so who taught you to drive?

Any teen worth his teenage years could tell you exactly how many days it was until he was old enough to get his driver’s license.  Somehow it didn’t seem fair that in Jersey it was 17 and I had to wait a year longer than my cousin in Pennsylvania, and even though older, I only got a few months head start.  It didn’t seem fair that the driver’s ed. course my high school offered was dropped the year before, and that I would not miss a class to go out driving.  That I might have to attend a driving school, and why did all these things keep getting in the way of my license?  What did society, or at least the state of New Jersey know about me that it didn’t want me to drive a car, or ride a motorcycle?  And I took it personal...

But when the day came, I passed with flying colors, whatever that means, not having to execute the dreaded parallel parking part, and having a cool tester.  I would eventually have licenses in five states, to drive cars, motorcycles, and semis, but that first test was the hardest.  For one important reason, I had never taken one before, and had no idea of what to expect.  We had heard all the rumors how he would ask for a piece of gum to get your hands off the wheel, make you parallel park, watch your speed, and heaven help if you went over 25, no matter what the sign said.  More hype than reality, and to quote my mother on other things in my life, “if you know it, it’s easy.”  And I somehow just knew how to drive....

An old French saying says there are two things you never criticize about a man, his love making and his driving, and not necessarily in that order.  Either one can get you in trouble, but when it comes to driving, no one wants to be known as a lousy driver.  Yet the roads are filled with them, who have licenses, but no skills.  Point and steer, text and weave, and when the light turns red, follow the other cars through it...welcome to California.  An old chant tells us “we got the rope, we got the tree, all we need is the referee.”  With cars it is “we got the car, now I get the license.  I can learn later if at all.”  But did you ever wonder who started it all, how did the first drivers learn to drive?  Who to blame for it all....

Imagine when the automobile was new, and didn’t come with instructions.  You had to figure it out, how to set the spark and timing, turn the crank, hop in and give it gas, and if it stalled, repeat the process until it ran.  Then point and give it the gas, which one man in Nashville did, and the booklet not telling him to back out of the gas at the corner didn’t, and on two wheels kept going, for almost a mile before he thought to back out of the gas and stop.  The man was Duncan Dorris, and eventually would drive cross country, and even try to build a car in his name, but his first ride at 12 mph was almost his last.  Ironically he would be the first man to hit a pedestrian in Nashville, harming two women, such was the learning curve for learning to drive in 1895.  Sounds like 2017.  With nothing added about his love making....

We talked last night of those who use the excuse of studying to be found approved who are really looking for a loophole to excuse their sin.  We hit a nerve, as many agreed, and had not thought of studying in such a manner, but admitted they had.  “God get me out of this situation, I’ll never do it again,” comparing their sin to one King David,and saying, “well he did it and God said he was a man after his own heart,” so it must be OK for me.  One woman wanted to know why one section of scripture told us God hates homosexuality, but loves the homosexual.  Seasoned saints know God loves the sinner but hates the sin, it was new to her.  Which led to a question of what is sin?  Not saved she was seeking God, and had many questions.  She had her Bible, was trying to read it and figure it out, she thought that becoming a Christian was like taking a test, and was studying to pass.  A test administered by the church, and she just didn’t know much.  She was giving her life over to reading and studying, but missing out on the spirit, who reveals the mysteries of scripture, who makes it personal, who tells us “we need Jesus,” and points us to him.  Then upon arriving, is our counselor, comforter and friend.  To her it was just a test to get into heaven, but adding to mother’s quote, “if you know Jesus, it is easy.”  She had opened up a Bible, found a speed, and stayed there no matter the road conditions, and missed Jesus all together.  Of course that would never happen to you.....

Isaiah tells us that God say “your ways are not my ways, nor are your thoughts my thoughts.”  If we limit ourselves to one teaching as she had heard, we can be led astray.  We become like the student waiting to take their driver’s test, believing all the rumors, living in fear, and wondering if we are ready, have we practiced enough?  What if we go too fast, what if we can’t park, what if we miss a corner, what if we hit someone?  Religion binds us to legalism like that, the spirit sets us free to see Jesus, and for who he is.  So while some study, others get out and drive.  They learn God’s ways by living, rather than studying, and get to know the man instead of the scripture about him.  And when reading about him, recognize him because they know him, his ways, and his thoughts.  An experience, not just a lesson.  If we limit ourselves just to teaching, how can we expect to see God in action when we put the book down and get out and experience life?  So do not be concerned with the test, get to know the one who tests, who forgives, and instructs, whose love is endless, and can guide your path.  When we limit God we limit ourselves, for we make our thoughts his, thinking he is a man like us, when all he wants is to take a man and make us like him.  So who taught you about God?  Did you take a test to enter a church, did you follow a procedure, a set of canonized laws, or did you follow the spirit?  Can you quote it or does your lie reflect it?  If we put you in a car with a new driver, what would they learn from you?  About God, Jesus, and the holy spirit?

Fortunately unlike the tests to drive, God never changes form state to state.  You don’t have to wonder “what he might think this time and if it may differ next time.”  He never changes, there are no footnotes for a certain situation, and when studying comes down to what the spirit has shown you, you see the scriptures come alive, Jesus as real, and the truth will set you free.  You cannot study your way into salvation, you may pass a driver’s test, get a license, that doesn’t make you a good driver.  Or skilled, just licensed.  Legal.  Knowing scripture will not save you, knowing Jesus personally will.  So who is teaching you about Jesus?  Is it spirit led?  Can you apply it?  Does it call you to repent and seek God?  Or is it just religion 101....all the tests without all the Jesus? 

Duncan Dorris finally sold cars for 20 years, cars with his name on them, made by his brother.  High end cars, expensive cars, but lost his business due to liability insurance, rather the lack of it.  Accidents from cars he sold, from the cars at the garage, and rather than face them all, shut down.  The man who had taught himself to drive, who had the first accident, who sold cars with his name on them, just closed the doors.  Rather than face the truth, he shut down.  Ever feel like that?  Knowledge will let you down, wisdom only works when obeyed.  But Jesus never leaves us, in this life you will have tribulation, but those who rise above trusting Jesus will persevere.  Words cannot save, Jesus, who is the word does.  Next time you feel your test is unique, remember nothing is unique to man, we are all sinners and need a savior.  You can look for a loophole or turn to Jesus.  Just don’t take the turns too fast...just turn to him, and adjust your  speed.  To his speed, and enjoy the ride.  Every four years I have to renew my license, once saved I never have to renew Jesus.  His mercies are new every morning, think I’ll go for a ride. 

I rather be riding thinking of Jesus than in church thinking about riding.  His word written on my heart.  You decide....I’ll ride.

love with compassion,
Mike

matthew25biker.blogspotcom

for the ride

As I walked to my bike yesterday after having lunch, an old man saw my Triumph shirt and then my Tiger, he asked “they still make those?  I had one once, a 1966 Tiger, the single carb model.”  And the conversation began, as he told of his $35/month payment, how it leaked oil, couldn’t be ridden reliably at night, and how because he lived by the beach, the electrics corroded.  “But man I loved that bike, we had the best times on it, I dated my wife on it, and when it ran....I wish I had never sold it,” as his voice trailed off, his memory had just caught up with his words, and in his mind’s eye he was that young man 50 years ago, hoping it would fire off on the second kick, that all the oil hadn’t leaked out, and the electrics would work.  He was riding again, if only for a brief moment in his memory.   Such is the story of old Triumph owners, the experience goes way beyond the performance, they were in it for the ride, how many of us today can say that today?  What will your memories of riding be 50 years from now?  What are they now?

Years ago I asked a group of Harley riders, the lifestyle type, “if tomorrow only two stroke 250 cc motorcycles were available, would you still ride?”  The answers surprised me, but not really, without fail they would all give up the joy of riding and pass on the two stroke.  Which maybe defines a real motorcyclist from a poser, or an enthusiast.  They are in it to be seen, and when they have to buy the second tank of gas that month, maybe they have ridden too far.  Which may explain why so many used Harleys have low miles, they aren’t in it for the ride, unless their wife says it is OK.  Then faced with the fact they might have to ride.....Years ago Triumph ran an ad comparing themselves to the Japanese bikes, but aimed at the rider.  An “expert or an enthusiast?” the ad asked, and explained the differences.  and of course, it was cooler to own and ride a Triumph, with the ever looming prospect of not making it to where you were going, than to have a shiny new, technically modern bike in which you would.  The ad called those guys enthusiasts, only Triumph riders were experts.  But then they had to be... as my encounter with the old man’s memory after lunch reminded me.  Not all who ride are experts, not all enthusiasts.  Some are in it for the ride, some just along for the ride.  While some just hang on to old visions, while young kids still dream of their first ride....

I got in trouble one night for saying it was easy to become a Christian, but hard to stay one.  That one had the traditionalists upset, but I believe I was right, so let me explain.  Becoming a Christian, that born again experience happens in the blink of an eye, it is personal, and a one time event.  You are saved, and now you are a Christian.  But then life interferes, and although you now have Jesus, the pressures of the world, the flesh, and the devil are obvious, and become more so everyday.  Things that were OK and accepted are now seen to be sinful, and as your heart changes, so do your actions.  Old friends make fun of you, new church friends tell you how to, and all you want to do is enjoy the new Jesus in you.  Now religion has reared its ugly head and starts to fill you with rules and regulations, and the freedom you had for an instant is replaced by church.  You begin to meet a group of people who are in it for what they desire, a free ride, with all the things God can do for them.  You find some are experts, some are enthusiasts, but how many live the life with Jesus as Lord?  And as the joy begins to wear off, you wonder how much was just emotions?  How much was really Jesus?  And is this all there is to being a Christian?

Psalm 51 asks God to “restore to me the joy of salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”  Like an old Triumph you can be leaking on the outside, but still function on the inside.  You may have trouble at night, but somehow still get to where you are headed, but maybe not to where you are going. But knowing Jesus as opposed to knowing about him makes a difference, and we find he has given us all we need to break away from the powers of darkness.  That upon salvation we have been given the holy spirit, we don’t have to wait or study to get him.  Jesus won the battle over sin, and so have we, and we can start living like it.  NOW!  The help you have asked for is here now, but now you must act on it, and saying nothing is saying no.  Quizzing friends and pastors for opinions is not the answer, you already have the source, are you listening?  And when you trust through faith, you will begin to act, doing what you need to do, and doing what God wants you to do.  Yet how many give up riding when they break down, or have to ride in the rain?  How many approach Christ the same way?  God is just as present while riding as when pushing, or being pushed.  He has given us all we need in Jesus, are we using it?  Do we even know we have it all in him?

So maybe you are just an enthusiast Christian, OK for the word means God within, a good thing.  You ride out the bumps, enjoy the curves, and make it through the storm.  Maybe you are an expert, trained with an answer via scripture for everything, all the answers until you hear a new question.  The difference is Jesus, both can have  him, only in one is he alive and functioning.  Is it possible the old Triumph riders had more faith and rode in the dark?  Was riding more than a lifestyle for being seen, or were they in it for the ride?  Tough questions that demand tough answers, where is Jesus in your life?  Who is he to you?  And how do you show it?  It is in the tough times that God’s spirit is revealed in you, his strength is made perfect in our weakness.  In this life you will have tribulation, so get over it, we have overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of his testimony, we won!  Ask yourself, what can you tell others about Jesus Christ in your life?  If you couldn’t get to church tomorrow would you still follow him?  Is your relationship with him church or denomination based?  How personal is it?  After a tough day do you stop and thank God for getting you through the storm, or curse him for it?  Scripture tells us he was found in the storms also.  Looking back on Jesus do you look ahead with such excitement?  Do you remember the night he _______fill in the blank?  What defines you as a Christian?  Do you need the joy of your salvation restored? 

We used to pick a destination, now we choose a direction to ride.  It opens up more possibilities, and takes us places we would never have thought of.  Seek the direction of the spirit, in the sun and in the rain he is with you.  And maybe get an old Triumph and have a religious experience.  Praying you will make it home, no way for us to live in Christ.  He has granted you a spirit of victory, his, remembering it was the ride after all that you signed up for, God will add the memories.  A relationship between man and God, only made possible through Jesus Christ.  Experts stay home and study, enthusiasts get out and ride, and make the testimonies.  An old Harley ad asked “50 years from now do you want to be remembered for your crabgrass free yard or the miles you rode?”  For the ride, his name is Jesus....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

who's funnin' who

Nick and I had just rejoined the main road after taking a detour, that included another detour.  The best stretch of road laid before us, with just a semi between us and it, so ignoring the double yellow, we passed safely with no traffic in sight.  A few seconds later our mirrors filled with the flashing lights from the sheriff-busted.  We pulled over, and as he approached us, he looked at us and said “oh you guys again,” he had recognized us from the detour,as he was the one who turned us to it.  He was cool, asked us to be careful, and issued no tickets, with a verbal warning how he had responded to a fatal motorcycle accident there once.  Telling us to “ride safe,” he left.  Later we found out he had just left the scene of a barricaded man killing himself.  You never know.....

I was riding the first Street Twin on the road, with a target date of Thursday 9am for a Rider magazine cover shoot.  500 miles by then should be no big deal as it was Tuesday afternoon, when the CHP’s lights came on.  I had been doing 84 in a 65 zone, and he asked for the paperwork.  He had trouble understanding the Georgia distributor plate and no papers for it, and as I explained about my ride and the bike, he got even more confused.  He then admitted he rode, please keep the speed down, and opening his ticket book, told me “to act like I was signing a ticket in case anyone went by and looked.”  Why I don’t know, but I did, and we parted ways.....

It was November in 1975, and the 55 mph national speed limit in full effect.  Riding through the panhandle of Florida, again the lights came on and I was pulled over.  60 in a 55, which could get me life in front of a firing squad, or a sizable ticket, this had become a great revenue enhancer for the state.  Receiving the ticket, I took off, and a few days later made it to Albuquerque, my new home.  But looking at the ticket, I saw I had a court date of November 31st, and writing them, and advising them I could find no November 31st on my calendar, I never heard from them, and of course never paid it.  I wonder, was the trooper inept or just giving me a break.  I never went back to ask.

When the Wildman called me and asked me to ride his friend into Newark so he could get his paycheck, I obliged.  The two of us on my R90S rode down Route 22, and then getting off, again going faster than 55, when a Newark police cruiser pulled us over.  The officer chided me, then proceeded to tell me “if you think your bike is fast, I got a 440 under the hood, and at 120 mph will run up your exhaust pipes.”  Think of a fully tuned Blues Brother mobile, cop tires, cop motor, etc.  He was big and intimidating, and Newark was the Oakland of New Jersey, mean and avoided when possible.  Bummed and cheesed off, we got his check and returned home.  When reading the ticket, it said court was on December 24th in Newark at 800 pm, Christmas Eve.  I had planned on fighting it and with my friend as witness complaining about the treatment we had received.  But when calling the court clerk to confirm I was going to contest it, was told “we have no court on Christmas Eve, that man was funnin’ you.”  As the ticket number was nowhere to be found.  Funnin’ or not, I was free of any court visit and fine, and both of us will never know if at 120 if he would run up my exhaust pipes.  He had caught me once.....no second chance given.

In Psalm 51 David asks God for his tender mercy, according to his unfailing love.  Blot out my transgressions, was away my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  Quite a request, but not unto a loving God.  We do not deserve mercy, the only way to get it is to screw up, but through Jesus Christ we can obtain it.  It cannot be earned, no time served or fine will obtain it, it like grace is a gift.  Some of the sweetest words you will ever hear,”you are forgiven.”  It is when we realize that sin is a crime, and we need to be forgiven of it, that we truly repent, and just don’t say we are sorry.  Sin is a falling away that creates a division between us and God, and only Jesus can heal it, so let him.  He then ask him to blot out his transgressions, his sin.  Sin is like a debt and must be paid for, the wages of sin is death.  Payable upon demand at death.  It accumulates, and we add to the ledger daily as it grows and it needs to be erased.  Again no price paid except the death of Jesus on the cross could pay for it.  In full of course.

But David then sees that there is a basis for our forgiveness, that we don’t deserve it and cannot bargain for it.  It takes a just and loving God to forgive, and forget, to blot it out as if it never occurred.  God is not bound to forgive anyone, but in his unending love, in his patience he wants none of us to perish from sin, and is ready to forgive us when we repent.  If it were not for the unending love God offers us through Jesus Christ, we never could approach God, but because of God’s love we can, and can ask for forgiveness. And receive it.  He also sees the compassionate side of God, how he is not a penny pincher when it comes to forgiveness, doling it out as he sees fit a little at a time, like we would or do.  His forgiveness goes far beyond anything we can imagine or comprehend, not by drips or drops, but by pouring it out overflowing.  Can we say the same?

God then throws our sin into the sea, with a NO FISHING sign so that no one may ever find it.  It is gone, hidden, forgiven, and forgotten.  A fishing hole we never need to seek or fish at ever.  We have been saved through grace, not on our own, and we need never revisit our sin again.  As far as east is from west, keep riding east and you’ll never meet the west, the ocean representing the depth of where our sin was thrown.  With valleys in it that are as high as the highest mountain peaks.  That is God’s forgiveness, maybe we need a little help with ours toward others, and ourselves.  In the four cases above I was shown mercy in each case by the law, which kills.  Grace forgives and gives life, if only sometimes another chance to ride and get pulled over again.  But God’s mercies extend forever.  Which is a long, long time.....

We will not turn for our sin until we realize it is wrong, then we will change.  Jesus stands ready to forgive, to forget, to throw it all away where it can never be found and brought against us.  Perry Mason got many off on loopholes, there are none for sin.  So quit studying to find one for your actions, God has provided the way in Jesus.  No hidden verse allowing sin, of getting drunk, of doing drugs, of sex outside of marriage.  Its wages are death, and it can be a slow death.  Or a great life....when forgiven.  so don’t drink and you will never become high, no pot, no habits for stronger drugs, and no porn, no sex outside of marriage.  And let me add, no 136 in a 55 zone, but that is another story for another time.  Which I can only tell because I was forgiven them too.  According to his unfailing love, only found in Jesus Christ.  His will be done, he wishes us to know Jesus, do you?  The police car said “to protect and serve.”  Only Jesus can do both and forgive also.  Or you can take your chances with the law...and as the song goes “I fought the law and the law won.”  Now who’s funnin’ who?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

more Vanna, less filling

A few years back when we switched cable companies again, we got a DVR with the latest deal.  It was great for recording shows and movies when we weren’t home or asleep, but then we stumbled onto something, recording shows while we were home,so we didn’t have to watch the commercials.  Like any seasoned channel surfer will tell you, we don’t like commercials, and we found a way around it.  Years ago in the dawn of TV, it was 26 minutes show and 4 minutes commercials.  Today some like TV land extend the 30 minute program by adding 6-8 minutes of commercials to popular shows, but Wheel of Fortune has done it slicker than others, and barely noticeable.  Until we started taping them, and found an interesting statistic, the show/commercial ratio was 50/50.  Half the show was commercials!  So we can now watch more Vanna, with less filling in half the time!  Talk about technology finally working for you!  An extreme case, but that led to others....

My wife has started only watching the first few minutes and the last few minutes of her HFTV shows.  She gets to see the end result without all the drama and petty bickering, along with all the “it’s going to cost more because although we are professionals, we didn’t know the house had asbestos, was built on an ancient burial ground, or the indoor pool was really a flooded basement.”  Talk about an open concept....30 minutes of show in six minutes.  They may be better than Vanna!

The NFL was once described as five seconds of action followed by 45 seconds of rest.  Agreed.  Baseball, worse than a soap opera, boring, tedious, at least no Tim McCarver this year to tell us all the things we don’t care about or want to know.  A highlight this year in the NFL, rather unexpectedly has been Tony Romo, playing the game while broadcasting.  He is a thinker, and gets you in the game.  Any bets he is too smart for most viewers?  If memory serves me right Joe Willie Namath did time on Monday Night Football, and gave tremendous insight, calling plays stupid and what to look for.  Again too smart for the norm, any way what does a Super Bowl winning QB know that a dipsy blond, hired to be stylish does?  Ever hear hee–hee in a huddle?  So what do Vanna and the NFL have in common?

Nothing.  One is entertaining, moves quickly, has quick witted quips, and is fun to watch.  And only lasts 15 minutes.  The other has 15 minute quarters. 

I once read where we make over 7000 decisions a day.  And the last one has a lot to say about the one we are about to make.  One bad play in a football game can cost you the game, one bad letter choice and Vanna still turns it, or smiles back waiting, but the decision has been made.  We need some kind of guidance, shepherding if you will like the Bible calls it, to help make the right decision.  In life we don’t get to replay a bad choice, or to fast forward through the parts we don’t like.  We have to spend every minute of life living it, just the thought tires me out.  And bad decisions only make it worse.  On Wheel of Fortune it is the choosing of a letter, the spin of the wheel.  In football the play called in the huddle and the execution.  With our decisions impacting others.....and theirs us.  We need someone we can depend on, and in Psalm 23 God tells us of the great shepherd.  Someone who has wisdom, who knows the trails and the trials to come, who knows where to rest and what to avoid.  And that someone is Jesus.  But how do we tap into his wisdom, is life more than a lucky guess?  Or a bad guess?

Unless we are willing to admit we don’t know, we won’t seek his way.  It starts with our decision, without him we are just guessing.  Then we need to obey.  What good is the play called in the huddle if everyone does what they want?  What good is Vanna if she turns the wrong letter?  “Well that one was easier....” you don’t want to learn the hard way that obedience is better than sacrifice.  But there are both quick and long term decisions, how to know what to do?  Jesus never hurried, yet was never late.  There is a difference between waiting and delaying.  Waiting is knowing what to do, and knowing the right time, like when to solve the puzzle.  Delaying is knowing what to do and not doing it, the moment passes, and suddenly it is fourth down, or your opponent solved the puzzle.  By being guided by the holy spirit we can know when, what, how, who, and why.  All without no TV timeout and commercial break.  If God calls the play, execute it.  If he chooses a letter, solve it.  All without commercial interruption.

Last year I went to a taping of Wheel of Fortune, you clap a lot.  It took almost three hours to make that 15 minute show.  Lots of activity going on on the set we don’t see on TV.  Life is like that too.  So we need someone who knows, who has everything under control.  Even we when we aren’t.  So seek Jesus today, take rest in him, skip the commercials, and enjoy the 15 minutes of fame every night guessing the puzzles.  With some insight, how does Vanna know which letter to turn?  Each square is marked, and a small light goes on to tell her.  No light, no letter.  And for the players, a board is next to it, telling what letters they have already chosen.  Just a few hints you don’t see on the show....which leaves me time to watch 77 Sunset Strip, which I taped yesterday.  Without the commercials of course.  Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb!  More Vanna and more Kookie all without leaving your seat.  And commercial free.  Maybe this technology thing isn’t so bad after all.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com