the first rule is obey all rules-the wit and wisdom of Barney Fife

One of the most unforgivable sins in jr. high was walking on the gym floor in your street shoes.  They left black marks that the janitor would have a hard time removing.  More than once a juvenile perpetrator was apprehended and given a slip to take to the principal’s office, leaving a black mark on their record, no pun intended.  But in a strange turn of events, if a teacher, or worse a parent walked across the same floor in street shoes, nothing happened.  No warning, no chastisement no invite to a higher authority was involved.  An interesting double standard, that when the question was asked was courteously glossed over and on to the next question.  Hopefully the civic minded people at Rebook and Nike have changed all that due to the popularity of their shoes...

As spring is here, and Memorial Day around the corner, the official first day of summer, car shows are springing up everywhere, again no pun intended.  And a popular venue over the past few years is using golf courses, the very green areas where no golf carts are allowed unless under supervision, but on these special days you may drive your classic or collectible on them.  I must admit there is something special seeing the cars on the grass, somehow speaks of summer days, and the fresh green grass adds something to the display, but just try that on any other day of the year.  Do not pass go, go directly to jail.  Where Barney Fife will let you know that the first rule there is obey all rules.  The second is no writing on the walls, it is hard to get the ink off.  And as a song once told us “signs, signs, everywhere a sign, do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the signs?” So it seems there are rules within rules, special exceptions for exceptional people, and we learn that not only can hard wood floors be cleaned off and buffed, but grass has a surprising resiliancy when driven on by a collector car.  Or motorcycle.  It grows back, some faster than others, ready for the next event.  Golf courses over the years have somehow survived the onslaught of golf carts not only driven on cart paths, maybe the delicate balance of man and machine is not as delicate as we think.

But signs are everywhere, each with a law or rule to guide us.  Or confuse us, or make us miserable.  Or worse yet a scofflaw, or a sinner.  With each new law we increase the opportunities to break one, and be a law breaker.  And some are evident, some unknown, and many impossible to remember.  A lady I once knew with OSHA told me “it is impossible for me to know each law, but I can guarantee I can walk into any business and find one broken.”  Giving credence to the 8 most dangerous words in the English language, “I’m from the government and here to help.”  Or as Pogo once told us, in cartoon form so we could get, “we have met the enemy and it is us.”  So look out when on the golf course, as some drive balls, while others drive carts.  And the only ones leaving black marks on gym floors are law enforcement, can you hear me Deputy Fife?

“Nip it, nip it in the bud!”  And so many problems can be avoided if we obey the rules, just hoping the opposition is as courteous and abiding.  Today and for all of history it has been the first reaction of man to get revenge, to settle the score.  To get even, or eliminate your enemies.  When the Godfather, Michael Corleone was accused of wanting to kill everyone, he admitted “only my enemies.”  Sadly we as individuals and as the church do the same.  We want to help usher in the rapture by wiping out our enemies, but forget we once stood opposed to God ourselves.  And that Jesus loved us while we were yet sinners.  And if the rapture had come 5 years, 10 years, 50 years ago, we would be bound for hell.  Fortunately God is a loving and forgiving God, also patient.  Just don’t get caught in street shoes after service in the gym.  As all lessons of love are tossed aside, and you are a perpetrator.  And labeled for life within a congregation.  Who knew enough not to walk on said floor, who hide their sins better.  But one mystery of he law, overlooked by those caught up in grace, is the law points out our sin, and our need for a savior.  It also helps us from doing things that can be dangerous to us and our walk with the Lord.  And the best examples are found within the churches today. 

When Peter and John were released from jail, they went back to report what had happened to the church.  And broke out in prayer, “oh sovereign God,” recognizing who he is.  They didn’t blame him for their so called bad luck, or organize a militia to respond in revenge.  They turned to God, and grew closer to him in the situation.  They realized he was in control of everything, and turned to him.  They did what Christians are supposed to do under pressure, go to the word and seek the spirit to guide them.  Just like we do today?  Just like we are taught to do in church, right?  A few years back during a time of prayer, I walked up on stage as the spirit told me and prayed with a man.  Later I was apprehended, and questioned, as was the man I prayed with.  We had done just as we said, prayed, just like the others on stage, just I wasn’t allowed.  They kept pressuring me to repent, until I asked them, “should I obey your rules or be guided by the holy spirit?  Is it possible you are in sin as you accuse me now?” Which confused them, you don’t question church authority, and I had.  And so I offered to pray with him, something he had neglected to do, and left him thinking about what had taken place.  I am sure the topic came up in the next meeting, and steps taken to prevent me from going up on stage to pray.  And they say they trust God?  I had faced opposition, I just never thought it would come from within the church.

When people oppose the will of God, or try to thwart the spirit in any way, God has a miraculous way of showing his love and teaching us all.  It is called grace, and I could have gotten mad, but didn’t.  I turned and prayed for that man, who was caught up in church laws.  At least a good thing was I didn’t write on the walls, as we know they can be hard to clean.  We had both acted in ignorance, me not knowing it was forbidden by only the chosen few to go on stage, and by this pastor who was going to deny the holy spirit to operate.  He had never been confronted like that, and the truth was new to him.  As individuals, we need to follow the spirit and see the love of Christ in operation.  The man I prayed for was new in town, had asked to play with the worship team that night, and knew few people.  By my following the urging of the spirit we became friends, and he was shown love.  He was welcomed, despite the rules.  The history of he cross brings people together, and doesn’t separate man from salvation.  It brings the two together, in Christ.  So how do you know when you are in the spirit?  I can tell when I am not.....

So make your first and only rule love.  Love of Christ, then love of self, so you can love others, for no man hated himself and loved God.  Or man made in his image.  Can we just trust God in these situations, to seek him first and watch as all things are added unto us?  By him! As we watch as all things work together, and as he takes a bad situation and turns it to good?  Billy Jack once said “when the police break the law there is no law.”  Attention church, us, “if we don’t show the love of Jesus are we breaking the law?  Is there no law left?”  Thankfully we have grace, show some today.  Follow what the spirit shows you to do.  Peter and John used the things of God, and went against public opinion.  They sought the Lord rather than revenge via a group, the church.  The principal of revenge is powerful, aren’t you glad God operates not by power, not by might, but by his spirit?  Or didn’t you know that? 

Can you just imagine if we did?  Now that would be a witness of the Lord in real life.  Just don’t show it while walking on the gym floor.  Sin leaves a black mark, only in Jesus will it be removed.  Don’t let “I’m from the church and I’m here to help” strike terror in the hearts of man.  Next time someone asks “what would Jesus do?” is your answer “you have to ask?”  Well, do you?

Now about Mr. Schwump....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

 

one ride on the dyno should convince you

I was a wild eyed motorcycle riding new believer when I left Jersey for New Mexico at age 21.  And forced with answering a bunch of questions, most I didn’t know the answer to.  “Do they speak Spanish there?  Do the speak English?”  “Will your money be good there?  Do you need a passport?  Are you moving out of the United States?”  And my favorite, “why would you want to leave New Jersey?”  All I knew was I was moving west, and couldn’t wait to go.  And God rewarded me with a great job selling motorcycles at Motorsport, where David was one of the owners.  Before computers, before ECM’s and ECU’s, there was David.  He was an interesting man, and the go to guy for anyone who had a problem with his motorcycle.  With the altitudes varying from 3200’ to over 12,000’, he had come up with specs for each bike at each altitude.  Where a computer makes the adjustments today, we had David.  He had built a dyno, no one outside of racing had heard of one, and had come up with all the jetting and correct plug heat ranges for each altitude.  When we sold a bike, we could tune it before delivery to where it was going, for maximum  performance.  No one else could or did.  He could also read spark plugs, and was always in demand in everyone’s pit.  He even was a field rep for Champion, rest assured if David said it, it was true.  And a whole world dealing with altitude, low humidity, desert and mountains became my new home.

So when we moved to Durango, altitude 6512’, from Albuquerque, altitude 5500’, I was ready.  And as an assistant service manager at the Ford store, we pretuned each car changing jets, carb settings, and plugs.  A few minutes made a big difference, and the mechanics, they weren’t techs yet, made lots of money on doing PDI adjustments.  And also doing the same adjustments on tourist’ cars who had trouble making it over the passes.  Easy money, good money, and you could immediately tell the difference.  A foreign concept back then, all handled by computer today, the computer makes cars and bikes self tuning.  Back then it took the likes of David and others, who took the time to figure things out, and then apply it.  His hard work and efforts made him and the bikes we sold unique, sadly he is gone and the computer has taken over.  The main difference being you could bench race with David, not a computer.  And along with his knowledge and stories we lost more than we ever expected.

Many great minds argue over which came first, the chicken or the egg?  I have heard viable arguments on each side, but in the end truth wins out.  It always will.  When in doubt, go to someone who knows, in this case God.  Go to Genesis, the in the beginning book, and see quite clearly God created the animals.  The chicken came first, created by God.  Then the eggs....you may argue with scripture, but you will only join the list of those who tried and were wrong.  Wouldn’t it be easier to follow God, and be smart?  Or argue and be wrong?  We had David and his research and findings available, he shared them freely, but do we follow the word of God so easily?  Maybe the questions I was asked when leaving the Garden State were easy compared to the ones we ask God.  And sometimes as foolish. Ifwe have trouble getting past Genesis and believing in a creator, it makes the rest more difficult.  From the beginning it takes faith to please God, all the way to the end. 

The funny thing about the dyno is the numbers don’t lie.  They are the proof of what is going on at the time.  We weren’t there in the beginning, only God was, so it is his story to tell.  And he shares it openly with all who will listen, and many who won’t.  When we sinned and were separated from him, he sent Jesus to be the way back.  Simple, free, and easy-believe and repent, yet religion makes it complicated.  Yet the same God who created the chicken first, sent his son to die, because he loved us first.  No one set out to find God one day, the spirit was calling. Who was there at the beginning, and who after hovering over the earth, gave it form.  Gave it life.  And didn’t stop there, or with the chicken.  He continues today to give life and eternal life to those that believe.  When a car has a problem we can hook it up to a scanner and see the facts and make adjustments.  Back then we had David.  But before him and still we have God.  Who can fine tune your life, maintain it in any situation, and show love.  We have come a long way from carbs to fuel injection.  The old guys who would struggle with a carb all day getting it dialed in, never trusted fuel injection.  Are we much different when it comes to things of the spirit?

Today will be an in the beginning day for many, who find Jesus for the first time.  When all else failed, he didn’t.  He knows where you live, how many cylinders you are running on, and can fine tune your  life.  if you let him.  It takes trust, and yet despite the evidence being there, we struggle defying him.  If only we had the faith of those who trusted David’s findings, how much better our lives would be. And we would have the answers we need, when we need them.

And to those who wonder about New Mexico, we did speak English, and Spanish, and some even Navajo.  The dollar was used there and bought much more than it ever did in Jersey, this is New Mexico, of eh United States of America.  The new makes all the difference.  No passports needed.  And if you wonder why I ever left New Jersey, maybe the old Harley answer of “if you ask you would never understand” is the best answer.  Let the New in your relationship with God make all the difference in your life.  We were created in God’s image, and he created all the animals for our pleasure,  Even having them parade before Adam to be named.  He called a chicken a chicken, he dealt with the things in front of him.  The truth.  The chicken came first, but before it and other creation, there was God.  And still is God, and always will be God.  Don’t be chicken....now you know the truth.  As for eggs, I’ll have mine sunny side up, bacon crisp, with home fries.  You see, the eggs came later, as did the bacon.  All from creatures created by God.  Just for you.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

don't force it, get a bigger hammer

Contrary to popular belief, and repeated incorrect teaching of history, Henry Ford did not invent the assembly line.  He got the idea from watching how packing houses function by moving the carcass from one station to another on carts.  He only adopted it for his Model T.  But it takes more than an assembly line to increase production speeds, it takes interchangeable parts, which the gun industry had been using for years.  We take it for granted today that when we get a part for our bikes it will fit, just over 100 years ago that would have been considered lucky to find a part that fit, good or bad depending on your situation.  So many manufacturers made their own parts, from fasteners to precision engine parts, and no two would interchange.  The corner blacksmith, would duplicate what he could, or take a part and customize it to fit the job, but the days of going to the shelf for the right part has only been for 100 years.  What Henry brought was putting them all together to make them work, and reducing the time it took to build a car from 12 hours to 90 minutes.  Passing on the labor savings to the public and soon the industry followed, it had to.

Now Old Henry is often misquoted as saying “you can have any color as long as it is black.”  Which he never said.  They didn’t have the paint technology we do today, and black was the easiest to make and apply.  Usually by brush, and it took forever in manufacturing years to dry.  Credit Charles Kettering, Boss Ket with working with DuPont to give us Duco paint and today we have instant drying paints of infinite color possibilities.  100 years ago you got black...or green, blue, brown, and varying shades of gray.  Did I mean today by mistake?  Has all this prosperity and technology brought us back to the color charts of the 1920’s? 

But still it took a plant, an organized schedule of procedures to make a car.  Still does today, and we neglect, if we ever knew or cared, to credit the ones who built the factories.  Who designed the assembly line where a car starts as raw materials at one end and drives off the line at another.  It takes timing on the lines,  a timely source of materials, and a trained work force for it all to come together.  And when it does it is a beautiful thing.  Way back in 4th grade Billy Dotterer’s dad was head of the Ford plant in Metuchen that built Mustangs.  New 1965 Mustangs, and a class trip to end all class trips.  Noisy, loud, with a lot of activity,and lots of new Mustangs,  it was different from the River Rouge tour we took in 2010, watching F150’s being built.  Same processes as the Model T and the Mustang, just refined.  And painting down to a science, where the truck body with doors was assembled, then painted and taken apart to build the truck, assuring uniform paint cover and color. 

Another manufacturing facility I used to visit was a huge SONY plant in Mexico.  It produced over 17,000 big screens a day!  Very tedious work, but good pay for those who could get it.  As modern as it could be, especially compared to a factory making eyeglasses from resin, with no safety procedures in place.  The floor so slippery you skated across it, the resin so dangerous it made your skin red.  When asked how did the workers do it, I was told after a few minutes you would know if you could do the work.  If you had any skin or lungs left.  But the most dangerous was the storage of the resins, which were very volatile, and above a certain temp would explode like bombs.  They were refrigerated the way they had been for generations, stored outside in the heat, sometimes over 100 degrees, with an old man pulling a wagon the length of the yard, putting a cake of dry ice on each barrel, then turning around and repeating the process.  I saw first hand why we need an OSHA, and why third world countries can compete, the worker is expendable.  Part of a process.....and finally the American worker was expendable, they could do it cheaper elsewhere.  Not necessarily better, cheaper.

Many religions will offer you good advice, offer you security, and draw you into their teachings based on some common sense facts.  But they are without completion, as all lies are based on facts, and like the assembly line may turn out a product, but is it one you want?  Or need?  Or can afford?  Today with counterfeit products invading the US of A from around the world, they may look the same, cost substantially less, and even do the job for awhile, but they are short lived.  Made to a cost, and we pay the cost.  They look the same, but are they the same?  No one supplies a better replacement part than the factory that designed and built it.  After market tries, and some products are very good, but nothing fits like a factory part.  From the originator, the creator.

Today religion offers you many ways to seek peace.  To be successful.  To satisfy.  Many so called great men have influenced religion over the years, from Buddha, Gandhi, Mohammed, Mary Baker Eddy, and Joseph Smith.  All took some form of truth and made a belief system, a religion out of it, but they all fail in one important area, none can save.  None can offer resurrection, no one offers the free gift of salvation but Jesus Christ.  There may be some moral lessons in each other one, but only the truth is found in Jesus.  God got it right in the  beginning, as Jesus was there, and still is there today.  And will be in the future.  His grave is empty, all the others are filled with remains, for they remained, not trusting Jesus to save them.  Maybe Jesus and this belief, maybe Jesus and work hard, maybe Jesus and remain poor, but no one but Jesus can offer salvation, and it is a gift.

Which may make some Christians sound like bigots, it’s Jesus or nothing.  And they are right, but need to show it in love.  Cults can provide love for awhile, they cannot save.  And if the church rejects someone, they are there to rescue them from religion, with more religion.  These others could tell us how to live, only Christ will enable you to do it.  No one else has dealt with the problem of death and been successful, it takes an eternal God and his son to save.  God made Jesus the cornerstone, and there is no other name by which we can be saved.  None.  That is the gospel, good news, we can be saved by confessing Jesus.  No grading on a curve, no classes, membership, tithing, or serving.  It is free...a gift from the creator, who made you, and can supply you with all you ever need.  Factory parts that fit.  If only working on cars was so easy...

Not even all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could put old Humpty together again, yet we go there first.  Why not go directly to God, and get the right part the first time?  The best advice from the wonderful counselor?  The peace we need from the comforter?  And wisdom from the one who is wisdom....can we maybe learn a lesson from the manufacturing world about Christ?  That there is no substitute for doing it right the first time?  Interchangeable parts may decrease assembly times, interchangeable gods and beliefs have an adverse effect on life. 

An old saying says “don’t force it, get a bigger hammer.”  Or “don’t bend it, get a bigger pry bar.”  In both cases forcing an issue, not doing it right.  True you might get the part out, but at what cost?  Why break something to fix something else?  Sound like life?  Insist of factory parts, from the creator of the universe.  He made you, why refer to anything or anyone else.  And he even left you an owner’s manual, the Bible, and his spirit to guide you through it.  And he makes it easy to read, ever try to assemble anything from a picture?  And you thought all pictures were in English...

Just some things you might have been told incorrectly about.  Don’t carry on the tradition, get right with Jesus today.  The madness of life can stop today by trusting him, only one can show us what to do, how to do it, when to do it, give us a new desire and the ability to do it, and give us a new heart and a new outlook on life.  Only one name can do all that, Jesus Christ.  That is what he does, has he done it for you?   Will you let him?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

one morning at the Sunoco station

I miss the old gas stations, the ones with the bells that ring, or rather clang when you run over the hose.  Alerting the attendant, and soon seeing a face to fill your tank, check your oil, and put air in your tires.  A far cry today from where you put your card in the in the pump, and the only interaction is “do you want a receipt?”  I think that most of us of the age of service stations did our time in one, and can remember the smell of high octane, the license plate snapping back when removing the hose from the fuel filler behind it, how many lost digits is still not available, and the group of men who always seemed to be hanging out, with nothing better to do.  Back at a time when the brand you put into your ride mattered, and for us it was Sunoco, 260, racing gas at the pump.  Super premium, because just premium wouldn’t do.  As it we could tell the difference.  But a few extra cents per gallon spent wisely.  And it has been awhile since I enjoyed one, but one morning somewhere in West Virginia will always stick out in my mind.

I was on a ride to New Jersey from Escondido, and I left at 530 pm on Friday night.  I was at the Sunoco at about 10 am on Monday morning, and would end up at my destination in a little under 70 hours, travelling some 2900+ miles.  A lot of things stand out, but this Sunoco station holds a special place, for no particular reason than it was there.  It had been raining, I had spent the night in Lexington, Kentucky, and rode in rain and cool that morning.  Just over the state line into West Virginia, the clouds broke ,the sun came out, and a new day was dawning.  Suddenly the warmth of the sun changed the ride and my attitude, and I couldn’t wait to get my rain suit off.  And the Sunoco station, short for Sun Oil Co. seemed  like a good place.  Filling up, I then sat in the sun on a bench, and took off my riding suit.  I was sharing a bench with an old man, who never spoke, but watched intently.  The owner, who was running things, this station was very busy, started a conversation with me when he saw the California tags.  “How long you been on the road?  Where you from?  Where are you going?”  And the list went on.  But when I told him I had left California Friday night, he was impressed.  So much that he told everyone, and suddenly I was a celebrity.  “Do you know what this man did?  He drove that bike from San Diego since Friday night?”  And a legend was born, as soon the group of men were impressed enough to start sharing stories of their long rides.  Or rides they hoped to do.  Each person that pulled up to the pump was pointed to me, the guy from California.  Rode there on his motor sickle.  And as I took off my rain suit, it was as if they saw who Clark Kent really was.  Or was it the other way around.  That one morning at the Sunoco station in West Virginia somewhere had an impact on many lives, and I am sure the story was told for some time.

To me just another fuel stop, in another state, but for those whose daily routine is so routine, a big event.  I left laughing to myself of how the old timers would go home and tell their wives.   And how they would nod and say “yes dear,” and how dreams of a long vacation, or a ride were awakened again.  If that guy could do it, so could they.  But somehow the telling would never be the same as the doing.  Just a 20 minute break from routine in daily lives, for me no big deal, but for those there that morning, the news of the day.  Or week.  And the things that dreams are made of.

When old friends meet, no matter how often or where, the talk will always turn to one event, one thing that they can share with each other, and brag to new comers about because they were there.  It wasn’t legend or hearsay to them, they met the man, saw the bike, took the picture.  They might even be in the picture, but they were there.  And the memories may fade, the details change, but they were there.  In the picture, part of the story.  An approach I like to take in my walk with Christ.  Too many churches, fellowships, or studies have become routine.  The same message told over and over, relating what they were taught but with no new insight.  Like the guys at the Sunoco station, life is predictable, then someone comes into their lives for a few moments and thing change.  Too much religion is like that, the same songs, same prayers, same story at Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, or Thanksgiving.  And we wonder why people quit coming to church.  Why they seem to be stuck in a rut?  They have all the gifts of the spirit available to them, but never take advantage of them.  And for those who do, they soon become different, and many times unwelcomed.  A threat to others, as the newfound freedom challenges others, who don’t realize they are dead.  And take umbrage against anything new or different.

But then others like the men at the Sunoco station get excited.  It wakes them up, and they dream again.  They look back to fond memories, and soon are rejuvenated.  One tells of an old ride, then another, and soon the bench racing is alive, where once it was dead.  Or at least in a coma.  God has given each one of us a testimony to share, to encourage, enliven, or to lead to salvation for the lost.  A story we didn’t just hear, but were a part of, and still are.  An excitement is created when Jesus is shared, and the story of how he changed the lives of us.  Others listen attentively, some may turn away, yet we never know the full effect our story may have on others.  We leave that up to God, and his spirit.  Jesus told us as we go share the gospel, the good news of him.  Too many wait for words, looking for the chance, while others live the life, and the words just come.  When St. Francis of Assisi advised “to preach the word daily, and if needed use words,” he was talking to us.  For our light to shine in darkness, but not to blind the one who it was aimed at.  God creates the situations, it is up to us to be who he wants us to be in them.  How many times have I been able to share Jesus with an audience who otherwise would not listen just because I rode?  Just because I ride and love the Lord and take it for normal, doesn’t mean others do too.  “You ride a motorcycle and are a Christian?”  You mean you don’t?  Or aren’t?

One unplanned stop at a non-descript Sunoco station in West Virginia caused a small uproar.  Daily routines were shifted, and a new memory was made.  We never think of evangelizing at a gas station, but why not?  Too many think evangelizing is inviting someone to church, yet we find Jesus lived on the road.  He was where the action was, he was the action.  Tired of hearing but not doing?  Get out and share what Jesus has done in your life.  Quit hiding in a church, and go out and be the church.  Using words when needed.  Maybe talk to the guy at the register.  Or the kid interested in your bike.  All things work together, and if a loving God can use motorcycles to aid in sharing the gospel, what are you missing?  What has Jesus done in your life today that feels better when shared with others?  It may only be a ride to Walmart, but people everywhere are looking, searching, and wanting to know.  Just not preached at, like you.  For me it was 20 minutes out of a 70 hour ride, in a place without name.  The importance of getting out and effecting the lives of others.  A time of refreshing, sharing the love of Jesus.  A time to share about good times.  Today will be the good old days we refer to some day.  By the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony we are saved.  Jesus did his part, are you doing yours?

In this age of self serve, who are you serving?  Some believed, and some believed not.  Believe is a verb, is it to you?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogpsot.

the first time you just had to have one

There is always one guy in your group who is just a bit older, and tells better jokes, is a better fighter, better kick ball player, and has cooler things.  In our neighborhood it was Joey, and while only 3 years older, that was a lot in my preteen years.  And while the rest of us were busy begging our dads to buy us the new Schwinn Sting Rays, we usually ended up with JC Higgins from Sears, or Rollfasts from Jay’s Cycle Shop.  Both good bikes, but not the ones the bigger kids had.  But that all changed when Joey got his English racer, just the name sounded exotic, and with low bars tucked under, a racing seat, and 5 speeds, this this thing looked fast just standing still.  And as often as we were teased to take a ride on it, we were only mere mortals in the bicycle pecking order.  But it was the bike to have, manufactured by Ross, it was red, and soon became the standard of all that rode bikes in our neighborhood, and soon in school.  But the buy in price of $89.95 was too much for many of our fathers, so we soldiered on with our older bikes, content until Joey showed up.  I would eventually own a Schwinn Sting Ray, a real one, not some knock off, but never an English racer.  The bike that all others would and will be compared too.  There was just something about that bike....

Again leave it to the older guys bring cool into our mundane lives, and change all the parameters for fitting in.  A few guys in high school rode motorcycles, we had mini bikes, but no dirt to ride in in Jersey, so street it was.  And the first time I saw the Honda CB350, I fell in love.  I had been sharing a CL77, Honda 305 that belonged to BH, painted blue with a brush, but I had to have that CB350.  And I would, and it would change my life.  Midsized, today considered small or entry level,  I rode that sucker everywhere, 6000 miles in les than 5 months.  It was the bike that would define all others I would ever ride, until the Honda 750 hit the scene.  Who could resist those 4 pipes?  The chrome?  The sound and the power?  But still in high school, my 350 was big enough, and besides it said Honda on the tank, I was related by family if nothing else.  But soon Kawasaki would upset the riding world again, with the Z-1, 903 cc’s of power, and a whole new desire was formed.  The two stroke Mach III and Mach IV were fast, the Z-1 was king, and the bike to own.  And for $1875, double the price of my 350, I could have one.  If only I had the money...which in 1979 I did, buying a used 1975, fulfilling the dream, but still the desire loomed.  And drove me on, just like all my other riding friends. It seemed that the dream was only within riding reach until something new came along, and the dream of yesterday became the used bike you had trouble trying to sell the next.  But there was always some kid younger than you, maybe not in your group, but another, whose dream was your old ride.  And his ownership would perpetuate the dream for years.  Or until the next dream came along.

So the first time you saw one, and the first time you just had to have one, was followed by the desire that someday you would have one.  Sometimes way out of reach, but in younger minds where we haven’t learned you can’t always get what you want, the dream lived on.  Posters in the bedroom, worn out pages in magazines telling us “we had to have one” and parents who were against it, they provided reality in the midst of our dreams, many of us would tough it out, persistent that someday, despite all odds, we would have that English racer, that Honda 750, that Z-1, or whatever else the dreams of our youth kept us up nights thinking about.  All of us would get older, but for some of us growing up was an option we never bought into.  And our garages display that.  Still just one bike behind that which we desire, the dream lives on.

Many in our generation were raised in Sunday school, and when we got older, left the church.  Part of it, reluctantly, and in name only, but the lessons we learned or were force fed stayed with us.  And after all the self inflicted wounds of life, come back to church.  But still looking, knowing church is good, but not the answer.  That thrill that once made us want to ride still dominates, there has to be more to church than religion, than lessons, than attendance.  And we finally give in to Jesus, the spirit telling us “you need Jesus,” and the shackles of religion are broken.  And the first time you meet him you just know nothing else will ever do.  Where as you were seeking, now you found.  Where you knew something was missing, now you had it.  You just had to have Jesus, religion didn’t cut it, it leaves you empty, and all the lessons of youth now have answers.  In the motorcycling world many are returning, called born again bikers, returning after 20-25 years, only to find the bikes they once lusted over are gone, and the replacements offer more than they ever could dream of.  They buy into, but sometimes cannot get over their past, seeking to relive it.  Their 500cc of dream fulfilled now only found among newbies.  And soon the bike is for sale, the thrill is gone, and they leave unfulfilled, playing golf or tennis.  Happens in churches too, we have many coming back, seeking Jesus, and wanting more from life.  Many have come out of drug filled lives, bad marriages, business failures, and other failures in life.  And we hand them a 12 step program, a set of tapes, classes on Tuesday nights, and send them on retreats.  Not bad things in themselves, but where is the Jesus they are seeking?  We tell them he is personal, than hand them off to something that isn’t.  The are seeking forgiveness and acceptance, and the church lets them down.  I have actually attended churches where sinners are told “you can come back after you get your act together with God.”  Leaving them just sitting on the curb as the kids on newer bikes ride by.  And many times returning to their past. 

Jesus loves you as you are, he just doesn’t want to leave you that way.  Just as the new bike or motorcycle would change you, you wanted to be different leaving the store as from when you entered.  Jesus is that difference, and many old saints are coming back.  Finding the Jesus they learned in Sunday school is real, and loves them.  And forgives them.  And he is personal, it isn’t a competition, and you can be the person he wants you to be, yourself.  Once you meet Jesus, you know no one or no thing will ever do, you just have to have him.  And aided by the spirit, you will.  So I encourage those of you seeking but not fitting in, Jesus is still seeking you.  He wants to make it personal, he forgives your past, and better yet he knows it is part of your testimony.  He accepts you...don’t confuse the acts of some churches with Jesus Christ. 

You are never too old, too far gone, or too much a sinner for Jesus to love you.  In fact the worse off you are, the more you will change and grow.  And have a testimony to share.  He who sinned much was forgiven much, you will be surprised when you really meet Christ how much.  Today many still dream of that English racer, or Honda 750, ebay is full of dreams for those who can afford them.  Stop dreaming, and give it over to Jesus.  Find everything in life you were missing, and watch as he uses your testimony, and your new life to influence others.  You just may be that older guy in the group with the 10 speed English racer....and others are waiting to hear about it.  Offer them a ride with Jesus today....remember the first time you just had to have one?  Burnouts on bikes are fun, burnouts in life aren’t. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogpsot.com