sleep therapy

I am blessed to be a very sound sleeper, out I go and out I stay, except for the occasional trip to the outhouse, I’m at that age.  But one sound I do make is I snore sometimes, or so I am told, never heard it myself, but Theresa will confirm if needed.  It is rare I have trouble falling asleep, then I think of the cartoons when I was a kid, of the man not being able to sleep and counting sheep, which would only raise questions in my mind, why sheep?  Why jumping over a fence, are they going in, or out?  Did I start at the beginning or in the middle, if I forget, do I start over?  And if I do fall asleep, what if I cannot remember where I stopped counting?  Which would only keep me up, instead of granting me the rest I need.  Up early one morning, I started thinking of all the motorcycles I have ever owned over 47 years, and I was anything but sleepy after that.  For each one took me on rides, a remembrance of friends, and I couldn’t wait until I could get up and ride.  So much for sleep therapy....

But an unofficial count of bikes owned, hold title too, and remembered was impressive, at least to me, if not scary.  Based on memory, which like my computer can crash without notice when needed most, unofficially I remember three Hondas, five Yamahas, eight Suzukis, four Kawasakis, five BMW’s, and I think somewhere between 16-19 Triumphs.  Which should have me owning somewhere between 40-44 bikes.  Now I’m sleepy, which raises more questions, where did all the money come from, where did they all go? At almost one bike for year ridden, adding up to over one million miles, when did I have time for anything else or anyone else?  Do I officially have MMS?  Multiple Motorcycle Syndrome?  Where did all the money come from, I now know where it went.  And without ever owning a Harley, am I a real biker?  Or just a guy who rides...a lot?  So I guess counting motorcycles is not the way to fall asleep...

Now if you ride you know that this private sanctuary behind the handlebars is where we can find peace and a time to think, or in my case pray.  But when not riding, when do we find the time to pray?  The Bible talks about unceasing prayer, meditating on the Word, and if truly Jesus never leaves us, he doesn’t,  we always have him available for prayer time.  Too many teachings over the years have been devoted to time of personal prayer, going into your prayer closet, and I know of some who literally go into a closet to be alone.  Or office with door shut, all on a timely scheduled basis.  A regimen like, wake up, read Bible, eat breakfast, pray, go to work.  As if each is a chore to be checked off, then onto the next.  But what about praying without ceasing? Ever fall asleep in prayer, wake up still in prayer, fall back asleep, and finally wake up and it is morning, refreshed?  I do.  But with having a family, ministering, and finding time to ride, seems most waking hours are spent awake, with little time for God.  Who isn’t a habit, but inhabits my thoughts all the time.  Many years ago he started waking me up at 3am, to spend quiet time with me.  Seems the party goers are home and passed out by then, and those who rise early for work haven’t risen yet.  It is quiet, no interruptions, and it is a quiet, personal time where the spirit talks, I can listen, and we have time together, no closet included.  And somehow the times spent with him over the years has never cost me any sleep time, in fact many mornings I wake  up very refreshed, because of the time spent listening, maybe a key ingredient to prayer.  So here are some hints to help you have a good night sleep.

Start off prayer by thanking Jesus for getting you through another day.  Then listen for his voice, and where he wants to take you.  Too many times prayer is all about asking God, but when we listen to him, we get more prayers answered and many times ones we don’t know or would never ask.  The spirit knows long before we do.  And don’t cut God short, he in never long winded, but when the mind kicks in, the places he will take you.  Sometimes it is just one word, or one sentence, but it speaks volumes.  And then there are the times I cannot wait until bedtime to go back and listen some more.  I would call that effective prayer and time well spent.  But after that precious time, I have to put what he showed me into action.....but know that whatever he has begun in me he will be faithful to complete, and no matter, if he guides he also provides.  No worries of about how when you know who.  Maybe listening is the most important part of prayer, if not ,why do you ask, do you not expect an answer? 

So while some count sheep, I count blessings, and listen for my Lord Jesus to give me all I need.  In all things.  A local mattress ad tells promises a “good nights sleep and all the rest.”  God promises me all the rest, and a good night’s sleep.”  Maybe it is not what you count but who you count on that makes the difference.  Something to consider the next time you “now I lay me down to sleep.”  I’ve already given him my soul to keep.  And I still cannot believe I snore, because I still haven’t heard myself!

And to all a good night...for me, a sleep therapy that really works!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

air strips, drag strips, and strips of mall

 It takes a lot of flat, straight paved surface to land a plane, unless you are Murdock from The A Team.  So when flying became the new and trendy way to get there when you positively, needed to get there quick, small airports sprung up around the country sides.  Unlike their big city counterparts, much of the time they were quiet, and an invitation to drag race.  Seeing who got from stop light to stop light was recognized in American Graffiti, but it was popular even if the light was just a sign, who can get there quickest.  So through efforts to organize, timing events sprung up at airports, clubs founded, and drag racing found a home.  Quite popular for years, soon drag strips like Raceway Park, Ontario, and Pomona sprung up, backed by investors with cash, and for a profit.  But as time wore on, and drag racing waned, the land was worth more in So Cal for housing, so strip malls, or malls of strips, took their place.  Where once you could smell rubber and nitro burning, now it was BBQ’s and diapers, as those who once raced were now raising a family.  From air strip, to drag strip, to strip mall, all in one generation.  So where do the drag racers of today race, they return to the streets, where it is dangerous, illegal, and very deadly. With cruise nights appearing for old fast guys to share memories and their cars.  While other families cruise by and wonder how it must have been like, in their Prius, Hybrid, or sexy SUV.  AC on, windows up.  How cool cars used to be and the people who drove them.....what cars will we be drawn to see in 20 years?

I’m sure our parents and grandparents said the same thing, walking us past Packards, Hudsons, Nashes, and Studebakers.  Telling stories of racing through corn fields, how one night they hit the ton on the speedo, how the old family car had pleasant memories and smells.  How slow their parents drove, and how once we got our licenses we were going to change all that.  But don’t you guys have the same fun...Every time I go past the malls where Riverside Raceway used to be, or ride past Ontario on the 10, or see signs for El Toro, I think of the racing, the times spent together, and the fun that was had.  Names like Isky, Moon, Edelbrock, Hooker, and others, memorized from stickers, and dream of those days again.  Think TROG, and you may be closer than you think.

TROG, The Race of Gentlemen, started up in Wildwood, New Jersey a few years back, nothing newer than 1937 for cars, or 1947 for bikes.  Run what you brung, on an 1/8 mile drag strip on the beach.  Flag girls for starters, no ET’s to brag on, just racing for fun, the way it used to be.  Gudge racing, “I’ll get you next time.”  Except the weekend they wanted to return to Pismo Beach.  It rained, like it never rains here, the beach flooded, and the track moved away from the tides.  Despite the rain, the crowds were huge, and everyone was ready to race, even in the rain.  Until the State of California Parks Department stepped in.  The course had to be inspected for sea turtles!  Only in California, where all the great car songs came from, would a race be held up to look for sea turtles.  But when none were found, seems they are racing fans too and wanted to see the race, it went off.  Losing a ton of money, and vowing never to return.  Between the fiscal discomfort and the state, it seems racing still has a place in Jersey.  But not here.....and not an air strip, or strip mall insight.  Just an empty beach, where for one afternoon there was a dragstrip....and maybe the most fun you can have with your clothes on!  With no word from the turtles on fun, in their shell or out of it.

Fun was what it was, and today too much fun is being robbed from us.  Too many rules and regulations, just meaning more of them to break.  There was a time when there was no law, until one afternoon on a mountain and Moses talked with God.  He came back with Ten Commandments for the people to live by, six for human to human, four for human to God.  Seems it is easier  to get along with God, less rules.  But there were over 600 laws to follow of how to conduct life, just in case, ten wasn’t enough, and even today the Ten Commandments hang in courtrooms, at least for now, and are a basis for our democracy.  But it comes down to simply, get along with God, and get along with his people.   Which Jesus brought down to those two, love him with all your might, heart, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.  Might even fit on a t-shirt.  Pure religion, that of love for the creator and savior, and of man, created in his image.  And then man took over....

One night in our men’s study, it was decided to study on the holy spirit.  After praying for God’s spirit to guide us, Ken in charge, said “now let’s lay out the rules..”  What?  Rules for following the spirit?  Doesn’t Jesus have something to say about following God or following man?  If we have the spirit and walk in it as we are allowed to do, do we need rules?  Funny how hidden in many churches purpose statement, really a set of rules they try to live by and enforce, the spirit may be mentioned if at all, but given no authority.  No wonder Christians are asked “what does your church believe?”  And how important it is what it does believe.  Some allow true freedom following the spirit, where the service is not choreographed, where maybe today we all pray, today we are taught, and maybe today just wait on the spirit, worshipping and honoring him for who he is.  We are told where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, why are we so afraid of that liberty, but cling to our rules?

Just go back to Jesus’ two commandments, and see the freedom in them.  If we are forgiven, we forgive others, including ourselves, so we can love ourselves, and then love others.  All because Jesus loved us first.  And forgave us, first.  Yet some study to be approved by studies and religion, abandoning the spirit, and chasing after man.  How many of us pray like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will, but yours be done.”  Or see in the Lord’s prayer the four toughest words you will ever pray, “thy will be done.”  With an immediate promise, “on earth as it is in heaven.”  Yet too many dark hearts inhabit pulpits.  No Jesus, no spirit, no light to shine of his love.  Just rules to break....and losing sight of the prize we all have awaiting us in his glory.  On earth, as it is in heaven...that’s reality for a true believer.

But the race goes on, for our souls.  An endurance race Paul calls it, and we are in it to win it.  Despite the storms, the bumpy courses, all the rules devised by men and religion, we still have the spirit calling to us in that still and small voice, quiet enough to be heard above the headers, and still calling our names.  That light that once shone bright in your life can be lit again by the holy spirit, who never has left you, he is always with you.  Need more power, more wisdom, a rest between heats, he is there.  At a loss for words, he will supply them.  Scared and confused, he will comfort you.  Overwhelmed with religion, he will rescue you.  Don’t be like the game warden looking for sea turtles that were smart enough to abandon the race course, stay the course in the spirit.  His way, the way, says Jesus.  Who left us his spirit to assist us while still on earth.  Providing all we need, and all we don’t. 

The racers that day at Pismo were a dedicated bunch, no storm was going to stop them.  As a Christian, don’t let the storms stop you.  Even Barney Fife got it right, “first rule is obey all rules,” the first rule of love, of which there is no law against.  Straight and narrow isn’t just for a drag strip....it can also define the quickest way between you and God.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and then along comes Mary...

My friend Lance used to have a crush on Mary Tyler Moore.  Just mention her name and his face would light up with that Lance smile and go “ahhh...Mary,” and then we had to withstand all the praise and accolades he had for her.  But it wasn’t MTM that he worshipped, it was her character, Mary Richards on her show, the associate producer who coddled Ted Baxter and Lou Grant with a sensitivity and grace far beyond our understanding.  It was that Mary, the one who washed her own 1970 Mustang, who was Rhoda’s best friend, who dated but never married that he adored.  In a world and at a time when sexual themes were changing, Mary had a virgin like quality to her, morals we would call them, and respected herself, as others did her.  But she was also real, as laughing at Chuckles the Clown’s funeral, and somehow always being the bridesmaid, but never the bride.  It was these real life qualities we all could relate to that made him and us love her, and we weren’t sure if there was no man deserving of her, or she was deserving of no man.

Pastor Jon Corson tells of his daughter Jesse who hadn’t who hadn’t decided on a date for her prom.  A God fearing and wonderful Christian girl, she loved Jesus, ministered to many in love, and at age 16 already had a legacy much like Mary Richards.  One night before the prom asking period, one of her brothers told her that no man was good enough for her because she was too good, had too high standards, Godly standards.  No one would ever reach her standards for good.  Where was she ever going to find the man deserving of her?  The next day as was her habit, she took communion before school, and on the way to school was in a single car accident, her VW slipping on ice and she was killed.  Similar to how Jon had lost his first wife and in the same area.  While overcome with emotions, his daughter taken but in heaven, it was his son who running home when he heard the news announced, “Jesse has finally found the man worthy of her.”  Jesus Christ.  How many of us would or could rejoice in the midst of such a situation?  How many of us ever feel not worthy of Jesus?  Yet his love for us is not based on what we do, but who he is, and not who we are, but what he did.  When we put him first, and use him as the highest standard, he honors us, and we see him clearly for who he is.  A witness to others of him and his love, and truly her brother saw the truth.  A time to see a side of Jesus and his love we might have otherwise missed. But still the pain of losing a loved one remains.

Years ago when a girl I was ministering to died, I talked with her grief stricken father at the service.  He loved and missed his daughter, when leaving I told him, “please pray for my sons, you can sleep in peace tonight knowing where your daughter is, I cannot because I don’t know where they are.”  Last week another friend confided in me how his son just died unexpectedly, and poured out his heart to me.   I was taken aback at his trust in me, and the words God gave me were what he needed to hear.  “When Absalom died, David was grief stricken, but remembered, I can go to him, he cannot come to me.”  Tonight those who have graduated to heaven are well, it is us who still suffer in this world, and if not for Jesus Christ would be perishing.  Grief like love is a private relationship with God, and without his spirit guiding us we too will be overwhelmed, when we can be overwhelmed by his love.  A choice we make, and a tough course to follow, but we too will pass, and how will we be remembered?  Like Lance and his adoration of the character Mary, will it be our character, or a character the world sees us as?  Just when all seems lost, along comes Mary, or someone like her to comfort us, to remind us all is not as bad as it seems.  That there is hope and it is found only in Jesus Christ.  Why as Christians do we relate more to Mary Richards than to Jesus?  She is a sit com created by a writer, Jesus is real, and revealed through Biblical writers.  Who do you put your trust in?  “Ahhh Mary, or  ahhh Jesus?  Might just tell us more about our true religion and relationship than we care to share. 

Years ago I cleared my trophy case and wall of all the awards I had ever won.  There was a time they meant something to me, but over time they lost their value.  Are we in it to win it or win the trophy, the accolades?  But I kept two trophies my bikes won, for being Best European Bike at a Christian bike show.  All the Harley guys were out to win a trophy, I was out to ride.  They were competing, I really didn’t care, no trophy would make me love my rides any better.  But in the face of all the mocking of what I rode, I won the prize.  I dared to be different and not ride what everyone else rode, and I choose to live my life in Christ the same way.  Keep your religion, I’ll keep my relationship.  I look forward to heaven, and seeing Jesus face to face, what has your religion promised you?  I worship the truth of Jesus Christ, not a watered down, emaciated gospel.  And I know that because of who Jesus is and what he did, I don’t get what I deserve, but what he has promised.  If your prayer time reflects “ahh Mary,”  it needs to be “ahh Jesus.”  Religion will keep us down, and then along comes Jesus.  And that’s the way it is, and will always be.  The gospel, good news to those who are perishing.  Jesse and all who know Jesus personally have finally found the man worthy of them.  Can you join me in an AMEN!

Jesus, who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.  Might just be a sitcom theme song there....

love with compassion,

Mike

mattehw25biker.blogspot.com

football-five seconds of action followed by 40 seconds of rest

It has been years since I endured going to a Padres game, they kept interrupting the between innings entertainment with baseball, which can be a pretty boring thing to watch.  But soon we will have football to watch every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday again, which if you consider it, can be pretty boring itself.  Think of the 40 seconds between the five seconds of action, and most of the time spent watching is spent watching a gathering of men huddled together with their backs to the audience.  Faces covered with only a number to tell who they are, with their name above it.  If you saw guys like this on the street, faces covered, you would consider them suspicious, add in their harsh behavior, and you may call 911.  But on a playing field, you pay big bucks,and celebrate the violence.  And we call that entertainment? 

Consider the baseball players on the field, they spend their entire career looking at the backs of their teammates, unless you are the catcher, wearing a mask and protective equipment.  He has a clear view of what is going on, maybe the best view on the field.  So it is up to sportscasters to make the game interesting, to keep us awake, to keep us from changing channels between innings, while at the ballpark keep us going to the concession stands.  All to watch guys who are All Stars if they hit .250, being successful 25% of time, and getting paid big bucks for it.  Try that at your job, would you hire a surgeon who had a 25% success rate?  A mechanic, a barber, or even a trash man?  Yet they make millions, but before you get upset with them, they aren’t the fools. It is the people who pay the price.  Imagine if they got paid like I did in sales, commission.  So much for the love of the game.  Get paid for a touchdown, completed pass, strike out or double play.  No pay for losing, errors, or striking out.  No money for sitting on the bench, pay to play, the politicians have been doing pay for play for years, why not ball players?  Might even make them a better player, take them back to the days when athletes had off season jobs, selling shoes, driving trucks, and running companies.  And then the alarm goes off.....just a nightmare...

I cannot recall the last church service I attended where tithes and offerings were not collected.  While the worship team played, talk about false, talk about the worship/love of money!  I know some churches who place a box at the back you can give if you want, but somehow I cannot imagine Jesus passing a bucket, a hat, or even placing a box for his audience.  Now I know that the church needs money to take care of business, but as I sit in the air conditioned chapel, watching the pastor on a big screen, I wonder if maybe the entertainment value of religion is like watching sports?  As my eyes wander, too many on cell phones, some falling asleep, and others feigning interest.  Has a church service gone on too long, past our attention span?  I ask pastors “why can Billy Graham share the gospel for 20 minutes and people rush to the stage, you talk for over an hour and they rush to the doors?”  But maybe the more things change the more they stay the same...

Jesus was talking to his disciples who had fallen asleep, “guys, can’t you stay awake another hour?”  Isn’t our ministry exciting enough to not fall asleep at half time?  To hold your interest?  All without an i-phone insight, and you think they had it rough!  Years ago we attended a church who had a Harvest Festival in lieu of celebrating Halloween.  We had our booth set up with our motorcycles, and let kids and their parents sit on them.  Starting conversations, and sharing Jesus, stopping many times to pray, to minister as needed, and one comment from an organizer sticks with me.  “In our church outreach setting, you guys are the only ones we see praying and ministering to others.”  How sad, yet for the first few weeks after when new attendees from that night attend, they brag, but when the entertainment ends, so does their attendance.  So they try to outdo it next year...with live animals, carnival rides, and food trucks.  Large crowds, but little ministry.  With one sad example, a man I know has two sons, but because he had to work the show for his men’s group, couldn’t spend time with his sons, so I did.  You can only imagine the looks I got showing them off as my grandkids, they are Chinese!  So we need to ask ourselves, where is Jesus in all this?  Does he have any entertainment value?  Does he need any?  Or is he just another app in the i-phone of life?

Now ministry can be simple, see a need and meet it.  As you go, as the great commandment states, preach the gospel.  You life should be a witness, not witless.  Inviting someone to church or a festival is not evangelism, it is Jesus working through you via his holy spirit, and others seeing, the spirit drawing others to him, not some wild carnival.  But yet religion stumbles on without Jesus, with boards meeting to come up with new ways to grow the body, to entertain the people, and keep the doors open.  Do we see a pattern here?

Paul writes “not that we can do it ourselves, but that he is adequate in all things.”  Not too much, nor too little, just what we need.  How do we know what we need?  The spirit opens our hearts to it and then supplies it.  As we need it, when we need it.  “Thanks be to God who always leads us in Triumph,” not necessarily on one.  So if your relationship with God is like an old Dennis the Menace cartoon, bragging about the party he just left, “not a bad party, busted six balloons and a window,” maybe we need to stop, repent, seek what the spirit is trying to tell us, and then obey.  No fancy programs, and no long rest periods interrupted by God in action.  If we seek glory for ourselves, our church, our ministry, or religion it may be short lived at best.  With no fruit of the spirit, but when we give him all the preeminence, when Jesus gets all the glory, we get the blessings.  You can either sit in the stands and watch, or get involved and play.  Yet some sit and only hear of the great things god is doing, when they can be part of the action themselves.  Availability instead of ability....or you can end up like football, five seconds of action followed by 40 seconds of rest.  In the game, at the game, or just watching the game.  The best players get the biggest rewards, those closest to the action in Christ get the biggest blessings.  Don’t think you can do it, remember even a broken clock is right twice a day!  What’s your excuse for not letting God bless you? 

Even if your best seat is aisle 224, row 7, seat 101 at Wrigley Field, you may know just what I mean! 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com