boots and bonnets

You gotta love the English, if nothing else they are so English.  Even speaking their own language, English, which is far different, and somehow superior to ours.  Opinion, not fact.  Having a soft spot in my head for English cars and motorcycles, I have had overcome the translation from the homeland to the colonies, bloody Colonists, we muck everything up.  But as early as watching A Clockwork Orange, and receiving a a tolchuck to the gulliver, a hit in the head, I have been fascinated by the English, theirs, language.

All vehicles have tyres, I can give them that one, but spanners as wrenches, we fill up with gas, they use petrol, and we all must stop for the zebraway, or crosswalk.  And who better than the Brits, who are able to get a tan from driving in the English rain to call it a windscreen, instead of a windshield.  I wonder, does being a Brit preclude you from using your indicators as it does in the colonies?  By the way, putting your turn signal on in California does not mean you can turn without looking...while pulling in for your fish and chips, fries, chips are crisps, which are best eaten at the pub instead of taking them back to your flat.  Not the tire you’ve been meaning to fix. 

With all America coming unhinged with SUV mania, the Brits still drive a shooting brake, station wagon, or estate car.  When it isn’t raining they can lower the top on their drop head, or while waiting for the lorry to pick them up when out of petrol.  And what Limey would go out at night in his Lucas equipped car without taking a torch for an emergency?  Flashlight for those of you in the dark still.  Especially when going on holiday....

But my favorite that do not translate as equitably are boots and bonnets.  Bonnets are for Easter in the colonies, bonnets are lifted to expose the motor, sneaking a peak under a bonnet?  Means much less in England...what’s under your bonnet?  Hoods are hooligans, or those who ride Brit bikes.  As you wife returns to her flat in angst.  But as once Nancy Sinatra sang “these boots are made for walking,” boots are for storage, aka the trunk.  A quick peek into the boot of an MG is much different than going shopping for a pair of boots, but you still can put your boots in the boots.  You can put your bonnet under the bonnet, but fries will always taste better crispy, chips will be for chocolate to us, and a flat tire is the same as a flat tyre.  Which used to be kept in the boot, or trunk.  Does anyone know the number for 911....you can only imagine the look on my face when the old chap told me he was breaking in a new set of braces.   Suspenders, lest I keep you in suspense....

Now just because you no speaka the language should you be considered stupid or a fool.  Yet many in churches today are graded unofficially by their Biblical knowledge, based on study, attendance, and other extra curricular activities within the fellowship.  Seems spirituality is based on rote regimen many times other than being spirit based.  But while we are quick to comment on others, do we apply the same test to ourselves?  Pau warns us not to think more highly of ourselves than we do of others, and a Christian life is based on not thinking of ourselves, except in prayer, of course, but to think of others as more highly than we do ourselves.  Which has led too many to sticking their head in the sand when it comes to evaluating themselves, or performing a check to see where they are in Christ.  That working out your salvation, the fear and trembling part we avoid, for aren’t we perfect?  My pastor told me so....but really we are a work in process, only God sees us as perfect, the finished product, but we still have a lot of work to do while still here.  And so we do a self evaluation.....but never based on emotions or moods.  Our evaluation should be based on God, not us.  Do we really trust God, or just until the next catastrophe?  When our faith is tested, do we do the grading, or even grade us on a curve?  If faith is trusting God when there is no evidence of him, do we still trust, have faith?  Did you know God has given each one the same measure of faith?  And faith is based on what he can do, not on what we can do. Has not Jesus risen from the dead as he said he would, or are you still living a life of legalism, and basing your life on the sin of Adam?  Don’t ask your friends...or put your ear to the wall to listen, you may not like what you hear.  Pride shows up I very subtle ways, and what we say will not always match up to our actions or what we believe.

So do not stray for the truth, Jesus Christ.  The, not a truth.  Do not get confused with Christianese, that only the church folk speak.  Saved means rescued in all examples, and only Jesus saves. Lost is lost no matter what the map says.  And many need to look under the bonnet of truth to see where they are in Christ, not keeping him in the boot hidden.  Or giving him the boot altogether.  God has prepared a flat in heaven for those who believe, yet many fuss over the flats in life, never checking the spare, which often is just as flat.  Only in Jesus will you be told the truth, and see an example of the truth.  There will be times we may not like the truth, but it will always set us free when we turn to it.  And then we can make better decisions.  Some still don’t drive at night, Lucas the Prince of Darkness blinding their way.  God is light, in him there is no darkness.  Jesus, a torch we all must bear, showing us the light.  So simple even a droog could get it!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

60 miles of gas left with 80 miles to the next station

You never realize just how big the west really is until you ride across it.  After crossing into the Mountain Time Zone, the sunsets get larger and so does the distance between towns.  I had filled up in Guymon, 50 miles form nowhere heading west, and stopped in Hooker for a soda.  Experience told me I could go another 60 miles with the gas left, so I pushed on, with Clayton my next gas stop.  With no mileage markers to go by, I rode on, until I saw it, Clayton 80 miles.  No big deal, there will be gas along the way....after all it was only 80 miles.  But as the miles went on, and the old faded signs that once told of clean restrooms just ahead with friendly service, the old places to fuel along the road were abandoned, or closed.  With the digital fuel gauge on my Nighthawk 650 disappearing, it was evident I would run out of gas gauge and then out of gas.  So just before going into panic mode, I dropped my speed to 40 mph, stayed in sixth gear, and laid  my belly on the tank for the next 60 miles.  Only a two lane road in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to pull over, I rode along the shoulder, being buffeted by big trucks, passed by everything from old pickups to shiny new cars to kids on skateboards wondering what was with the guy on the motorcycle.  As I counted down the miles to Clayton, signs began to appear, promising gas and and cold drinks, if only my bike would cooperate.  And as the sun set in front of me temporarily blinding me, I saw a Shamrock station in the distance.  Old and faded, I hoped it was open, as I coasted in...I was out.  It was, and after filling the 3.4 gallon tank with 3.5 gallons, rewarded myself with a cold Coke, and pointed myself west.  The danger had been averted, if only for now, as I still push the limits of my fuel range...and the greatness of my God.

Truth be told, many situations can be avoided by using common sense and a bit of prudence.  But many times they are avoided with a great degree of stupidity and we pay the price.  It is in those times we wish we had listened and then turn to God.  If only we had turned to him first, heeding the warnings, we would avoid the panic and desperation of much of our prayers later.  But sadly most people’s prayer, both Christian and secular are only in times of distress, but mostly after the trouble arises, and we reach a point of no return.  It may be a 60 mile fuel range with 80 miles to go, it may be not heeding a law about drugs and alcohol, or failing to see the warning signs in a relationship.  It may be buying more car or house than your wallet can pay for, if only your ego was a paycheck.  When suddenly the joy of whatever we thought was worth it becomes a curse, and curse it instead of turning to God.  In over 2000 years since Jesus told us he would never leave us or forsake us, we neglect the things of the spirit for the lust of the eye, and the world.  Just because it isn’t raining we don’t pack the rainsuit, then get upset with God when it does. When we overspend and he tells us to back off and sell, we blame him for our lack of resources, when it was he who let us make the call on what we buy, relying on a FICO score to dictate us rather than the spirit.  Money in the bank means nothing if there is nowhere to spend it, just like I found out with no gas stations.  Yet too many of us spend too much time on our bellies instead of on our knees, seeking God before rather than seeking his mercy after. 

Maybe the difference between grace and mercy is you have to screw up to obtain mercy, we all qualify.  Education and experience may be good guides, but are no replacement for the holy spirit.  But God’s grace is always sufficient, and when walking in it, we see things his way, rather than our own.  It is like riding up your favorite mountain road, we cannot see around the curves and ride in hope, but he can see from heaven and knows what is ahead.  From his point of view he knew the situation between Hooker and Clayton, I only saw the signs, and hoped. It may only be a small cut on your arm, until it is neglected and it gets infected.  But knowing God has never left us, we should know he is with us always, not just in the panic situations.  He is always under and in control....would it not make sense to seek him?  After all the qualities of the spirit are love, joy, and peace.  Wisdom and mercy, that word again, and full of glory.  Maybe the best road map for life ever established, and available to all....yet we neglect to pick up on Jesus and his spirit until we cannot do it ourselves any more.  And yes, you can avoid the rush....

Something inside of me that day told me I needed gas, but I denied the message.  Mercy was needed, and provided, yet I suffered the ride needlessly because I didn’t heed it.  I knew I would make it, I just hoped I didn’t have to push.  Don’t push things with God, trust him now, his spirit is true and wise, his mercy everlasting, because our foolishness is too.  But grace, that wonderful thing we cannot describe but only experience is only a thought or prayer away.  The signs were there, the station was there, and I was there.  So was his spirit.  It was my choice to ride on and face running out.  So rather be like the ten virgins and keep the spirit burning in your lamp, and in your tank.  The restrooms may be clean....but no good if you ain’t there!  Or of course you can take the freeway and live by exit numbers....until it happens again and you have to trust God!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

lately I forget

I stopped by the local Indian dealer to see the flat track model, and get my free t-shirt.  A young guy greeted me, and began to try to sell me one, but was stopped when I told him I only wanted a demo ride.  “Not until March when they are available,” he told me, and went off to another prospect.  I did get my shirt, but noticed that the crowd was split into two distinct groups, over 60 and under, years, not miles per hour.  It seems us older guys were digging deep into our memories, mine don’t go back as I was born a few years after Indian folded, but our small group had over 50 years each of bench racing stories to tell.  While the younger group was trying to figure out how to make the payments on  new bike, we were talking of the trials, tribulations, and precious memories of our riding.  I find it interesting, just put two or more riders together, and the tales begin, and soon as the  crowd gets larger, everybody wants a chance to tell their version of how it was.  Of how real men kick started their bikes, how important it was to  mix your two stroke oil correctly, the smell of racing castor, and friends helping each other Friday nights so we all could do our ride Saturday.  Times spent cussing out British parts, of pinching inner tubes and then hoping the patch would hold.  Gapping spark plugs, cleaning the points, and changing the oil, with some guys just topping it off, it leaked so bad we called it self changing.  But we all rode, dirty fingernails and bruised hands were common, and many of us wore boots our wives or girlfriends wouldn’t let us in the house with.  And we could never understand why....

Then my eyes drifted to the younger crowd, talking of rides not taken but dreamt of.  Words like Bluetooth, helmet communicators, and the size of the new 7” screen where the clocks or gauges used to be.  No talk of maintenance, except for changing oil, the computer did it all, very few leaks if any under the bikes, and their money spent on chrome rather than parts.  Where many of us wore work boots, jeans and t-shirts, maybe an old denim jacket on cool days, they talked of mesh jackets, Kevlar riding pants, and motorcycle boots.  Their outfits probably cost more than many of our first bikes did, they were looking to capture our moment in time, by duplicating it as marketing told them, but missed out on an intimacy of man and machine.  Which was brought home to me last week when having the oil change on my 2015 Tiger 800, and Mick updating the tune via the most current download. Resetting the service reminder via computer, an oil change the only service needed.  Maybe there is something to the new bikes I forget lately, I’m riding now instead of fussing, but I still miss the times spent with friends and our machines.  If you are a woman you may not understand, but guys, if you meet one who does, hang onto her.  I do and I did.....

Life has become too technical for me, and also religion.  After my open heart surgery I met a younger guy by 30 years who had a heart condition.  At lunch with his friends, I was reminded of Job, and how he must have felt when his friends tried to console him, really just making fools of themselves.  Each one at the table was offering this guy advice, based on what they had been taught, or the latest Christian read.  They meant well, but were so far off base, I finally excused myself and left.  Lots of “I nevers” mentioned, and advice of what they would do in the situation.  All superior to the guy who was suffering and to how I handled it.  We were both there, to them it was just an exercise.  To us it was life or death.  Good thing it wasn’t their final exam. 

The outstanding difference in riders and lunch companions, the older ones had experience, they had been there.  Rather than just have the book knowledge, the degree, or the diploma, we had done it.  Same with Jesus, many church folk talk a good game, but after the facts and figures have no testimony.  Like the salesman wanting to sell me a new bike, he had all the info, all I wanted was a ride.  I find many people like that with Jesus, they want to meet him, spend time with him, know him personally, yet are bogged down in religious rhetoric.  I used to only read the study assigned, sometimes being cut off like the tune into next week cliff hangar, but soon started just reading the Bible, letting the spirit guide me.  Some got educated, I got both, and got to know about him and him personally.  As I teach, read Paul’s letters as letters, and suddenly they make more sense.  Don’t worry about which verse or chapter, just read and be blessed.  With one chapter in John standing out to me in particular, John 17:3-4, the mission of Jesus made real.  “Now this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  I have brought you glory on earth by completing your work.”  But with an added intro, since it is a letter, I added “Dear Dad,” since it is written by Jesus to his father.  And then closed with, “your loving son, Jesus.”  Inspired by the spirit, it made the words come alive, but I leave you there, as the next few verses would fill a library of precious time in the spirit for me.  Dear Father, when is the last time  you wrote back when you received a letter from him? 

So as I walked the showroom, I listened to how much I didn’t know, and also to how much I have forgotten.  Forgotten until needed, and found out that lately I forget things until needed.  My tests are different, my homework not an exercise but real life, and Jesus not a study topic, but my close friend, Lord, and savior.  Over 1 million miles ridden together, while some like me only went for the shirt, some went to dream, others to get a test ride, a guided tour.  Maybe that is why so many don’t ride alone, but must in groups, they never have discovered the freedom in riding alone.  Same with Jesus, so many are part of the group, being part of the 99, missing out on the testimonies and blessings of being with the one who goes back for the one.  Some brag, some dream, some lie, but until you have experienced Jesus yourself you are missing something.  I don’t know and I forget are too different answers.  They tell a lot about how you got to where you are.  Being an old guy I still love to hear the stories of our past, maybe a note for you young guys.  Jesus spent his time on the road, never inviting others to church.  His stories filled with invitations to do the same.  Get out and experience the ride of your life, let Jesus be real and experience him first hand. John 17:18, “I have sent them out into the world as you have sent me,” what a great reason to ride.  Lately I forget....and all I went for was a t-shirt....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

 

living in retro times

Just in case you haven’t been riding lately, or stopped by your local bike shop to dream, there is a strong retro style going on.  Maybe more image, as motorcyclists have always portrayed an image, but it seems retro styling is in, combined with modern technology.  Take my Bonneville T120 for instance, looks old school, but it has heated grips, two engine maps, ABS, traction control, ride by wire, and is reliable.  No matter the love for your old Meriden Triumph, in your wildest dreams you couldn’t imagine this, and it’s all reliable.  Honda tried with a CB1100, based a lot on 1980’s styling, still some new 2014’s and 2015’s in stock.  Seems they were too price sensitive, read expensive, and had the look but not the technology.  Kawasaki has an z900rs, which looks like the original Z-1 down to the paint colors, with performance to match, sold well initially, but now has a café racer to keep us lusting.  And have just released an 800cc Brit looking twin...we’ll see where that one goes, looks good, but it ain’t British.  BMW has a few retro style models, along with current technology, but way high prices.  Yamaha has the pricing, but stalls out on styling, my opinion.  Indian has upset Harley, which will be reinventing itself in 2020, but the loyal still pay 2018 prices for essentially 1930’s technology.  Reliability is better....anything would be a big improvement.  And Suzuki soldiers on, offering a 2005 GSXR model in a standard setting in 750 and 1000 cc flavors, priced almost too cheap, and they sit, even discounted thousands.  Maybe retro is a style we only wish to remember how it was, not is.  With only Triumph cashing in big time with its Bonneville, it never quit being a Bonneville, not a thinly disguised new bike.  Their biggest seller.....suddenly 1970 doesn’t look so bad, or was it 1980?  Or....what day is it, does anyone know what time it is?

Motorcycles are and always will be a personal thing.  You don’t need a motorcycle, cannot believe I said that, you want one.  Which explains why some ride Harleys and some tolerate Hondas.  While Suzuki cannot give a great bike away, yet BMW cashes in at 2-3 times the price.  All have two wheels, a motor, shocks, and brakes.  But it is the heart of the one behind the bars that takes all the hype and hoopla and makes it personal.  I am blessed riding so many different bikes, and know how each bike on the same road will bring out a difference in the ride.  Even put a different rider on the same bike, and get different results.  How you enter a curve will dictate how you exit it, and throttle control will always make a difference.  All dressed up and ready to ride but not being able to may be the standard for the new retro rides, it will always come down to choice.  I have this disease called motorcycling, too bad some would rather push a Harley than ride a Yamaha.  But like a Harley riding friend tells me, “Mike they couldn’t handle all the power.”  Which bothers me a little, does it you? 

Many things in life cannot be explained, and when tried to only end in frustration.  Paul writes of a time of the Gentiles ending, and then a revival of the Jews turning to Christ.  It is hard to find a Jewish person who isn’t intelligent, “my son the doctor,” or rich, check out who really runs Hollywood and from where, and many love God too.  Religious in the practice of worshipping him, but cold to the message of Jesus Christ.  I have a Messianic Jewish friend who just happens to be a retired doctor.  He tells of growing up Jewish and then coming to Christ, alienating him from his family, and the temple.  God calls them stiff necked, it just seems stupid that a race so religious can be so far from the God they worship.  If any group can be called retro it is them, the same old God, in the same old way for thousands of years, neglecting the one promise that would reunite them with him, the savior, Jesus Christ.   You would think with all their intelligence and diligence of living by the laws of Moses they would read Isaiah 53 and see Jesus personified.  That he was Jewish as were his disciples, yet in a Gentile world, they reject him.  But the days of the Gentiles are coming to an end, when they will have all the riches of God and the Jews will be jealous, and want what we have.  With hopefully better results this time, remember how they denied Jesus at first, and got mad at God when he started saving the Gentiles.  They started to get saved out of jealousy.  Funny how they can worship a loving God, but not trust him, and become jealous when he does love other people different from us?  But throughout the Bible we see it, Jonah rebelled and even got mad at God when he saved his enemies, sadly do we do the same thing today?  But God is patient with us that none should perish, and the days of revival of the Jews is drawing near, where their hard hearts will be melted, the lion will lay down with the lamb, and the Harley rider will fellowship with a Triumph rider.  We all want the same thing, why do we curse the one made in God’s image while saying we love the same God?  Jesus died for all, not just the Gentiles, not just the Jew, but for all, and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Consider that....an equality not often bragged on, you are no better than me and I am no better than you.  Only Jesus makes the difference....

So God chose the Jews and in Christ we are chosen.  Chosen to represent him on earth, to be the example of a loving God showing love and forgiveness.  Know anyone who cannot use more of that?  He loves both the Jew and the Gentile, and all who have fallen away in cults or false religions.  Yet many are called and few are chosen....just like walking into the mega-store looking for a bike.  They all look alike, priced pretty close, and offer reliability and fun.  They all have two wheels and a motor.  It comes down to a choice, just like it does with Jesus.  Many out there to get your dollar, or your soul.  Retro may be trendy now in motorcycling, but we all need a refreshing from the holy spirit.  Only in Christ will we find exactly what we need, don’t be like the guy who bought the bike of his dreams and it wasn’t, “well there’s always next year...”  Today is the day of salvation, for like in riding it is the intangible, the things not seen that make the difference in the ride, both in life and on the road.  The Gentiles were quick to pick up on that....when the champion promised was a Jew all the time.  God hasn’t given up on the Jews, don’t give up on Jesus. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com