Day 13 - The end of another week of Riding

Well, another days ride behind (maybe a bad way to put it) me and the end of another week's ride. The day and the week went very very well and at the end of the second week we are just over 500 miles into our trip. A good Monday and Tuesday puts us into the state of New Mexico. Today was a day in the mid 80's in Arizona, but much cloudier than any of the other days this week. I rode 41.5 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes at an average unheard of for me of 19.1 mph. Through it the Lord has kept my legs strong and a much tougher seat (so to speak).
Couldn't help but think about Peter and the other disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee again today. They saw Jesus walking on the water and in verse 26, it says they were terrified. Believing it to be a ghost, verse 27 says they cried in fear. They were already in a state of fear due to the storm on the Sea. Now to see something coming across the water. What is amazing about this whole scene is what Jesus says to them. First notice that Jesus did not cease the storm. But in the midst of the storm He says, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." The comfort was not going to come in Jesus ending the storm; it was in the fact that it was Jesus who was there. It was the Son of God who was with them. They were seeing Him perform a miracle with Him walking to them on water. But His presence is not a miracle - it is a promise from the Son of God. Jesus promises all of His followers, "I will never leave you or forsake you." The question is, "Is that enough?" In the midst of the storms of life, do we go through them terrified, totally afraid or do we face them knowing that the Lord is with us. He may not calm the storm, but He is there. He will never leave us. All too often, we have the attitude that His presence isn't enough. we want to know He is there but then also a sound roof over our heads or a full bank account, or a credit card, or whatever it will take to shelter us from the storm. One of my favorite verses in Ps. 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is he who takes refuge in Him." Imagine how much blessing from the Lord we miss out on when we put our trust in everything but the Lord. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him, not all the other things we so often trust.
Have a good Lord's Day tomorrow. Enjoy the fellowship with your church family and the Word of God. Talk to you on Monday!!

Day 12 - God keeps Blessing

Well, this has been another good day. Sunny, high in the mid 80's (it is 66 degrees in my basement). After going through a number of little towns, we ended the day about 6 miles onto Rte. 70 from where Rte. 70 and Rte. 77 meet. Again the ride went well, riding 42.5 miles in 2hours and 15 minutes averaging 18.8 mph again today. Just keep praying for my legs to remain strong. I finally got Phil. 2: 1-5 down. It seemed like it took me forever but I have it. I have a number of other portions of Scripture I hope to memorize while I am riding for another 2 months to get to the Atlantic shore line in Georgia. I also do a great deal of reading while I am pedaling along. One of my favorite devotional guides is the one put out by Dr. Charles Stanley and In Touch Ministries. The articles are just tremendous and I have been getting caught on several months worth of them, reading while I am going along. But again today, I gave a great deal of time thinking about Jesus giving Peter the opportunity to walk on water in Matthew 14. It is amazing how quickly we can one moment have one of those mountain top or walking on water type of experiences and then so quickly we can fall or begin to sink. Scripture makes it very clear what the problrm is. In Peter's case, he began to look at the waves and the wind to the point that he took his eyes off the Lord. The story makes it clear that we need to be very careful who and what we focus on in our lives as Christians. What does Hebrews 12:2 say, "Looking to Jesus" or "Fixing our eyes on Jesus." But what did the author of Hebrews just say in 12:1, "Let us run the race with endurance the race set before us." What is neat about that, is that it does not matter whether I am riding my bike along a bike lonely bike trail, or along the side of a busy road or in my basement riding hooked up to a trainer; I can always ride or run the race focused on the Lord. No matter what is going on in my life, I can always focus on the Lord. No matter what I might be facing, I can always focus on the One who is in control, knows exactly what is going on and already has His plan all set. How well we do that will dictate whether we have "walk on water" experiences or we begin to sink. Talk to you tomorrow.

Day 11 - A late ride

Well, because I had to go to a hospital this morning to sit with a church member who was having surgery, I was not able to get to my ride in "Arizona" until later today. But none the less, had a great ride. Today I rode 44.2 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes averaging 18.8 mph. My avarages have been far faster than I have ever done before which I just praise the Lord for. It was a much warmer day in Arizona today getting up around 85 degrees and sunny from sunup to sundown. It was just warmer. We came out of Mesa traveling down rte. 60 and made it to  the little town of Florence Junction. It is good to be through the greater Phoenix area. I understand thatthe next portion of rte. 60 is very beautiful. Will make it to rte 70 tomorrow and plan on making it to the Arizona/New Mexico state line no later than next Tuesday. I am flying high today, just praising the Lord for how well the trip has gone so far. To this point I am on the tentative schedule I had set before the start of the trip.
Riding today, I kept thinking about Peter again in Matthew 14. There he was in the boat with all the other disciples in the midst of a storm and they see someone or something coing across the water. Can't help but think about the "only one's" in this passage. First, Peter was the only one who challenged the Lord to command him to come out with Him. Some would say he was the only one who shot his mouth off. Either way, no one else made such a bold statement. Then, obviously, Peter was the only one who got out of the boat. It is interesting that you still do not hearing any of the other disciples say any thing. Peter was the only human who is not also 100% deity to ever walk on water. On the other side, Peter is also the only one who Jesus looked at and said, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" In a matter of minutes Peter went from one "only one" which was amazing to an "only one" that had to challenge him to really think about where he was at in his faith in Jesus. Of course just two chapters later, Jesus looks at the disciples and asks, "But who do you sau that I am?" And Peter is the "only one" to answer Him when he says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Are our "only ones" filled unbelievable experiences or questions posed by the Lord? Talk to you tomorrow!
  

Day 10 - What a day!!

What a beautiful day in sunny Arizona and I guess it is only going to get warmer the rest of the week. It is mid to high 70's and sunshine galore. Of course it is just as nice in Ohio. I started the day on the bike a little leg weary but somewhere along the way, the Lord, my nutrition, desire or will, all kicked in and I ended with a great average speed. Today I went 43.5 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes for an average of 18.5mph. I can't believe it. To me it just shows how good God is. When I was struggling at first many things; let's call them doubts entered my mind. How often do we allow those things to creep into our minds. Something I have noticed about doubts. They want to own us and if they can't take it to that extreme, they want to at least dictate our actions. I was not feeling too leg strong when I first got on the bike, so the doubts went on the ride with me. They don't mind tagging along. But this morning, by God's grace they got shoved aside and the ride ended up great. If I did not have many other things to do today I was feeling like I could have gone much further. I have always been amazed at Matthew 14 when Jesus invites Peter to walk on water with Him. Peter is the only one who does and then forgets to keep his eyes focused on the Lord. Afterwards, when Peter and Jesus are getting into the boat, Jesus looks at him and asks a question, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" He actually , in asking the question answers it. The reason we doubt in that we have little faith. But we do not have to live our lives with doubt. Yet that is the one of the main arrows Satan has in his quiver against us. And he is willing to shoot it every chance he gets. And yes, all too often it hits the target. The other thing that came to mind this morning is that doubt tends to breed more doubt. In other words Satan hits us with more than one arrow if he can. But the opposite of doubt is faith. See, the issue is where do we put our faith? Many times in our own abilities, or capabilities, in our own thinking or even in our  own wallet. None of those things has a chance against Satan's arrows of doubt. So the answer is in Faith; faith in the only one who can bring victory against such a foe. How is your faith doing? This morning, I had some doubts about the ride was going to go. "O me of little faith!" But  because of what God did to give a great ride, it bolsters my faith in the One who is in control. Can He supply the funds NLM needs to purchase the lodge in Canada. Which way will I go, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" or "He is able to do far more abundantly than I could ever ask or think."  

Today's ride took us through the towns of Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale, and Tolleson. We are just south of Phoenix on the north side of Tempe hoping to be well east of the greater Phoenix area by day's end tomorrow. All of these towns are well over 50,000 people each. Nothing against any of you, but will be looking forward to getting out of the city areas. Talk to you tomorrow!

Day 9, Hitting the western outskirts of Phoenix

  Well, another day of riding under my belt and find myself just a little ways outside of Phoenix. Had a good ride. Was able to go 46.2 miles in 2 hours and 30 minutes at an average speed of 18.4 mph. I am just west of a little town of Palo Verde. I am hoping to make it to the Mesa area tomorrow and well east of the greater Phoenix area on Thursday, Lord willing. Would love to hear from anyone who lives in those areas. What a day though. It was suppose to get up to the mid to high 60's today after a cool start of around 47 degrees early. It is far warmer in good ol' Ohio than Arizona. But the Arizona sunshine is beautiful and the temperature is great for riding.
So Phil. 3:14 talks about a goal, about a prize, and finally about a call. I told you yesterday I was going to tell you a story about me. When I was jsu a little boy; I think around 6, I wondered away from my parents who were visiting my grandparents at my grandfather's orchard. That was not all that uncommon for me to go wandering. I always liked knowing what was around the next bend. My grandfather had two large dogs back then that went with me and after an hour or so of this little guy walking through the orchard I came to a thick woods and started into it. Well, it began to get dark, especially the further into the woods I went, with the two dogs following right with me. I went through an area of thick briars and in the darkened woods could know longer find my way out (remember I was only six). There I stood, 0ne dog on each side of me, and waited. I usually did not panic in these times. I just knew that sooner or later someone would find me, so I waited and waited. The dogs probably could have left me behind any time they wanted, but they stayed right with me which I was so very thankful for. What seemed like hours later, I heard a voice. It was my grandfather. It was in the distance at first, then closer and closer. I began to call back and the dogs both began to bark making it fairly easy to locate this stranded trio, even in the dark. But it was that voice, the familiar voice of my grandfather. I had waited to hear a voice that I would know was one of my rescuers. That voice meant I would be on my way home.
One day, each of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior will one day hear a voice that should be very familiar to us. The voice of "our shepherd." In John 10, Jesus said "My sheep hear my voice." So we should recognize that voice very well. See, the day will come when there is a call. It will be an upward call coming from God. When it comes, 1Thessalonians 4 tells us, "Therefore shall we ever be with the Lord." So, it is a one time call, which will have eternal results. I can still remember my grandfather's voice breaking through the night air and being so excited about knowing he had come for me. What will that call really be like? I sure look forward to it.
Please pray for me as I continue my ride across our land and please pray how you might be able to help us to come up with the funding we need for the purchase of the lodge in Canada which would increase our opportunity to impact many more lives for Christ. Talk to you tomorrow.

Well, yesterday was a nice day of going to church and resting, but this morning was climbing back on the bike and keeping the miles going. After a day of rain both in Ohio and in Arizona yesterday, it is a beautiful day in Arizona with a high in this area of 67 degrees and partly sunny skies. It was 68 in my basement this morning. Just a great day for a ride. I hope to pick up the pace just a little. My goal this week is to get in 260 miles which should get me close to the state line of New Mexico. Today was a great day on the bike as I road 44.4 miles in 2 hours and 24 minutes for an unbelievable average for me of 18.4 mph. For me to average that, you know it is God, because I have never averaged that before. But this morning I felt strong and just kept rolling. Many things went through my mind this morning sitting on that seat; I thought about a trip my wife and I had last year to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary to Arizona. We ahd the joy of going to the Grand Canyon and this morning I was remembering how awe inspiring that was. God's creation truly is awesome. I thought about how good I really was feeling on the bike and I praise Him for that too. I thought about missing my wife. She is actually in Michigan for two weeks and I really do miss her. But I just kept thinking about how good God truly is. One of my varorite verses is Ps. 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is he who takes refuge in Him." I could not help but think about that as I road along this morning.
I thank everyone who has gotten behind my ride to financial support what I am doing. For those who are just new to the blog. I am riding across the country but in a unique way; on a bike trainer in my basement. Yes, 2200 miles across out country from the seat of my bike in my basement. I am doing it the idea of raising funds to buy a fishing lodge which is for sale in Canada for our ministry - Northern Light Ministries. We do a variety of adventure trips to Canada with church youth groups and inner-city kids, men's groups and other types of trips. You can check us out at our website at - northernlightministries.org. You will find there also how you could contribute to the purchase of this lodge whcih would increase our opportunity to impact lives for Christ many times over with the facility that we will br buying, but we need your help. Would  you consider sponsering my ride for so much a mile - whatever you can afford.
It was neat this morning riding through the little towns of Brenda, Hope, Harcuvar, and Salome. A couple of these obviously have Biblical connections. Paul, in Phil. 3:14 says, "I press on toward the goal for the prize..."  What is your idea of a prize? I can cojure up all sorts of ideas of prizes I would think would be pretty amazing to win. A new car or a boat would be nice or some other financial type prize. But that is not what God's word says is the prize. The prize is "the upward call of God." Tomorrow I would like to share a story with you that is not one of my shining moments in my life but I think it will illustrate why this is such a prize. But the prize here is one that not everybody wins. It is for a select few answer the "call" of God. Have a great day.