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John Parker |
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nks,
John MASTERY! Walking on Water
(WOW!) part 3 |
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PARKER’S =
WEEKLY
was originally published in the Chowchilla News newspaper August 13,
2008 |
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The
red paint on the Giant Dipper roller roaster was worn and chipped in plac=
es
but was beautiful to behold up close.&nb=
sp;
I had seen it from the This
was to be my first step toward becoming a master roller coaster rider. I
climbed in one of the middle cars and got comfortable. It was, after all, my first ride=
. I knew I wasn’t ready to s=
it in
the front with the masters just yet. Next,
I kept my eye on the long silver safety bar that was still open in front =
of
me and began placing my hope in it, thinking, “As soon as the man in
charge comes around and locks it in up close I’ll be snug and safe =
and
ready to go on to greatness!”
I
watched the attendant pull and lock the bars into place in the cars in fr=
ont
of me. Quickly he arrived a=
t my
car and pulled the bar forward almost against my chest just the way I was
anticipating. I heard it lo=
ck
into place and I knew all was well.
Success was in my future! But
then, Disaster! As I grabbe=
d the
bar with both hands to test it and reassure myself of how secure I would =
it
offered no resistance. Inst=
ead it
wiggled back and forth a good eight to ten inches allowing, in my expert
opinion, a gap big enough for my junior-high school sized body to fly rig=
ht
through! All my faith went =
out
the window! Fear, yea, even terror flooded my young soul! My
mind raced. This was very wrong.
I had to do something quickly---or perish! The
attendant, whose name I think was Attila the Hun, was no camp counselor.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> As he walked by for a final
“safety” check I managed to get a shred of his attention and =
to
squeak out of my terrified throat as I wiggled the bar, “I think
it’s broken!” Rather,
than smile and give me a happy pep talk like I expected since, after all =
he
was working with youngsters like me who need lots of love, he just wiggled
the bar, observed the huge gap, and mumbled, “It’s fine.̶=
1;
Heartlessly he abandoned me and headed over to the executioner’s bo=
oth
to start the coaster! I kne=
w then
I was a goner! It
must have been with a simple confidence similar to my first step into that
red coaster car that that Simon Peter stepped out of the boat onto the wa=
ters
of What
joy he felt as his feet came to rest on solid water and as he took his fi=
rst
steps. Can you see the huge=
smile
on his face? “It work=
s!
This is awesome!” he must have thought. And off he went! Glory be! But
then, Disaster! The silver =
safety
bar wiggled too much! It ma=
y have
been a burst of wind or the splash of a wave that did Peter in. It says, “he saw the wind&=
#8221;
and the whole plan fell apart.
Faith died! Fear rev=
ived! The
Scripture says,
“Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and
came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid…” (Mat=
thew
14:29-30 ESV) I
am amazed at the number of people who tell me, with a straight face, that
they have no fears. Yet the=
ir
defensive, controlling, intimidating, manipulative, or cunning actions and
attitudes shout, “I’m afraid!” from the highest houseto=
ps. Rather
than deny that we have fear we do better to acknowledge its existence and
prepare for its sudden arrival.
Fear is actually called an ungodly spirit in the Bible: “For=
God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) The
good news about this is that fear isn’t something we have to keep! =
We
can repent of participating with it and then secure in God’s love c=
ast
it off of us! (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 John 4:18) The
other good news is that faith can be restored as quickly as it’s lo=
st.
When Peter recognized his fears were killing him he took action! So can <=
span
class=3DGramE>we. We’ll look at that next week! Discussion
--- for yourself or with friend: |
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