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changed my life . Her family had pronounced her dead to their name , to their wealth , to their position , to their love , to their blessings . Because she literally gave up everything to travel up and down the highways and hedges of this world to tell other people about Jesus Christ .
This was God ' s call on my life . And on that evening in Moulridge , Arkansas , I committed myself to being that kind of Christian , that kind of preacher . This lady , plus others ; others who were different . They had the heartbeat of God . And as I saw their lives , that was the heartbeat I wanted most of all in my life . It was what I ' d been looking for so many years in Christianity . So , from that day forth , I preached anywhere and everywhere in jails , prisons , street corners . Then in 1972 , I was very active in evangelism , had been in evangelism for some time . Now my son and I began to motorcycle just to be together because I was going on the highway so much and it was a way of bridging the generation gap as we were growing apart .
I was preaching in revivals , I had area crusades , I was on the radio ; I was really seeking to reach out to the unreached . But little did I realize what was about to happen when Herbie and I walked into that Honda store in Fort Smith , Arkansas , and bought two 450 Hondas . We made one trip across or several trips across America , on our cycles in the next two years , and we found that most churches at that time were very negative towards motorcyclists . We ' d never heard of a motorcycle rally , but in the spring of 1974 , we heard about one and Herbie , myself , and two others rode our motorcycles down into South Texas to our first motorcycle rally .
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This was the very first one I saw people misunderstood , unloved , but I saw people wanting to be loved . My heart cried out . It broke because I saw their hurts and . And I saw their hopelessness in their attitudes and in their action . I saw people who laughed but had no joy . They smiled but did not know happiness . I felt somewhat like Jesus felt , I believe , as He looked upon the multitude . For the Bible says , when he saw the multitudes , he was moved with compassion for them . As I got on a cycle to ride back home that Saturday evening and to preach the next morning , I thought , all the way home , I ' ve got to do something . I must do something . There must be some way , somehow , we can share Jesus with these people . So , I went back , determined to get something done , oh I had to . The price of doing it was not important but doing what must be done . Folks , I had no option . I had got a word from the Lord . I had got a vision , a heart , and it must be done . This was all that was important to me , that something was done for these people in my life . There was no option but something to be done .
For the next 12 months , I sought out those who would be capable of reaching out to these people . People who were real motorcyclists , who loved Jesus , who would preach the Gospel , but none of them showed any interest . No one really took me serious ; they laughed and thought this was Herb ’ s folly .
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Well , I knew I could not face God having not tried to do something . Just trying to get somebody else to do it was insufficient . Even though I tried to let that pass for trying to do something for them . Finally , the hospital room in Fort Smith , Arkansas , as I lay flat on my back with heart problems , God spoke to my heart that this was what I must do full time . I had already gave birth to CMA . In the spring of 1975 , I went to a lawyer and formed the Christian Motorcyclists Association .
The purpose of the birth of this was so that motorcyclists and all who come into contact with this ministry , could feel the impact of , and know the heartbeat of God . This has always been and will always be CMA ’ s priority : Letting the world know the heartbeat of God . The heartbeat of God is reconciling men to God . It will always be His heartbeat . That ' s why God sent His Son into the world was to reconcile man to God . From the garden on , everything God did was to reconcile man to the world .
This is what CMA will always be about . Every staff member , every office personnel , every director , every program , every dollar spent , every hour of business considered is about and committed to the heartbeat of God . With all my heart , I believe the heartbeat of CMA is the heartbeat of God . If God ' s heart does not beat through you and I , God ' s heart will not beat in this world . It ' s up to us . Christian , you are the love of God . Reaching out to the world that needs it must experience the love of God . If you are not a beacon of God ' s love , the world will never know God ' s love .
This article is from a voice recording of Herb Shreve preaching in the late 70 ’ s .
CMA
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www . cmausa . org
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