with you to the end of the line

Francisco’s Cantina in Durango was the go to Mexican restaurant for decades.  It was also one of my accounts when I worked for Coca Cola, and often ate lunch there.  Many times after we moved we talked of lunches eaten there, and a desire to return, but 1000 miles for a meal is a bit much, even for me, 200-250 maybe, but 1000, I need a weekend.  Now if you think California Mexican food is good, to me it is slop, with a few exceptions like Figaro’s in Tulare, and El Cholo, a So Cal legend since 1923.  But one vacation had us returning to Durango to visit Dal and the family, and my boss Gary and his family had planned to vacation there at the same time, not knowing we were too or our connection to Durango.  So we would spend a day together and show them the sights, as locals not as tourists, and eat at Francisco’s.  Now as anyone knows, when you get more than one person together, you have scheduling problems, and I had told them Francisco’s fills up fast, so let’s eat earlier so we don’t have to wait.  And so we waited.....and by the time we arrived, the line was out the door.

Francis’s son Francis, Jr. aka Skip was a helper on my route with me, and we got to be good friends.  Even occasionally after 30 years I hear from him.  But that day, after having moved away and not seen him for over five years, as we stood in line, I heard “Hey Mike, is that you?”  It was Skip, “How many?”  Yelling eight above the crowd noise, he said “come on in I have your table ready!”  I had told my boss Skip and I were friends, I never expected him to be working that day, or to be greeted as we were.  Man did I feel important walking past the others still waiting in line, it is good to know people in important places, but there is nothing like old friends.  It was good to see Skip, even better to be seen by him.

In 1995 the Baja 1000 began in Tijuana for the first time in years.  I was dealing with SONY in Mexico at the time, and my contacts there all loved the races, and took off the day to attend.  I would meet them at contingency and show them around, they were excited.  After an hour of getting stickers and pictures and posters, we cut down a back street to get lunch, when we ran into Ivan Stewart, doing the same thing.  I did business with Ivan and knew him, he was a hero to these guys, and he stopped and visited, had a picture taken with each one of them,signed autographs, then took off, “good to see you Mike,”  and was off to another appointment.  Mario, their boss was grinning ear to ear, as were the other four, they had met the Ironman, a true hero in off road racing, and the pictures would prove they had.  But I knew him, and maybe Mario said it best, “you said you knew him, but we didn’t realize he was your friend.” 

We never know the impact we are going to have on others, or the people we will meet.  While some go to church, attend church, scripture tells us we are the church, no building, no temple, no house can contain him.  He dwells in our hearts, so on the road, at home at dinner, eating at Francisco’s or racing in Baja, he is with us.  He never leaves,and as he tells us, “his word is written on our hearts.”  Who is this word, Jesus.  So when we are saved, Jesus signs our hearts.  A lifelong autograph that never fades or wears out. Which gives us access to the kingdom, and all its riches and privileges.  In the house of God, which is never a building, we see Moses serving, faithfully, but within the laws that God had given him.  Servants cannot tell when, where, how, or to whom they serve, they just serve.  And Moses did.  As a servant he was preparing things, making a way, and working in anticipation of a savior yet to come.  He works based on what God has planned for him, like we do today, but Moses only had limited access as a servant.  The law insured that. 

But he was preparing the way for Jesus, the son to take over.  What is the role of a son in the house?  To be ready to take over, to take over everything, to possess it, to use it as he pleases.  The house was made for him.  And that was the plan of God for his son Jesus, and if we are saved, we have the same access, the same relationship as he does with God.  He calls us friends, no longer servants, we become children of God when we believe.  And as family we have access to all of the things of God, through Jesus Christ.   Just like Skip had taken over for his Dad, God recognizes us on judgment day and in the crowd calls us to come in.  No waiting in line, as family we have access.  And enter in as friends. 

Amazingly enough, Jesus never owned property, and was even laid to rest in a borrowed tomb.  Which he soon vacated.  If going to church ain’t making it, know you are the church, the spirit lives within you, the building is only a meeting place.  It can be a home, a strip mall, or conventional church building, but without people who know Jesus in it, it is just that, a building.  Without the spirit it is no better than a cemetery, but in the spirit, in Jesus, wherever two or more are gathered, he is among us.  And since his spirit is always with us, you are always at least that two, you are forever in church, having church, and always with Jesus.  Family, with all the rights and none of the regulations.  Except love.  We are having church right now a you read this!  Maybe Mario said it best, “ we didn’t realize he was your friend.”  Do you call him friend?  Are you a church or attend a church?  Are you a servant, or do you dwell within God’s house?  God’s purpose is to make you that dwelling place that his spirit inhabits, via Jesus Christ in your life.   The will of God is for you to know Jesus.  He wants you to be a place he dwells, the manifestation of his life in you.  Paul simply asks “do you not know you are a vessel in which the holy spirit dwells?”  Well, do you? 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the care and beating of kitchen appliances

The toaster oven at one time in history was found in every kitchen, dorm room, or apartment in the Continental US of A, and many off shore retreats as well.  Designed to do just as its named implied, both toast and bake, it had the magic quality of burning pop tarts, turning bread to multi-shades of black, and helping the cooker to magically never find the perfect between 10-12 minute bake time.  Things were either removed with a leather like skin, or raw in the middle.  Sometimes both, every time it was used it was like a slot machine in Vegas, you pulled the handle and hoped for the best.  Most just gathered dust and crumbs beneath it, and took up too much space on kitchen counters, but it was rare to find someone who didn’t have one or hadn’t received at least one as a wedding gift.  They were a piece of Americana in the pre-microwave era, and saved many a yuppie from burning themselves on their too hot latte, while hoping for the best with their bagel.  It was the toaster oven that taught many of us the preference of eating raw pop tarts, of guessing when an English muffin was done, or why we ate jam on bread rather than toasting it.  I even heard of some college students trying to reheat pizza, but never met one who had mastered it.  It was an appliance that promised much, delivered little, that occupied space that could be better used, and never worked as needed.  Sure to deliver burnt toast, to embarrass the best of cooks, one morning was a deciding moment for ours.  The time had come, and it had to go.  Serenity now.....insanity later.

On this undated Saturday morning, in anger and with malice towards none but the toaster, its inventor, and maker, we took it to the back yard, and with my two young sons and wife, took turns beating it with an ax.  And found this was one tough sucker, like the super human flashlight you can run over, freeze, or cook, it for awhile withstood our beatings.  Cars should be made of this stuff, but soon the pieces starting flying, and the joy began.  Both sons taking turns, laughing as the pieces flew, my wife getting compensated for burnt toast, and with each blow a victory was struck for every pop tart burnt and crispy.  We were in our full glory and joy when we heard the laughter from next door, and saw out neighbors gathered in their kitchen window cheering us on.  “Hit it for me, we have one too!”  and with each blow represented America at its best.  Don’t mess with us, we may lose a battle or two, but we will win the war.  And that day, all arguments were settled with the toaster oven. 

When we seek perfection, as Lexus does in its ads, “the relentless search for perfection,” my first thought is they still don’t have it right.  It is just a dressed up Toyota, an overpriced Camry.  Look close, it is.  But we expect perfection from our purchases, and we do from God. Was not Jesus perfect?  Was he without sin?  He was perfect in his person, in who he was, but he was also a man.  Who for 33 years lived on earth, albeit in a pre-toaster oven world.  He bore all our sins, and no other person could do that except for him, he was both God and man, fully both.  Begotten, unique.  But we overlooked how he bore our iniquities, how if he hadn’t been subjected to Jerusalem rush hour traffic, how if he hadn’t had to wait in line for food, or walk many miles while preaching, in sandals, he would not have experienced the every day pains and temptations we do.  Scripture would not be honest in saying he bore our iniquities, for he had never experienced them. But the fact that he did, gives us hope that we will too when we trust him and walk in the spirit.  He would not have been able to prepare us for heaven, to endure on earth, if he hadn’t faced the same trials and temptations that face every man.  But he was made perfect in his sufferings, and because he faced them and endured, we can too.  No one can truthfully say “God doesn’t understand, he never went through the things I am,” because Jesus did.  Jesus knows the pain of suffering, but also the thrill of victory.  If he can defeat the toaster oven the rest should be easy right?

To identify with humans he had to be one, and to identify with him we must do it through his spirit, the physical being revealed spiritually.  Although faced with temptation and fear, he never gave in to them.  He never acted out of uncertainty, and in the tough times, we see him calling out to his father, to the point of if there is any other way, please do it now, as he faced death on the cross.  God gave him the words and attitudes needed in each case, and because Jesus did, so can we.  From being born again and forgiven, to dying and being resurrected, Jesus knows because he has been there, and so we can trust him.  He speaks from experience, first hand and personal, not repeating what others heard.  His words are true......

So while others seek perfection in religion, we have Jesus.  Where some live in legality, we have his spirit.  And we can have him and heaven too here on earth, if we turn to him, and let him guide our lives.  He is the perfect savior our hearts cry out for, and he stands knocking at the door of your heart to be left in.  He is the one to turn to when the toaster ovens of life turn against you, when the gauge says full but the tanks says empty.  He is the hope when all hope is gone, the miracle waiting to happen at the right time.  We had come to the point that day the toaster oven had to go from our lives.  Not thrown out where another could scavenge it, but destroyed so it was useless and defeated.  Jesus will do that to the sin in your life, it is gone and forgotten once and for all.  But still we will face temptations, as some will still face toaster ovens.  To both we can say with great authority they are gone from our lives, we have won the battle, the victory is ours.  We have found true perfection in the one who earned it, and can pass it on. Jesus knows because he was made perfect in is suffering, Jesus knows what we are going through.  His job was over, he achieved perfection.  He knows, the question then is simple, do you know him?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

Mama said there'd be days like this

The last job I had in my selling career was for Bowman Distribution, who had recruited me from a competitor.  It is always good to be wanted, and Bowman was the largest and oldest company in the small parts, fastener industry.  Look at any NASCAR race car in the 90’s, that sticker on the front fender was us, me.  Bowman was known for taking care of its own, in house we called it Ma Bowman, and they did in fact take good care of us.  A card with a $100 bill in it for your birthday, signed by the execs, an office support staff that you got to know personally, and was there to encourage you, as we all worked from home.  Some would stay late, some call just to check in, long before cellphones and emails were popular.  For over 75 years the family owned company had thrived, Bowman was a cash cow, hated by competitors, but respected by everyone else.  Some even had Bowman tattoos, long before the public skin defacing became trendy.  And it wasn’t unusual to see long term employees of 30, 40, or even 50 years employed, some with many family members.  It was a great place to work, we all made money, and Ma took care of us all.  And then the scare of Y2K, a perceived change in markets was announced, and things changed.

The business thinking at the time was that the new millenium would bring about a new way to make profits, and if you weren’t at the forefront, the bus would run you over.  Old ways will not work in the new century, change or be gone.  So Bowman hired a group of young idealists, with no experience in selling, to revamp the company.  Take to market, or TTY as it was called, shook up the company.  Reduce the sales force, those that were kept would make more money, but they forgot one thing, people buy from people, not from companies.  And they lost a  lot of business when old friends were fired, or went to competitors and the business went with them.  Sales tanked, and so did morale.  Old managers with 30+ year tenure left or were fired.  Some were reassigned in an emergency, and panic set in.  The pay plan was revamped, you sold more and made less, and no one could tell what their check would be.  Every 30-60 days we had a new CEO, sales manager, and executives, one even left during his first meeting, he saw the disaster and wanted no part of it.  Then the final death blow to Ma, the girls in the office.  They were told they were too friendly, and to clear their desks.  No personal pictures, only  a calendar, no phone calls over 5 minutes, and no favors.  The support staff now had no support, and many times they would call us after hours to give us insight, for our own protection.  Within 9 months this large Fortune 500 company was reduced to rubble, the ship was taking on water faster than it could be pumped out, and many fled, myself included.  From bad philosophy, to poor planning, to poor management, to implementation of a lie, how could a profitable industry leader sink so far, so fast?  And ruin the lives of so many who used to call her Ma?  What had happened?  Mama said there’d be days like this, was this one of them?

2 John warns us of false teachers, of those who will draw us away from the truth.  At a Balboa Park celebration this weekend there were Muslims handing out tracts, misquoting the Bible, and even a huge sign saying “Allah is Jesus.”  Anything to deceive the elect, and to those who don’t know the truth.  They deny the deity of Jesus, as do Mormons, who believed he is a created brother of the Archangel Michael, and Jehovah Witnesses, who deny he is God altogether.  And preach against the cross!  Changing words to mislead and draw people into darkness, some knowingly, some just following.  The scriptures are true, but when misquoted as they were, if you didn’t know the truth, you may be inclined to go along.  These were nice guys, I watched, and were kinder than some Christians I have seen out handing tracts to whoever will take one.  But they too are deceived, and the warning in 2 John is addressed to a woman, unidentified for her protection, as many were out to destroy the gospel, and the work of Jesus Christ.  Here we find John the beloved keeping the main thing the main thing, the love of Christ, and to be wary of those who show love, but are really wolves in sheep’s clothing. He warns that whoever does not abide in the doctrines of God, does not have Jesus.  Remember God’s will for your life is to know Jesus personally, and to walk in his spirit.  He who has Jesus has known the father, he who denies Jesus has neither.  Jesus is the way to God, not a way as some will proclaim.  Do not be deceived, for bad company will corrupt good morals, and the truth.  So John warns do not even let them in your house, do not engage them, they will win you over before you change them.  Slowly and painfully...do not even say “God bless you,” to them, for the God they acknowledge is not the God of creation, nor of Abraham and Isaac.  They worship the ways of deceit, maybe not knowingly, but they end in destruction.  For those that follow or partake in these ways are evil.  Play with fire you will get burnt.  And end up burning.

Some years back a group of women made small gifts for seniors at a nursing home.  They fellowshipped together, prayed together, and were blessed.  Some Mormon women asked to join, and were allowed to join, their wish that no one speak about Jesus so that no one got upset.  And soon the cancer of deceit, the one John warns of took over, and the group broke up.  The Christian ladies left.  The church had let them down, they were in disobeyence of the word.  The evil was among them, and now they made the same gifts, but sold them for a profit.  All within a church that was strong in the word, but lax in the application.  The spirit of anti Christ, a substitute, the anything but Jesus spirit is alive and well, beware, for even the elect can be fooled.  It worked at Bowman, it worked in a senior’s ministry, and it is warned about by John.  For not all who talk about Jesus come in the name of the Lord. 

Stay within the things of Christ you know to be true, and if anyone introduces new theology, becomes accepting of sin, or denies Jesus, have nothing to do with them.  Stick close to Jesus and he will stay close to you, do not lose the full inheritance he promises.  Stay away from doctrinal arguments, in all cases show love.  Sometimes by shutting the door before the evil can enter.  We believe in a resurrected Christ, who will return in the flesh for his church of believers.  Until he does, walk in love, and in the spirit, and see God change lives.  He changed us, imagine what he can do for others.  Flee from infidelity, hate what is wrong, love the sinner, but hate the sin.  Just as Jesus did.  Walk in truth and be set free from religion and bad doctrine.  All lies are based on truth, the cults know this.  Now you do to.  Read 2 John and take it to heart.  John rejoiced when he saw the churches walking in truth, does your life match up to the commandment of love?  Or are you just trying to be accepting of all others, thinking that is love?  Jesus is truth, all others are liars.  Simple theology for simple folks.  And free so we can afford it.  The gospel of Jesus Christ, don’t leave earth without it.  Mama may have said there’d be days like this, John warned one mother almost 2000 years ago of it.  Social ideas, common employers, even attending the same church or denomination does not bind us together.  Only Jesus.  Remember that, only Jesus.  Let his grace, mercy, and love shine from you today.  And they will know we are Christians by our love.  We have been given the spirit and the word to guide and abide.  No Jesus and nothing but Jesus.  No knew revelations, no knew doctrines.  Nothing new under the sun, beware of those who masquerade as Christians, life is too precious to give up our life and freedom for a lie.  The accuser will always go after the weakest one, stay in the word, and the word, Jesus Christ will stay in you.  Beware, Jesus is coming soon, sooner than expected.  Heaven awaits, hope to see you there.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

Saturday night @730, right after Clay Cole

I am a sucker for old movies, particularly the cheesy monster, alien invasion, chiller moves from the 1950’s.  Chiller Theater came on right after Clay Cole’s dance show on channel 11 every Saturday night, and what better place for a kid to spend his weekend night.  I found Chiller Theater when I was about 10, and all through school, it was an attraction, you could still go out after when you got older, and it was an open book into this unique genre.  And it was educational too, as from it I learned about how acid eats bodies in House on Haunted Hill, how the government and science can work together in Earth VS. the Flying Saucers.  Watching Plan 9 from Outer Space I didn’t know it was so bad until I was told later.  We learned about voodoo from The Four Skulls of Jonathon Drake, about oxygen and breathing in It! The Terror from Beyond Space, how adultery will get you killed in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, what happens when mutes cannot scream in The Tingler, and the terrors of going into space on Creeping Unknown.  How radiation exposure will turn you into a monster in The Hideous Sun Demon, about small English fishing villages in England and the US of A in The Giant Behemoth, and The Monster of Piedras Blancas.  An education we may have missed if Chiller Theater hadn’t existed, and if viewed as educational TV we would have avoided.

But if the mind could imagine it, Hollywood would conceive it, and we got to watch it.  Not a movie in the bunch that would  win an Academy Award, but to us no awards could be created for the thrill, scare, and wondering of the mind and emotions these movies created.  Today a whole generation misses out, as blood, gore, special effects, and the movie telling you what they want you to see.  They miss the scariness of shadows, the sound of a creaking door or a groaning monster.  What an alien may look like is not asked but told, and in color you lost me long ago.  These priceless gems scream to be made in black and white, how disappointed I was years ago when I was given a VCR tape of Invaders from Mars, and it was in color.  Nothing screams fear like the dark, and it must be black!  Frankenstein in gray, the Wolfman in brown, the creature in green all lose their fear appeal, as does the Phantom of the Opera in color.  Black is black, not shiny! But today we are only offered what the writer and director are trying to show, and little is left to the imagination. 

As Christians we are given a free range of imagination, but when under the holy spirit we see things, hear things, and believe things that no man can produce.  No movie can reproduce the beauty of the first day of creation, how dark it was the day Jesus was crucified, or what it really looked like when Moses parted the sea, but thanks to Hollywood mention Moses and we think Charlton Heston.  And to my color blind eyes, I see even different colors, maybe colors that aren’t found in any Crayola box, such is the color spectrum of God.  Imagine how pure and white the dove was that descended on Jesus, and it was even whiter.  Or the blackness of the crow Noah let go.  No soundtrack could ever reproduce the crying and wailing of the millions when it started to rain, and they were denied access to the ark.  In cinema, we would hear the final words of the thief on the cross plainly, only Jesus heard them among all the sounds of death around him that day.  And so even as wild as our imaginations may be, they pale when compared to what God has to show us.  Consider John one day on the island of Patmos, trying to describe spiritual things using finite words.  Ever wonder why Revelation is so un-understandable?  It takes the spirit!  And like Jesus says, “we can do all things through him who gives us strength.”  And vision.  For he didn’t say he who has a mouth let him speak, but did urge those who have an ear let them hear. 

But if we only shackle God by physical events, consider what we do to his spirit.  We are saved by faith, some even walk in it, but when in danger or tested, fall back on their own understanding, instead of the one who saved them.  While others deny Jesus altogether, where it takes more faith to not believe than to believe when all the evidence is there for the eye to see, and the spirit to urge.  Sadly, too many of us spend more time watching movies than in the word...and what the eye perceives becomes truth.  Not the truth, but a truth, really a lie, as all lies are based on truth.  Is the same Jesus that saves you the same truth that will walk with you daily?  Is there more to this Jesus thing than the eye can see?  Yet scripture tells us about the kingdom of heaven, “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the mind imagine the things of the kingdom,” and what God has in store for us.  But he does give us a preview of coming attractions, as in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus tells us “on earth, as it is in heaven.”  We can have Jesus on earth via his spirit!  Let’s see a movie made about that!

There is something about being scared that man enjoys.  But not too much, there is always a light to turn on and watch the movie.  But the scariest ones, those nights of Chiller Theater were all spent in the dark, where the unknown sounds, and the unknown thoughts of our imagination were going full tilt.  But we find joy knowing Jesus is light, in him is no darkness at all.  He is not the absence of dark, but light that shines exposing the darkness.  In our lives, and in that we don’t need an imagination.  Our sins can be scary enough!  Let him shine light into your life today, and confess your sins, and walk in his light.  Movies may be seen best in the dark, but walking in darkness in life is no way to be.  Christian, if you say you know Jesus are you walking in the light?  If so, where is the shadow?  In front, the light is behind you, in back Jesus is leading.  But no shadow, all light, it means he has his proper place all around you.  You can find Jesus, ever try to catch your shadow?

In regards to Chiller Theater movies, so many of them warn of messing with the things of God.  From nuclear war to creating monsters, when we mess with the things of God we have disasters.  Just ask The Fly, OK it is in color, but imagine that?  Frankenstein, no explanation needed.  The Amazing Colossal Man grew tall when exposed to a H bomb, while the Incredible Shrinking Man shrunk to microscopic size.  And how many invaders from outer space dared to scare us, invade us, or even warn us.  Maybe Klaatu’s warning is sufficient, as having Gort as his emissary was proof enough.  He warned if we didn’t live in peace, that the earth would reduced to a burned out cinder.  Klaatu barata nikto.  A warning from a spaceman about things to come, an emissary from above who came to earth.  Now do you believe Jesus?  After all there are heavenly beings...and there are real heavenly beings!

And to which Mr. Spock would agree, “indeed.”  Jesus Christ, he only makes sense.  Roll film.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com