It’s that time of year again. As the weather warms, I love the fact I get to pull out my bike and enjoy the beautiful afternoons. To me there’s not much more exhilarating than going down a hill on your bike with the wind at your face. I like being able to coast if I want … go slower if I want … go faster if I want …

Every time before on my long rides, I have always gone by myself. Yesterday, a friend of mine(shout out to Jerry) came with me.  The longest he had gone was 11 miles. I told him I normally try to do close to 20. He said he was game and would hang with me the entire time. You know how us guys are … we’re competitive about everything with every one and don’t like to lose.

Several things happened yesterday on our bike ride:

1.  We rode for 20 miles

2.  We went a direction I had never gone before

3.  I almost lost control going down a hill too fast

4. I got sunburned. Yes, I didn’t put on sunscreen. Yes, I’m not smart

5.  We pushed each other(passing each other) on the tough hills

6.  We talked and communicated along the ride

   1. We talked about the different equipment on our bike
   2. We talked about plans for the summer
   3. We talked about our families

7. We went through construction areas

8. We went by fields, rivers, ponds, streams, across bridges and along streets

Now you know what’s coming next. It’s time for an application for me. It doesn’t matter what I do in life, I always think of how it applies to my spiritual walk. My problem is that I can develop illustrations for living for God, but it’s always harder to do the actual living. “God, help me to live a life that is pleasing to you … every single day.”

So, how does bike riding apply to our Christian walk?

1. Life is a journey. It’s not a sprint; it’s not even a marathon; it’s not a 20 mile bike ride. It’s eternal life. The question we must face is what will we do with Jesus in that journey? Will we accept Him as Savior and live for Him daily? Or will we reject Him and spend eternity separated from Him and the blessing of Heaven.

2. In life there will be times that we walk down paths we’ve never been before. Those paths may be unsure; those paths may be scary; those paths may be uneven; those paths may be dark; no one but us may even go down those paths. However, God promises to always walk beside us down that path. It doesn’t matter how dark, unsure, scary or traveled those paths are. God will always walk with us in our journey.

3. Sometimes in life, we get so confident we don’t think we need God. We start flying through life with no controls at all. We lose control of our thoughts, emotions, etc. When we take control away from God we have no way to slow down the consequences of sin. It doesn’t matter how good things are currently in our life. We must always follow His guidance; in His timing.

4. We need to be in God’s Word daily. If we aren’t familiar with His Word, we won’t be protected from the schemes of Satan. We will fall victim to temptation. Don’t ever underestimate the power of knowing scripture and having a consistent prayer life.

5. We need each other to walk this journey. We(I) can’t walk this Christian life alone. We need other Christians to push us up those tough hills. We need other Christians to pray for us as we go through Valleys. We need other Christians to challenge us to live lives pleasing to God. God instructs us throughout His Word that we need each other to live for Him.

6. We also need each other for fellowship. God created us to be relational. As Christians we need to be relational to each other. We shouldn’t bicker, fight, argue, etc. We are all walking the same Christian walk for Christ. The more we communicate with each other, the easier that Christian life will be.

7. There will be times in our life that God uses circumstances to shape us; mold us; and grow us. Peter spoke of us being tried and coming forth as gold. We must be willing to be molded through different avenues in order for us to draw closer to God and live a better life for Him.

8. When we live for Him, there will be beautiful stages in our life. We will go through struggles, but along the way He gives us moments to rejoice; moments to be thankful; moments to remember and moments to cherish for a lifetime.

It’s in those moments that I remember how thankful I am that God never gave up on me; that He convicted me of my sin and lack of salvation; that He saved me almost 5 years ago. My life is like a bike ride. Up and down …. up and down …. up and down … but, even still, God walks beside me convicting, encouraging, loving, etc.

I’m thankful for Him …