Blessings of the Word

Our Church, ValleyView Baptist, is involved in a local ministry in which different area Churches take turns providing a worship service during the week at Friendship Manor, a local nursing home. It works out that the schedule puts us in Friendship Manor once every 6 weeks. I feel very blessed by God in that I have the opportunity to bring the message on the weeks that we are there.

This last Thursday was our week. As always Delores did a wonderful job on the Piano. Bob lead the singing, his wife Carol added her voice, and Susan sang a couple of solos. I am honored to serve along side these fine people. The text from my "sermon" is below:

Blessings of the Word

The Word of God. It may be impossible to overemphasize the importance of God’s Word. We find it referred to as the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, and the Good Book. We also find different sections of the Bible referred to as the Old Testament, The New Testament, the Law, the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Gospel among others. We also find the Word of God in the person of Jesus Christ. So much so, in fact, that in the Gospel of John we find Jesus Christ being referred to as the "Word of God."

John 1:1-4 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men."

We need not go far into the Bible to find the Word of God. Genesis 1 verse 3 starts out "Then God said...." Right there we see Jesus Christ’s part in creation. God said; God spoke; what did he say? He didn’t just make a noise, for that is not saying anything. When the Bible states that "God said", it is obvious that what he said was his Word. You cannot speak without using words. And God’s Word is Jesus Christ, as we find if we continue to read on in the Gospel of John. Verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

So if the Bible is God’s Word, and God’s Word is Jesus Christ, then am I saying we should worship the Bible. No! Heaven forbid! We may refer to the Bible as the word of God, but we do not refer to the Bible as Jesus Christ. The Bible is the written story of Jesus Christ, the record of what God has said to us.

For example, if your spouse is away on a trip, or even passed on before you, and you have a picture of them, you do not love the picture. You love the person that the picture represents. If you have letters from that loved one, you do not love the letters, you love the person who chose to communicate with you by them. You may cherish the letters, but you love the person. The Bible is the same way. We should cherish and respect the Bible, but we need to love the one they represent.

What a wonderful privilege it is to have God’s Word right here available to us, recorded in the Bible! Any time we want to speak to God, all we have to do is go to him in prayer. But any time we want to hear what he says to us, we need to read the Bible.
The Bible tells us that there are blessings given to those who study God’s word and love it.

Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

We see from Psalm 1, that the man who delights in God's word and meditates on it, will be blessed by God. In what manner will he be blessed? For one thing it says he will bring forth fruit. I cannot help but think that this fruit is the same fruit as that mentioned in Galations 5:22-23 which tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Those are some mighty fine fruits. And it all starts out with delighting in God's word!

Do you want the fruit of love? Delight in God's word and meditate on it. You'll find no greater love than that a man would lay down his life for another, as Jesus did for us.

Do you lack joy? Study the Bible, for there it will be found. What joy there is in singing praise to our Lord as was done with the Psalms.

Is it peace you crave? You will never find it anywhere else but in the Holy Scripture. It all begins with peace with God. The Bible tells us that we are all enemies of God in our natural state. It is only after God has done his work of salvation in us that we can have peace with him.

Are you not as patient as you would like? That is one of the virtues that God's word teaches us. The longsuffering of Job through his trials is legendary, even among those who are barely familiar with the Scriptures .

Would you like to be known for having the fruit of gentleness? The Bible often describes Jesus as gentle. The key to becoming more like Jesus is found in the Word.

Meekness is a trait often spoken highly of in Scripture. Moses is described as being the meekest of all men on the face of the earth. He is an example we should study.

Would a little more self control be in order in your life. The Bible tells us that temperance, or self control is also a fruit of the Spirit. Self control is a hallmark of God's people.

Goodness? We would all like to think we are good people, but Jesus said there is none good, but God. The only goodness we can lay claim to is the goodness that God has imputed to us.

Do you lack faith? The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

All of these fruits are available to, and we might even say they are traits of the true Christian. As Psalm 1 says, these fruits are the result of delighting in God's word, and meditating on it. And the delighting and meditating all begin with reading God's word every day!

Views of Life (part 3)

Here is part three of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life". For part two click here, or to start at the beginning click here.

Views of Life

Scene III. - With God

In my chamber I am sitting,
Darkest hour of silent night,
And the clock is ticking, ticking,
Cinematographic clicking
Films of time and human life.

And I see how nature showers,
Wondrous gifts to mortal man;
Fields and forests, fruits and flowers,
Life and love and mental powers,
To enjoy them as he can.

Ah, I see man climbing upwards,
Shunning vice, deceit and lust,
Climbing higher, growing better,
Breaking sin's abnormal fetter;
Striving to be true and just;

Virtue, honor, truth and justice,
Are attained by mortal man;
Helpful service, righteous living,
Asking naught, but ever giving,
Help and comfort where he can.

Yet I see man sometimes falling,
Pleading sin at mercy's shrine;
Sick and sinful he is calling,
"Help me, Master, I am falling."
And I hear Him gently calling,
"I've redeemed thee, thou are Mine."

Oh, the joy of godly living,
To accept redemption's cost;
Death and sin and fear are shriven,
And to man again is given
Back the Paradise he lost.

All ye peoples, every nation,
"Peace on earth, good will to man,"
Is the slogan of creation;
War, the curse of sin's damnation;
Stop it? Yes, with God we can.

Life is love, is joy, is pleasure,
Life is God's productive mine,
Yielding happiness and treasure,
Pearls and diamonds without measure,
To mankind who lives divine.

Silently again I'm sitting,
Beams of sunshine gleam above;
And the clock is ticking, ticking,
And the cinema is clicking,
"God is mercy, God is love."

Knucklehead Lightening

OK, sure, its a play on words. The original Knucklehead "Lightening cam" has pretty much passed into the realm of legend; at least among those of us old enough to remember such things. This post has only a tangential connection to those camshafts from the 1930's. It was once common knowledge that you could identify a Lightening cam by the "lightening holes" drilled in the cam gear. I am about 95% sure that was bad information. I think most of the cam gears (as well as circuit breaker drive gears and idler gears) were drilled in the same manner on all pre 1940 Harleys. Whatever the case, the idea of reducing weight to add performance is certainly a valid one.

When I first prepared to go drag racing back in the winter of 1984-85, things were still transitioning from the days when the racer did most or all of the modifications himself, to what we have now; where exotic materials are used on custom manufactured pieces to lighten the bike. I have bored many of my friends with the tale of how I had no drill press that first winter, and used a 3/8" Black & Decker electric hand drill to lighten most of the parts on that bike. I would drill holes until the drill was too hot to hold, put gloves on, and continue drilling until the drill was burning my hands through the gloves. Then I would let the drill cool off and start over. Yeah, a lot of stock parts with a lot of holes.

In the spirit of that early experience, I am approaching the build on "Vinnie", my nostalgia drag bike project, in much the same way. Nothing fancy. Just a lot of holes. Thankfully I have both a drill press and a mill to aid me now, since I doubt that anyone currently makes a hand drill that would survive the abuse like that old Black & Decker did.

Vinnie's rear wheel. Vintage rim with original spokes from my wife's '47

Vintage brake backing plate, well ventilated

New Repop hub with Repop brake drum, also well ventilated

Views of Life (part 2)

Here is part two of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life". For part one click here.

Views of Life

Scene II. -God

Humbly and abject I'm kneeling,
On thy footstool, at Thy Knee,
To thy mercy I'm appealing,
Thou showed others; Oh, show me;
And the clouds are gently lifting,
Sinai's terrors cease to be;
See, the scenes are gently shifting,
Naught but glory now I see.

From a shining throne transcendent,
A majestic voice I hear
"Thy creator, thy defendant,
I'm thy Father, do not fear;
Give to me thy heart, in sorrow,
Let My ways thy comfort be,
And thou need'st not fear tomorrow,
If thou wilt put thy trust in Me."

"Not for death or pain or sorrow,
From the earth I fashioned thee;
But for love and joy and service,
Thou wert pre-ordained by Me;
Hast forgot thy loving Maker,
Listened to the lure of sin,
Disobeyed thy fond Creator,
And did'st let the serpent in."

"Now thou sufferest death and terror,
Subject to the serpent's will;
But in spite of all thy error,
I, thy Father, love thee still;
Lo, I offer thee redemption,
From the curse thou mayest go free;
Christ, my Son, has bought exemption
With his death on Calvary."

Views of Life

Here is part one of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life".


Views of Life

Scene I. -Without God

In my chamber, drab and dreary,
Silent hour of darkest night,
I am sitting sad and weary,
Ghostly visions haunt my sight;
In a panoramic picture,
Human life unfolds to me,
And the sham of all its glitter,
All its vanity I see.

Borrowed virtue falls to pieces,
Shows the hypocrite beneath;
Fellowship and friendship ceases,
Snarls and bites with selfish teeth;
Truth and justice are but covers
To deceive our fellow man;
Underneath them ever hovers
Greed, to "bilk then, if you can."

Shattered idols, broken pledges,
Blunt the edge of love and trust;
Deceit with its ragged edges,
Leaves faith grov'ling in the dust;
Unrequited love breeds hatred,
Betrayed trust stabs like a knife;
Mistrust, distrust, unabated,
Makes a hell of human life.

Crime and murder fill the pages
Of our records every day,
And the curse of sin's dread wages,
Haunts my vision all the way;
Urge of lust and rounds of pleasure,
Ergo: Grief, regret and pain;
Days of fun and sport and leisure,
Ergo: Poverty's hard chain.

Fear of death, of pain, disaster,
Haunts our vision every day;
Destiny, the cruel master,
Leads us shivering on the way;
Oh, the weight of life is galling,
Oh, for rest beneath the sod,
Ah, but death is so appalling,
Without hope and without God!

Woe is me, I view with horror,
Wage of sin's chastening rod,
Bringing death, distress and sorrow,
To a world without a God;
All a jumble, all so dreary,
Answer me, whoever can,
For my soul is sad and weary,
Where is God? What is His plan?


(stay tuned for Scene II)

Tool Box Pics

OK, this is some pretty blatant filler material, but I've been too busy to write a serious post, so you will have to bear with me.


I would guess it is pretty common for anyone who make their living turning wrenches to have a tool box with a bunch of pictures fastened to the inside of the lid, so that with the tool box open, you have a sort of gallery facing you. Normally there will be pictures of the girlfriend or wife (hopefully not both), children, and as you get to be my age; grandchildren. Sprinkled in with those there will usually be some pictures of you favorite car or motorcycle. My tool box is no different. Since they were getting loose, curled up and in need of remounting, I thought I would share some of the motorcycle pictures that have been on my box for more years than I care to recall.

This picture is from the spring of 1982. I had just built my first Knucklehead, leaving my '75 Shovel free for a little serious hot rodding. 88 cubic inches with an SU carb and 468+ Sifton cams gave it some "git up an go". Goodyear roadrace rain slick was very soft and sticky.

Pete and me. This was at a 1986 AMRA drag race in Belle Fouche, S.D. Dave, my friend and pit crew, asked the legendary Top Fuel Knucklehead racer to come over and look over my bike since he knew that Pete was my hero. Pete graciously obliged, and even humored me by rubbing the tank to instill some of his magic. That resulted in a new National record.

I always liked roller starters. This was taken in 1987, a couple years before they were banned for safety reasons. Talk about safety issues, can you believe full leathers were not even required for Pro Stock! The guy holding the wheelie bars is Robert, another friend and that year's pit crew

This has always been a favorite picture. Some would say that I have the wheelie bars set too high, but I have always maintained that they are more fun to ride that way. This was taken at the National Finals in Clarksville, TN. I think the year was 1989.

Here is our son Joey at the Sturgis Nationals on his 1200cc XL. I think he was either 16 or 17 years old at the time. As you can see, he learned how to do a smokey burnout early on.

Engine Progress

If you follow this blog regularly, you may be wondering how the vintage Drag bike (Vinnie for short) is progressing. This will be a quick update.

I have tried to spend a few minutes on the bike every day, rather than spending large amounts of time all at once. Last week I worked on the heads. The intake ports looked fairly good, a testament to whoever did the original work on these heads "way back when". I did a little clean up on the intakes, but got a little carried away with the exhaust ports. If you ever look carefully at Knuckle exhaust ports, you will notice that they have more humps and deep valleys than they should. The port shape seems to have been determined more by the shape of the outside surface of the head than by what was needed to get the exhaust out.

I couldn't resist filling in these valleys in an effort to improve the exhaust ports. I cut out a piece of steel to fit in each valley and then brazed them in with enough extra brass to smooth thing out nicely. After polishing, the exhaust ports are looking pretty nice.

Since the engine will not get any top end oiling, it will also not get spring covers (cups). This makes the valve job much simpler. For one thing the guides can be installed very simply, without worry of oil leaks. It also makes custom guides for the 5/16" stem intake valves much simpler. All I had to do is get a couple of guide blanks from Rowe and turn them down to the appropriate diameters and lengths. Unfortunately the blanks are only .750 O.D. to begin with, so they are not the best answer if using spring covers.

After installing the guides I replaced the exhaust seats. It has been my experience that the stock seats are so hard that it is very difficult to machine them; particularly for a high tech radius seat. Better to get new ones in there now and make the rest of the job go smoother.

I finished cutting the seats with a radius profile on exhaust and a 5 angle on the intakes. This is the same intake seat profile that I use for all of my porting (the 5 angle gives better wet flow characteristics on the intake than a full radius).

So far, so good, but there is still much to do!