theme...

Now being a low tech man in a high tech world may be scary to some, to me it gives me an advantage.  It makes me think, something we are slowly being robbed of by computers that think for us.  How many know phone numbers any more, but know where to look for them?  Or add and subtract, ever wince as you watch a high school kid make change?  “Let’s see, the bigger ones are 5 cents, the dark ones are a penny, but why are the dimes smaller but worth more?”  Didn’t counting change used to make cents/sense?  Now I am not anti-technology, give me air on hot days, give me fuel injection and electric start, but let me participate in the events, no matter how miniscule they seem.  Sadly few will ever know the thrill of downshifting and sliding sideways, of burning rubber, or how good wind feels in your face on a cool night.  Only a dog will know...if he is old enough to remember.  And so it is, and so it was, and so it shall be.....with a few exceptions.

Jesus Christ will always be the same.  Think on that a moment, he never changes.  Styles change, worship songs change, religion changes.  But he remains the same.  But for argument’s sake, let’s see how it would be if he did?  What would happen if God woke up on the wrong side of his bed?  What if he got fed up and didn’t want to answer your prayers any more?  Or forgive you?  What if the tiniest infraction of the law was broken and you faced the harsh punishments?  What if your prayers fell on a deaf ear or he put you on hold?  Befriended you on Facebook?  Didn’t answer your emails, took you off  Instagram?  Yet we act towards him as if he doesn’t care or answer when we don’t get our way.  Sound familiar....

One afternoon in my prayer time, God asked me “why do you think I want people to be like me and not like you?”  Without multiple choice being offered.  After a few seconds to collect my thoughts, you never want to answer God wrong, he told me “so that people can be forgiven and be like me.  And not like you.”  A harsh reality some of us in ministry face, as we build churches and wish to control or shepherd the flock. But Jesus never changes, so we know what to expect, and don’t have to wonder what kind of mood he is in.  To doubt our salvation, or wonder as some performance based religions and cults do, are we ever going to make heaven? Did we do enough?   How do you see Jesus when you pray?  Do you ask expecting, or just hoping he will answer?  Remember just like us, saying nothing is saying no. 

Is it possible you are stuck in a religion with roll up windows, and cannot find the crank?  Are you expecting to hear from Jesus, but don’t know how to dial the prayer line?  Are you stuck sitting because you are perpetually in neutral, and the only sound you get when trying get in gear is grinding?  Could the answer be as close as a thought without having to Google it?  Jesus gave us his spirit so we are never alone, wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he is there.  You and the spirit make two, and in the eyes of the law, it only takes two to confirm the witness and enter it as fact.  Could that blank face staring back at you on the screen be you, who cannot change or answer prayers?  Maybe it is time for Jesus....

To feel the wind of the spirit in your face, to get into the right gear, and remember his number, he has written it on our hearts already.  To go back to the highest tech creator ever, God, who out of nothing created the heavens and the earth.  Without our help or assistance.  That God, who sent his son to die so we can be reunited with him.  Who would have ever thought  that salvation is simpler than opening a window? 

Next week, how is it possible to have over 200 channels and there is nothing on to watch.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com