a whole #6 for $1.30

As a kid growing up in Scotch Plains, downtown didn’t have much to offer.  No real place for kids to hang out, and Wallis Stationery sold anything form pipe tobacco to toys, but was never friendly to us kids. But if my dad was along....Smitty sold appliances, and Jean’s Beans on the corner sold take out food.   But rather nondescript, the old Shop Rite still there, but the new one on Route 22 got all the business.  It was Alphonso’s for pizza, Snuffy Jr.’s for a burger, but in between, no shops or real reasons to go downtown.  So we rarely did...it was off to Westfield, which its downtown was actually closer.  With auto stores like R&S, where I bought the fuzzy tiger stripe seat for my Schwinn Stingray, and later would look at all the Pep Boys type displays, promising me that’s my engine would quit burning oil, the slipcovers would help my worn out seats regain their factory appearance, and other ways to separate my money from my wallet.  A must on any Saturday.  The Leader Store sold clothes and sporting goods, we all wanted to shop there when we got older, it was Ivy League all the way, but we weren’t when we came of age.  A trip through Woolworths with the old wood floors, women clerks everywhere, and the coolest pet department ever, if you were into parakeets and fish.  You could hear the birds singing all through the store, although I never saw one purchased.  Out the back door, across the lot, and it was our final destination, Play Fair.  The ultimate toy store before Toys R Us, the front of the store was for kids, but the back was all about car models, where big kids, teenagers waited on you, showing off the complete models they had built, and a glass case full of Matchbox cars.  How many hours the average kid spent just looking isn’t known, I consumed at lest a few weeks worth, and my completed models still never turned out like theirs.  How did they get the gluey fingerprints off the windshield?  How come their wheels would roll?  How did their parts seem to fit together?  And no way you could get a brush job to look like that!  But at 39 cents a can for spray paint, who had the money?  I guess it was reserved for the big guys...in our dreams we would could see us behind the counter, showing off our new models, only to be brought back to reality by “hey kid you looking or buying?”  I looked a lot, shopped at Two Guys where the same model was 40 cents cheaper.  Were those big guys in ties really making 40 cents an hour?  WOW! 

Lunch meant Dukes for a sub, #6 roast beef, a whole for $1.30, made while you watched.  Lots of paper route money was spent there, then home.  But things were changing and so were we....

The traffic cops we used to think were fun to watch as they directed traffic at the intersections, now gave us menacing looks as we rode by on our Hondas.  Play Fair was gone, couldn’t even look back to see what was there.  Woolworths would fold, and be torn down.  R&S out of business, and no reason to shop at the Leader Store, psychodelic was in at Dead Ice Cream, and Dukes moved, then closed.  Stopping at a Jersey Mike’s the other day, who is owned by a guy named Pete, they try to pass off a sub like Dukes, but fall short. For only $8.25.  But if you never had a Dukes sub, you’d never know.  And the kid serving you wouldn’t care.  Oh to be a kid again, if for only one sunny Saturday, I wonder if R&S would have seat covers for our Mustang?  And would I have enough cash on me for a whole #6 with extra onions.....

Times change and so do we.  So many of our past memories are not there when we travel back again.  Just trying to get directions from a new resident can make you feel old, or crazy.  A few years back I inquired about a Flying A station with café in Fanwood, I used to eat there Saturday mornings with my Dad when finishing their new house. It’s gone, and no one could remember it ever being there.  No history on the books, “was I sure?”  I knew better than to pursue it any further.  It seems we all can be guilty of normalcy bias, a psycho babble word for if I didn’t see it, then it didn’t exist.  Used by those who deny Jesus or at least his deity too often.   The New Testament was written and widely read within 50 years of Jesus’ crucifixion.  Yet it takes the historian Josephus to back it up, not the other way around.  Seems many who were there would have protested, maybe even quietly if it weren’t true, but we forget that God inspired the Bible, and is known for his accuracy.  When telling stories of when I was a kid, I get “boy you must be old,” when really it is “you must be young.”  Neither a crime as far as I can tell.  But God has always been and so has Jesus.  They remember and also forget.  They remember from before the day of creation, but forget our sin when we ask forgiveness, as if it never happened.  We do the opposite, I can remember many who wronged me years ago, but forget how Jesus loves them too.  Seems we all are guilty of the same sins, yet we see them through different eyes than our own.  The wording making the difference.  The lie and steal, we stretch the truth.  Others betray, we are protecting our rights.  Some show prejudice, we have convictions.  Some murder and kill, we exploit and ruin.  While we yell “stone them, arrest them!” but fail to realize we are guilty of the same sins.  Imagine if we heard the sound of stones hitting the ground rather than pummeling others, but sin will always be sin, fortunately Jesus will always be Jesus. 

Just the opposite is faith, trusting in someone we cannot see, cannot here, or cannot fully describe, yet we place our whole lives in his hands.  Some to the point of ridicule or death.  Walking the streets of Jerusalem today many sites are claimed to be where Jesus walked.  But the people he walked with are long gone.  We cannot be sure where exactly he walked, but we can be sure he is still alive today.  And we can walk with him.  And for those who do, we have an eternal future of grace.  We may not know what tomorrow may bring, but we know what eternity brings.  What a difference forgiveness makes.

Sometimes we need to go back to see how far we have come.  To see how we are testimonies to how Jesus Christ changes lives.  In my mind I can still see the models at Play Fair, or taste and smell Dukes.  No photos to back up either, but no photos of Jesus either.  Who wasn’t camera shy, but out among the people.  Just like we were as kids.  Maybe a trip back downtown is needed to see how far he has brought us.  Park the car, break out the old Schwinn, walk the sidewalks, and see how far we have come.  Keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, seeing into a future unknown but with great anticipation.  Giving us a reason to live.  For he is life.  Downtowns, home towns and even the street names may change, Jesus never does.  How do you get better than perfect?  I would just love to see the model cars he built as a kid.....hands so delicate they could build the details, yet so tough they took the nails for us on the cross.  Life begins when Jesus enters your life, we may only have a finite amount of years to look back, but have forever to look ahead.  Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there will always be something about his name.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

from 3-d to virtual reality

We had been following the ads for months, and gone down to Durango Music to get our free 3-d glasses.  Saturday night was drawing near, and the movie, The Mask in 3-d was on late that night,  the six of us waiting in eager anticipation.  The popcorn was made, eaten and more popped, too many bottles of Coke drunk, and we were nervous with excitement.  This was a big event in Bayfield, as we only had cable TV for a year, so something this dramatic would not be missed.  And as 11pm approached, we all gathered around the set, all 17 inchers of her, right up close and personal.  And then the show began, with instructions of when to put on your glasses, with a test first.  We all passed!  With one final warning, you must be at least six feet away from the viewing screen, and we all scooted back at once, breaking the tension.  Nothing was going to upset our evening of 3-d tonight, we were ready!

Now I had seen a 3-d movie in the theater once, a consolation prize for breaking up with a girlfriend I didn’t know was my girlfriend.  It was Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, and walking through the woods in 3-d and dodging the trees, the spears coming at you made you duck, and at one point guts hanging from pitchfork dangled right in front of you.  I was over ready for The Mask, and it would live up to its hype, but overall the movie was quite bad.  If not for the six foot adjustment it would have been forgettable, but no one this Saturday night was watching anything else.  And we sat through the entire two hours not wanting to miss the big climax we were waiting for.  I kept the glasses, but forgot the film, until reminded of the night in question.  In a three dimensional world, I still question what is such a big deal with 3-d, or is my life really on two dimensional and I don’t know it?  Do I need glasses to see reality or am I blinded by the light?

Although 3-d was once a big deal to us, today’s kids have wii, where they can excel if only in their minds, or virtual reality, where computers simulate and stimulate certain events without being there.  Sadly many Christians emulate the virtual reality of Jesus Christ, knowing all about him through studies and church attendance, yet never get to know him personally/  They settle for being satisfied with illusions and allusions of his kingdom, not cashing in on all the blessings he avails them.  In the movies, on wii, or in virtual reality we can be like Jesus,  but end up just like a film loop, or a sound byte of who he is.  How many want to be like Jesus, or like Paul, or any of those mentioned in the Bible, but never attain fullness, or holiness, only what their physical and mental limitations allow.  But Paul encourages us that we might have Christ in us, and that makes all the difference.  You see being a Christian is not imitating, orchestrating, or impartation, it is Christ in us, the hope of glory.  A secret to many, but right there in scripture for us to grab hold of.  Yet many rather wear the 3-d glasses, or mask of wii, or of virtual reality rather than submitting to the spirit.  They neglect that being like Jesus means suffering, alienation, desertion of friends, and loneliness.  Of being cast out and abandoned, and having to die for those that hate you or persecute you.  A job no one signs up for, we all want the miracles, the blessings, the greatness of his power and kingdom without the taking part.  So we assume an easy way out, and denominations and religion are happy to provide a way, but not the way.  Only found in Jesus. 

Paul tells of God revealing a mystery, not a whodunit, but a mystery that has been hidden and now is now revealed.  A reality only provided to his children, those who believe and accept his son and his forgiveness, who recognize his deity.  For all others, you need 3-d glasses, but never get the effect.  Only in Jesus Christ do we see God fully revealed, and only by his spirit.  That is the hope of glory, fulfilled in Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross.  Who gives his spirit freely to all who believe.  It isn’t about Jesus and you, but Jesus in you that makes the difference.  And here in Colossians 1:25-27 Paul reveals the mystery.  And we get to help reveal the mystery because we are God’s ambassadors on earth.  Where witnessing and being a witness mean two different things.  For a witness can only tell about that which he has seen or knows, while anyone can knock on doors and tell about Jesus.  One studied, the other experienced.  Jesus is able to reveal his father to us, at one time an unknown, but now revealed via his son, by his spirit.  No hocus pocus, no special effects, Jesus is real, not a myth or belief, but the true son of God.  Who has written his words on our hearts so we always have him with us.  Some play the game, some watch the game, and some are left out.  The choice is yours....

Heaven and hell are not illusions, Jesus tells us it is so.  You can be like we were awaiting the big show with glasses, ready to be entertained, or be part of the show.  The spirit gives us a behind the scenes view not available to those who are not saved.  So many only teach and study, but never experience the grace available to us.  Living a life unfulfilled and not knowing it.  Jesus is the hope of glory, Don’t get caught up in reruns or special events, you can experience Jesus in fullness everyday.  He holy because he is whole, all we need.  Yet some study only to find themselves approved, and never use the gift available.  In The Mask they warned us when to put on our glasses and when to take them off.  In Christ we have him in sight all the time.  No special announcements or ads.  No emails proclaiming book signings or special singers.  If Jesus has been reduced to just entertainment value, you are missing the hope of glory and the hope and glory. For like cable, there can be 200 channels and nothing on.  Or you might miss the event by being in the bathroom.  It’s Christ in you, showing you how to pray, what to do and how to spend your time until he calls us home.  All while writing his will for you on our hearts. 

Why is it easier to believe that Frankenstein created man from other men, yet we don’t believe God created us out of nothing?  Could it be the hope of glory has eluded you?  Jesus Christ, available in all dimensions, including heavenly ones.  Where we will be for a long, long time.  Shouldn’t you be planning your trip with him today?  On earth as it is in heaven....the mystery revealed.  Glasses optional.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

time not well spent

An old tech Bill worked for us at Mercedes Benz.  Retired but working to supplement his social security, we got talking about how fuel injection changed the world of autos.  Once thought to be a hocus pocus, he had actually attended school in 1957 with Chevrolet, and brought in his old lesson books to prove it.  A far cry from the computer controlled systems of today, the basic premise was the same, control the flow of air and fuel to the motor.  Mechanical in nature, not electric at the time, it was problematic, expensive, and a rare option.  Of course today any fuelie 1957 Chevy is worth more, back then just a mechanic’s headache.  Today you just plug it into a laptop and software guides how you want the power to go and where.  Maybe the hocus pocus part as we cannot see electric current, but feel it when we mess up.  OUCH!  Yet without the spark to ignite the fuel and air, nothing happens.  How many remember the auto shop teacher dropping a lit match into a bucket of gas and nothing happened?  No air, but when mixed with it, BOOM!  Do not try this at home.

Twenty years ago when involved in off road racing, Chevy was introducing fuel injection to the Trophy Truck race teams.  A group of race team owners and race preppers sat and watched as a man sitting miles away could change the engine mapping, adding power or fuel economy based on the setting. We were all amazed, and at first thought about the power, remember the one horsepower per cubic inch Chevy ad in 1957, but here it was for fuel economy.  Even a half a mile increase meant another 50 miles per tank and one less pit stop, the difference between winning and second place.  Today that technology is applied to all cars and most motorcycles, my 2017 Triumph T120 getting over 50 mpg consistently, and no one ever accused me of a light hand. Allowing the maker to use a smaller tank and still have the same mileage range. On the Speed and Street Triples using the track and sport modes, even more power and precision is noted.  All going on with just a twist of the wrist, and without being seen.  But technology and progress were met with some resistance....

It seems the old guys at the time didn’t like fuel injection.  Too complicated, they complained, as they would spend hours trying to dial in a carb, and never get it right.  Requiring rebuilding and track time to see if they got it, one click too much on a crew and it was more testing.  Yet fuel injection is pretty much set it and forget it.  Check the latest software, and off you go.  Tunable even for using regular fuel where you used to have to use 100+ octane.  And with more power!  Which translates to more speed...and you get the point.  But yet the old guys fiddle and complain while messing with a carb.  It seems the more things change the more things stay the same.  Technology like prosperity is a good thing, sometimes it just goes on too long. 

Many an older Christian may be the same way.  We fall back on our first teachings when saved, and many got religion when they needed Jesus.  The group I pastor is diverse, from Catholic, to JW, to Protestant, to Jewish.  But we all have one thing in common, Jesus Christ, so rather than bash a denomination, they do fine doing that themselves, we make it all about Jesus.  Keeping the main thing, him, the main thing.  Yet some issues will come up, so we go back to the Word for the truth, it never changes, it changes us.  Or it tries.  We leave it in God’s hands and he does a great job.  We have come together in a spirit of unity in Jesus Christ, not bonded by common belief, but by belief in him.  We let him be Lord, leaving it up to him, trying not to interfere.  But he is forgiving when we do, and we carry on, trying not to look back.  You see we cannot see the spirit of the Lord who guides us, but we know he is there.  More than a feeling, he is ever present, ever lasting, and loving.  Much like fuel injection, he gives us the power we need when we need it and in the right amount.  Meekness God calls it, power under control.  Yet some constantly are referring to their Bible study book of the week, looking for a better way to pray, minister, and live a Christian life.  It is all about them, and when confronted can quote scripture, but fail in believing it and living it.  The same ones quick to judge us, so maybe when we fall short of their theology, we need to remind them we won’t judge you if you quit twisting scripture for your own purposes.  A lesson for all.  And the spirit keeps on keeping on despite us.

If faith is the substance of things believed but not seen, trust comes from the seeing.  From God’s answers to our prayers, to his loving intervention when we need it.  He calls it love, and we need more of it.  But how do we get dialed in, God is not a computer or a how to book?  Not a software program with updates.  It takes us trusting the same spirit that told us we need Jesus to be with us everyday.  Who never sleeps or slumbers when we do.  Who doesn’t need to be tuned or adjusted. Just who we need when we twist the throttle, he is the truth, no opinions needed.  And like fuel injection, he works for Chevy as he does for Ford as he does for BMW.  It is left up to the nut behind the wheel to provide the desire via the throttle, the rest is up to him.  Which is why cars no longer need tune ups, that is what the computer does, just like the spirit does to us.  So many times we don’t realize it is happening, being in tune with Jesus. 

So quit fiddling with the old carb style religion, when  you can have all of Jesus.  Tune in today and be tuned up forever.  Spend time with him instead of with opinions.  You will find the time well spent with him is much better than the time not well spent without him.  We all have the same opportunity to be set free, only those who choose to walk in the spirit truly are.  The things which are seen are temporal, the things not seen eternal.  Jesus Christ, dialed in from the beginning.  May the Quadrajet religion remain in the past forever.  Or in words we all can understand, you could be riding. 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

 

worth the price of no admission

In our area car shows are on the decline.  It seems to me that why should a collector pay to show off his pride and joy, no matter how the proceeds benefit someone, when they could just as easily write the check?  So cruise nights and drive in for coffee or whatever are abounding everywhere.  Where the owners and followers of their particular brand can meet and bench race for the price of a latte.  Hmmm...maybe it might be cheaper to pay the entry fee.  But while up at Monterey Car Week a few years back, I found myself within earshot and eye sight of many incredible cars, only to be far enough away to not see them properly.  I guess if I had a highly prized collectible, I’d keep me away too, but I found a new source of cars on display, with no entry fee, and where I could browse and look as much as I wanted.  Parked along the streets of Carmel, and in the parking lots, were so many collector and cool cars parked, why pay the fee to see trailer queens?  I saw cool cars being used as designed, being driven, some not perfect, some needing a bath, but driven, just like the cars we park in our garages or in the driveways.  Seen in real life just as we know them, not behind a barrier where only the elite can enjoy them.  So I now I cruise the parking lots, walk the streets beyond the shows, and see many interesting cars not invited, or not up to a standard to be displayed.  A free car show, where they can be seen in the harsh environment they and us are forced to live and drive in.  And many times, see more of life, and many memories resurrected when viewing them.

You don’t need to be high end like at Monterey either.  Or even at a car gathering event.  I have seen Ferrari’s driven by housewives in shopping center lots, trying to fit her purchases into the front seat.  Porsches with parking lot permits on the windows, or high school clubs.  How many Mercedes Benz did we have to clean out after service, or remove all the coffee cups or burger wrappers when doing interior work?  Range Rovers filled with hockey gear, and sports equipment, needing some tlc, not neglected, just used as designed.  Sometimes being able to see the cars in their real life environment makes them more real, and attainable.  Never been a fan of trailer queens, bikes are for riding, cars for driving.  Collectors withstanding.  There is a show out there worth the price of no admission.....

Years ago while working at a Mercedes Benz dealer in La Jolla, I parked my Bonneville on the street.  I was amazed at how many would just drop in and look me up, just to share a memory of the one they had.  From doctors to their wives, even with grandkids in tow, they all had a story to share, maybe that is why my street shows are so appealing, they take me back, and I marvel at the things remembered.  If only I had a dollar for all the times I heard, “it never ran right, leaked oil, couldn’t be driven at night, and would leave me stranded.  But I loved that bike, I wish I had never sold it.”  Sometimes the price of admission is paid in more than a wallet can hold.

Fame and fortune have a price many times too much to pay.  I had a friend who was a millionaire, and when we went out to eat lunch, he was always being hit on with great investments for him.  Everyone knew my Dad in Scotch Plains, and it was rare if we went out and someone didn’t come over and talk to him.  Flattering, but sometimes we just want to eat our burgers alone.  In peace.  I once ministered with a man who was always upset with me because I wasn’t a regular church goer, at least not enough in his eyes.  I write five times a week, teach and pastor on Tuesday, and whatever else comes long during the week.  I spent more time with just me and Jesus then he did, his life was all about the church and Jesus.  Mine Jesus, safe and content knowing we are the church.  So many times we feel we must get on a prayer chain, a group feed, or attend a Bible study and express our needs so they can be prayed for.  Neglecting Jesus, forgetting he is right with us.  Setting the example himself, that when tired, and overwhelmed by the needs of others, didn’t go into the sanctuary, but got away one on one with his Father.  Some seek a momentary respite from the pain of life, Jesus went to his father and dealt with the source of the problem.  I am not saying do not go to church, but that Jesus is always available, and the one on one times are the best.  No TV, no i-interrruptions, no one to gossip to or with, no faux face to put on.  Just you and Jesus.  Private and personal.  Yet we approach God many times as if he were that collector car and is off limits, perfect and unblemished, yet in Jesus we see where he bore the bruises, the beatings, and the pain for us.  Some only have a Christian education, what they need is a Christian experience.  They need Jesus, not religion, a specialist not a GP.  Yet so many surround themselves with the barrier tape of religion, never letting Jesus in, going down to the altar, but leaving unaltered.  Not God’s plan for redemption...resurrection, or restoration.

Jesus spent most of his ministry on the road.  Read your Bible, don’t study it, read about Jesus.  His life was on the road, from birth to death.  Where the miracles occurred, where the people were.  A building can only hold so many, and only a few can pay the price of admission.  So Jesus went out to them.  Am I making my point, or rather should I ask, which one?  Jesus is priceless, but he paid the price for us.

So after my Monterey parking lot experience, I left with many memories of the cars not on display, but that really were.  Heading down SR 25 south of Hollister, a great riding road and sports car road, between the sweeping curves, I saw one, then two, then counted seven Bugatti Veyrons, each one worth well over a million dollars and guaranteed to go over 250 mph.  And it hit me, these guys got it. They drove their cars, they experienced their cars, and enjoyed their cars.  As designed.  Maybe a little better off financially than most of us, but with the same attitude.  Ride them don’t hide them.  Making memories instead of listening to others.  Is your life in Christ so fulfilling, are you out living him, or a 90 minute a week commitment to go to church? 

We are the church, we are to be out among the world but not of it.  Jesus spent most of his ministry on the road, driven by the love of others.  What drives you is more important than what you drive.  Our lives are always on display.  What does yours say about Jesus?  Church attendance and that of car shows may be falling, but small groups, one on one with Jesus is growing.  The real church, us.  The real head of it, Jesus.  With no collection plate passed.  Where he is available to all 24/7.  Where we can show his love to others and minister in his name.  Maybe it should come as no surprise why my bikes have so many miles on them, they didn’t get them parked in a lot.  A lesson learned one afternoon in Monterey....Veyrons optional.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com