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“I
assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than
going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! For a
shepherd enters through the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by
name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks
ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice. They
won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't
recognize his voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't
understand what he meant, so he explained it to them. "I assure you,
I am the gate for the sheep," he said. "All others who came
before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to
them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.
Wherever they go, they will find green pastures. The thief's purpose is to
steal and kill and destroy. My
purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”
(John 10:1-10 NLV). The following is a true story
that was reported some years ago. It concerns a 33-year-old truck driver
Larry Walters. Larry had a habit of spending his weekends in his Los
Angeles backyard, just south of L.A. International Airport, drinking beer
and eating peanut butter sandwiches. He would sit in his favorite lawn
chair staring at the houses around him in the subdivision where he lived.
Not a real exciting life. One day, abject boredom prompted Larry Walters
to buy some balloons and a tank of helium. He figured on tying the
balloons to his lawn chair, filling them with helium, and floating up for
an aerial view of the neighborhood. He judged he'd get no higher than 100
feet, but just in case, he got out his BB gun and loaded it. He planned to
regulate his altitude by shooting out a couple of balloons. So he went out
and bought 45 big weather balloons, a huge tank of helium, and some rope.
First he secured his lawn chair to the ground, and then he filled the
balloons with helium. One by one he tied them to his lawn chair. Before
liftoff he went in the house and got another six-pack of beer, a couple of
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and his BB gun. Then he went out and
sat in his lawn chair. He had instructed his neighbors to cut the ropes
securing the chair when he was ready. "Let's go!" he yelled, and
the ropes were cut. But he didn't go 100 feet. He went up 11,000 feet!
Shot straight up in the air! And the BB gun? It was useless since he was
using both hands to hang on to the chair for dear life. He zoomed straight
up into the landing pattern at L.A. Airport. The pilot of an approaching
Continental DC 10 reported that he had just passed a man in a lawn chair!
Can you imagine being a passenger in that plane? "Look, mom, out the
window! There's a man in a lawn chair!" Eventually
they sent up helicopters to rescue Larry Walters. They closed the airport
and diverted all landings and takeoffs at LAX while they played tag with
this fellow in his lawn chair at 11,000 feet. When they finally got him
down, he was surrounded by TV crews, the police, fire and rescue squads,
and plenty of curious people. It was a major event. "Were you
scared?" asked one of the TV reporters, thrusting a mic in his face.
"No, not really" said Larry. "Are you going to do it
again?" asked another reporter. "No," said Larry.
"What in the world made you do it the first time?" Larry Walters
thought about it for a moment and said, "Well, you can't just sit
there." Larry Walters is right. You can't just sit there. God has something exciting for you to do. Don't be content to just sit there wasting time, doing nothing. Don't go through life watching from the sidelines while everyone else plays the game. God wants you to be a participant! He came to give you “life in all its fullness!” Aren’t you ready to come into the sheepfold with Him? Take a chance today and live by your faith! |
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