This Byline is being posted on “Independence Day” and therefore it is appropriate that we focus on that for the message. So why do we celebrate “Independence Day” on the 4th of July? Remember we had been at war with Britain since April 1775.

Want to spend a moment addressing the Grace of God that is available for our lives now. 2nd Thief Ministries repeatedly reminds all of the verse found in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” It is the Good News that is related to us by the events revolving around Jesus and the 2nd thief on the Cross.

Keeping with the simple and easy to understand format I am including the contents of an email sent here by a friend of the Ministry. This person and I have had several great conversations about things of eternal value, in person and via email. The title is “Enjoy the Coffee” and anyone who knows me understands how that immediately got my attention. So, without further a due let’s “Enjoy the Coffee.”

The Friends of the Ministry continues to grow and with that the Ministry itself. 2nd Thief Riders vision in serving and enjoying the Lord has touched many hearts. I was sent an email from a Chapter Coordinator that stated “2nd Thief SC Chapter has landed!” This week I also met with one of our newest Riders who will be representing 2nd Thief Riders in TN. In about a month he and his family are moving to the Nashville area. Overall there are members of 2nd Thief Riders “Declaring the Good News…on two wheels” in eight different churches and in three different states (VA, SC and TN).

Some of the original 2nd Thief Riders just returned from the “Highways, Byways and Skyways Ride.” This was our Harvest Fellowship Ride for 2006 and involved riding 1500 miles through VA, TN, NC, GA and SC in four days. We rode the “Foothills Scenic Highway” in TN; the “Tail of the Dragon” at Deals Gap, NC; the “Cherohala Scenic Skyway” located in part of NC and TN; the “Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway” in SC and sections of the “Blue Ridge Parkway” in NC and VA. Needless to say we rode some of the finest motorcycle roads in the Nation.

Excited to report that “it is evident that the Hand of the Lord” is upon the Angel Tree outreach. Last year we sponsored five children and this year we will sponsor twenty. The real blessing is that Evergreen Community Church in Manassas took 18 of our original children and that is enabling us to sponsor another twenty.