A dead Battery

There I stood, coffee in hand, dressed to ride, excited to go meet my brothers for a poker run honoring a fallen brother from a local club. My battery had been giving me some trouble of late, but I kept putting off buying a new one. Money has been tight and besides, as long as it was still taking a charge and cranking—what the heck, right? I turned on the switch…womp…womp…womp…waaaaaa…click, click, click. I text my brothers to let them know I was dead in the water. I missed the run.

I remember a brother I rode with back in the old days that told me I should buy a battery tender. I never saw the need for one; I always thought they were for yuppies (laughing). Recently, I read up on how the battery tender can add a year, or sometimes two, to your battery life. Yes, there is a moral to this story.

I know many of you that ride, or don`t ride, know the feeling of disappointment, the feeling of being left behind as brothers or friends ride off into the wind. I also know that we all have dead batteries at times. Sometimes in our motorcycles, cars, and trucks—and sometimes our spiritual batteries go dead.

I grew up I AA meetings; I got sober in 1988. The old saying in AA was “Self will run riot.” Another one I liked was the acronym “NUTS” which stood for “Not Using The Steps.” In those days the AA book was my Bible—today, although I still attend meetings from time to time and cherish the lessons I learned in those rooms, the Bible is my point of reference.

When I think about running on my own power I see how fast—every time—that my spiritual battery goes dead. Jesus is a source of unending power, prayer is my battery tender, and self-will is like leaving my switch on—my battery will go dead every time.

As I have often stated here on this blog, I don`t speak down to my readers. I don`t ever want to seem like I`m trying to be some spiritual giant that speaks from on high. I`m a man who desperately needs Jesus, and I too fight the daily battles of the flesh. I laugh at myself because my mind sees the world in cartoons and Seinfeld episodes. God speaks lessons to me in simple ways—like a dead battery. I hope this story relates to someone. I hope the Lord uses this story to touch someone in the way it touched me—a fellow seeker of Christ. WP

The flesh vs. the spirit: A battle for life and death

My day to day walk with Christ boils down to one simple fact: my flesh battles my spirit. Depending on which one wins in this daily battle results in how my day and my life over time, turns out.

If I look at the ministry of Jesus one theme is thread through everything he taught and conveyed through his example—the flesh vs. the spirit. He battled life in the exact same way that I do; he was tempted by Lucifer to follow the needs of his flesh, and yet, he remained faithful to the Father, his ministry, and his purpose.

Jesus never ventured out on his own spiritually speaking; he always stayed next to his Father in heaven through prayer and meditation. He quoted scripture to Lucifer and his worldly enemies, and when his flesh cried out in anguish, he cried out to his Father.

I was praying yesterday as I sat in worship service asking God to speak to me…to give me a scripture that would guide me…and he answered. I remembered that Jesus said:

 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Mathew 7:9-11, NASB).

I thought of this scripture as I asked the Father to guide me and lead me. I grabbed my Bible and opened it randomly and it opened to Ecclesiastes chapter one. I sat and stared for a moment. I then began to read. I never want to sound cliché in my attempt to write or convey a thought to my readers; however, it soon became crystal clear that the well-known message of “the vanity of life on Earth,” which is the overwhelming theme of Ecclesiastes, was exactly what God wanted to remind me of in this reading.

Yes, life is all in vain. Most people don`t like to read Ecclesiastes because it seems so depressing and empty—yet—it carries the very powerful message of the reality of the battle between the flesh and the spirit. King Solomon tells us how he indulged in all that life had to offer in terms of the flesh, and in the end, it was his relationship with God the father that gave him his only sense of satisfaction.

I remember a quote from my favorite Christian Apologist Ravi Zacharias. I don`t remember the man`s name that he quoted and I don`t remember the exact wording of the quote; however, I do remember the very powerful and sad reality of the quote. I will try to summarize it. He said that there was no greater pain in life than the pain of a gradual dullness in our sense of pleasure due to overindulgence. In short, your tenth bowl of ice-cream is never as good as your first. There is an emptiness within all of us that cannot be filled by anything in this world. No matter how many trips we take, no matter how much sex, drugs, food, or whatever other pleasure we indulge in—we cannot find peace of mind and soul. Loneliness is not a result of being human or of not reaching some pinnacle of success—it is a fact of the human condition without the presence of Jesus Christ. When we seek the desires of our flesh, we will always find darkness, loneliness, fear, regret, and sheer madness in the end.

I have spent 47 years following the whims of my flesh. In May of 2012 my Lord Jesus saved me. I have found a new and unexplainable peace in his words and in my relationship with him. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. His lies are always about fulfilling the flesh. Sometimes I slip. Sometimes I fall backwards into the trappings of the enemies ways. Satan will send familiar spirits to entice us a Christians into our old behavior, and sometimes we fall; nevertheless, I will continue to fall on my face at these times with a broken heart—before my Father in Heaven—and find my way back home. Maybe you can relate. I hope my words help someone out there who needs to hear a transparent story of one Christians daily battle with the flesh. God Bless. WP

I saw a squirrel and I wrecked

I`ve been riding motorcycles for more than two decades. I`ve seen some bad wrecks. I`ve seen death, dismemberment, and men who were left disabled mentally. I have been down a couple of times myself, but by God`s grace I walked away with minor injuries. I hear bikers complain about cars not looking out for motorcycles all the time, however, is that the real issue? Could it be more that we, as riders, are distracted or overly confident that a car will see us? I know since my own accidents, I never trust a cage to see me—I always assume they will pull out or make that left turn in front of me.

If we make a comparison to our walk with Christ, how often are we distracted in our lives in a way that leads to a horrible crash?

I used to joke about a friend of mine that could not follow a complete sentence in a conversation without looking away and suddenly interrupting the person speaking to him. He didn`t really mean to be rude and constantly distracted, but his inability to focus caused a great deal of his problems in life. We used to say, “He saw a squirrel.” He was never able to hear wisdom or truth when it was spoken to him. He was ignorant because he was always distracted. Answers that could have changed his life were right in front of him and he never knew it; not because he was a bad man, or because he was stupid, but because he was always distracted.

Life is full of distractions; shiny things distract us, pretty things distract us, new things, old things—things that we have already visited and should have learned our lesson—and these distractions are the tools of the enemy. Familiar spirits come back to reclaim their domain. Spirits you ask? Well, if you believe there is a Holy Spirit, than certainly you should know that there is also unholy spirits.

We are told in God`s word to let the “Old Man” die and to walk in the newness of life through Christ. In my own life, I have allowed many things to distract me from yielding to the Holy Spirit. My pastor made the comparison that a baptism is like being buried in the very blood of Christ, and as we arise from the waters of the baptismal pool, we are new creatures—the old man is dead—and we are to walk in a newness of life, a newness of mind, and yield ourselves to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

As for me—I often see a squirrel. Sometimes I will follow that squirrel down the entangled paths I have already traveled in my life. The enemy uses anything he can to distract us from the path our Heavenly Father would have us go down to fulfill his desire for our Earthly lives, and the glory of his Kingdom.

For some of us, the squirrel is sex. For some of us it`s drugs or booze. For some it is ego, money, politics, an old flame, or one of the worst distractions is some evangelistic calling we believe has been placed upon us by God—when in fact—it has not.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. If we remain in a close, personal, daily walk with Christ, the Holy Spirit—rather than the futility of our own mind—will lead us. When we run on our own power—an oxymoron—we will always see a squirrel.

My dear brothers and sisters, I don`t write these words as a man who has perfected this in his own life; but rather, as a fellow traveler in Christ seeking to develop the daily habit of yielding myself to the Holy Spirit—and not to a squirrel on the road of life. I hope to always use this blog as a tool of transparency and to relate with you as we journey together to finish the marathon of life. God bless. WP

Ephesians4:17-32

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