Monday, April 1, 2019

ashtrays and cupholders



















How many of you were like me in school, trying not to fall asleep, but pretending to take notes.  Really drawing some of the best designed cars ever.  Fast cars, customizing Muscle cars, and pretending to be out road testing them instead of trying to stay awake.  But looking back, I cannot remember ever drawing any interiors, the place where we would spend all of our real time when not dreaming.  I have always been in awe of the interior designers, and from my 1949 Ford F-3 to our 2015 ford Mustang, things have definitely changed.  From basic info like speed and how much gas till empty, to now miles per gallon till empty, road speed, and too many engine functions I can’t even understand.  But one part of the interior stands out over the years, the ashtray.  At one time a society of inhalers, the ashtray was the most functional part of the interior.  And grew to lavish proportions in Lincolns and Cadillacs.  Fancy pull out dual ashtrays with dual lighters, even on my 1950 Buick one in the back of the front seat.  How many arms rested on closed ash trays in the back when kids, and had to inhale the second hand smoke.  Ashtrays were the most basic ingredient to interiors, until over the years we became more socially conscious, and quit smoking in cars.  To today, where there are no lighters or ash trays, but you can order a smoker’s package with both.  With the lighter filling the spot where you can plug in your phone charger.  A receptacle like a cup placed in your cup holder.  The new thing that interior designers must deal with...
Back in the eighties when we all decided we needed a Big Gulp to get us home, we bought aftermarket cup holders.  I remember the ones on Mercedes Benz, screwed into the door panel, and when they stripped out, replacing it with a bigger screw, ultimately leaving a ruined door panel with holes in it.  But designers caught on, and today in some SUV’s you can find as many as twelve, when they only hold seven people.  Room for a back up Big Gulp, whose dimensions were a key component in the sizing of the holder.  No word if 7-11 gets a residual on each one...But today you must have too many cupholders, while little attention is paid to driving.  Turn on the DVD screen, hand the kids a drink,and you can talk on your cell phone uninterrupted, until a motorcycle comes into your path, causing you to actually drive and hopefully avoiding me.  To be honest, more safe miles were driven in class than on all the roads we drove of....
In case you haven’t been paying attention, we have become a compulsive society.  A narrow focused one, with us in the center.  Years ago we took basic Christian courses about who was on the throne, us or Jesus, identifying us as carnal Christians when taking over the drivers seat.  As I watch so many believers today doing the same thing, they limit their blessings, while portraying a different Jesus than the Bible.  Jesus himself addressed this, with little response from his disciples.  It took the author of Ephesians to point it out, and I wonder how many of you Bible students caught it.  God refers to the sword of the spirit, seen on so many shirts but not in too many hearts.  There are two words used here, one logos, the entire word of God, all of Jesus who is the word, and rhema, a special application given by the spirit when needed.  The sword of the spirit.  Ever been amazed at how you have just the right words sometimes, or like me having them override your theology?  that is the rhema, the spirit intervening for  us as needed.  When saved we are given this gift of the spirit, but too many times we take control via self, denying the spirit.  The more time we spent reading and not necessarily studying, we find the spirit revealing the mysteries of Christ to us, and taking us deeper than our thoughts could by themselves.  Some study to find themselves approved, some follow the spirit.  I am not against study, but just study for study’s sake.  for when we study to pass the test, we forget what we studied afterwards, it is on to something else.  If only we let the spirit intervene as he wants to....
The spirit of God brings these things to our attention so we can take it, heed it, and obey it.  For where his spirit is there is liberty!  Those of us who used to dream in school and think outside of the box were prime candidates for this rhema, as our minds were not centered on learning, but more on application.  Our minds were overflowing with ideas, and education only brought us what it knew and wanted us to know, the spirit gives us more, and insight to it.  From ashtrays to cupholders engineers were designing to meet a need, while being stylish at the same time.  Which explains such ill placed cupholders as the ones in the 210 E class, right above the electronic shifter, that would quit working when latte added, even by accident.  And not a warranty issue, as poor design is not a malfunction of the part.  Human error which over rides design error.  Or how many other ill placed cup holders or ashtrays were forced upon us?  No more room, they had to be placed somewhere, didn’t they?  If only the spirit had led their designing of them...
Fortunately God has designs for our lives, expressed via the rhema he provides.  It is this rhema that makes Jesus personal, that erodes the education and religion most think is Christianity.  It is when Jesus’ spirit is alive in us we can do things that can only be expressed as supernatural in origin, from a loving God just for us at that moment. Sometimes so personal they go beyond words, and without the spirit’s guidance would appear foolish.  Yet it is the fool who denies there is a God.....When God designed us he had a perfect plan in mind for us, unique to each one of us.  Tap into his rhema today and discover it.  Some dream while others create.  But without the spirit to guide, we end up with broken ashtrays and too many cup holders.  Or designs like our doodles that never leave the page, and are resumed the next time the class meets.  Rhema can be the weapon we need, or it can be the cause of our peace.  The sword described is not a big sword like on the trendy Christian t-shirts, but a scapple, a specialized tool, for an exact purpose.  Used to do a specific job.  Tune into him today, and watch as your relationship in Christ grows. 
We have a whole generation of kids who never have seen an ashtray, I wonder, when they do, will their Big Gulp fit?  I’ll bet they would notice ashes in their cup....only in the spirit will they ever know the difference.  And now you do too...I hope you weren’t doodling while reading this...if you were I understand.
And why you should never see a cupholder on a motorcycle!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com