The Real Thing

I was thumbing through a motorcycle catalog the other day and noticed some of the riding gear for sale. 

What I found amusing was the gear that was meant to look like it was already broken in and distressed.  Basically you are buying something new that was created to look old.

Why does that sell?

Because there are people out there who want to look like they've been on long rides and adventures without actually having gone on them.  A visual image of a biker has emerged looking weather-beaten and worn and that image has become something marketable. 

I look at my father-in-law's two helmets that sit on a shelf in our dining room.  They bear the marks of rides and time.  We even have photos of him as a young man racing his Veloocette, wearing them.  I can't imagine Ingvar buying them already aged and worn.  The thought would not have crossed his mind.  In fact, I would imagine if you showed him your new gear, all old-looking, and told him  you paid extra for it to look that way, he would shake his head at how you wasted your money!

You can't bypass the miles.  To gain life experience, you have to have life experience.  That is something that comes in a recipe of risk, adventure, miles and time.  I can tell a poser who just bought the clothes.  They may look authentic from a distance, but their eyes tell a different story up close.

Following Jesus Christ involves the same risk, adventure, miles and time.  We cannot bypass the process it takes to become a man or woman of God.  We may be able to quickly quote scripture or have a big new bible, attend church and even be the first to speak up in a bible study.  But to know Jesus Christ involves a process that is often painful, as the cross is meant to be.  There are times when we want to give up, times when we feel like we can't go on, times of surprising beauty and times of heartache and pain. 

It's life, real life. 

To know Christ takes walking with him.  We cannot bypass that process and simply try to look the part on the outside and wear the t-shirt, as if Jesus were the latest trending thing.

Being conformed into his image takes time.

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

United in Christ

Yesterday at church, I noticed two very different motorcycles parked next to each other.  One bright green Ninja and the other a Harley with a seasoned leather vest hanging from the handlebars. 

Each bike belongs to one of our two drummers here at Freedom in Clayton.  They were parked together because both men had come to the church early to warm up with the rest of our praise band before the service.

Now these two brothers look as different as their bikes.  They even play differently.  Yet both are worshiping the Lord with their drums and with their voices.  They seamlessly move back and forth during our praise time, sharing their talents equally. 

And they both have a contagious joy that never fails to encourage me.  I know from personal experience with them, that both have no ego and nothing to prove.  They simply come to worship their Lord, and offer their talents to Him.  Together, completely united.

What unites them goes beyond a love of riding and music.  What makes these very talented men work so well together is their complete dedication to Jesus Christ. 

I wonder, what would the church today look like if everyone could see the Jesus in each other as these men obviously do. 

With a church like that, the world would be a very different place.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34 - 35 (NIV)

Being Prepared

A few weeks ago one of our smoke alarms started to "chirp".

You know, the chirping sound it makes when it's time to change the battery. 

So, I changed the battery in that one, thinking, "I have plenty of time to change the others...  I won't worry about it now..."

Thursday night, after a particularly rough week, 30 minutes after my wife and I went to bed, the alarm in the bedroom started to "chirp".

We both lay wide awake as I stared at the smoke alarm 15 feet in the air.  We have high ceilings in the bedroom and no ladder. 

Chirp!

Needless to say we both got a terrible night's sleep downstairs in the living room, her on the couch, me on the floor.

I'm far to old to sleep on the floor!

At six-thirty the next morning I headed to Home Depot and bought a ladder and batteries, this time replacing ALL the alarm batteries in the house. 

I thought about that, how something as simple as taking care of the battery during the day time would have saved us a horrible night's sleep. 

And how important it is to be prepared for the Lord's coming as well.  To be living as we should.

Reading Matthew today,

 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

"'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

 "Later the others also came. 'Lord, Lord,' they said, 'open the door for us!'

 "But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.'

 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. " Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV)

Psalm 13

At ReFuel Wednesday, we talked about how psalm 13 is a model prayer for when we are going through difficult times.  It starts out with honesty, (David says how he feels,) then comes petition, (he makes his request known) and finally there is resolve (to trust and praise the Lord.)

Are you going through a difficult time?  Take a moment to pray through this honest psalm.

Psalm 13 (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 

Honesty (where I am)

 

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?

    How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 

Petition (what I feel I need)

 

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 

Resolve (no matter what, God loves me)

 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;

    my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the Lord's praise,

    for he has been good to me.

Not Our Home

I have to scratch my head sometimes when I see the things going on around me in the world.  I wonder, what will the future bring?

It's at those times I think it is important to remember, this world is not all there is.  It's hard not to get caught up in the issues.

But this place is temporary.  Worrying too much about it, like working too much, is like treating a tent with the care you would a mansion.  Sure the tent is important, you need it for shelter, etc.  But it won't last no matter how hard you try.

This world is simply not our home, we should be stewards of it, but our hope does not lie here.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,  who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-8 (NIV)

Words or Action?

Talk is cheap.

I think the older I get, the more I rely on a person's actions to tell me who they are rather than their words.  I tend to take people on face value, but time has proven otherwise. 

I heard it said once that you can say you believe a chair will hold your weight, but having faith means you sit yourself down on it.

Can someone tell we are a Christian by what they see in our lives?  Do we go beyond just words?

Reading James today.

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend.You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:-14-26 (NIV)

The Real World

 The Biker understands something that has not been lost...  but forgotten.  It's how to live in the here and now, in the world of the real and tangible. 

It's more than just living with en element of inherent risk in the actual activity of riding the motorcycle.  It's being involved with something that places us back into the four dimensional world. 

When we ride, we are in touch with our senses.  We are unplugged from our smart phones and computers.  Interactions with each other become more tangible and real. 

As technology advances the wall grows thicker between ourselves and the world around us.  I think life and relationships are cheapened this way. 

Just watch how people communicate with each other more and more by using postings and text.  Or watch how people document more what they are experiencing rather than just experiencing it.

But life on two wheels puts us back into the real world.  There is risk, there are mishaps that cannot be corrected by "reloading" a video game.  There are face-to-face contacts with the people we ride with.  We hear real laughter when we are caught in a rainstorm together. 

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  John 10:10 (NIV)

I wonder sometimes if the thief even has to steal, or if we give up that life a piece at a time, voluntarily?