A Few Shared Words
By JEROD McPherson
a motorcyclist in
2020 puts you in
contact with a wide variety of
influences. Often, as followers of
Jesus, we find ourselves immersed
in a culture whose values and atti-
tudes are very different from our
own. In fact, the bikers God has
called us to love and reach with
the Good News about Christ can
often be driven by their own
desires to satisfy the need for
power, pleasure, and possessions.
In a culture that’s caught up in
this type of lifestyle, CMA mem-
bers who sacrificially love, serve,
and preach the Gospel might be
considered a joke.
It’s true, as a CMA member,
wearing our back patch might
result in someone thinking we are
a weirdo or a religious fanatic. It
might even earn us a few conde-
scending looks or wisecracks from
those we encounter. But let us
never be discouraged; Jesus said
this would happen.
Matthew 5:11 (NLT) reads, “God
blesses you when people mock
you and persecute you and lie
about you and say all sorts of evil
things against you because you
are my followers.” It shouldn’t sur-
prise us when we, as followers of
Jesus, encounter resistance as we
go and preach. The first century
church faced opposition and we
surely will too.
Take a moment to listen to this
encouragement written to some
of those early Christians as they
faced the scoffers of their day:
B EING
“But you, my dear friends, must
remember what the apostles of
our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.
They told you that in the last
times there would be scoffers
whose purpose in life is to satis-
fy their ungodly desires. These
people are the ones who are cre-
ating divisions among you. They
follow their natural instincts
because they do not have God’s
Spirit in them.
But you, dear friends, must
build each other up in your most
holy faith, pray in the power of
the Holy Spirit, and await the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who will bring you eternal life. In
this way, you will keep your-
selves safe in God’s love.
And you must show mercy to
those whose faith is wavering.
Rescue others by snatching
them from the flames of judg-
ment. Show mercy to still others,
but do so with great caution,
hating the sins that contaminate
their lives” (Jude 17-23, NLT).
The tiny letter of Jude is a short
letter of encouragement written
by the brother or a close cousin of
Christ. Jude would have been close
to the followers of Jesus he wrote
to. He knew what they were going
through and his instructions to
them were very simple. These
encouragements are a call to
remain faithful in difficult environ-
ments. They are also instructions
we can take to heart in our local
CMA chapters.
• Build each other up. (Jude 20a)
In times of persecution, or when
a culture scoffs at you, it’s easy
to get discouraged or feel iso-
lated. In these moments it’s
always important for the fol-
lowers of Jesus to encourage
each other. CMA chapters need
to get together to “build each
other up.” It takes time spent
together to strengthen the faith
of your brother or sister in your
local chapter.
• Pray. (Jude 20b) The Holy Spirit
guides us to pray in the direc-
tion of the Lord’s will. In stress-
ful times, CMA chapters should
pray together, and not just a
simple, “Please remember to
pray for…”, but actually stop-
ping the business at hand to
handle the real business of tak-
ing our burdens to the Lord. Is
the culture opposing you as a
follower of Jesus? Pray. Is the
biker culture in your town or
community not very receptive
to the Gospel of Jesus? Pray.
• Look forward in hope. (Jude 21)
Jude instructs his readers to
“await the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ.” After you have
prayed, look expectantly for the
working of the Lord on your
behalf. In times of struggle or
opposition in your chapter, pray
first. Then wait in hope that the
Lord’s mercy will be poured out
over the situation. Jesus will
bring the answer. He is life in a
world of death; the answer in a