what would Dan Mathews do?

I love the show “Highway Patrol,” starring Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews, as head of the Highway Patrol.  Each week for three years, 1955-58, he solved crimes in 30 minutes that today would take months or years.  Using basic police techniques, accompanied by his trademark “10-4” he and his trusty group of patrolman kept the nation safe until next week.  A true cult following has been established, and even a “10-4 Day,” each October 4th, 10-4, is held on Hollywood Blvd. to celebrate police cars from TV and film.  With the highlight being meeting Larry Wilcox, aka Jon Baker from CHiP’s!  Riding an old Kawasaki police bike, sadly Mr. Mathews is long gone.  But his shows continue, and I wonder sometimes, where is Dan Mathews when we need him?  How would the world be different if we all lived in a 10-4 world?  Would we call him Dan, never heard by that name, Mr. Mathews, or 2150?  Maybe we miss him more than we know.

But two crimes I know of that have never been solved, at least to my knowledge, could have used Dan’s attention.  The first was when I was in high school.  We hung out at a Gulf station where my friend was the night manager.  Some wild times happened after the owner went home, what car crazy high school kid wouldn’t love a free lift to work on?  Air tools?  Free gas, “I’ll get you on payday,”  aka my next allowance.  But the owner was a tough old dude, who never busted anyone, but made life hard for us.  We were always on guard for him, as we really weren’t supposed to be there.  But after one particular chewing out, my friend decided to get even.  To embarrass him, and make him look bad.  So he took the cash register, leaving all the cash and coins sitting on the counter, perfectly neat.  Knowing that his boss’s ego would never let him report a stolen cash register, but not the cash.  And to my knowledge nothing was ever said, just a new cash register showed up later that day.  Maybe the perfect crime, only because it was never recorded.  And one never seen on Highway Patrol.  But somehow I know that if it had been reported, within 30 minutes Dan Mathews would have it solved.

But my favorite is a car story, told before.  Bill Mitchell, head of GM styling in the 1960’s, who brought us the split window Sting Ray, the Riviera, and others, was an avid fisherman.  His prize catch, a Mako Shark hung over his desk.  And you can see the influence in the C3 Corvettes, from 1968-82, and also the show car, appropriately named the Mako Shark.  But one assignment given to his design team was to paint the car identical to the real shark.  After numerous tries, and under threat of termination, the crew was out of paint mixes, and one guy jokingly suggested, “why don’t we paint the fish to match the car?”  Jokingly he had come up with the only solution, but it would take a bit of trickery.  But working overnight, they pulled it off, and showing up late the next morning found Mitchell thrilled.  His team had pulled it off, they had matched the car perfectly to the fish, or so he thought.  They were the best design team in the business.  He was so proud of them.  Really they had matched the fish to the car... and legend has it he never found out.  Another urban legend, and a crime, if one had really been committed would have been discovered and solved on Highway Patrol.  But was there really a crime?  Or had they just given their boss what he demanded? 

Known but only to God, many think they have gotten away with their crimes.  We find both crimes of commission, and crimes of omission in the Bible.  From the first murder, and death, Cain killing his brother as long as he was Able, to Moses and the Egyptian, to David and Uriah.  David, maybe the most famous and well known of all Biblical kings, not only committed murder, but adultery.  It seems when we sin, or believe we may get caught, we add more sin to cover our tracks.  Making them easier to follow ultimately.  But after a affair with Bathsheba, he has Uriah her husband sent to the front, to have him killed in battle, cleverly disguised as such, to cover his sin with Uriah’s wife.  Two sins worthy of death under Mosaic law, but we find David described as “a man after God’s own heart.”  David sinned big time, as we do, only his sins were reported for all time in scripture.  But he loved God and asked forgiveness.  And while some choose to emphasize David’s sin, God chooses to forgive it.  To focus on forgiveness, redemption,and salvation rather than death.  He sends Jesus to make the way back to him, for the forgiveness of our sins.  And although we sin everyday, and will again tomorrow, we are forgiven.  When we turn to Christ, and have a heart after God.  Like David did.  God forgives all sins, the record is wiped clean, and we are entered into the book of life.  Forever.  Yet the one sin, the only one standing between us an salvation, denying the urging of the Holy Spirit to be saved through Jesus Christ, is the one we have the most trouble with.  If we can get past that one, and trust Jesus with our eternal rest, why can’t we trust him with our other sins?  Why can’t we forgive others?  Why can’t we forgive ourselves?  Maybe the hardest thing to do.  But we find as we forgive ourselves, we forgive others more easily, and the fruit of the spirit dwells in us.  So why get hung up on sin, when we can be forgiven?  isn’t grace better than damnation?  Scripture tells us obedience is better than sacrifice....do we really have a heart after God like David?

The only sin that separates us from Jesus is denying his deity.  Recognizing him as a teacher, profit, healer, or revolutionary are OK, but none lead to salvation.  Only recognizing Jesus, repenting, and letting God change your heart will save you.  Not joining a church or Bible study, not chanting or passing out papers door to door.  No new scripture or word from God will save you.  Only Jesus.  There are no perfect crimes, but there is forgiveness from sin.  Perfection found in Jesus, where there is no deception, and all is laid bare.  No secret sin, all sins, whether of omission,”I didn’t know it was a sin,” and sins of commission, are forgiven at the cross.  Forgiveness found at the cross, Jesus taking our place, serving our sentence.  Presenting us to a loving God, the one whose heart David was after, as clean and pure.  All crimes solved and forgiven.  Sentences pardoned. 

In a perfect world we will not need police.  Or soldiers.  We will be at peace with God, where the lion will sit with the lamb, and sinners saved by grace among them.  No crimes or sin to talk about as they will not exist, only grace and the presence of a loving God await us.  But for the lost, a final judgment,where all the sins will be noted.  True justice will be served, and we all will face eternity.  Some seek to pull off the perfect crime, I prefer seeking perfection in Christ.  Long after we are gone, Christ will still be here.  Where we serve our sentence, guilty or saved is up to us.  We can choose Jesus and be found innocent, or face eternal damnation.  The wages of sin will always be death...except for those in Christ.

Dan Mathews solved crime, Jesus came to forgive crime.  Both spent their lives chasing criminals, only Jesus sought to forgive.  Your sin will find you out, your Dan Mathews is out looking to catch and convict you.  Only Jesus saves.  What would Dan Mathews do?  Better yet, what will you do?  There is no statute of limitations on sin.  “2150-bye.”

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

30 days has September, and so does the California Lemon Law

When FDR told us “all we have to fear is fear itself,” he may have been echoing Pogo’s “we have met the enemy and it is us.”  In the past month I have been able to ride some low mileage new Triumphs, or should I say almost new, as they have been previously owned, and bought back by them under California’s Lemon Law.  The law simply states that if a vehicle is in the shop more than 30 days during its warranty period, the customer can request it be bought back.  Sounds fair, but four bikes I rode last month that qualified weren’t defective.  One bike with less than 100 miles was bought back after the customer didn’t reset his TPI, tire pressure indicators.  Too lazy.  Another had a check engine light, sometimes, a software update, not effecting the running of the bike.  The immobilizer didn’t recognize the bike was moving, and thought it was being stolen.  600 miles-it ran great.  Like the new bike it was.  Two others had oil leaks, really weeps, oil never hit the ground, an easy fix, but both weren’t, and now are fixed, and being resold at a huge discount.  With a new bike warranty...blame the dealer, blame the tech, blame the owner, just don’t blame the product if you don’t use it properly.  Of course you could always blame yourself, yeah right?

When at Mercedes Benz, we took the attitude we not only fixed cars, we fixed people.  People who made enough income to afford one, yet didn’t have the sense to own one.  One genius came in one day complaining he wanted to trade the car in, again the TPI light was on.  Only to find some gas pump jockey overinflated the tires, setting off the light, which also explained why it rode so harsh.  Another didn’t like the one step down feature on his windows, and when shown it would still go down when held, left grumbling and embarrassed.  Another complained how their gas mileage went down after switching from kilometers to miles. Kilometers is 1.6 that of miles, or 1.6 kilometers= 1 mile.   KPG should always be higher than MPG, they are 60% of a mile.   And then there were those who thought they got a deal buying a luxury car off ebay, and getting taken.  There is a reason a new S600 sells for $150,000 and resells on ebay for half that with 1000 miles.  Of course he was going to sue us, never their fault that MBUSA wouldn’t honor  the warranty, it had been in a flood, and the title said “SALVAGE.”  But maybe the worst were Land Rover customers, who spent way too much for an SUV, and couldn’t understand why they needed brakes every 8000 miles, at $1500/set.  7000 pounds of vehicle when stopping quickly wears out brakes, while getting 9 mpg.  Again just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you have the sense to own one.  Maybe a sign hanging in a friend’s machine shop says it all.  Read it carefully, that is how it was printed.  See if you caught it.  “IGNORANCE IS CORRECTABLE, STUPIDY IS FOREVER.”  Even my spell checker caught it, did you?  Stupidy?

So I applaud Honda motorcycles approach years ago and their simple two word campaign.  “STUPID HURTS.”  Been there, done that, and yes, I have the t-shirt.  And I am not anti-warranty, or buy back.  Yesterday the 100th victim of GM’s ignition disaster died.  If I had my way, put all of the ones from the engineer on up who had to sign off on it in jail.  Forget the fines, jail time, believe me they would be fixed.  And it would not happen again.  And compensate the families with huge sums of cash, and a new Ford every year.  Same with the seat belt fiasco, drunk drivers, get them drunk, let them loose in a parking lot with no escape, and let student drivers try to avoid them.  While texting, make the punishment fit the crime.  Separate the ignorant from the stupid...and correct them. 

Imagine your life came with a warranty, and you had to adhere to its provisions to be saved.  Break any of the rules, no heaven.  No matter how well you behaved otherwise, a less than perfect or acceptable score meant hell.  Say you got an 89 and it took 90 to get in?  A recall?  I once had a teacher who gave me a C because I did B work and could have done A work.   Boy am I glad she has no saying in my eternal destiny.  Yet may are caught in the trap of legalism, where you have to earn your salvation, never knowing if you make it.  Another cult claims there is no hell, so no salvation.  One bases it all on education, stupid must really hurt in their denomination.  Funny how they are teach from the same Bible, yet twist words and meanings to prove their point.  When the truth is simple, Ephesians 2 tells us that salvation is a gift from God, and cannot be earned.  Lest we boast.  Why would you deny the gift Jesus gives and feel you have to work for something that is free?  You see God is in the people fixing business, with a lifetime warranty.  No exceptions, and you don’t have to be exceptional.  When forgiven we are forgiven for past, today’s and tomorrow’s sins.  God knows we will sin again, yet he changes our heart so we don’t want to.  We see things through his eyes, and our attitude changes.  We no longer blame others, we realize our sin, repent, and get over it.  Looking forward to heaven and the gift of eternal life.  No surprise bill due upon death, no small print to exclude us.  The gospel is free so I can afford it, and simple so I can get it.  Maybe that sin light that keeps popping up in your life is telling you something, don’t disregard it.  Don’t cover one lie with another.  Admit your sin, and let Jesus cover it.  For while we were yet sinners, he died for us.  And often we don’t know how bad the sin in our life is, or how deadly.  God tells us to work our our salvation daily, self inspection, and seek God for forgiveness.  The spirit for guidance and comfort.  Jesus for forgiveness.  And gain eternal life.

No one takes their car in because it is running so well.  Or takes a bike in for repairs when their are no symptoms.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  Yet we are all broke, and it takes a loving God to reveal it to us, and lovingly forgive us.  So we can be called sons of God.  1 John 3:1.  Have your eternal life warranty validated today, recorded in heaven in the book of life.  Stupid hurts, sin kills, only Jesus saves.  No other name by which we can be saved.  Anywhere in the universe.  Something to consider, yet some spend more money and time on a car or bike that will wear out and break down.  Is that man really praying to his BMW with the hood up worshipping it for being broke and bent over it on the side of the road? Car fix yourself!  And so what makes you think you can save yourself?

30 days has September, and so does the California Lemon Law buy back program.  Designed to identify a bad product, or defect.  Your sin will find you out, so program your personal GPS to Jesus,and never get lost again.  Saved now and forever.  Which doesn’t mean you won’t have tribulations, how many highlight that promise in their Bibles?  But be sure you are never alone, and today just may be your day of salvation.  Read your Bible, the owner’s manual of life, showing you how to have life.  So many problems could have saved been avoided, including trips to the service department if only they read the manual.  Read the book, know the author.  Jesus and stupidy are both forever.  Your choice....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

love the one you're with

Anyone who creates, from paintings to sculptures, and from songs to stories, tells us what is going on in their life at the time of creation.  Take one Stephen Stills for instance, when with Buffalo Springfield, and auditioning for Atlantic Records, when asked if they had any more songs, he replied “we have this one, For What It’s Worth,” and played the song which has become their signature song, but at the time had no title.  And a low place in his portfolio.  A song about the LA riots on Sunset Strip, and the rest as they say is history.  A few years later with the super group of Crosby, Stills, and Nash he wrote “Suite:Judy Blue Eyes” about the end of his romance with Judy Collins, and you can feel the pain in his lyrics.  We don’t get to see Judy’s perspective though.  And then again a couple of years later, going solo another hit, “Love the One You’re With,” quite obviously over Judy, or maybe still looking for love lost in one night stands.  Maybe Judy was wanting to love someone else, not the one she was with.  And in each song, his heart is displayed for us to see, hear, and relate to.  Passion in all songs, maybe love wasn’t the right word he was looking for in his last hit, but nobody looks for lust and sings about it.

After a 10 year relationship with my FJ1100, I traded it on a new 1996 Triumph Trident.  I can still remember when I got over the old bike, it took less than 2 miles, and I know exactly where on El Camino Real I was when it hit me.  I had fallen in love with the one I was with, and with a warranty as long as my payments, I felt safe and secure.  But with a two year warranty, unlimited miles, the thought struck me that I could always ride a new bike, with a warranty, and endure the payments.  And so the 96 was replaced a 1998 Thunderbird Sport, which was replaced by a 2000 Sprint RS, do we see a pattern here, and then in 2002 I added a Bonneville.  Keeping the Sprint, ending one cycle, no pun intended, and starting another.  But along the way a funny thing was happening, I wasn’t enjoying the bike I was with, I was busy anticipating my next one.  I never grew to love the one I was with, for a new bike was just a few months away.  Each time to me a better bike, I wish the payments were better, and the old bikes must have felt like Stephen sung to Judy, “it’s getting to the point, where I’m no fun anymore...”  I had run a series of “one bike stands,” and as soon as the new wore off, I was looking for love again, and knew all the wrong places, Triumph being the right place.  I was hooked, and still ride Triumphs, and for Triumph today, for what it’s worth. 

It seems God has built a hole in our soul that even motorcycles cannot fill.  A longing for him, to have a relationship and be loved.  Forgiven and accepted.  Not traded every few years, and not a one night stand.  40 years ago I began a one God stand when Jesus Christ came into my life.  No more sad love songs, no more wondering, or wandering about God, suddenly I had a relationship with him, and my life changed.  And although there are, were, and will always be things that challenge my love for him, God’s love is strong enough to overcome any of my worldly affairs.  He has given me a passion to ride, and the ride only gets better when I worship him, and not the creation.  My marriage is better when I place him first, allowing me to love my wife and family even more.  Everything I need, and nothing I don’t, that’s Jesus in my life.  Where before a ride and new bike was satisfying, at least for a few miles and the new wore off, Jesus never grows old.  Never breaks down, has a better warranty, and hasn’t left me on the side of the road.  His love is more than an emotion, although he affects my emotions, and when I give him the preeminence, the blessings flow.  And somehow still flow when I don’t, such is his mercy and grace.  Others compete for my affections, but only Jesus wears the #1 plate in my heart, and I am not willing to give it up.  Nor will he, and some 40 years later, he is still the one.  Music changes, styles change, and relationships change.  Stephen’s songs did.  It is comforting to know Christ never will, and so I don’t have to wonder how he will react to me, just know it will be for my benefit.  I wish my motorcycles say the same thing....which is why I change bikes, but not Gods.  Jesus is the way....don’t let anything get in the way..

With my fourth Triumph I broke a series of a new bike every two years.  But started a new one, accumulating bikes.  Multiple Motorcycle Disorder, MMD, and at one time was up to 9.  Down to 5 now, not including the 15-20 new Triumphs I ride each year, 12 so far this year in 5 months.  God knows my desire for new bikes, and feeds it in a way I never dreamed of, putting miles on new Press Fleet bikes for Triumph.  But there is a reason I own what I do, and when riding them the relationship in rides and miles continues.  With over 300,000 miles on the bikes in my garage, we have spent a lot of time together, interrupted by new pretty faces, a Scrambler this week.  But it is the long term relationship with them that I enjoy more.  I don’t worry over sounds, I know what they are, and with no warranty other than cash only, they are maintained better.  Just like my relationship with God.  It takes time, and when riding I cannot think of a better sanctuary to worship him.  But on or off the bike, Jesus Christ is still Lord of my life.  And to some MMD may encroach, to me I see the bikes in my garage as a gift from a loving God, who gave me a passion for him, and a love for motorcycles.  Worshipping the creator, not his creation.  A proper order, for a proper God, who loves me just the way I am.

So if you follow Stephen’s advice, and love the one you are with, make sure it is the one who can save you from hell.  Who can change your life, comfort you on the side of the road, give you life.  Who never breaks down, and won’t treat you like a one night stand.  Jesus Christ, for what it’s worth, the only one to love, and who I choose to love, the only one to be with.  Love songs don’t need to be sad, true love and the songs they sing are full of joy.  Jesus loves me this I know....for the Bible tells me so.  And so does he daily. 

I just heard a new Rocket X is coming my way next week, I can’t wait.  For now, I’m enjoying the Scrambler.  But all that power....some things never change.  Aren’t you glad Jesus never does?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

none of the above

Watching Eric Clapton the other night at his Crossroads benefit to raise money for his privately owned rehab center in Antigua, we both commented how smooth and effortlessly he played.  No wasted movements, the hands just moving as if they knew where to go next, perfectly in tune with each other.  Amazing to me, I have trouble getting one hand to do what I want it to do, let alone play a musical instrument.  But when joined on stage by Robbie Robertson, Stevie Winwood, Jeff Beck, and others who are legends in their own right, his appeared to move even more effortlessly than theirs.  All great guitarists, each with a certain style, but his flowed.  And when it comes to the blues....Lord have mercy.  But one thing they all have in common is they all feed off each other.  Each solo blast getting better than the last, you cold feel the energy, the music just being a wonderful benefit of the efforts.  John Wickham, our worship pastor and an original in the Christian music 45 years ago with Parable, plays the same way.  His guitar sings when he plays, each song a live session, and watching him make music is a rush.  Some can play instruments, following the music off the sheet as written, some are musicians and every emotion is intensified, including the worship emotion when they play.  So watching old EC the other night reminded me of a scripture, one of the ones you hi-lite in your Bible, and then gets lost among all the other hi-lited ones.  Ephesians 3:20 tells us “now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us,” I forget that God is always at work in me.  That when I ride, I can worship him and enjoy the ride even more.  Years of riding, like Eric’s years of playing bring out parts of a relationship between two old friends, with him his guitar, and me a motorcycle, but when God enters the picture, I ride better, enjoy it more, and become one with the bike.  All the time being one in the spirit.  We grow together, and it’s like I used to tell Mrs.Campbell, my 96 year old Sunday School teacher, “you and God have been friends for so long you are on a first name basis with him.”  And in Jesus we all are, andin him just like the scripture tells us, we can do more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Now I can ask for some pretty wild things, pushing God to the limit sometimes.  And yes, he tells me no very often, knowing what is best.  But over the years I have found that whenever he tells me no, it is because a better yes is coming.  Time and time again God knows what is best, and what is best for me.  And shows it in the little things....on many trips we see his hand when we meet people.  Meeting a man who actually worked on Mount Rushmore and talking with him...some 70 years after it was completed.  Meeting Rat, the owner of the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, who gave us a guided tour of this historic hotel, where Bessie Smith, Queen of the Blues died.  And shared many stories with us, one afternoon after a long ride.  Nothing we expected, but God knew, and I have a picture of him and Theresa in the book about him.  And even one hot afternoon in Reno, after a long ride, standing in line with the hundreds of others who saw the $19 room at Circus Circus, and when the girl stood up and announced “no more $19 rooms,” and the lobby emptied, announced “Suites for $29,” and we were first in line, getting a corner suite with a hot tub.   God knows, and knew...and we know him.

Some would call it luck, discounting the fact of a loving God in control.  Some are fatalists, whatever happens is going to happen.  So why pray?  While some have hope, others have given up completely.  Some enter the day saying “good Lord it’s morning,” where I prefer “good morning Lord.”  Every morning is a chance to start over, putting yesterday behind us and looking ahead.  The miracles are there, God is here, and so are we.  So why do some give up?  Aren’t all of God’s promises “yea and amen?”  Isn’t he a God of his word?  True some seem born with a natural talent, while others need practice, but in all things we can exceed our dreams.  Maybe an old musician said it best, “your talent is exceeded only by your potential.  And in Christ we can exercise that potential.  We can live better, love better, forgive and enjoy more blessings, when we are in Christ.  And yes, my want list can become long and tiring, but at the bottom of every list I make, whether written or in my mind, I now leave roomfor one last box to be checked.  One missing from most of ours when we pray, and the one I find God answers the most often.  “None of the above,” is the one he checks off, after reviewing my desires.  And when my desires are of him, when he becomes the desire of my heart, “none of the above” becomes an infinite list my finite mind could never imagine.  Or rationalize.  But it takes trust, and like Eric and Blackie his guitar, a relationship is formed, the two become one and beautiful music is played.  Notes never heard in harmonies never imagined, and the blessing flow.  From God through us, and we are able to bless and be blessed.  Potential far beyond any talent we have, more love than we could ever imagine from the Lord. 

The spirit reveals the mysteries of Christ to us, and the spirit shows us how God is everywhere, and wants to be included in your everything.  Even watching a concert, you can see his majesty in a musician, or while riding his hand on the countryside.  And even at work, his grace and mercy as you deal with people.  And they deal with you.  More than we can ever imagine...and that is here on earth.  Wait until we reach heaven, “where eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind imagined the things of God,”  we will experience.  It will definitely take a new body with new senses to take it all in, and the new heart he gives us when we are saved is where it starts.  Right now, you and Jesus, making beautiful music together.  Where none of the above becomes all of the above, for we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.  All.  Suddenly I know which box to pick when dealing with God, and he makes life that much simpler and more blessed.

One of the best BBQ meals was at The Golden Rule in Birmingham, Alabama after a long ride to find the pit we had been told about.  When it was closed, we found The Golden Rule, and the best BBQ.  Period.  Great service, where the lady making the beans has been there for over 57 years, and they are afraid she will quit...she is the only ne who knows the recipe.  I wonder if she ever knew years ago how she would impact others? I can taste the Brunswick Stew now, just save room for the chocolate icebox pie.  Washed down with sweet tea...as if there was any other.  Maybe an example of God’s golden rule, about doing unto others, adding as he has done to us, that ought to change our attitudes. 

We all can’t play like Eric or John, or ride like Kenny Roberts.  But we can all know God, he sent Jesus to make it easy.  The choice is ours, the blessings are ours, and the time is right now.  Unlock the potential God has inside of you today, don’t miss any blessings, and don’t forget which box to check off.  All of the above-only in Christ will you find it.  Find out just how much immeasurably more is today...pass the hot sauce please, I’ll have seconds on the brisket.  And always remember the Golden Rule. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

every house has one

Every house has one, a room or attic, or corner of the basement where things accumulate that are seldomly used, but still too good to throw away.  In my parent’s house it was a closet off my old bedroom, and on my last visit 4 years ago I went through it looking for something of my past.  Never did find them, my old Tom Swift books, but came across instead my old tape recorder.  It was a 4 channel Magnavox, that we used to sing or scream into, or record songs of the radio on.  Nothing high tech about the 10 year old that had been using it, but inside were two 7” reels full of memories and deeds, some better left in the past.  Of course my desire to listen to them only increased when I found the recorder didn’t work, and actually thought of trashing the whole thing, erasing 5 decades of my youth, but then was reminded by my son that you can have them transferred to DVD’s, and rather than trying to fix an old recorder, I could listen to them in my car, on my computer, or anywhere DVD’s were played.  So for $75, my wallet was lighter, but my memories richer, and 1964-65 came alive again.  By what we talked about, the TV shows, the songs, the news, and girls, you could tell how old we were an what year it was.  Some 4 hours later, wishing there was more, I had taken a trip back, better than Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine, and could even remember the days and events we recorded.  Never knowing the impact they would have today.  We didn’t think of the future, or the past growing up, we were having too much fun then just being us.  Everyday was an adventure, being a kid was supposed to be fun, and we took every advantage of it we could.

But in that 50 years ago of tape, without the technology of today it would have been thrown away.  Recording had come a long way from old Tom Edison and his wax cylinders.  The 78’s my parents listened to and found for 10 cents a piece at yard sales had turned to 45’s, both sides full of music, one the hit, the other the B side.  All for 59 cents!  That any kid could afford.  33rpm records, referred to as vinyl today, filled the soul for much longer, and had another side of songs to play...plus the album cover which may have sold you on the music in the first place.  Cover art came into its own in the late sixties, and the $2.99 purchase had you both listening and looking.   4-tracks by Madman Muntz morphed to 8 tracks, and soon became the norm in every teen car.  You could play an entire album with only minor interruptions as it changed tracks, sometimes in mid song, making us wish for the album version.  Cassettes remedied that, and played both sides, just flip them over like an album.  CD’s became hot, could be played in a Walkman, and soon in cars.  Easy to store, but fragile, one scratch could change the whole song or mood, and soon records, 8 tracks, cassettes, and reel to reels became history stored in the  archival room in every house.   And this is where I discovered my past, many technologies ago.  Amid the background noise I found many memories Dolby may have erased, but for now technology was a good thing, it would rescue my past, or reveal it, and it was OK that it went on this long.

But maybe not, as finding some CD-R’s, small CD’s this weekend from a camera filled with trip memories, I found they could not be played back on my computer.  Bummer, but with an adaptor could in my DVD player on the TV, and relived a past I had lost, or at least I had thought.  But again trapped in a technology time warp, with no escape, at the mercy of the current generation, far removed from their initial recording, all of 10 years ago.  So maybe technology was a good thing, and it may have gone on too long, and I wonder what the future kids will look back on.  No photo albums, no vinyl records or even tapes, all stored in a memory taking up no physical space, easily misplaced, but easily played back.  No album covers, no flip sides, no pages to turn, just hit the next button, and fast forward as you wish.  Looking back has never been so easy, or so impersonal.  But lose the i-Pod and all is lost. 

2000 years ago, and even further, back to the first books of the Bible, God needed a way to preserve history, His story, and to pass it on to the next generation.  He used scribes, people whose job it was to record events, a skill for the learned, and very important in society.  No margin of error, and often the skills would be passed down from father to son, entrusting the recording for the next generation.  Accuracy counted, no opinion here, and although a scribe may be a Pharisee, they worked for kings and religious leaders, giving way over the years to journalists, authors, lawyers, and typists of today.  And in some places helping illiterates keep records, they were the tape recorder of their day, providing information for years to come.  Historical, legal, and factual, they literally wrote history.  Just as they were told. 

Many today question the authority of the Bible, whose author God revealed it by spirit to some 40 authors in 66 books.  Recorded by scribes, painstakingly recorded word for word, which when compared to editions like the Dead Sea Scrolls give veracity to them, proving them to be God inspired, man recorded, and spiritually insightful and correct.  Just as God wanted them.  They are like Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever, and no matter the version, all verses pint to God.  To Jesus as the way, and to the holy spirit to guide and comfort.  Only a cult will change the words, change the meaning and deny Jesus his deity, but they are not of God, but of Satan the father of lies.  Think about it, if you were God would you want your message, the story of you corrupted?  Changed to fit your sin rather than the love of God?  Consider this, is God stupid?  Would he who created the earth leave it up to your interpretation, or to the truth?  Would he bother to send his son Jesus to die, only to have his true story lied about?   Either God is real, the Bible true, or we are all in trouble.

Today you can read many versions of the Bible, listen to it on tape or DVD, access it through satellite radio, or hear it taught in person.  Recorded in your memory for future playback.  For some a room where the memories are forgotten, to others as fresh as the day you were first saved.  Either way God’s word is perfect, and as we are told in Timothy “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  A gift from God, all about God.  The following just how tough it was to be a scribe, and how important they were to God, and to us receiving exactly what his spirit directs. 

The Jewish scribes used the following process for creating copies of the Torah and eventually other books in the Tanakh.

1. They could only use clean animal skins, both to write on, and even to bind manuscripts.
2. Each column of writing could have no less than forty-eight, and no more than sixty lines.
3. The ink must be black, and of a special recipe.
4. They must say each word aloud while they were writing.
5. They must wipe the pen and wash their entire bodies before writing the most Holy Name of God, YHVH, every time they wrote it.
6. There must be a review within thirty days, and if as many as three pages required corrections, the entire manuscript had to be redone.
7. The letters, words, and paragraphs had to be counted, and the document became invalid if two letters touched each other. The middle paragraph, word and letter must correspond to those of the original document.
8. The documents could be stored only in sacred places (synagogues, etc.).
9. As no document containing God's Word could be destroyed, they were stored, or buried, in a genizah.

Remember that next time you question God or his word, could you have done what a scribe did?  Many of us have problems with too many buttons on the radio, imagine taking a bath every time you entered the recording studio, and the places we store things are a lot less holy than a synagogue.  Do we speak what we read as we record as they did?  Could we record the words of God as he wanted them?  Suddenly God is pretty smart....are we?

All scripture refers to Jesus as God.  If he is part of your past, keep the memories alive via testimony.  If not, start a new chapter in life today with him.  Find life and love, forgiveness and grace in his words, his word.  The Bible. Don’t leave your Bible to gather dust as my tapes did, keep the love fresh everyday.  Meditate on Jesus and his word, finding life and comfort in the day’s trial and tribulations.  Get to know God, and as he writes his word on your hearts, for instant retrieval, let it take on a deeper meaning than any written word other than his can.  If it was important enough for God to speak it, for the scribes to record, it ought to be important enough for us to read today.  So put God in the first groove and let it wail.  And remember this bit of technological advice, the same amount of grooves on a record is the same amount of a living God.  One.  From beginning to end, it is all about Jesus.  The word of God, long before cassettes, 8 tracks, or DVD,s, it was bringing life to a dying world.  Unlock that room in your heart today...technology is a good thing, only Jesus will last forever.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

road closures

Nothing can be as infuriating as taking a favorite road, and after a few miles find it has been closed.  Maybe it is construction, maybe an accident, but whatever it is it interrupts the flow of our ride, causing us to make alternate decisions, to change our course.  Sometimes we were on our way to meet someone, and we don’t want to be late or to make them worry.  Sometimes it is the ever present traffic guard with his sign, allowing traffic to proceed only one way, generally not yours. But mostly it is an inconvenience, and the first thing we do is grumble.  The worst words come from our mouths, and we look for blame in others.  If we are able to proceed after waiting, we see people on the other side just as impatient, hoping we didn’t look so rude.  Or when faced with turning back, more times than not see there was a sign warning us, that we chose to ignore, it couldn’t mean us, or we missed because we weren’t paying attention.  It is these seemingly inconvenient road closures that change our course, our direction, and often lead us to roads we never would have taken.  And find a better road because of it.  Life is like that too, the warning signs are there, yet we are too busy to look, to stupid to obey, or too proud thinking they are for everyone else but us.

One afternoon while chasing down ghost towns in the Sangre de Cristo we came upon a small valley with a beautiful river running through it.  Winding our way down, we came upon a Toyota pickup halfway across it, not moving.  In these pre-lifted days, you could see the water half way up the doors, and we stopped to offer help.  Seems he tried to get across despite the rushing water, and his wife’s insistence they didn’t try.  But he was stubborn, and they went for it, stalling half way across, and now he was stuck.  They had climbed out the windows, and we agreed to winch them out.  We gave him the line, and he waded out, secured it to the rear bumper, and soon he was out.  The water line on the side of the truck showed it to be about two feet deep.  But inside was the real story.  Looking in there were cassette tapes floating, his deck under water, and water just below the bottom of the seat.  Other various things that once found haven on his floor and console were floating too, and as he opened the door, they all ran out with the water.  Which put the crowning blow on his being bummed out.  We then lifted the hood, water had been up to the air cleaner, fortunately not in it, and after some repeated tries, it started, ran rough, and he picked up his stuff and turned around for home.  As we watched him leave with heavy disappointment of mood, we wondered should we try it,or turn back.  But a third suggestion had us go downstream a bit, maybe a half mile along the river in a meadow, and came across a shallow area, pretty enough we stopped to take pictures and eat, and then crossed , barely getting the truck wet.  Just a few minutes from where he sunk his truck was a safe crossing, he had ignored the obvious signs, and pride literally drove him into the drink.  An unusual sense of common had prevented us form the same fate that day...it could have been us.

It is important to remember it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.  But in listening to God, he and his family, only his family were saved.  For 120 years this 600 year old man had labored on the ark, without power tools, but with the jeering of his neighbors making fun of him.  It had never rained, so why would you build an ark for protection?  Why would God have you do it?  What warning signs did he offer?  Yet Noah built the ark, built with direction from God, built to a standard that all sea going ships are built to today, making them the most stable.  I’m sure there were times he wanted to quit, to question his sanity, and maybe doubt God.  But he kept at it....and on his 720th birthday it started to rain.  Talk about raining on your party, but he found safety and salvation in the ark just as God promised, even down to what and how much to bring.  Not knowing how long he would be secured inside.  And God sent the animals two by two, notice male and female, a family, to continue making families after the flood.  Just like Noah and his sons did, for we are all descendants of Noah.  Floods are part of our family heritage, and so we should be prepared for them.  We have had centuries to look back, to trust God and to get to know him.  Yet so many times we are caught by surprise, claim we weren’t prepared when all the signs were there, and so was God.

Jesus died while we were yet sinners.  Important to note, as God was ready to save us long before we were even born.  Nothing we do surprises him, he is never caught off guard.  He warns us, guides us, and then forgives us, altering our course as we go, taking us down roads he chooses for us, avoiding floods and other dangers if we listen.  Sometimes taking us kicking and screaming where we need to go, and altering our route.  To us a detour, to him the way.

And Jesus is the way, and the way back.   His signs are there, his spirit is willing, and all it takes is us.  Our choice, sink or swim.  In my minds eye I can still see the cassettes floating in that Toyota, and they didn’t have to.  His bad decision helped us make a better one, see the signs are always there.  Before you wade too deep into uncharted waters today, ask God where he wants you to go.  Ask directions, then follow them.  It might be a rough road, but later you can thank him for the ride.  And not the flood.  Detours are God’s way of having us change direction and get back on his course.  Road closures prevent us from further danger.  We never know lies around the corner, a biker died last week coming around a corner where there was an accident with no warnings.  I’ll bet there was a sign of some sort,and ifnot visible, it may have been spiritual, the spirit warning of danger.  Remember that next time you stop and miss by just that much.  The importance of the spirit guiding.  Bring the umbrella of truth with you today, you never know when you will need it.  And remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.  Call it the parable of the floating cassettes...now do you get it?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com