By BENY & LINDA Neff |
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WHAT ’ S a Bike Blessing ?
I often think and wonder , what is a bike blessing all about ? Anyone else ? Chapters have ‘ official ’ bike blessings . Every year , on the first Saturday of the year , the San Pedro Servants CMA Chapter in Sierra Vista , Arizona , conducts a bike blessing from early morning until just past noon . This bike blessing event garners a lot of Southern Arizona attention , and attendance hovers at around 100 bikes and many bikers and their riders . It ’ s a fantastic event for a small community in Southern Arizona in the Cochise County area .
Then , we conduct single bike blessings as individual CMA bikers who ‘ happen upon ’ a biker at a gas station or convenience store . I say ‘ happen upon ’ because we realize that those are divine appointments orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to come alongside a biker for such a time as this . As for Linda and myself , those are sweet times of individual fellowship with people the Lord puts before us .
Matthew 28:19 figures prominently in our CMA Handbook , as we ’ re encouraged to pray for the lost and evangelize when He provides the opportunity . Therefore , I ’ ve often been asked , “ Do bike blessings work ?” I ’ m unsure what “ do they work ?” means . But this I do know . We who conduct those bike blessings are obedient to the Father ’ s will to minister to the lost and dying of this world , be it an ‘ official ’ organized bike blessing or
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a Holy Spirit-inspired one . Linda and I attended a neighborhood Christmas party last year . Before that event , we visited one of our chapter meetings , and of course , we were still wearing our CMA t-shirts and colors . A fellow approached Linda and said , “ Wow ! I just want to thank you guys . Last year I got my bike blessed at the annual bike blessing , and not long after that , I got into a wreck . My bike was totaled , but I was fine . I was protected , thank you .” Linda reminded him that it was not her ; the Lord had a plan for this gentleman , if for no other reason than to spread the news about Jesus through this incident .
After this year ’ s bike blessing ( 2023 ), a local biker couple , wellknown in the community , suffered a terrible accident . They were airlifted for treatment of severe injuries . A few months after the accident , a benefit was held at a local motorcycle club , and many CMA members attended . A close friend of the bikers approached us and recalled visiting the crash site the day after the accident . He noticed the bike blessing sticker had blown near the fence ; it was pointed toward the sky ( he said , “ It pointed to the heavens .”). Then he made an interesting comment . He recalled that the husband and wife complained that the bike blessing didn ’ t really “ work ” because they became involved in that accident . But he quickly reminded them that “ they were still alive , weren ’ t they ?”
So , consider this . Bikers are
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blessed , not necessarily the bikes . Consider also these bikers live to tell the tale of CMA members who have a heart for the lost to be there when we ’ re needed . Bike blessings “ work ” because the name of Jesus is proclaimed every time a biker is blessed . It ’ s all about Jesus ; the bikers were prompted to come alongside . Then , coming full circle , Jesus urges us to “ go to ” and evangelize to the nations ( Matthew 28:19 ), a command CMA members are uniquely able to obey .
Let ’ s do the work of an evangelist and let bike blessings be one of the tools in our kit bag , serving the Lord . CMA Beny and Linda Neff are Area Reps for Arizona .
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