The Honda that became a Harley and more.

This is my story about the fruit of obedience. It covers 10 years of my life.

In the summer of 1996, I injured my right elbow.  It meant that I couldn’t work, nor ride my motorcycle.  So I loaned it to my Pastor.  He really enjoyed it. Maybe too much!

God must have heard his prayers, because the Lord suggested to me that I give him my motorcycle!  Sure, I could consider that after I got a new one myself!  There couldn’t be a better man to have my scoot than that Pastor.

So, it was only a suggestion, until July, 1998. Then it became a command, to give my Pastor my motorcycle.  I wrestled with God all summer about that.  But He won.   About mid-August I finally presented my scoot to the Pastor.  I asked him for $5.00, which he thought I was borrowing.  As he passed me the $5.00, I dropped the keys to my scoot in his hand and told him the bike was his.

Now I didn’t have a ride.  People kept asking me what I was going to do? I started telling them that I did have another motorcycle, but I just didn’t have the serial number to register it yet.  I would just have to trust God and I would.

One evening, a friend brought a lady into the coffee shop where I hung out.  She had a Harley Sportster that she needed to sell.  The price was so cheap that I figured something was not right. I stalled her so that I could run the serial numbers for the bike.  It was a clean title.  She dedicated her life to the Lord and I bought a Sportster.

It did need some work, so I started to fix it for a safety inspection.  Another friend suggested a shop where I should take the bike.  I agreed and told the shop owner where I got the recommendation.  Well, the bike needed a lot of things I didn’t bargain for.  What I was unprepared for was that someone picked up the repair and inspection bill!  It was a real testimony to the shop owner about Christ’s love in action.  I was blessed just to share with the shop owner.

We loaded the bike onto a truck and headed to a bike rally in Florida.  Five days later, I unloaded the bike and got ready to try it out.  A friend of mine from North Carolina was there.  He asked whatever happened to my previous bike.  So I told him the long story of how God convicted me to give it away.  He got real serious looking and thoughtful.  Then he said something I never expected.  He had a 1970 Triumph Tiger 650 that he was going to give to me!  Was he for real? Yes, it was what he believed God would have him do.

The bike had been in storage for five years and so with a little cleaning, it was up and running!  And it ran great.  It was in fact, a fun piece of machine.

Now it was during the winter when I was getting the Sportster ready for that first ride, before I received the Triumph.  I was in Thunder Bay at a denomination conference.  While I was there, the District Superintendent, at that time, saw me and took me up to the stage.  He introduced me to everyone and told them of the work that we are doing here in Winnipeg.  He then started to tease me because I had given a motorcycle to my pastor but not to him.  So, not being at a loss for words, I opened my mouth and said no problem, I would build him a bike out of my spare parts.  Be very careful of what you say before God!

Have you ever had people bless you in the name of Jesus with their hand me down junk? It happens too often.  I have stories about that too, but maybe later.  People are quick to give me stuff that is really garbage.  I try to accept it graciously and bless them back.  But I know their own blessing is going to be in propitiation to what they give.  Sad.

So after I was home in the summer, I had to decide to keep either the Sportster or the Triumph.  But the Triumph wouldn’t sell.  I prayed and prayed to sell that bike.  I needed the cash. So I prayed again some more about selling it.  The Lord asked me what piece of junk I was going to build for the pastor in Thunder Bay.  Oh yes that! He convinced me to give that pastor the best.  I really like the Triumph best, but it wasn’t as practical for me as the Sportster.  So I gave the Triumph to the pastor in Thunder Bay.  That was a lot of fun.  It became such a delight to give it to him; I was blessed by my giving.  It wasn’t so hard after all!

So, for the next few years, I just fixed and rode my Sportster, and fixed it again.  I have gotten a lot of miles out of it.  But this past winter, I had a terrible time.  Everything was taking twice as long to fix and get ready for the road again.  I couldn’t get anything done right.  What happened? Were my fingers cursed? Finally it was ready for another year.  And I was broke too.  But riding again.

One of the first events we had was to go to Baudette for a Target Shoot and Bar-B-Q on May 10^th, 2003.  It was going to be a good day.  It was raining, but so many friends showed up.  One couple showed up and I thought that was odd.  He is one of our Ministry elders and usually he doesn’t come out to our more primitive events.  But hey, it was good we were all here.  Lets gather together, our host has a few words.  Why does everyone have a camera? Then our host, John Deere, starts into this speech and it is directed at me.  Oh, I get it, something is up.  I’m thinking they want to reduce me to a club striker for a month or something. It looks like they are planning to gang up on me.

Now my elder, Steve is talking and he reminds me of my obedience to the Lord and tells the story about me giving away those two motorcycles.  Would I do that again? He wants me to hand over the ownership of my Sportster.  How crazy! Just one minute, I need to talk to my wife.  “Now you see I don’t hear God talking to me, but these men are elders and close friends.  I would trust these with my life.  If they ask for my bike, it wouldn’t be to harm me.  Yes I trust them, yes they can have my bike.”  My wife agrees.  So I give them the ownership of my bike.  Hey!  Are there tears in those eyes? Yes, some of the men are crying and some are giggling and why all the pictures?

Now, they have cake for me.  It isn’t my birthday, not for another month, but I guess when you give away three motorcycles, you get a cake.  It has a picture of an FL model Harley.  Nice bike.  Time to eat.  I like to eat.  “Hey, no fair, my cake has a key in it. I want a different piece of cake”.  Sometimes, I guess I’m not the brightest candle on the cake!

Now another guy has tears in his eyes and he is trying to tell me that this key is for an FLHTCUI (that is a model of Harley), and it’s out in the barn.  It is a gift from all our friends for Lynn and I.  It’s red (not black) and has a cockpit like an airplane.  They tell me it is an “old geyser bike”.  Some young mouth said that from the back of the crowd.  I’ll hit him later.

They tell me I will never know all the people involved.  It came together very easily and it is really an act of God how everything worked out so well.  Perhaps not everyone wants me to know what they did.  God knows their part.  I pray He blesses them back more.  And to everyone involved, thank-you.  And now my wife wants to ride all the time.

This is a letter I sent to my friend (a pastor) who pastored a little church in Lead, South Dakota. He was faithful to Jesus and when he was moving to Texas he left a Suzuki Samurai for me. What a blessing. This is a copy of that letter & my testimony of a faithful God.

 “Hi Mike do you remember giving me the little 4x4. Oh how l liked that Suzuki Samurai . I was so glad to have it. But we couldn't get it home. No extra driver for truck and bike. The little truck wouldn't do 60 mph, license and insurance problems to get it into Canada etc. So we prayed about it. Lynn & I decided we had to leave it behind in Sturgis. We decided in fact to give it as a blessing to someone. I was not real happy. I wanted that little 4X4. So finally we gave it to a mechanic friend there in the Black Hills. He was delighted. He gave his car to a high school student that needed a car. He fixed up the 4X4 & painted it camo colours, sent me a picture. Man I was happy for him, but hey, I wanted it. I prayed and asked the Lord to accept it as my offering & change my heart. He did. I settle with it and was glad the little truck went to good use. That was Aug 2005.

Last summer we met a man by accident. So we thought. He had been watching our ministry. He knew of us & was happy to meet us. He is a very interesting man, full of joy & faith. Shortly he called me. We met for lunch. We talked a lot. Finally he said he was being paid for some work he did for a GMC dealer (or something like that). They were giving him  2 - 2008 Diesel 4X4 trucks as payment. He was asking the Lord what to do with the extra truck. The Lord told him to give it to me. The deal was I was to go to a GMC dealership & order a truck 2008 Sierra or Silveraldo diesel 4X4 3/4 ton and let him know the particulars. Sure, lets see!

Well, it all went like he said. In late Oct 07 I picked up the truck. It is in the HRS ministry name, and wow is it ever a help to loads of groceries for the foodbank, moving bikes, getting to the other church (21/2 hour drive in the winter), etc.

God has really blessed us. The little 4X4 Suzuki Samurai was the seed & it grew up to 385 hp 4X4 big red truck!

What is the lesson here?

Trust God for provision!

Give tithes and offerings.

Listen carefully for Him to speak.

Be obedient.

His Bondslave, Chuck Sheridan.

Identity

At the time that I write this article my heart is burdened.  Burdened for men who live with no true knowledge of who they are.  Many of the men I minister amongst are bikers.  Some are Christians, many are not.  And often in the question of their identity I find that you can’t tell any difference.

How is identity known and displayed?  Most of us wear a patch to identify who we are and who we are with.  For many men no patch means no identity!  In another arena, men are defined by their work.  The introductory question amongst men is, “What line of work are you in?”  It helps to settle identity.  One time as a guest speaker, I was introduced by the occupations I had held.  I didn’t think it displayed very accurately who I am.  Nor do I like being identified by the club I ride with.  The reason is not that I am ashamed of that, but it misrepresents me.  The club I ride with and associate myself with is only a tool to facilitate a common purpose.

Recently the information came to me  of another Christian biker who had left his patch to pursue an outlaw club membership!  How do you do that?  Is it like divorcing yourself from Jesus?  One Christian biker I know has rode under three different Christian riding associations in three years.  Each of the last two he joined and bought patches off the Internet.  Be sure that I disapprove of that!  Surely such membership drives know nothing of biker clubs!  But that is another issue.

My burden is that men need to find their identity in their relationship with Jesus.  If identity is found by some of these patch holders in who they hang with, perhaps they need to “hang” with Jesus and be tighter with Him.

When a man cannot minister without his patch on, I question his witness.  Does not his life reflect Jesus all the time?  When a man always wears his patch, and it seems like it is never off his back, I question if it is the makeup of his identity.

The personal grief for me comes out of my heart’s desire to see men come into their purposes and destiny.  It is not God’s design for us to be lost or seeking and finding identity in what can be taken away from us.  Perhaps because I spend so much time speaking to men’s groups and trying to raise up men that now I am more personally changed to teach and display to men that identity comes from relationship with Jesus.  He is a person, not a cause.  That our purpose and destiny comes from living for and with Him on a daily basis.

And not being a man easily moved or guided by his feelings, I sense in me a wound when I father men who walk away from Jesus and murmur behind my back.  What godless, empty lives.