Well we did have nice weather, no rain, but it was cold in the morning! It was close to 28 degrees F when I left my house. We all gathered for Breakfast at the Starlite Diner with some folks from justwannaride coming up from Bristol, Philly, and NJ; plus the regulars. Thanks to kirchsnr, RT, Sal, and frindle for coming to breakfast. Even though you all couldn't ride it was great to talk with you and hear of your epic adventures. Frindle, congrats on the new bike, she is sweet! RT, get well soon, it was good to see you walking around on your own power. Thanks to everyone else who not only came but rode.
After the ride meeting, we got ready to roll. Some folk were mentioning the need for gas. I asked if they could make 30-40 miles, they said they probably could. Well, was I wrong!! We ended up stopping to wait for those that lost their way to the fuel stop and folk had to go get fuel already. So, next time we'll wait the 10 minutes so everyone can get fuel. Lesson learned by me! After some texts sent we hooked up with most of our errant riders. We had one guy slip on some water that came from a car wash. We figured it might have had armor all or something in it. No injuries or major damage, he picked up his bike and off we went. We then had our first fuel stop and split into groups; one lead, one chase. Thanks to johnric42 for leading the other group. We had a good time riding with occasional car traffic and average debris on the road. We did have one guy slip on gravel while stopping his bike. He fell on the ground and got back up, no big deal. Besides that no other issues, it was a good ride. We did see some llamas, horses, cows, bison, and some of them crazy Scottish Highland cattle with long shaggy hair and huge horns. I didn't get any pictures, because I forgot my camera. We had lunch in Sussex NJ at a nice Pizza place than half of the group had to split for home. It eventually got down to four of us who ripped back to Belvidere and then headed for home. Thanks to ANLR21 and Leon for riding trail and for the guys from justwannaride for blocking intersections for us, without being asked! We have one more ride left for this year, so don't miss it!
Scripture Readings for November 2011
The theme for this month's scripture passages was: "If God is love, there is no danger". The first passage was about the parable of the wedding feast, where Jesus tells of a King that sends out invitations for a wedding (Matthew 22:10-14). Those he invited blow off his invitation with lame excuses. Then the king tells his servants to invite anyone they find. Here is the passage from that point:
10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.
13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”The King in this passage is God, we are the guests, and the banquet is in Heaven. When we get there we need to have the proper 'clothes'; we need to have the covering of Christ. Those who do not will be cast out of Heaven.
The next passage was Luke 13:1-5, it was a call to repent by Jesus. Here is the text:
1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.
2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?
3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.
4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?
5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”Here Jesus tells us to repent so we do not perish. To repent is to turn toward God and away from our own selfish desires.
The final passage was I Peter 2:4-10, here Peter was addressing the church with the believers in Christ. But the message speaks to all people.
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy."
In this passage we hear of God's mercy, yet in the previous passages we heard of God's judgement. How can this be? God is just, He will judge the world one day. Your sins must be paid for, whether by the blood of Jesus on the cross, or by your own soul. God is merciful that He provided a way for us through Jesus Christ. If you have relationship with Him and you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you accept His payment for your sins. I encourage all of you to strongly consider this or at least investigate it. It will be worth it! Accepting Christ into my life has been the best decision I have ever made. Don't miss your chance. Have a good Thanksgiving all and I hope to see you in December.
