if only we knew back then what we do now, how differently things would have turned out

One of the problems associated with getting older but not necessarily old, is you remember how low the prices seemed back then as compared to now.  $1995 for a Z-1, later $2295 for a GS 750.  My first Rabbit in 1975 was $2995, my Dad bought a new 1972 2002 BWW for $4000, out the door.  If only they could be had for those prices today, such a deal I have for you.  But at the time I was making $150/week, and just getting by, a theme that still continues to this very day.  But what if we had been so smart to invest in 1955 Chevies when they were just used cars and cheap?  I bought a 1949 Ford pickup in 1982 for $900, a lot of money I thought, now they sell for over $40k restored.  Remember how a K81 Dunlop cost $25, and another $5 to mount and balance it?  Now the same deal for $300 and up.  I remember the outrage when a 250 motocrosser went for over the $1000 mark, and we wondered how can anyone afford to race anymore?  If only known then what I do now....how different things may have turned out.  But reality tells me the high prices of today will be the bargains of tomorrow, so buy them now while they are cheap.

Looking at an ad for Brian Wilson, the seats start at $85 and go up to $250, I look back to when I saw concerts for under $10, some under $5.  A lot of lawns were cut just to see Santana, Iron Butterfly, The Eagles, and The Beach Boys.  A buck used to get me into the movies, with the biggest decision how to spend the remaining 50 cents on soda and popcorn, with a dime left over.  Albums for under 3 dollars, gas was 30 cents, and you could eat a Big Mac with fries and a Coke-no ice please for under a buck.  The big deal in high school was are you man enough to eat $5 worth of McDonald’s food?  From what I see the challenge is still there, just under a different set of rules.  But as prices change, hopefully incomes rise too, our first house in 1981 cost $45,000, now you cannot buy a pickup for less.  Where has all the money gone, where are the good deals we see looking back, and what deals are out there today?  What will we look back on and say “I wish I had bought it when it was cheap?”  Making more and enjoying it less?  Guess what, you’re normal, that ought to cheer you up....

It seems every time they invent a better mouse trap, a new and improved mouse comes to market.  Just enough to have you wanting the new one, under the guise of “I gotta have it.”  Many are looking today for that gotta have it rush, a feeling of belonging, a feeling of value and importance.  And are willing to pay the price, as today cults, religion, and life philosophies are in your wallet to guarantee them, if you have the cash and credit.  Leah Remini has shown that the average Scientologist gets hooked for over $250,000 in a lifetime, and once you join, it don’t get any better.  Cults control you, and don’t want to let you go, the control factor of the person caught up in the cult is for their own good, or so they are told.  Years ago a popular fad in churches was having a mentor to guide you through life, from how to dress to who to marry, to where to work, they advised and insisted.  So much for a free will.  I was part of a discipleship program once, until I refused to use their book, after completing it your life was back on track, and you got a certificate to prove it.  Nothing to do with a person, just another loser lesson.  Yet people sign up for these things and more.  No one gets Eckenkar material for free.  Some denominations have you sign a contract for tithing for the coming year.  And you better stay current!  Some churches have bookstores that sell Bibles, if the importance of the word is as much as they preach it, why don’t they give them away?   I guess the story of Jesus and the moneychangers is different when you are the receiver not the payee.  I see so many Christian bookstores that popped up 10 years ago now gone, what happened?  How can so many miss the free gift that Jesus promises? 

Somehow we believe the higher the price, the better the product.  But salvation, the best product ever made available over the counter, is sold from the pulpit.  Take money out of the picture and how would it affect your relationship with your church? So many tithe to the church, I thought we were to give unto God?  With more pastors selling books, begging for money on their air time, have we missed the free gift?  Or have the cults and other abominations gone one step better than some churches?  The gospel is free so we can afford it, and simple so we can get it.  No system of books, no 13 week course, no retreats for a $1000, no studying to be saved, Jesus made it simple, believe in him and confess him and you are saved.  The same price 2000 years ago and the same price now.  Only God can beat inflation and still give a product that is priceless.  But some still object and look elsewhere in vain. 

Today we do more on the income I have, less a month than I used to make a week, because it is based on a spirit driven economy.  I don’t get it, but I will happily receive it.  No course on finances can do what God can do, no formula for success other than the holy spirit.  No books, classes, cult, private teacher, or life coach can do for you what Jesus has already done.  And left his spirit to assist, comfort, guide and advise.  Who better to know than he who controls it all?  Maybe an old bumper sticker says it all, “Jesus saves, and at today’s prices that’s a miracle.”  God doesn’t need your money, he needs a heart that is giving, who enjoys giving, and is led by his spirit.  Such a one is never in need, and will always have what they need in him.  Psalms tells us “I was young once and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”  God provides, from salvation to clothes to money.  The answers are there, are you asking the right questions? 

Funny thing about bikers and off road racers, I have seen hundreds get together to raise funds for one who is hurting, or give a part to a guy who needs it, “pay me later if you can.”  Here is the test for your church, ask them to help you financially, but make sure the problem is real.  No begging.  And see what the answer is....Ministry is simple,seeing a need and meeting it.  Years ago Ray Stedman on Wednesday nights after the offering told those who needed some money to take up to $10, and see him if they needed more.  I once did that, the blessings that came are another story altogether.  God blesses those that are cheerful givers, not bitter tithers.  Jesus said it.....

So I may be older, but I refuse to get old.  I don’t like to pay too much for something, especially when I can get it for free.  The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ is still free, and in many churches, too.  Open your heart to him, and soon your goods and attitudes will flow also.  You cannot take an offering, you can only give one.  Jesus still saves, he paid the price we couldn’t, and yes, that still is a miracle today.  The problem with memories is we remember how things were, with Jesus we can look ahead to how they will be.  And are today.  Today is the day of salvation, keep your money.  You cannot spend it in heaven anyway.  But you can feed, clothe, or help someone today.  If only we had known that back then, how differently things may have turned out!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

Vanishing Point

Bullitt is the ultimate car chase in movie history to me.  A strong argument can be made for Gene Hackman in The French Connection, or even Angelina Jolie in Salt, riding a Street Triple R, you see her, you hear me riding it.  No we never met. For shear suspense nothing beats Duel, never saw a nastier truck, and on long stretches of deserted roads I’m always on the lookout.  Smoky and the Bandit made it all laughable, made Burt Reynolds a hero, and sold a lot of black Trans Ams.  But one movie seriously overlooked, and rarely seen on any TV movie is Vanishing Point, where Barry Newman has to deliver a 1970 Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in record time to win a bet.  Definitely a time capsule, it is the ultimate anti-hero film, from his Viet Nam vet war experience PTSD, to the blind black DJ on underground radio tracking Kowalski, to the nude girl riding the Honda, maybe you did meet the nicest people on a Honda after all.  What an ad that would make.  But in between the car chases, which really aren’t chases, to the ending where he takes on the bulldozers and loses, Vanishing Point is a movie that best describes the moods, values, and attitudes of the 1969-72 times.  Fast cars, fast girls, fast motorcycles, and fast talking cops, it s the man vs. us.  And for a while it looks like we might win, or at least be winning....

There was a popular bumper sticker, if not a bit rude and inaccurate at the time saying “Jesus is coming and boy is he mad!” defining the non-believing world against the man, Jesus Christ.  Where Kowalski was the anti-hero we were really searching for a real hero, and Jesus was it, as many of us found in the Jesus Movement.  Some survived it, drugs and war took too many, but those of us who came to Christ found more than we could ever imagine.  We found a loving savior that was so far removed from the bumper sticker, and we had to tell others, we couldn’t keep Jesus inside,we had to share him.  With a sunset so far removed from the brutal ending for Kowalski, and without destroying a cool car and two bulldozers.  Where the blind DJ was underground, we were above ground and alive, not hiding, but living.  Naked as the girl on the Honda, and not ashamed of it for Jesus.   A time in history you had to be there, it goes beyond emotions, sights, and sound.  Cars and trucks, motorcycles and bulldozers.  It was action, from beginning to end.  And we found that action in the Bible, with God along with us for the ride.  One that still goes on today!

When Moses wrote in Psalm 91 that God was from everlasting as back as time goes, and before with no beginning in sight, but also everlasting in the future, with no end in sight we see eternity.  Add one day to either end and he goes farther.  But the Hebrew interpretation for everlasting is a vanishing point, going back as far you can see in the rear view mirror, and as far ahead as the sunset allows, then continuing.  In Jesus there is no vanishing point, for eternity, both before and after have no beginning and will have no end.  No crash at the end, no anti-hero to remember, it will be all about Jesus in eternity, which is a very long, long time.  The words of David Crosby of CSN singing “it’s along time coming...it’ll be a long time gone...” but for those of us in Christ it never ends!  So rejoice.  But for those who reject the offer made by Jesus, it is along time gone also, eternal hell.  I think of all those famous who died and didn’t know Jesus, they still died and whatever fame they found on earth meant nothing to God.  Who they stood for did.  There are rock stars and the one who made and placed the stars, you choose.  He gives you the choice.

In Duel we never saw the driver’s face, in Bullitt we never see that Bud Ekins is driving for Steve McQueen, who was pulled out after the famous shot of him overshooting the corner, and backing up with the ultimate wheel hop.  Too famous to risk.  There are stunt drivers to take the risk for the stars, Jesus took the risk to the end for us all.  And was resurrected, he knew no vanishing point, and we won’t either, for we too will be resurrected as he was.  Before the beginning God was, and after the end he still will be.  From vanishing point to vanishing point and all in between, God is.  That is why when Moses asked “who do I say you are,” God answered say “I am the great I AM!”  A forever today outside of the constraints of time.  Our last shot in Vanishing Point is Kowalski hitting the two bulldozers an exploding.  Our last shot before entering our vanishing point will be a new shot in heaven. 

In this Psalm Moses goes over how God created the earth, how his spirit gave it form, and how his spirit when entering our lives gives us life and form.  His book starts “in the beginning,” but God has none.  He is, and was, and will be.  A place like none other in the universe, because it says God gave it life, and then placed us on it, his ultimate creation, for his pleasure.  A planet and creation unlike any other in the universe, and a son, Jesus, begotten and unique to go with it.  If only Moses knew about Vanishing Point the movie, he would make quite a critic.  After watching three New Mexico sunsets, and remembering why it is called “the Land of Enchantment,” the sun rose the next day.  Reminding me how Jesus rose after the darkness, and gave us another day of life.  You can be part of the sunsets and sunrises, and from vanishing point to vanishing point in Christ or believe the bumper sticker.  When God formed the mountains, I just know he was thinking of those of us who ride, and will ride into a vanishing pint with him someday.  Kowalski couldn’t beat the system, it beat him.  Truth is like that, you can argue it, but unless you accept it and change, you will become a victim of it.  The truth will set you free, a pair of D-8 Cats will mess up your afternoon.  And your car.  If you are going out in a blaze of glory, make sure you are going to glory instead of a blaze.  Hell was meant for the devil and his fallen angels, not for man.  God has reserved a place for us called heaven.  With no vanishing point.  Hope to see you there, in heaven that is. I’ve seen the movie, I may be no critic, but God gets 4 stars, **** in my book any day.  I’m glad I get that many in his, and all the ones he knows by name.  Everlasting, never changing.  He’s been a long time comin...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

why is the small print so small?

“Read the fine print,” we are told, but we can hardly see it with our glasses, and when we do, it still contains words and verbage only a trained and skilled lawyer can understand.  Yet while most of us are trusting, read that in a hurry, we neglect to read it, and suffer for it.  For instance, your 3 year, 36,000 mile car warranty.  Say you buy it on January 2, 2017, you probably think it runs out on January 2, 2020, and you would be wrong.  The 36 months are up on January 1, at midnight, 12:01 and you are out of warranty.  Try explaining that to a guy who religiously maintained his car, and thought then got his dates wrong.  Or the ones who try to get by after the stated mileage, one recourse we did have though was how many miles when you made the appointment?  We were backed up for weeks at one time, and yes, we were able to honor the requests under warranty.  But how do you know when something is going to break?  Or where?  You won’t find that in the small print....

Years ago Suzuki offered a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on their motorcycles, when the industry standard was 90 days.  WOW, how can they do it?  The small print, you must have all scheduled maintenances done at the dealer, no record, no warranty.  Ohhhh....And Suzuki had the best warranty and record on their bikes at the time.  Maybe there is something to maintenance after all.  Years ago when selling to a Toyota dealer, they had the owner come in every 3000 miles for an oil change, which you paid for, instead of the factory recommended 5000.  It gave the dealership twice the opportunity to find problems, which they would ask you to pay for or warranty.  One owner told me how reliable his car was, how they had taken care of problems he didn’t know about, and was bragging until I mentioned his car was in the shop twice as many times, inconveniencing him twice as many times, and costing him twice as much for service.   And it was my fault for bursting his bubble.  On the flip side, when Mercedes Benz went to an oil condition reading light instead of miles for scheduled maintenance, some cars went 20,000 miles or two years between being seen.  They quickly adjusted the system to once a year or 10,000 miles.  Or until the low oil pressure light came on, then it was too late. Again, the small print...

I test rode a Polaris 3 wheeler the other day, not a motorcycle, but could be fun.  When asking about tire replacement, I was told the tires were specific to the model, in other words, a factory part number, you can only get from them, and they wear differently, which affects handling, so you need to keep them fresh.  Oh....again the small print.  Which leads to the questions not asked at delivery, or explained and forgotten in the heat of the moment.  At one point at Mercedes Benz we went to catered dinners to invite new customers to learn about their cars, which brought an immediate response in the service drive, now they had too many questions, and wanted all the free service they could get.  The worst being a new Mercedes Benz owner who found 43 problems with his new E class after 200 miles, after attending the classes.  All 43 were specious, non-existent, and he came in angry and left confused.  Not sure what the salesman told him or what he thought the heard, but he was wrong.  And I was the bad guy, telling him the truth.

So read the small print, ask questions, be patient, and if you don’t understand, ask more questions.  Bring someone along with you, be courteous, and you will find a friend when you do.  We are held to the fine print also.  But in religion, when it comes to the Bible, many times we don’t want to be.  People misinterpret it, the Mormons misquote it and rewrite it, the JW’s change the to an a and deny Jesus as deity.  I wonder if a lawyer needed to be there to represent God when it was published.  Can you imagine the small print that may have been added?  “You cannot say you must be born again,” that’s prejudice.  You cannot say if you won’t work you won’t eat, that’s discriminatory.  You cannot say Jesus is the way, because it excludes those who feel different.”  But yet without the truth and the way, we don’t have the life.  Jesus said “you must be born again to inherit the kingdom of God,” not it is suggested.  And how it is a gift you cannot earn.  Yet so many try to earn their way, the term born again has become a joke line and while looking at the physical disregard the spiritual aspects.  Changing words does not change God’s love for us, or what Jesus did on the cross.  You may fervently believe a lie, but it is still a lie. You may teach there is no hell, but will still go there if not saved.  Last night a man said he questioned the scriptures because they were written by man.  I agreed, they were written by man, but when I informed him they were inspired by God, he lost his argument.  God doesn’t need a lawyer, he is grace, not legalism.  But we do need an advocate on judgment day, and in Jesus we are provided one. 

So God does not allow small print, but he does allow red print, emphasizing the words of Jesus.  No mistaking his quotes, they are in red.  God does not force his love or his word on us, nor his spirit.  But when we enter into his presence, we see the truth, we see the way, we see Jesus for who he is, not an editorial subject.  Not a philosophy to be argued.  We are set free in his truth, the truth, not a truth.  There is a difference.  He is not a way, suggesting there are others to choose from, he is the way, a true/false test instead of multiple choice.  The more choices, the more wrong answers, God is not out to confuse,but save.  Lawyers, well you decide.

And you will not find opinions or polls in the Bible either.  God doesn’t need our input, we need his.  What is your answer when he asks in Psalms “where were you when he created the earth?”  The problem is being men, we think like men, and God is trying to get us to think like him.  To love and be compassionate like him, not robotic and programmed for a response for every situation.  But yet some do, and we know who you are. God provides the Bible to answer questions about every day life, and when read in the spirit, the words come alive and have meaning.  Without him, they are just words on a page, great words, but with no power  until God is part of them.  Spirit driven.  So while many study to find an excuse for their sin, seek God and read and be blessed.  You make the call....

God will back you up in love, something no small print ever will.  That is why it is small, so you cannot see it.  They don’t want you to.  God hides nothing from you, what do you hide from him?  Life can be a test, but it is an open book test with Jesus.  No surprises, but consistent always.  If only my car was that way...

An old Parable song says “take the time to read, Jesus took the time to bleed, for us all.”  Good advice, which only works if taken.  Read the book, ask questions, pray and listen.  Jesus loves you, says so, guess where, the Bible.  Red letters in mine, just to remind me, and you.  Time is running out, don’t expire without his lifetime warranty, which includes all, which includes everything, and excludes nothing.  Supreme Court of the US of A says so.  Seems I read that somewhere...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

worn out soles for worn out souls

A look back at the events of the past few weeks tell us that something is going on, that from the forces of nature, to the evil within men, to the failure of government, and the inability of some churches to respond like Christians, it would seem that things are out of control.  As we watch political types blaming each other for moral failures, as we watch as those who break the laws don’t get punished, and as the NFL protests the flag, it seems that stupidity is the  new norm, but really it has just been latent for awhile, it never has left.  But I watch as some events are noteworthy, while others overlooked.  I feel real pain as a Mayor and governor complain nothing is being done to help them, then find they cannot even get their own countrymen to drive trucks and deliver the goods to their own people.  I watch as those deemed red necks are out immediately using their boats and all they have to rescue people, while the media and government has more meetings.  I see a great equalizer as those who had wealth and power when they went to bed that night, woke up to nothing after a hurricane, and were homeless and broke.  Along with their FICO Score, as with no job, no source of income, any and all savings will be used just to survive.  A new breed of homeless, and a start of a new compassion.  I see families for generations affected when murdered at a concert, and the politicals saying “see, more  gun control needed,” but not leaving their safe ivory towers to help.  The loudest to cry when they feel violated, the last to help when others are.  All newsworthy events, new to us, but not new to history.  Taken by surprise, but still not mindful of the signs and warnings that were there and still are.  It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.  People included....

In my prayers lately God is telling me to stay the course.  As much as I want out of this quagmire called California, he tells me to stay.  And when I feel like leaving, I can see in the back ground a great whale about to swallow me up and take me where it wants me to go, which will be against my will.  Somehow I know it is for my own good, and I trust God, I have found I can not trust any other, so I hang on and hang in.  Knowing God has never left me and won’t, even though the situations tell me differently.  So I quit listening to the other voices, and trust him, and in doing so become an outcast, sadly among those who are known as Christians.  A friend once told me he wouldn’t have any enemies if it wasn’t for other Christians, I know how true that is.  I wish I didn’t and it wasn’t.  But I am not the first, I wish I was the last to encounter this, but I know I will not be, and it has been going on for centuries....

In Psalm 73 we see a godly man being confronted when the world is prospering and he is suffering.  He knows God, so he knows better, but wonders why the evil prosper and he suffers?  Sound familiar?  Many times this is taught in relationship to the world vs. Christianity, but have we taken the time to inspect our own house?  To see if we are out of the will of God, and think we are Godly just because we seem to prosper the world?  In confronting another Christian lately failing to meet a commitment, he quickly fell back on a scripture he had been taught for the situation, I countered with another.  He knew better, but took the safe way out, and when shown the consequences of his decision, repented.  He failed to consider the holy spirit in his decision, taking the easy way or the religiously taught way out.  It seems we are all guilty of taking care of us first, thank God Jesus didn’t.  You see we have become a Christian community of two faces, the one in church to impress our fellow congregationists, and another in the world, yet another surfaces in a stressful situation, that goes beyond training and reveals our true heart.  And the doubt creeps in when all the nice things you were promised of God become trials and tests.  And you begin to doubt, I wonder if you truly ever believed at all!

In these situations we only see the now, we cannot or will not see the future Jesus has planned for us.  I see a great separation of the sheep from the goats in the world, and in the church.  Has the church become Jesus to you?  Do you the difference or only what has been taught?  Many are called, few are chosen, it is time to do an inspection to see who is calling and what your answer really is.  Years ago I asked God why it was like this, and why with such a great harvest, the workers are so few?  Sheep and goats, but take heart workers, for with more work comes more blessings, now and in the doing.  When he told me if the seat of my pants is wearing out faster than the soles of my shoes, I have a problem.  Maybe a look at your sole will give you a better indication about your soul.  But know that staying the course, not panicking in a panic situation, will reveal God to you.  We don’t know what we will do in a given situation, so don’t try lying to me or yourself.  We don’t.  But we can be assured of a victory in the end, far beyond any expectations.  Of values, of God, and a new beginning of seeing who Jesus is, and being introduced to his holy spirit.  To go where the church dare not, and dares you not, to get closer to Jesus.  And to make the decision to be a lamb or a goat.  You see it is our choice, God’s is small and powerful, the evil one is loud and boastful, feeding our ego.  And it can all be gone in an instant....

God wants us to test the spirits to see if they are of him.  A simple test in all situations is where is Jesus in it?  If he seems quiet, remember the teacher is quiet during the test.  But has all the answers.  While some study to find themselves approved, we read and pray and listen and obey to get closer to Jesus.  To see him in victory, and to console others.  We minister while others quote scripture.  We live the life of Christ while others seek worldly rewards.  Your team may have won on Sunday, but will play again next week.  Another battle to face, another obstacle to overcome.  Happening for a season.  Use the season God has given us to plant and water, to minister to and disciple, but let God provide the growth.  It’s his job to change lives, not us.  We are just vessels that he chooses to deliver his message. 

Stay the course, do not let the world or other misled Christians mislead you.  God is at work, when we are awake and asleep.  Trust him and only him.  don’t cherry pick scripture for your own advantage, but seek all of Jesus you can.  See your life change, and watch as the sheep are called by their shepherd because he knows them, and they know him.  And do not despair, one night, one storm, one crazy madman, or even a politician can change it all.  Jesus never changes, now that is something you can hang onto.  Even black sheep produce wool, goats don’t.  That three bags full may be the answer God provides for your need.  Oh, and as a reminder, Jesus stood before his father with his eyes open, and hands outstretched. 

face to face, eyes opened,thesilence was his hearing a voice only he knew, the one of a father to a son, a spiritual voice.  What do you hear in that moment of silence?  Could it be God?  To him who has an ear....

Stay the course and avoid the curse!  Or you can be trendy and popular......at least to  yourself.

Meanwhile in the news, OJ is released from prison.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com