Heading Home

“And there came a lion.”(1 Sam. 17:34 KJV)

Sneaking. Craftily.

Slithering through the underbrush, like a fat snake.

Gingerly touching his paws to the tall, dry grasses.

His movements, almost imperceptible, as if in extreme slow motion. So as not to make his prey aware of his presence.

Eying his victim. Poised to pounce.

A magnificent creature, which lion considers a delectable morsel for his lunch, stands nearby, unsuspecting. Leisurely nibbling on grass and sipping from the stream, satisfying its cravings. Neglectful to its surroundings, distracted from being vigilant.

Unfortunately, its inattention prompted its demise.

There was another lion; his name was Clarence. You may remember him, if you’re old enough. His eyes were crossed. Because of this, he relied on humans for his survival, which made him a friendly and safe lion. He was definitely a big pussycat!

He “acted” in several movies, one being Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, and in TV programs like Daktari. When he got past his prime, he became even more docile; in fact, he was playful as a kitten and loved people.

I once heard a story about him. When he was no longer needed, some people adopted him and took him into their home. One night when the owners were out, a burglar broke into the house. But as he was about to leave, Clarence wandered in.

He knocked the man down and sat on his chest, wanting to be friends and play. However, the man didn’t know this and was scared stiff. Literally! He couldn’t move a muscle.

When the owners arrived home, they found Clarence still sitting on the man, who was now white as a sheet. After calling the police, the owners told the man that Clarence would not have eaten him. He didn’t have any teeth!

Unfortunately, there is yet another lion. One the Bible tells us about. He isn’t friendly and he isn’t safe like Clarence. He has a full set of teeth, like the first lion above, one that prowls around, “looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)

This lion is sneaky. Crafty. Gingerly tiptoeing around. He slithers through the world, like a fat snake. He eyes his prey, his victims. Ready to pounce at any moment.

We are his prey, his delectable lunch. This lion comes...

* to steal our joy, our praise, the word of God out of our hearts.
* to kill our faith, our confidence, our trust in the Lord.
* to destroy our fellowship with Jesus.

Sometimes, we disregard living a holy life. Satisfying our worldly cravings blinds us to fulfilling our true needs, our spiritual needs. Busyness sidetracks us, distracting us from being vigilant to more important things. Trials can sideswipe us, knocking us off God’s path.

When we allow these things to happen, we will either draw closer to God or pull away from Him. If we pull away, we will neglect our time with the Lord and His Word. We will lack the supply of all we need to function properly each day and the enemy’s tactics will be to our defeat.

You can take away that ol’ lions teeth and silence his growl. Because of your position in Christ, your righteousness in God, you possess the confidence and boldness to stand up to that assassin.

What did Jesus tell the seventy disciples? “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy.” (Luke 10:19 NLT)

You have the same privilege. You can use the Name of Jesus and His authority to stand against your opponent. Keep in mind: he’s already a defeated foe!

The Bible tells us...

* “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8 NKJV)
* “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NIV)
* “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:9 NLT)
* “Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].” (Eph. 4:27 Amp)

Just remember: The hollowness of hell’s hunger hankers to be filled with God’s delectable morsels – His children. If you hear its stomach growl, watch out!

Therefore, stay alert! That ol’ enemy of yours is prowling after you. Don’t let the lion knock you down, sit on your chest, and growl in your face!

Give him your best growl back!



I'm linking up with...

Reflections of His Grace

“Don’t give the devil a chance...”
(Eph. 4:27 Common English Version)





















“...for by faith you stand.” (2 Cor. 1:24 NKJV)

“And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.”(Matt. 6:13a NKJV)
(This is the seventh segment of The Model Prayer series.)

The negative side.

Lead us not into temptation.

In other words, “Lord, do not carry us into those situations where we might succumb to seductions or enticements to sin, or trials of our fidelity.”

But does God actually guide us into those situations that would suck us into a lapse of faith or holiness? Of course not. James said, “And remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him, for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it. Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to the death penalty from God. So don’t be misled, dear brothers.” (James 1:13-16 TLB)

Paul encourages us to “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:11NIV), so that we “do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph. 4:27 NIV)

The positive side.

Deliver us from evil.

The word deliver means to rescue or preserve from, rush or draw for oneself. Evil is described as hurtful, annoyances, hardships, pressed and harassed by labors, denotes evil that causes pain, sorrow, bringing toils, perils, of a bad nature or condition, or wicked.

In other words, “Lord, draw us to Yourself and away from those wicked, hurtful perils and conditions.”

If we willingly succumb to the dangling lures and shiny baubles of the enemy’s seductions, we venture out of God’s protection.

One of my favorite murder mystery movie series is Agatha Christie’s Poirot, the great Belgian detective. Once, as his “little gray cells,” as he calls them, pondered a puzzle of clues, he said, “The devil himself dances among us; we just don’t see him.”

He was right. The devil and his cohorts waltz around, dangling temptations before our eyes and ears to steal our joy, kill our faith, and destroy our fellowship with God. They do all they can to dance around us, to divert our focus away from God and to delay or defeat His answers to our requests.

We always have a way out, for the Word says, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Cor. 10:13b NIV) We just don’t always use it, do we?

David pleaded with God, “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.” (Ps. 141:4a NIV)

What captivates our hearts? What attracts our eyes? Are we focused on worldly possessions, temptations, and thinking or on all that the Lord says in His Word?

~~Lord, “Don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” (NLT) Draw us to Yourself and away from the evil that would seek to cause us pain, sorrow, or other perils. May Your Word be stored in our hearts to keep us from sinning against Your love. Amen.~~

photo courtesy of kxande2 @ flickr

Today, I share with you a portion of something the Lord spoke to me some years ago. As always, His words changed me. From His heart to yours…

“Every time you have an intense trial or you wonder where I am, you must learn to quickly realize that the devil knows that something good is about to happen - that I am about to bring about some great thing into your life and he is going all-out to thwart My every plan and purpose.

This intense time must be spent repeating My words and praising Me. This is your only way out. This is a break-through time and it must be spent concentrating on Me. The devil will do anything to bring you down and he especially preys on these intense times because he knows that, if he can get you to stop praising, then your focus is shifted away from Me and onto your problem.

Learn to quickly see his hand at work and to even more quickly begin to praise Me more. Praise is the devil's death-knell (At which point, He told me to look up the meaning of knell, which means to ring in a slow, solemn way, to sound ominously or mournfully, toll, warning sound, extinction or failure of something, any sound announcing the death of a person or the end, or the sound of a bell rung slowly as at a funeral. Then, He continued.)

Now you understand how important it is to praise Me. Praising Me brings the devil to his knees and is excruciating to his ears. When you praise Me, you bring glory to Me and he cannot stand in My glory. He intends to bring you down but I intend to bring you up - up with Me. The more intense the pain and suffering, the more intense should be your praising.”

Praise gets the attention of both God and the enemy! It becomes a two-edged sword.

After the Lord rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David wrote, “I will call on Jehovah, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (Ps. 18:3 Masoretic Text)

If we express that verse according to its definitions, it might say, “When I summon Jehovah by Name, Who is worthy of being celebrated in praise, I shall be safe, preserved, rescued from and have victory over my enemies!” How great is that? All because God’s glory in praise prevails over darkness!

The Lord told Moses, “When you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you, then blow an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” (Num. 10:9 Amp) Our praise is that trumpet of alarm preparing the path for God to deliver us from our enemy.

David knew his praises of God would bring down his enemies and said to Him, “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” (Ps. 8:2 NIV)

The worst sound in the ears of the enemy is praise from the lips of one of God’s children. The enemy hates it.

I have learned to praise God no matter what. When my day is darkened with a multitude of problems that need to “take a ticket, take a seat,” and the songs of my heart begin to stick in my throat, do I still sing to Him anyway? You bet!

When my eyes spill over with the tears of heartache, do I still look to Him and praise Him? Absolutely!

When chaos invades my world, do I still claim His peace and praise Him? Yes, indeedy! For “I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of His glories and grace.” (Ps. 34:1 TLB) Amen!

How about you? Do you still praise the Lord no matter what the circumstances?

May the Lord’s intimate words seep deep within your being and rise up as the oil of praise and be poured out upon His head.