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Lee Downey - Six Seasons Christian Riders

 

 

     

 

            Dangerous Churches & Motorcycles

Marilyn had her first motorcycle ride behind me on my 1971 Superglide (the original Night Train) shortly after we met while we were both in college. Several years after we married she learned to ride her own. From that day forward we were a two-bike household. When the kids came along, rather than leave them behind every time we rode, or selling the bikes and abandoning our hobby as so many feel they must do to become ‘responsible’, we simply added a sidecar and kept going. We’ve always made motorcycling a family affair in our household. Each of our five children have the best of memories from traveling the country with us and all are licensed motorcyclists today.

I can’t begin to tell you, though, the countless times well-meaning individuals reminded us that motorcycling was dangerous. Men commented, "You let (make) your wife follow you all around the country riding on her own? What if something happens? What if both of you get killed?" – as if I didn’t care about her well being – or that we didn’t care for our children in the sidecar. They failed to realize that it was because I cared about her that I encouraged her to enjoy what she loved to do – ride. For many thousands of miles she has enjoyed biking, most often accompanying me, sometimes riding with her lady friends, and occasionally on trips by herself. Her family thought it quite unique, for example, when she showed up at their family reunion in North Dakota, unaccompanied, on her own Harley.

But it finally happened. Last month she got hurt. She had the first accident that resulted in her hospitalization since our marriage. Her shoulder was dislocated and broken, her arm was broken, and two ligaments were torn. She came home from the hospital just last week. My wife is now officially held together with a plate and ten screws (she tells me that my screws are still loose). What happened? She was attending her father’s funeral in Jamestown, North Dakota and fell on the CHURCH STEPS! Yup. After all of those ‘dangerous’ motorcycle miles, she tripped in church.

There’s an ironic lesson here, but I’ll skip all of the fun I could have with this one. The simple truth is, many people are afraid to do the things they would like to in life because they live in fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of harm, fear of dying. We don’t have to live that way. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to "…release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:15)" While life’s circumstances can, and will, jump up and bite us at times, we don’t have to allow fear to paralyze us into submission – into living a life of second hand experiences. That’s part of the freedom Christ brings to those who receive it.

Ride safe, and watch those church steps when you ride your motorcycle to church next Sunday.

Lee Downey - President/Six Seasons Christian Riders

 

 

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 America & Haiti - Crossing Paths?

"God moves in mysterious ways". While that is sometimes the occasion, it’s a statement most often heard from people who don’t understand why something is happening. The Bible is a record of God’s dealings with man and He desires that we understand them. Throughout Biblical history He has used earthquakes, floods, and fire to gain the attention of the spiritually hard of hearing. Man’s modus operandi, "the squeaky wheel get the grease", works because it similarly gains attention. Knowing this, why then do so many people refuse to believe it when God shakes us to get ours?

Case in point: The world watched the aftermath of one of those shakings in Haiti recently. The devastation of an already impoverished nation was heart breaking. I first visited Haiti during the reign of ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier, one of it’s most ruthless dictators. My memories of the people are heart warming, but the visions I carry of the poverty I observed in the hard-hit city of Port-au-Prince is unforgettable. The voodoo drum and masks I carried home have long since been burned. I later learned to connect the dots.

What I found of interest in these recent events is not just what took place in Haiti, but people’s reaction to it, especially those within the Christian community in America. When Pat Robertson made the statement that Haiti has been living under a curse for two-hundred years because of a pact with Satan, he attracted immense criticism as a hate mongering radical. Much of it flowed from fellow Christians. I found that interesting because Pat’s statement had little to do with the earthquake itself. He simply related the cause and effect of why Haiti has been so impoverished for so long, was unable to help herself, and needed our aid. This polarization occurred in part because Americans aren’t familiar with the history of that island nation, but also because many are not willing to concede that God controls and uses earthquakes today. "A loving God wouldn’t do anything like that" was a statement I heard repeated many times. That simply flies in the face of the Biblical record and brings me to the root reason for this article: It’s time we determine whether we believe God’s Word is ultimate truth or not. Is God who He says He is? Or not? Does He control the earth and it’s forces? Or not? In this case: did God cause the earthquake in Haiti? If so, what was He hoping to accomplish?

Let’s let history speak for itself. You connect the dots.

In the late 18th century two countries were throwing off their oppressors: one was to become the United States of America, the other was to become Haiti. Both revolts were successful, but with much differing long term results.

Future Americans laid the groundwork for their nation years earlier when the Plymouth Brethren asked God’s help and guidance. The Mayflower Compact reads in part: "Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and the Advancement of the Christian Faith…a voyage to plant the first colony in…Virginia…."(underlines mine). Upon gaining freedom from British rule and the Crown’s monetary system, America honored God by printing "In God We Trust" on her currency for all the world to see. She went on to fulfill her stated covenant goal and has sent more missionaries into the world than the rest of the world’s nations combined. And God blessed America. While not everyone living within her borders today is a Christian (individual salvation always depends upon one’s personal choice of faith in Christ), all living within her borders have benefited in that blessing.

The first Haitians chose a different route. On the night of August 14, 1791, Dutty Boukman, a Voodoo houngan (priest), conducted a ceremony in the Bois Cayman (Alligator Woods) whereby rebellion leaders sealed their compact by invoking voodoo spirits to help them throw off their French masters. The slave rebellion that followed, while killing over 100,000 blacks and 24,000 whites in the process, was successful. The country that emerged, however, was vastly different than that of her neighbor to the north. The Bible warns us that "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy." (John 10:10). Haiti’s covenant with demons has resulted in a violent history of poverty and bloodshed. She is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. And while not all citizens hold to the nation’s predominant religion of voodoo, or voodoo mixed with Catholicism as is often practiced, all living within have suffered from the nation’s woes.

On January 12, 2010 God shook Haiti. Following the 7.0 earthquake, nations converged to assist these devastated people. America was the first to respond. Other Christianized nations followed suit. It wasn’t the Muslim nations, nor the Buddhist nations, nor the Hindu nations. It was the Christian nations that responded first and gave the most. This was not lost on the Haitian people. Christian missionaries already in-country were most effective in their help. While most Westerners wrote off the quake simply as a geological event, the Haitians themselves viewed it as an act of God. Thousands of Haitians repented and turned to Christ. Voodoo priests, losing their followers, complained to the president, but the tide could not be turned. What the prayers of the saints had begun, and the shaking of God had galvanized, the Holy Spirit would continue.

Following is part of a remarkable account from a former in-country missionary, Jerry Miel, who returned to give aid, printed here as he wrote it:

"I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant in my life, not because of what I did, but for it’s meaning…

Today was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake.

About 3 days ago the Haitian President announced that there would be 3 days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been in Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined such a pronouncement? Could you imagine such an announcement from the U.S. President? This morning I saw a young Haitian-American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this day and wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was only about 6 years ago that a former Haitian president called the nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan."

This was not "a minute of silence for the deceased" or something as equally insignificant. Whatever the President might have originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day…"

Haiti literally shut down and prayed. What a testimony to what the Holy Spirit is accomplishing there. While we need to continue to pray for Haiti, we’d best begin to pray that God restore the spiritual sight of American Christians as well. Many obviously no longer believe their Bibles. They don’t understand the value of covenants with God (or Satan), choose to explain away the ramifications of those choices, and are practicing a brand of Christian religion devoid of the sovereignty of God and His Word. The earthquake in Haiti is evidence that God isn’t going to ignore a people under a curse placed there by their forefathers years before. If God did this for Haiti, will He do less for America?

Addendum: America officially repealed her contract with God by Supreme Court decision in 1963 with the expulsion of the Bible and prayer from schools. While Haiti is embracing Christ, we are ejecting, by legal decree, God from all of our public places. Two hundred years after throwing off their masters, could these two nations be now passing one another spiritually - going in opposite directions? You connect the dots.

 

 

 

 

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                              Finishing Well

Well do I remember my track coach in high school emphasizing the importance of finishing well. Regardless of how well we started, or our stumbling during the race, it was imperative that we finish the race…and finish it well. We were running for the prize, the trophy, and team points. Every place counted; we were to do our best, and finish well. I never forgot that lesson. There were times when running my mile long race that I became fatigued beyond belief, yet when the finish line came into view I pushed as hard as I could so that I finished well. It not only looked good and made the spectators respect my efforts, it often made the difference in placing or not as other runners petered out just short of the finish.

Being a distance runner helped me to better understand Paul’s words in the Bible when he said, "run to obtain the prize…" (I Cor 9:24). I realized that my life had a purpose in God’s course of human events and that my efforts, totaled with others ‘on the team’ (the Body of Christ), helped God accomplish His goals on planet earth. My personal responsibility, therefore, is "…finishing the course…" (Acts 20:24), knowing that without a successful finish at the end of my life the rest of my efforts could come to naught.

Our race of life is similar. We all begin from different points. Some come to know Christ early in life while others don’t meet their Savior until later on. However, once our race has begun, we are to run our best. The stumbles we take during our lives can hurt us but finishing well is of utmost importance. One of the most valuable witnesses a person will ever have is the one place they won’t be: their funeral. The funeral of a person who finishes well is priceless. Regardless of their beginnings, or of what life brought their way, finishing well is a testimony to the saving and sustaining power of God. It’s irrefutable evidence to unbelievers of God’s power to change lives. Finishing well is also a priceless encouragement to fellow believers to do the same.

A current phenomenon, however, is that many Christians aren’t finishing well. After years well lived for Christ they are blowing it in sight of the finish line. Priceless testimonies are being ruined by sinful living in people’s golden years. I think of a teenager who saw the devastation an alcoholic father had on his family. He received Christ into his life and vowed never to go that route. He spent most of his life involved in a good church, but now, in his retirement years, he is sitting in bars just as his alcoholic father did. His neighbors are wondering, "Why?".

Another elderly man, after a lifetime of church involvement and countless times witnessing to his unsaved siblings, began cohabiting with an ungodly woman after he was widowed. His children were distressed, and his siblings, who are unsaved, are simply shaking their heads at what their ‘saved’ brother is doing. Even they wouldn’t do that! Their conclusion: all of that ‘Jesus stuff’ was phony. This poor man blew his testimony in sight of the finish line.

I’m finding many Christians no longer take holy living seriously. I can only conclude it’s a sign of our times. God told us that just prior to Christ’s return) "…iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold." (Matt. 24:12). Satan knows his time is short. He’s pulling out all stops attempting to neutralize as many lives as possible. So let me ask you: how is your race going? Tired of fighting the good fight? Ready to quit? Tempted to give in and join the world? If that’s been a temptation to you in a tired moment, do one more thing: Remember the Witnesses!

The Bible tells us that "…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…." (Heb. 12:1). There’s that race again. But this time we are informed of a great cloud of witnesses watching us run our earthly race. Who are they? The heavenly hosts, of course. That includes angels, saints who have gone on before us, and God Himself. All are watching. That thought can give us great comfort when we’re fighting the good fight. We can almost hear the cheers when we do well. Of course, it can also make us blush to think of the things we’re prone to do in ‘private’- when we realize there is no ‘private’ with God. But that is one of God’s check-points for our safety. We’re never alone! That’s God’s promise: "I will never leave you nor forsake you…" (Heb. 13:5).

One of our Six Seasons members was wearing a T-shirt in Texas last month that read: Live your life so your pastor doesn’t have to lie at your funeral. Sound advice.

Stay the course. The Witnesses are watching your finish.

                         

 

Conversation Matters

                                               or Duz-et?

I overheard my teenage son on the phone recently. It was a ‘grunt ‘n run’ conversation of 21st century teen lingo. "Lo" "Hey" "Yup" "Uh huh" " Nope" " K" "Bye". I wondered where our time and money spent on good schooling, manners, and grammar went. Whatever happened to, " Good morning, Mrs. Anderson. How are you this fine morning?" In my teen-years we at least used whole words: "Cool man" or "Neat" or "Right on!" Words with meaning.

I’ve heard corresponding language from adults on the street, especially guys. We’ve developed an art of it: "Hey!" - "Howyadoin?" – never expecting an answer. Nor wanting one. It’s just an acknowledgment of the other’s existence. Could it be an aboriginal response to avoid battle? At least we’re not enemies that way.

Are we guilty of treating God in the same manner by offering prayers that solicit no response? I have heard Christian leaders plan major events without consulting God first. Then, almost as an afterthought, a closing prayer invokes God’s involvement: "Lord, we planned all of this for your sake so blessitinyournameamen". It’s not unlike praying before our meals simply so we can eat without feeling guilty.

How would we like it if God responded in kind? A thunder roll to let us know He’s there. A lightning flash to let us know He’s angry. Or worse yet, with nothing. Silence. Dead silence, like one gets from all of those graven images in the world. No divine involvement in our lives, just a peaceful, non-threatening silence. Think about it.

Guilty? Then beginning talking with God. Really talking. And listening. You’ll be surprised at the response you get. Yes, He speaks – when you listen. And acts – when you ask. "But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God…." (Jeremiah 10:10)

 

 

 

 

  Living Water

I have to confess that, growing up in the well watered country surrounding Lake Superior, I took good drinking water for granted. It wasn’t until I began traveling that I learned the value of that water. Now, one of the first places I go upon my return home is to the kitchen faucet for a drink of good, clear, cold well water.

I remember a ride in the Sonora Desert in Arizona. It was absolutely beautiful as the desert was in bloom. The hot dry heat was a wonderful change for us northerners who had just left winter behind. But we all had to remember to constantly drink lots of water. We carried water bottles in our saddle bags and at each stop we would take a drink. We encountered some tempting substitutes: sugared soda pops which don’t satisfy, iced teas or coffees which are diuretics and will actually dehydrate the body, and cold ice cream, which sounds good but leaves one even thirstier afterward. There are no substitutes here; pure water is the best. One of our riders spent a day in bed sick and swollen as a reminder to drink lots of water and to wear more protective clothing in the desert sun. It’s a physical lesson well remembered…and applied to our spiritual lives as well.

The Bible constantly refers to Jesus Christ as the Living Water. It reminds us that Jesus is the only one who can give life. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). Substitutes like religion (which comes from the Greek word religio and means ‘back into slavery’) won’t do. Being religious provides nothing other than (perhaps) a good habit. Going to church may be a good thing too, but you cannot become a Christian by going to church anymore than you can become a dog by sleeping in the dog house. Christianity isn’t absorbed by osmosis. One becomes a Christian by believing in Jesus Christ "…whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). It is an act of your will….just like drinking water. No one can make you drink of that Living Water. It is drunk by choice. Your choice.

Are you still thirsty after trying the worlds substitutes? Have worldly accomplishments, titles and popularity, monetary accumulations, clubs, friends, booze, drugs, or even religion left you thirsty? Try drinking of the Living Water. Turn your life over to Jesus Christ today. He promises that you will never thirst again. "…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst…(and) will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."(John 4:14).

Drink well.                     

 

    

 

 

           *** God's principles being evidenced in today's world***

 

       

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck I received a number of requests for dates I had mentioned in seminars regarding America & Israel. I believe all Christians should have this information so I am reprinting an article I wrote shortly after 9-11 that contains those dates plus a follow-up to bring you up to current events.   

America & Israel - Connecting the Dots  

We are all familiar with cause and effect. That is what my parents used in my childhood to teach me good behavior. When I told a lie - I received a spanking. If I beat on my little brother - I received a spanking. When I sassed - I received a BIG spanking. It didn’t take me long to connect the dots between my behavior and their consequences. I decided fairly early that honesty and kindness and obedience were traits helpful to my well being.

My parents disciplined me when I was young because they knew if they didn’t do it then someone else would have to do it when I was older and the price would be much higher. Not all learn this valuable lesson. I have ministered with many inmates in our prison system who still don’t get the connection between their illegal actions and why they are incarcerated. They feel picked upon and singled out for mistreatment and have a myriad of excuses for their transgressions. They are the prisoners who will be repeat offenders because they fail to connect the dots between actions and consequences.

But there is a higher law than civil law: God’s law. Indeed, our civil laws are based upon God’s laws (though shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, etc.). Disobedience to those laws is called sin. When we sin there is a price to pay also. But for some reason, because God chooses not to zap us immediately upon their transgression, we don’t always get the association. I believe this is due in part to the lack of religious instruction on the part of many. Their parents never taught them God’s ways and they never attended a church or Sunday School where they could learn them. They just don’t know any better. But for others it’s a matter of choice; to admit that there is a God who created us is to admit that we may, in some way, be held accountable to Him for our actions. We don’t want to be accountable to anyone, so we simply deny His existence - a common politically correct practice in our society today. That is why sin has become a non issue. People laugh at the ‘outmoded’ thought of it. However, denying it’s existence and the consequences doesn’t make it not so. The results of sin are all too familiar: alcoholism, drug addiction, divorce, child molestation, high insurance premiums due to frivolous law suits because we fail to take responsibility for our own actions, etc. We have failed to connect the dots.

While these issues, if not addressed, will ultimately destroy a people and a nation internally, there are outward actions of a nation that have consequences as well. Let’s take our relationship with Israel, for example.

God states in Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." He chose the Israelites as His people so that the world would come to know God through His dealings with them, which embodies His protection, chastisement, and blessings. The Old Testament is their story of cause and affect. When they disobeyed God or followed other false gods, they lost their way and wound up in slavery. When they repented of their sin and were obedient to God, they regained their freedom, wealth, and became a powerful nation. "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come."(I Corinthians 10:11).

The treatment of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, is manifest in world history. Every nation that mistreated them fell from power. When Spain turned on the Jews within her borders, the great Spanish Armada fell to a much lesser force in the English Channel a short while later. She has been on the back burner of history ever since. England failed to allow the Jews to return to their land after WWII and, in fact, strove to keep them disarmed in the face of imminent attack by their surrounding Arab neighbors in 1948. The sun definitely sets on the British Empire today. Interestingly, the first nation to recognize Israel as a nation in 1948 was the United States of America. We were the only country who assisted her in her last two wars, even when our allies, who would be speaking German today had we not rescued them, denied us use of their airfields for refueling in the process. We had to fly our aircraft non-stop, refueling in the air, to supply Israel with the means to protect herself. God has blessed America for this.

Today the United States is the only friend that Israel has in the world. But we must be careful how we treat her. God has a plan for Israel and she is not to be separated from her God given (covenant) lands. In the past few years, during our last administration, our president pressured Israel many times to give up her covenant land for peace. Each time this occurred something interesting happened to America.

August 23, 1992 the Madrid peace conference met on American soil for the first time. We pressured Israel to give up massive sections of ‘land for peace.’ On this very day the U.S. was hit by a category four hurricane. Hurricane Andrew was the greatest natural disaster ever to hit the United States with over $40 billion in damages.

January 16, 1994, President Bill Clinton met with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Geneva to discuss peace between Israel and Syria. President Clinton stated that "Israel must make concessions that will be politically unpopular with many Israelis." It included Israel giving up the Golan Heights, more covenant land, to it’s enemy. Less than 24 hours later a powerful 6.9 earthquake rocked southern California. This earthquake, at $20 billion in damages, was the second most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the United States.

More recently the Bush administration has formulated it’s ‘road map’ for peace. It’s goal is to establish a permanent Palestinian state within currently Israeli held territory with east Jerusalem as it’s capital. Israel would have to cede it’s control of part of Jerusalem over to it’s sworn enemy. The Secretary of State was going to announce this plan at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2001, but it has yet to be formally announced because of the 9-11 Twin Towers attack.

Are you beginning to connect the dots? God has not taken His eyes off of His people, Israel. We are to pray for peace in Jerusalem, but we are not to tinker with her inner affairs. "…he who touches you (Israel) touches the apple of his (God’s) eye" (Zechariah 2:8). God promised that Israel would survive. The real question today is; will America? Our fate hinges much upon our treatment of Israel.

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That is where my first article left off right after 9-11. I reprinted this portion here to refresh your memory and so that you can be assured that what follows is nothing new. It is a continuance and ever increasing warning to the United States by a very patient God that He is concerned with our treatment of His chosen people. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize the hand of God in these events. Anyone who studies God’s word, and believes it, the Holy Spirit will give the understanding to. We may not know exactly what He is going to do, but we can know that God will act, simply because He is consistent. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb: 13:8).

I was teaching on the relevance of Jewish Holidays and God’s consistency in Hot Springs, South Dakota the first week in August. I related that the Jewish month of Av was rather significant to Israel. It was on Av 9 that the first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. Over five hundred years later the second temple was destroyed by the Roman legions - also on the 9th of Av. Other events, all disastrous to the nation of Israel, occurred on this date as well. I won’t relate them here due to space (that’s what my seminars are for). However, I reported an event that had never before happened in Jewish history that was about to occur in a few days: For the first time in history Jew was going to be expelling Jew from covenant land. It was being done, declared Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, at the insistence of President Bush in accordance with his road map for Peace. The expulsion was going to begin on August 15th, which was just a little over a week away. I pointed out that August 14 just happened to be the 9th of Av. I warned that unless we turned from this pressured expulsion, America could expect some major calamity to befall her on or about that time.

God’s actions were timely. The September 4th headlines in the Duluth News Tribune read: CAUGHT BY SURPRISE. Hurricane Katrina’s erratic behavior confused forecasters. The article went on to state that "tropical depression 10 was detected …by satellite. It wasn’t big enough to deserve a name, and it faded away on Aug. 14. More than a week later… a fragment regenerated. It’s confusing birth…was noted in the National Hurricane Center’s Aug. 23 advisory. This stated that it’s "complex genesis" would make predictions "a little tricky."

Two days later Hurricane Katrina swept across a startled Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, where it became one of the biggest, most destructive and deadliest hurricanes to strike the United States.

It wasn’t a surprise to people who know God’s word. It wasn’t a surprise to Jews in Israel who had read their rabbis’ predictions in Israeli newspapers that God would do something to America if she persisted in forcing Jews from covenant land. Make no mistake. I am not a prophet. I don’t foretell future events. But I am a student of God’s word. I made my warning based upon God’s unfailing Word.

America made no changes in policy regarding Israel’s covenant land after Hurricane Katrina. In fact, we told Israel that she must give up even more covenant land. So God spoke again. Two more hurricanes, Rita and Wilma, have hit the Gulf States since that time. Yet we continue to talk about rebuilding rather than repenting. We’re relying upon Government to bail us out rather than God to build us up.

What will it take for us to listen? God’s patience will only last so long. He is warning us, patiently, hoping that we will connect the dots and change our ways. If we don’t, very soon there may be no USA. We will destroy ourselves by our own disobedience. Then Israel will have only God to rely upon. That is another story.

 

 

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