Join your friends at Ron Wackley (Aka - Angree Panda's) house for an evening with Ron Kale (RPM) and a chain clinic by none other than the "Chain Doctor" - Laurence Scott (XIII). Check with Panda for additional details.

Don't miss it!

April 4, 2014 Wrench Night
Written by Mark Hamm

Hello all,
On April 4th, we continued our Eastern PA chapter tradition of having a wrench night on the evening before our first big ride of the year. Although we invited over 20 people, only 6 came but we each learned something new. This year's main topic was chain cleaning and maintenance, with the clinic being run by XIII our resident "drive train enthusiast". We learned good products to buy, tools to use, and technique that gets results. We did the same with lubing the chain as well. After that a great mechanic in the Lehigh Valley, Papa Rocket, went over with us good pre-ride and post ride bike inspection. He went over a motorcycle pointing out things to look for, how to check bearing wear and other key factors to motorcycle maintenance. Finally, he was the one who supplied the motorcycle that we worked on. It's a wicked fast ZX-10 with cool carbon fiber wheels. Big thanks to Papa Rocket, XIII, and the Panda for making this event a success. Thanks also J-mac and R.W. for coming. It was good to hear other people's experiences with their respective machines. The food supplied was really good, with a good selection of drinks as well. Don't miss next years' event!

Scripture Readings for Wrench Night - April 2014

I shared only two Scriptures for the night, but they were powerful. The first was Romans 8:5-11 which says:5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. What I got from this passage was as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our mind needs to be focused on what the Holy Spirit wants and desires for our life. In other words, I need to be doing what God is calling me to do. I also saw from this passage, how there is a clear distinction between those who follow God and those who do not. It showed me, who controls the life of a person, whether it be God or the person's sinful nature. I am reminded that I need to concentrate each day on seeking God and aiming to please Him, by my thoughts, words, and deeds.

Our next passage was Ephesians 6:10-18 which says:10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. I was reminded from this passage something I learned years ago, as a Christian following God I have three enemies: the way of the world, my own sinful nature, and the spiritual forces of evil. The way of the world says, "if it feels good do it" and "look out for yourself", quite the opposite of what the Scripture teaches! My own sinful nature, as we saw above in Romans 8 desires the things that are opposite of what God wants. Finally, as this passage clearly says, we do fight against spiritual enemies. I shared at this wrench night how our struggle is not physical but spiritual. In the same way our armor is not physical and on the outside of our bodies, but spiritual and part of our godly character. We go forward to share our faith because of the peace God gives us. We have renewed our minds as Romans 12:2 states since we have been saved by God. We deal with people in a truthful manner and our heart is right with God who has made us righteous. We stand against these spiritual forces because we have faith in God and His Word. Finally, as Jesus demonstrated in Matthew 4, when being tempted we answer with the Word of God. Brothers and Sisters as God calls us forward let us not be deceived in thinking we are not in a struggle and there will not be opposition, there will be. Our job is to prepare ourselves for this fight. Read the Word, go to a church or Bible Study where you can learn from other believers; pray, listen, and seek after God. We have a great year before us with awesome things planned, let's roll!