Day 22 - The start of the 4th week

Well, we start another week with another beautiful sunny day, a little wind from behind us and excited to get into Texas. The ride went well going 40.2 miles in 2 hours and 5 minutes for an average of 19.2 mph. With the Rio Grande going through the city dividing Mexico from the USA it is neat to see the city coming in the distance. El Paso is a city of about 650,000 people and has a great deal going for it. It sees a great deal of winter birds coming from the north; Fort Bliss, a US military base; manufacturing, and a great agricultural base. It was founded in 1682 as a mission. And of course it definitely has a Mexican flavor. Once we leave the El Paso area, there will not be many towns of any kind for several days of riding. It will definitely have a feel of being out in the middle of nowhere.
Riding today, I thought a lot about John 15:4, "Abide in Me, and I in you." I love to give this example in explaining what our relationship with the Lord is like. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, it like  putting our two forearms against one another pointing opposite directions. Then holding our right forearm with our left hand and our left forearm with our right hand and holding them. One hand represents the Lord and one represents us. That is what He is saying in John 15:4. Abiding in Jesus is our holding on to our forearm and not letting go. And the Lord abiding in us is our other hand hanging on to our other forearm. What is amazing is that when we sin it is like we are letting go but by following 1John 1:9, we are just taking right ahold again to Him. What is even more amazing is that John 10 Jesus tells us that, "no man can snatch you out of MY hand." That is what Jesus means when He says, "Abide in me and I in you."
We need your help! I am doing this ride to raise funds for the purchase of a lodge in Canada for Northern Light Ministries to reach many more young people for Christ than we presently can now. We are looking for people to help us reach that goal. Please go to our website, northernlightministries.org where you can learn learn much more about NLM and learn how you can help. Talk to you tomorrow.