riding east of the Rockies

While stopping in the new Triumph dealer here to get my fair share of abuse, I encountered an older man, dressed head to toe in shiny leather.  Before he told me, I could tell he rode a BMW, but he went on as he also owned a Street Triple, and had owned several adventure bikes.  He had a bike for every type of riding, following his own strict code of conduct riding, and when I mentioned I have gone coast to coast almost a dozen times on adventure bikes, and specifically mentioning riding in Pennsylvania last summer, he looked at me with a blank stare, and asked “why would anyone want to ride east of the Rockies?”  A personal line of demarcation he had established for himself.  And in my mind I began to review riding Route 66 in Oklahoma and all the people and places, the letter roads in Missouri, the Ozarks in Northern Arkansas, any road in southeast Ohio, West Virginia where every 200 yards is another curve, the Ohio River Valley in Indiana, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, routes 7, 7a, and 100 in Vermont, the countryside and coast of Maine, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Highway One to the Florida Keys, the Natchez Trace, Skyline Drive, and the ride to Montauk Point on Long Island in New York.  Long Beach, NY, and Long Beach, Washington, not just Long Beach, California.  And I could have gone on from north to south also, but he would not have understood it, he had boxed himself in by type of bike, and the geography it was designed for.  He had read all the articles, he just had never ridden them.....he failed to realize that where his rides ended, mine were just beginning.

Just like motorcyclists and the bikes we ride and the roads we travel, Christians too come in many shapes, sizes, denominational beliefs, and Biblical interpretations.  Years ago I knew of a pastor dying of cancer who didn’t believe in healing, even taught it, and died miserably.  More atheist like than you would think of a Christian.  I confronted another pastor once of his changing the gospel to suit him, his claim he was using it as a tool for evangelism.  New Testament only churches denying the Old Testament, and missing out on the fulfillment of the hundreds of prophesies about Jesus found there.  From false teaching about tithing, to scripture memorization, to doing what we believe only in our church, we have become like the man I met, drawing an artificial line that we won’t cross, and in that denying the holy spirit.  A study of books about the Bible rather than books of the Bible, studying and memorizing to keep up a front with other parishioners, never enjoying just reading the Pauline letters as the letters they were written, but quoting chapter and verse.  Knowing all about Jesus, just never knowing him personally.  Learning of his peace and patience, but never living it, never trusting the same spirit that led them to Christ to lead them in Christ.  Sometimes their lives reflecting more of what they don’t believe rather than what they do.

Scripture tells us that where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  We quote the verse, but do we live it?  Dare we pray “thy will be done,” or do we burden God with repetitious specious prayers, never listening for an answer.  Do we follow denominational guidelines rather than spiritual ones?  Is your whole Christian experience based on going to church, or as one sign found when leaving the church, “here is where your ministry begins.”  Do you believe in heaven but still live like hell?  Can we tell if you truly are a Christian without the decals, t shirts and vests?  What is it about you that would make you want to be a Christian? 

And so I got on my 112,500 mile Tiger and rode off.  Reflecting on how many places I have been, but more on how many places I have yet to visit.  Same in Christ, I have seen so much of his love and mercy, but have only scratched the surface my worldly mind can handle.  Everyday I see Jesus fresh and anew in places and situations that occur daily, but when seeing him in them they give me life.  I see his mercy, appreciate his patience, am thankful for his kindness and goodness.  I am glad he is peaceful and not demanding, but also forgiving and a friend.  He is with me always even when I am not looking, yet he is looking out for me.  His love doesn’t end with my belief, but his.  It is not what I do, but what he has done, not who I am, but who he is.  And being allowed to walk in his spirit I have all of heaven available to me.  A whole God, not just a religiously holy one.  And who knows the road you are on too.

Maybe that liberty expressed in scripture can be expressed in a Keith Green song.  “Thank you oh my father, for giving us your son, and leaving your spirit till your work on earth is done.”  Let the holy spirit breathe life anew into you today, no boundaries on his love, go beyond the Rockies and see what lies across the plains.  For God so loved you personally, he gave his only son.  One law, that of love.  Some read about the rides, some experience them first hand.  Some study about Jesus, some know him personally.  Some go to church, some are the church.  True love demands a choice, and only Jesus allows us to make it.  To me every bike is an adventure bike, and my life is an adventure based on Jesus Christ.  Riding east of the Rockies never looked so good....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

thoughts while in traffic on the PCH one Friday afternoon

Friday afternoons are not the place to be on So Cal highways.  Really any day that ends in Y qualifies, but Fridays after lunch are the worst.  Knowing that, I still frequent such roads as the PCH in Huntington Beach and Corona Del Mar, where you can see all the pretty people in their exotic cars.  To many seeing a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, or McLaren is a big deal, there they are like Chevies used to be, quite common.  But even though I cannot afford to even pay attention sometimes, the most exotic car and me on a motorcycle share the same thing-traffic.  The difference is I can lane split, while the half million dollar, 200+ mph supercar sits idling in traffic, next to old Toyotas and rusted out pick ups.  Too completely different ends of the automotive spectrum, yet both with one thing in common, stuck in traffic. Traffic, the great equalizer, the one that defies speed, financial status, brands, and performance.  Moving along at the speed of stopped, as a bicyclist races by.....

There was a time when death and taxes were the common denominator, but today health has replaced them.  In the ER last month for pneumonia, there were different ethnic groups, kids from 2 to 92, and men in suits or blue jeans looking like they just came out of the field.  Maybe 30 different people in the room with one thing in common, poor health.  Just like the guy I passed sitting in traffic in his red Ferrari, a group with one thing in common, health and traffic, or lack of such.  Our tax structures may be different, and we all will have our last ride in the same type of vehicle, a hearse, but we are more alike than we care to think.  Maybe the only difference between a red Ferrari and a red ambulance is one is stuck in traffic, the other racing through it.  If only we got to choose which ride...and when.

But we do get to choose where we end up in eternity.  There was a time we all were dead in our sins, we are all born into it, only in Jesus are we offered the way out of it.  A simple choice you would think, pain and suffering or happiness and health, yet many defy the logic and argue.  Or deny, or come up with their own religion to satisfy themselves.  But the truth is still the truth, no matter if you accept it or not.  You may be the Ferrari in life, and be stuck in the traffic of religion and not know it.  I have wealth, my health is good, my two homes are paid for, but yet stuck in traffic of the world, where you cannot buy your way out.  Even when lane splitting, we all have to stop when the light turns red, it doesn’t care what you drive, it means stop.  Jesus is different when he says stop, he offers you mercy and grace to fill the void, and a companion for the car pool lane to heaven.  You may have worked to get where you are in life, but you cannot work your way into heaven, for eternal life is a gift, one you cannot purchase or lease.  So much for a new lease on life...but you can get a new life in Christ.  Hell was made for the devil and his fallen angels, but due to sin we are condemned to it.  But a reprieve from Jesus sets us free and into eternity free and clear.  If only navigating traffic was so easy....

There is a beauty to being made alive in Christ, for the old sins are passed away, and we are new creatures in him.  Alive in Christ, what a rush!  No more worry, no more wondering, you know for sure and about heaven.  Every true Christian has this experience, and yes we will have times of discouragement, and of bad health, and being stuck in traffic.  But we will never turn back.  Next time you get stuck and think being a Christian is hard, try turning back and see how tough life really is.  We cannot do it because we are alive in Christ Jesus, and no matter the situation, we know he has overcome it, and it will all work out for our benefit.  Even the guy in the Ferrari stuck in traffic has the same chance as the beggar at the light.  We are all saved the same way, through faith in Jesus Christ, a gift so that no one can boast.  Something you cannot work towards, or study your way into, or even keep the Ten Commandments and achieve.  A gift....will you accept it?

Or you can sit in traffic, wondering when or if ever it will break up and flow again.  No one likes to be stuck in traffic, or be stuck in the ER, we want to do our will, yet we find when we pray “thy will be done,” “we can have on earth as it is in heaven.”  Something to consider while stuck in traffic, we are all going somewhere, where we are going will have an impact on how we get there.  Life like a sports car is made to be exercised to the limit, to get every bit of enjoyment out of it you can.  Stuck in traffic with 700 hp, being passed by the kid on the ten speed?  Any bets the Ferrari guy wants to trade?

At least for the moment?  Christians never want to trade what they have for anything or anyone else.  Saved by grace and raised up into the heavens with Jesus.  Even the HOV lane cannot promise such a ride, no toll road can get  you there quicker.  Only Jesus.....ask the man who knows him.  What are your thoughts when stuck in traffic?  We all get zero miles per gallon at idle, your choice, sitting in traffic, sitting in the ER, or sitting at the right hand of God? 

And just to remind you, Jesus never hurried and was never late....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

The Maltese Christian

I missed the month of February with pneumonia, which is a lot more than just a bad cold.  An infection, and when related to my previous heart condition, could have been deadly.  But I am healed, but weak, and still able to sit up and take my meals again.  But in between sleeping 18-20 hours a day, I spent a lot of time with Jesus, some of it reviewing things I knew, sometimes going where I had not gone boldly before.  I was reminded how he will never leave me nor forsake me, and to enjoy your time on earth, for it can be “on earth as it is in heaven,” like the Lord’s Prayer promises.  But I was shown how simple life really is, without the complication of religion, and all the man made obstacles it provides.  Although my thoughts were of heaven, he reminded me of our time on earth, and the blessings we get when we live in the spirit.  And how too many Christians live safe lives inside four walls, never seeing all of Jesus, nor his blessings.  Only experiencing what the pastor teaches, and mostly of what he was taught.  We are taught that evangelism is sharing the gospel, but neglect Jesus own ministry of meeting needs.  Simple truths revealed...of course I was the only one they were new to....

When you are poor, you think of being rich, when thirsty of a drink, when hungry food, when naked clothes, and when homeless a place to spend the night.  Yet we are so often heavenly minded we are no earthly good, and do not realize we are dying every second.  Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are dead in our transgressions and in our sins.  No one wants to hear that, but yet the evidence is there, stop and think about it.  Ever walk through a graveyard, full of dead people.  Think they can hear you and your telling them about Jesus?  Yet many pray for the dead, not realizing they are spiritually dead believing that.  The dead can no longer respond....they have given that up with life.  The gospel is powerless to them at that point, and either they believed or they denied.  No do overs like in kickball.  The second thing mentioned is transgressions, our falling short.  We are dead in them, they were the missteps we took, or still take, getting close but never making it.  Refer to the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept,” and despite what theology teaches us, Jesus didn’t weep because Lazarus was dead, he knew he would resurrect him.  He saw the sin and transgressions, they missed his point of being resurrected upon death when they believe in him.  Even the comment about “won’t he stink after four days?” is telling.  The body transgresses, it deteriorates, and the $20 dollars of chemicals that make us up are disposed of.  Jesus didn’t weep over physical death, he knows where believers go upon that, he wept over the spiritual death, that many Christians in too many churches are dying from.  They may be in the word, but yet the word is not in them.....

Which leads to many Maltese Christians.  When asked what the Maltese Falcon was, Bogie responded “the things that dreams are made of.”  How you see Jesus effects the things your dreams are made of.  Sadly I find way too many of my own prayers selfish, about me and things.  Which lead to wild chases like the Falcon did, always chasing, but never catching.  Even Solomon in Ecclesiastes after writing it in a fallen state has to admit that of many books there is no end.  But that we have all we need already in Jesus Christ.  Yet there is no end to books on how to pray, how to become a better Christian, how to make more money, and the list goes on.  Some even claiming “in Jesus name,” or one that is a wake up call, “in his service.”  No wonder Jesus wept!  In whose name for whose benefit?  It doesn’t take four days for a body that is dead to stink!  Yet too many go from church to church looking to find one that agrees with their beliefs, instead of one that they need to change to be like.  Look at what you invest your time and money in, your check book register may not be one you want others to see.  So what are the things that dreams are made of in God’s eyes?

God’s will is that no one perish and that we all know Jesus as our savior.  There a six week course in one sentence.  He wants us to be blessed, and wants to bless us, but wants us to be the conduit of blessing others.  Our lives are not our own, what do you dream of about Jesus?  Does his spirit fill them, or are you like those chasing the Maltese Falcon, not sure if it is a legend or not?  Do you believe, but do you trust?  Are you always a day late and a dollar short?  Is your fellowship time spent arguing over doctrines or asking God want he wants you to do?  And doing it!  A two phase idea.  And so Jesus wept, and still does for the unbelief that still exists today.  Among Christians.

What is in your heart will come out of your mouth.  Yet opinions are like Hondas, everyone has one.  But in Christ we will know the truth, and seeking we will find.  So one word of advice, never listen to anyone who has never done anything.  They are like the books of which there is no end.  Do not be deceived, and do not be afraid to tell the truth in love.  Jesus even had to ask his disciples “have I made you my enemy by telling you the truth?  And like St. Francis of Assisi advised, “preach the word daily, using words when necessary.”  The world is full of Maltese Christians, only in Jesus Christ will you find all you need.  If you are still getting directions from a person that stutters, and continue to stumble, remember many will come in his name but even deceive the elect.  Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty....evangelize that!

Don’t wait to die to experience heaven, you don’t have to.  Remember you can only resurrect something that has died.  We all qualify....and Jesus wept.  For you and me.  Maltese Christians, always looking for that certain something, when it is really a somebody.  That ought to make us all weep....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

is your bike lonely today?

Somehow I managed to ride over 1600 miles in January, despite no press bikes and rain, lots of it.  Today there is a break in the weather, a sunbreak as Portlandians call it, and then scheduled rain for the next 10 days, with highs only in the fifties.  Weather is actually better in New Jersey, per my mother last Saturday, will true bikers move there next year for the weather?  I have had to spend way too much time in my rain car, a Nissan Xterra, and in between riding my rain bike, the Tiger 955.  Even as far as canceling a ride to Central California this weekend, 3-5 inches of snow where we planned to ride, and the Orange County Vintage Bike Meet only drew 18 bikes yesterday, could this be the end of the world as we know it?  I guess it is February after all.....

I may be weird, a good argument either way, but as I go into the garage I sense a loneliness coming from the direction of  my bikes.  All the cleaning has been done, chain adjusted, batteries topped off, and bolts checked, they just sit waiting to go riding, which they should be doing.  But they sit, and every time the garage door opens, I swear they lean towards the light of day, hoping this is the day they get out and go riding again.  A relationship has been built with them over the years and miles, but it seems new bike sales and their bikes are lonely too.  Pricing a 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS at numerous dealers, the out the door prices vary from $9465, to $10,379, to over $11,000, all for the same bike.  Seems some owners are lonelier for the cash than they are to make any profit, and not have to pay flooring on them.  But every place I have been, it seems whenever the door opens, the bikes seem to pick up and want to head for the door.  They were designed to be ridden, and when they aren’t somehow things aren’t right.  Is your bike lonely?  What are you doing to rekindle the relationship?

Ecclesiastes warns us to guard your steps when you go into the house of the Lord.  Just as many enter our hallowed garages, we expect something, and when we don’t get it, our mood changes, affecting our thoughts and then our actions.  Same as when we gather in fellowship to worship Jesus.  How many enter church expecting to be taught?  To be healed?  To get closer to God?  To have questions answered?  Or is it just a Sunday ritual, like going for a ride in only nice weather when your wife lets you?  Even worse some go to church expecting to get the things of God from the church, and falling for misconceptions, denominational issues, or as going from church to church a different take on Jesus.  Do you guard your steps as God instructs, maybe to the point of becoming a bored again Christian, or a safe Christian, maintaining a low profile with God so as to not annoy others.  Have we become callous to the things of God by trying to not upset others by the truth of the gospel?  Are messages just filled with good words but no spiritual influence?  Do you leave exhausted after an hour because your sleep was interrupted a few times?  Do we go to church, or do we know we are the church?  Are you sitting lonely in a pew of your own, with others in the same situation?  The truth may surprise you, only the truth of Jesus Christ will set you free.

God wants us to listen carefully and not complain, he never said he who as a mouth let him speak, he said he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit is saying.  It has not been a fun January as riding has been curtailed, and our house has been sick.  But in both I have seen God, he reminded me of how I am miraculously alive when I should be dead.  How my prayers change when the weather does, and how lonely he gets for me when I am busy only dealing with me.  God loves to hear from us, hence he created prayer, but it is a conversation, a dialogue not a monologue.  We both engage in listening and speaking, but how many times we let the spirit start our prayers?  Ever feel void and not know how or what to pray?  The spirit does, many times an amen to what God shows me is enough prayer, other times I am like the bikes in my garage on rainy days, I just walk past him dodging the raindrops he has sent.  Are we bold enough to ask Jesus “thy will be done?”  Only to be reminded how the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. 

So my bikes have been sitting lonely, but I haven’t in my time with God. He is preparing me for things to come, maybe getting me to refocus my mind, a regeneration that is needed often.  So if your bike is lonely, what are you doing about it?  But better yet, if your spiritual life is lonely, what are you doing about it?  God got the world’s attention via a storm in Noah’s day, are these warning signs as the Jews believe?  Are they clever political plans to get you to sell your soul or vote to them?  Or do you know that each day is a gift from God?  It is in the times of distress and trouble we seek God more, maybe he is lonely for us.  Start a conversation with him today, talk to him and enjoy all the conversation.  One afternoon spent telling him about a ride I once took brought us closer together as I saw his hand in the beauty of it, and also in the telling him of it.  Fathers like to hear from sons, sons need to spend more time with their fathers.  Your heavenly father is lonely for you, so he sent Jesus to reunite us with him.  Maybe that loneliness in the garage is really God reaching out to you in a language you know best.  Could it be that really your bike isn’t lonely it is you?  And only in Jesus will that loneliness be lifted. 

Time spent with Jesus is always time well spent.  Stop complaining and start enjoying the times he has created for you.  In all things give  him the preeminence, for in all situations his wisdom is being poured forth.  This too shall pass is a great promise from the scriptures.  Don’t look back saying “I wish I had used my time better.”  I’m preparing for the next sunny day so I can ride, don’t you be left out because you misspent your time.  My attitude towards me and the weather has changed this week, but only because I could spend more time alone with God.  For in every storm he is there, you are never alone.  I hope my bikes understand that, I hope you do too. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com