Monday, December 19, 2016

Christmas Future: The Promised One



Perhaps the single most astounding supernatural event ever to take place, outside of creation itself, was the incarnation of Jesus the Christ. And by incarnation, I refer not only to the miraculous birth, but to the entirety of Christ taking on human flesh and dwelling among us. To Christians, it is rightly called the most significant event in history. 

It is quite easy for us to look back from our vantage point in history and understand at least to some extent how this event was one of wonder and amazement.  Less easy for us to realize is how important the coming of the Messiah was held to be by believers before the period of time which bears his name: A.D. - the abbreviation for the Latin "anno Domini" - which means "in the year of the Lord." I would like to try to convey a little bit of the sense of anxious waiting and expectation and excitement that was present in the faithful of the time period before the coming of the Savior.

When we look at the Bible, we find that throughout Old Testament history, God's people looked forward to the coming of a Savior, though the details of that event were often only seen through a mirror dimly, to borrow a phrase from Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

Most theologians seem to agree that Genesis 3:15 contains the first promise of a coming savior.  You will recall that Adam and Eve had just confessed that they had broken God's command, and while the promise was made in a statement to the serpent, it was given in the presence of Adam and Eve, and for their benefit.

"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  Genesis 3:14-15



This promise of enmity between Eve and the serpent, and between her offspring and the serpent's offspring are fulfilled on at least two levels.  On a purely natural level, is there any member of animal kingdom that is as universally disliked as snakes?  On a spiritual level though, the enmity is even more pronounced. We might consider the seed of the serpent to be the spirit of disobedience, which has clearly, throughout history, been at war against the seed of the Woman who is Jesus Christ.  Satan, embodied by the serpent in the garden, now most often embodied by this spirit of disobedience, did indeed bruise the Messiah's fully human body in the crucifixion; but that same act which Satan meant for evil was the way God chose to crush the head of the serpent.     

Great damage was done to the human race when Satan beguiled Adam and Eve to choose to disobey God's command.  However, this promise that the seed of the woman would triumph over that damage, while it contained very little in the way of specific information as to how it would be accomplished, seems to have been fully embraced by them.  So much so, that in the very first verse of Genesis 4 we read this:  "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD." - Or "by the help of the LORD" as some translations put it. This has often been cited as an indication that Eve mistakenly thought that the promise of her offspring bruising the head of the serpent was being fulfilled right then and there in the birth of Cain.  If this was true, then she was to be sorely disappointed to find that her firstborn was not the promised one who would set things right.

If we were to trace the Genesis account to the flood and beyond, we would notice that despite the ongoing rebellion of man in his disobedience to God, there was in every generation at least some who  can be identified as God's people, though the number was so small in the days of Noah that a world-wide judgment took place, sparing only one family. 
However, throughout this long period of history, I don't think it’s a stretch to think that all of those generations of God-fearing people remembered and held fast to that promise made of one who would be born of a woman and who would bruise the serpent's head.  In fact, that promise was likely the hope they would treasure in their hearts while personally witnessing that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually", as we read of Noah's generation.

In support of that conjecture, consider this.  Adam, who was an eye witness of this promise, was still alive for the first 243 years of Methuselah's life.  Methuselah was still alive for nearly the first 100 years of Shem’s life. Shem, the son of Noah, did not die until Abraham was 150 years old.  In other words, in terms of the possibility of face to face communication, it would compare to your great-grandfather telling your grandfather of a great promise, and then your grandfather telling your father, who in turn tells you.  Do you think the substance of a promise that is life changing and in fact world changing might survive those few re-tellings? 

Just to clarify, the Bible does not tell us that Abraham ever spoke to Methuselah, or Methuselah to Shem, or Shem to Abraham, but the possibility does exist.  And I might add that I took the liberty of taking those years quoted from a book called "The Timechart of Biblical History" without which it is doubtful I'd have noticed the overlap in life spans. I'll also add that it would be easy enough to confirm the accuracy of the chart using the genealogies listed in Genesis chapters 5, 10, and 11.

Given the close" generational links", do you think that the great promise given in the garden may have come to mind when the LORD spoke to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12?

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."  Genesis 12:1-3

I can't help but think that this promise was understood by Abraham to be an extension of the original promise made in the garden. In fact, I can't help but wonder if that were a factor explaining why Abraham's wife Sarah seems to attempt to give God's promise a little help when she arranges for her handmaid to bear Abraham a son, since she herself was barren.  But eventually God did intervene and Sarah did conceive and bear a son.

This same scenario played out in the life of Abraham's grandson Jacob.  His beloved wife Rachel also was barren, and she too arranged for her husband to have a child by her handmaid.  Later when Rachel did bear a son, she said that "God had taken away her reproach."  

John Gill in his commentary on that passage says this: "the reproach of barrenness with which she was reproached among her neighbors; and perhaps by her sister Leah, and indeed it was a general reproach in those times; and especially, it was the more grievous to good women in the family of Abraham, because they were not the means of multiplying his seed according to the promise, and could have no hope of the Messiah springing from them." close quote.

This holding on to and looking for the fulfillment of the promises of one being born of woman in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed when he bruised the head of the serpent seems to have become a major motivation for childbearing in Israel.  And of course as time went on, by further revelations by God, the details of how this would come about were made clearer.

Over 400 years later, the first Passover took place as the LORD brought the nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. God's command to sacrifice a lamb, and to put its blood upon the door posts of the homes of the children of Israel so that they could escape the judgment of Egypt was a picture of the coming judgment of all men. This was a significant clue as to the exact nature of God's method for the seed of the woman to bless all the families of the earth.  The subsequent giving of the Law through Moses only served to reinforce the necessity of the birth of the promised one by showing them the many ways that they fell short so they would not miss the fact that they, like Adam, were disobedient.

When God, by way of his servant Moses, instituted the sacrificial offerings in Israel, it was yet more information about this promised one and how he would defeat the serpent.

In the book of Judges we read of another woman who was barren, but who received a visit from the angel of the LORD

"And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."  Judges 13:2-5

By this point in time, the Israelites had possessed the written history given by God to Moses, for about 300 years.  That history, which we still possess today in the first 5 books of the Old Testament, contained both and account of the promise from the garden and the promise to Abraham of a son born of a woman who would set things right.
 
Do you think that maybe when the angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah saying his wife would bear a son who would be a deliverer, that they made a connection?  Don't you think that they at least hoped that this was to be the long awaited fulfillment of those promises?  I do.

Not only that, but don't you suppose the other God fearing men and women in Israel knew of Manoah's visitation by the angel of the LORD?  How the angel promised that his wife would bear a son who would deliver Israel? And Samson did indeed deliver Israel from the Philistines, insuring their continuing existence as a people of God.  Certainly he was not "the" deliverer that was hoped for, which was attested to by what we might be tempted to refer to as character flaws, but can be more accurately labeled sins.

But the point is that there can be no doubt that in Israel there was expectation and an anxious looking for of the birth of the promised one.  The son who would be born of woman would set the things right that had gone so horribly wrong because of Adam's disobedience! All the families of the earth would be blessed by this promised one who would come through the nation of Israel.

We see this reproach and despair of a barren woman played out once again in the birth of the prophet Samuel. His mother Hannah poured out her heart to the LORD as recorded in the 1st Book of Samuel.

 "And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.   And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."   1 Samuel 1:10-11

Elkanah called her inability to have children an affliction.  No doubt she too felt that deep seated desire to be a part of the great work her people, not only to become a great nation, but as part of that, to be a blessing to all of the families of the earth.  And perhaps, just perhaps, that God would choose her to be the woman who would bear the promised one.  The one who would finally set things right! The one who would undo the damage done to the human race in the garden.

This attitude endured and was still prevalent at the time of the birth of Christ.  In the first chapter of Luke we read of Zacharias and Elisabeth, who are referred to as "well stricken in years." Can there be any doubt then, that this inability to bear a child in light of the promises of a coming deliverer still weighed heavily on the mind of Elizabeth causing her to refer to it as a reproach among men, as recorded in Luke 1:24-25:  
"And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."

You may have noticed a common thread through the Old Testament, of women who are barren, who by the intervention of God, bear a son.  We saw it with Abraham's wife Sarah, with Isaac's wife Rebekah, Jacob's wife Rachel.  We see that with the mother of Samson, Samuel's mother Hannah, and even continuing into the New Testament with Elisabeth the mother of John the Baptist.  All of these involve, to at least some extent, a miraculous birth.  A barren woman is not called barren because she was slow to have children, but because she cannot have children.  When a barren woman conceives it is a miracle.  And the older the barren woman is when she conceives a child, the more miraculous it is.  When Sarah became the mother of Isaac at the age of 90, it was clearly a supernatural event.  Of course all of these were just a foreshadowing of the birth of Christ, and the picture is always lesser than the fulfillment. As such, these miraculous births pale in comparison with the miracle of the birth of the Messiah, not just in the fact of a virgin giving birth, for even that is minor compared to God taking on human flesh and dwelling among us.  But each of these women were another reminder to faithful Jews which lead to their anxious watching for the coming of the promised one.

As the years went by, more and more information about the promised one was revealed to the children of Israel through the prophets.  God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David that he would raise up one of his offspring and establish his kingdom and throne forever.  (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

The Psalms are rich with details about the promised one which was to come.  Psalm 2 speaks of YaHWeH's anointed and calls him his Son and a King set on his holy hill of Zion.  Psalm 45 told them that this throne would be God's throne and reinforced that it would be everlasting. It goes on to say that the one on this throne would be anointed by God.  In light of Hebrews chapter one quoting this Psalm, it is somewhat easier for us to see that this refers to God the Father anointing God the Son, but even if those who were at that time looking ahead to the coming of the Messiah were not able to grasp that fact, this certainly did much to help them understand his importance.

The prophets Hosea, Micah and Jeremiah were all used by God to reveal further bits of information concerning this promised one's birth and life.  None of the other prophets, however, provided as much information about this anointed one, as did the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah refers to the Messiah, which means anointed one, as a light to the gentiles several times.  God also revealed by way of Isaiah that it would be a virgin who would bear this deliverer.

Isaiah 9 contains a passage most of us are familiar with and one which is often quoted this time of year. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”  Isaiah 9:6-7

At the point in time when Isaiah gave this prophecy, the people of Israel had possessed the book wherein Moses recorded God's word, for approximately 700 years.  This book contained the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. The fulfillment of that promise was narrowed down to all of the families of the earth being blessed through the offspring of Abraham. Roughly 300 years before Isaiah’s prophesy, David received promises which both gave much more information about this deliverer and further narrowed down the family line from which he would be born. 

In light of the passage in Isaiah, a picture of the promised one was becoming increasingly clear, at least with our 20/20 hindsight and the aid of the new Testament.  Of course if we are honest we can see how this prophecy could be misinterpreted to represent a human deliverer and a reign over an earthly kingdom.  The government would be on his shoulder.  He would sit on the throne of David to order his kingdom with judgment and justice. 

Remember, monotheism was a cornerstone of Israel: every faithful Israelite knew the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."  With that in mind, many may have misunderstood the phrase "The mighty God" in Isaiah 9:6 to be God with a little "g".  On the other hand, referring to the promised one as "The everlasting Father" may be a little harder for us to properly grasp than it was in Old Testament times.  In Hebrew the term “father” is often used to denote the possessor of a thing. Thus, “The everlasting Father” could also be translated “Father of Eternity”, which may help those of us with a “Western” thought process see that this passage does not conflict with the doctrine of the Trinity by diluting the distinction between Father and Son.

But of course more clarification was soon to come when Isaiah recorded God's words that describe exactly how the promised one would have his “heel” bruised, but in that act he would bruise the head of the serpent, how he would be a blessing to all the families of the earth, and how he would deliver his people. This may be the best presentation of the Gospel recorded in the Old Testament:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  (Isaiah 52:7-53:12)

We are among those for whom the damage done in the fall was made right again through the seed of the woman. We are of the families of the earth who are blessed through the line of Abraham.  We are among those who have been healed, have had our sins and iniquities borne, have been justified, and intercession is made for us.   

Seems like a pretty good reason to celebrate the birth of the one who accomplished all that!  Believe it. 

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Crazy Horse



Crazy Horse.  For most, the name immediately brings to mind the famous Native American warrior of the 19th century, whom legend says was the one to kill Custer at the battle of Little Big Horn.  But, despite the gray hair, my memory doesn’t go back quite that far.  When I hear the name I can’t help but think of Russ Hendron and the many wild rides down the drag strip I watched him make on his nitro burning Sportster, nicknamed Crazy Horse, just over a century after the original.  In fact, one source gives the literal meaning of the name Crazy Horse as “His-Horse-is-Crazy.”  If that is accurate, then Russ could not have chosen a more fitting name for his drag bike!  If you picture a lean young man with his body being tossed about like a rodeo cowboy as his bike attempts to pitch him to the asphalt, but never easing up on the throttle no matter how close that Crazy Horse came to separating him from the saddle, you’d have a pretty good idea of how I remember the majority of Hendron’s passes.  Oh, yeah ...and getting to the finish line first despite all that!

The first time I met Russ was in the line waiting to get into Humboldt County Dragway for the inaugural Iowa Hog Drags way back in 1985.  His bike, a 90 cubic inch High Gear Sportster was on an open trailer right ahead of us.  I remember being quick to reassure my then racing partner Bobby that he didn’t have to worry about racing that bike because its slick showed it to be a pro class bike rather than a “Street Racer” as ours was classified.  Having never been to a drag race before, I was encouraged that the very first racer we met was a genuinely nice guy who was happy to make small talk with a couple of “nobodies” like us.  In fact, instead of the well-heeled professional we expected, Russ was a happy go lucky guy who had talked his friend Jerry into making the trip from Indiana with him to act as a temporary pit crew.  In fact, they were not even sure if they had enough money left between the two of them to get home after the race, so they were very hopeful of placing well enough to get into the “money rounds.”

Well, that race had a very happy ending, not only for Bobby and me, but also for our new friend Russ.  He made it all the way to the finals in Hot Dragster (the HDRA’s name for the high gear nitro class), before finally being edged out by Ray Lafayette on his record holding Sportster out of C&S Harley Davidson in Nashville.  After the race, Russ tells of how he asked Jerry to go the tower and find out if they had any money coming.  Jerry soon came running back with an envelope stuffed full of tens and twenties, saying, “I don’t know how much is in here, but it’s a lot!”  As it turned out, there was nearly $1000 in the envelope, which not only got them back to Indiana, but in true racer fashion, also paid for a set of 5 inch stroke flywheels.  

Those flywheels enabled Russ to increase his engine size from a 3-7/16” bore x 4-13/16” stroke 90 inch up to a 3-7/16” bore x 5” stroke 94 cubic inches.  This proved to be the magic number that made the difference between continually placing second to Lafayette (which had become the norm) and finally beating him the following year at the Havana, Illinois race.

While looking through some of the old clippings from my racing days which I had stashed away, I found a few write ups about Russ and Crazy Horse.  Here are some quotes:

From United Racer, August 3 1987, by Brad Henry

AMRA Cecil County
B/Fuel – Trying out a new engine combination this year, Russ Hendron (Winimac IN) nailed the pole position in qualifying with a coasting 8.80, Steve Hopkins followed in 2nd with a 9.04.  Paul Plummer was 3rd with 9.45 ….
First round had the stands going nuts as Russ Hendron, on a solo pass, put those B/K heads to the test as he tore nearly 2-tenths off the record.  When the smoke cleared the new ET record sat at 8.46 at 138.46 mph. 
….In the semis Russ idled out an uncontested 8.77 / 146.81 solo pass to put him in the money round. Paul Plummer with a 9.29 /129.49 trailered Hopkins 9.86 / 124.65.  The finals had a very confident Russ Hendron pitted against the “local boy” Paul Plummer.  Russ, putting a road race type slick to the test, man handled Paul with an 8.56 / 140.62 over a 9.71 / 93.84 to taking his first ’87 win.

From Hot Bike, November 1987, by Mark Ropel

In B/F Steve Hopkins earned a shot at Russ Hendron by putting Mike Henry away.  Hendron took care of Dale Nungesser, then kept everyone on their toes as he pogoed the eighth in 5.485@131.58 MPH while Hopkins posted a 6.36@103.22.
Russ in the near lane.  Photo by Mark Ropel.


From United Racer August 3, 1987 by Brad Henry

AMRA Iowa Drags
Russ Hendron’s 103-inch “Crazy Horse” Sportster did it again!  Streaking to an unprecedented third AMRA National Event title in a row.   Hendron sailed to a 5.48 /131.58, annihilating Steve Hopkins’ 6.36 / 103.22.  Hendron has had a spectacular season so far, and rumor has it that a new “Truett” chassis is in the works to make Hendron’s “Crazy Horse” quicker than it already is.
Russ again in the near lane.  Photo by Brad Henry.
 
There you have just a few of the recorded highlights from the early part of Russ’s drag racing career.  By the close of the 1987 season, Russ had again enlarged the size of Crazy Horse’s heart, this time increasing the bore from 3-7/16” to 3-5/8” for a total engine size of 103 cubic inches.  Over the next several seasons he continued to totally dominate the high gear carbureted nitro classes, setting nearly a dozen national records in a three year period.   With his 103 cubic inch Crazy Horse, Russ won the AMRA’s B/Fuel National Championship in 1987, 1988, and 1989.  In 1989 he even did enough “moonlighting” to win the HDRA Pro Dragster National Championship.  Wow.

The later version of Crazy Horse.
 
But of course success rarely comes without the expense of very hard work.  Russ recalls how he had teamed up with the legendary Ron Trock to prepare his stock ’72-’74 XL cases to take the big bore 3-5/8” cylinders.  Despite never having a catastrophic crankcase failure, even Ron’s expertly performed reinforcement to the flimsy stock cases could not prevent them from cracking due to the extreme pressures generated by using nitro-methane for fuel.  A typical call after a race would go something like this:

Russ: “I cracked my cases.”
Ron:  “How long ‘til the next race?”
Russ:  “Two weeks.”
Ron: “Okay, bring me a set of cases to weld.”

The result would be that a week and a half later Russ would take delivery on another set of 3-5/8” bore Sportster cases, beefed up as required for use with nitro.  But of course that would leave Russ with a mere two days to finish the engine build so that he could once again go out and smoke the competition!  There is very little doubt that a lot of late nights, both on Ron’s and Russ’s part, were involved in going out and making it look easy to take home the money on race day.   

Ron Trock reinforced cases.

By the end of the ’89 season the 114 and 120 cubic inch Big Twins were finally starting to occasionally outrun Crazy Horse.  The handwriting was on the wall.  Ron and Russ mutually agreed that it was just too much work to keep a little 103 inch bike at the top of the food chain, and decided to put Crazy Horse out to a well-deserved pasture.

And now you know …. the rest of the story!

Monday, November 21, 2016

Rejoice with Thanksgiving



Philippians 4:4-8
 
This short passage of Holy Scripture is very rich in what it teaches us concerning how we should live as Christians.  Nearly every phrase included in it could be the subject for a message on its own.  For instance verse 5 alone easily provides the inspiration for at least two different sermons.  Letting your moderation, or reasonableness as some translations put it, be known to everyone is an important principle that could be expanded upon much, and the phrase “The Lord is at hand” almost begs for more to be said on that subject.  In fact, I can quite easily count 20 different sermons on interrelated subjects that could written with the contents of these 5 verses acting as a springboard.

Today, however I will take just take two words from this passage to consider, though even that will demand that it be a superficial look at them.  The two words I have chosen are ‘rejoice” and “thanksgiving.”

The first verse in our passage says “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”  It probably does not surprise you to hear that this is not the only place in this letter from the apostle Paul to the church at Philippi that speaks of rejoicing, given the letter was written for their encouragement and to commend them for their faithfulness. 

In chapter one Paul states that he will rejoice in the fact that Christ is proclaimed whether the one proclaiming him did it for the right motivation or not.  In chapter two Paul speaks of their mutual rejoicing over his being used by God as the means of bringing the Philippians to the faith of Christ.  Later in the same chapter Paul speaks of the rejoicing that they would rightfully take part in when their fellow churchman Epaphroditus was able to return to them.  Chapter 3 begins with the exhortation to “rejoice in the Lord”, which is reinforced and expanded here in chapter 4 to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice!”

Clearly rejoicing was not just an afterthought in this letter which Paul sent to the Philippian church.  But even though the work thanksgiving is used only once in Philippians, I would suggest that it carries just as much weight.  In fact, all of the things that we can properly rejoice over, are things that we should be thankful for.  

Consider the verses we previously mentioned in Philippians which speak of rejoicing. When Paul said that he rejoiced that Christ was being preached, he was at the same time thankful for that fact and doubtless his prayers included thanksgiving for it.  Likewise when Paul spoke of the joy that came from his ministry among the Philippians, that joy reflected thanksgiving to God for allowing him to be used in that manner.  Again, is there any doubt that the rejoicing which would take place when their brother Epaphroditus returned to Philippi would be accompanied by thanksgiving to God for his providence?

Finally, rejoice in the Lord, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!  We have so many reasons to rejoice in the Lord and all of them are reasons for giving thanks to God.
Eighteenth century pastor and theologian John Gill said this about rejoicing in the Lord, and keep in mind that every reason he gives for rejoicing is a reason for thanksgiving:

Quote: “A believer has always reason to rejoice in Christ; in the greatness of his person, he being in the form of God, and equal to him, and therefore able to save his to the uttermost by his obedience and death, and has interest enough in heaven to make his intercession prevalent and successful and power to keep safe all that are committed to him; and in the fitness of his person to be a Mediator, and daysman, to take care of things pertaining to the glory of God, and to make reconciliation for sin; and in the fulness of his person, he having all grace in him for his people, which is all theirs, and with joy may they draw water out of the full wells of salvation in him; and in the beauty of his person which surpasses all others, a sight of which fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. They may, and should rejoice, as they sometimes do, in his salvation; in the contrivance of it by infinite wisdom; in the impetration of it by himself; and in the application of it by his spirit; and that because hereby justice is satisfied, the law is magnified and made honourable, sin is finished, and an everlasting righteousness brought in. Also they are called upon to rejoice in his resurrection, which is for their justification; in his ascension, seeing he then received gifts for men; and in his session at the right hand of God, which is in their nature; and in his intercession which is to their advantage; and in all the relations he stands in to them, as head, husband, father, brother, friend; and in everything that is his, and that belongs unto him, as his Gospel, ordinances, ways, and worship,…”  End quote.
 
I would like to point out that this quotation began with these words; “A believer has always reason to rejoice in Christ.”  Though one might argue that even an unbeliever may experience joy and give thanks for any number of these superlatives rightly attributed to Christ, realization of full joy and thanksgiving is only possible for those who have come to understand their sinfulness and utter hopelessness outside of the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, wherein he took upon himself each and every one of our sins in his bloody death on the cross, paying the penalty demanded by perfect justice.  In return we are looked upon by God as having the righteousness of Christ. 

If you are a believer, then you cannot help but join in rejoicing with thanksgiving! If not all you need to do is believe, and join us in rejoicing in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice!

(this is the message I preached on November 17th as part of the monthly service ValleyView Baptist provides for Friendship Manor nursing home in Shakopee, MN)

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Knuck Return Lines

Much as I love the fact that I am able to make a living (of sorts) working on Harley motors, in every profession there are inevitably some aspects of the job that we don't look forward to performing.  Sometimes there is not even a rational reason for the mild distaste that the prospect of performing the operation produces, which often leads to putting it off as long as practical.

Boring cylinders has long been one of those operations for me.  Totally irrational, I know; I have equipment that does an accurate job, and good measuring equipment that confirms that accuracy.  The fact is, my shop would probably do better financially if I spent all day, every day, boring and finish honing cylinders, yet I am thankful that the volume of cylinder boring that comes through my shop is not that high.

But then there is the other type of job that I enjoy even less.  The kind that is time consuming and difficult to produce good results, which in turn leads to being a losing proposition from a financial standpoint.  However, sometimes after years of "fighting" an operation which fits that description, you come up with a method that takes some of the pain out of it.  One of those dread jobs is what I'd like to present here.

If you've been around Knuckleheads for a reasonable length of time, you have probably noticed that some of the small oil lines on the heads which connect the lower spring covers to the back side of the rocker boxes, don't always age gracefully.  Oft times the flare that provides a seal to the rocker box is the first to cause problems, whether it be split from often over tightening, or a case of just one too many on/off repetitions.  Then there are those lines which have been in contact with parts they were not designed to share such close quarters with, resulting in spots nearly to the point of striking oil.  And lets not forget rust, because it never sleeps, and eventually that tenacity will likewise make a tube unfit for service.
A twofer: at the top center of pic you can see the tube is flattened out, and at bottom left the flare fitting has a previous emergency repair via a compression fitting

What to do?  Replace the whole assembly?  While that might be tempting, once you determine that these particular parts seem to only be sold in sets of four, and then price them out, ...ouch.  The logical thing, and what we were forced to do for many years when there were none being reproduced, is to replace just the tube.  Now, it may very well be that someone somewhere is reproducing and selling these tubes, but if they are I have not been made aware of the fact.  Instead, for as long as I can remember, I have had to fabricate my own replacement tubes to braze into the lower spring cover.  And it has always been one of those jobs that I dread, because replicating all of those complex bends never seems to go well.

For years I contemplated building a fixture for making all the appropriate bends, or rather four fixtures since each cover takes a different length and shape.  But each time I considered it, I concluded that I lacked the time to undertake such a project. Instead I would painstakingly bend each tube a little at a time trying to duplicate the original's shape.  If you have ever attempted it, you know how frustrating it can be.  The first bend was usually the only one that one could get right, from there it was a tale of bend, hold the new and the old side by side to see how well they matched, bend some more, match up, try to unbend that last one that didn't match up so well, and so on.

Here is a method that I have found to be much less frustrating, and best of all requires a minimal investment in time and money to get started.  First is the purchase of a brake and tube bending pliers.  The one pictured was under $20.  If you have previously had to fabricate your own line, you probably already own something similar.  The only other piece required is a piece of scrap aluminum thick enough to take 1/8 pipe threads and long enough to clamp into a vise.

A few tools that can help make a tough job a little easier
The fixture shown in the upper left is just a plate with two holes drilled and tapped for the same fitting as is used in the rear of the rocker box.  You want to put them as close together as possible while still allowing room to tighten the flare nuts.  Now, in the picture you may notice a couple of additional items that I fabbed up to make the process yet a little less painful.  They are merely a couple of clamps made from scrap aluminum plate by drilling two holes (the diameter of the tubing) which are the same distance center to center as fittings in the fixture.  Then cross drill a pilot hole which will be tapped on one side after you saw the plate through the center of the clamping holes.  The clamps are not essential, but I found them to be quite helpful.

To fabricate a new line, your first step is to cut a piece of tubing to a manageable length and then flare one end of it.  Note that these fittings take a single flare, not the double flare used in most brake line applications.  Once you have a nice flare on a new piece of tubing, mount it to the fixture with the original drain tube next to it, and with the fixture in a vise, commence the bending process.

With the lines side by side all that is required in your bending is to keep them running parallel

The additional clamps make it easier to keep the lines parallel to each other

Once you have duplicated the original line, all that is left is to braze it back into the lower spring cover.  It is a good idea to mock it up with the head and rocker box  in order to get just the right orientation.  Hope you haven't painted your heads yet!  One other quick tip before I go; the lower spring covers are very prone to cracking just below where the oil return line is attached as shown below:

The only thing worse than a cracked lower spring cover that goes unnoticed ...

... is four of them that slip by.



This last tip about the cracks seems obvious once it has been pointed out, but I can't tell you how many times I have had customers bring in nicely cleaned, straightened, and Parkerized covers that still had cracks that gone unobserved simply because they did not know to look for them.