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My husband is an avid outdoorsman; he loves being outside in nature. He has been on numerous outdoor adventures and has several trophies mounted on our walls of various species to commemorate those times. If the day permits him to watch television, I can guarantee the show will be either about hunting or fishing. I am embarrassed to admit it with these hard economic times, but we even pay an extra two dollars a month just so we can receive the Outdoor Channel on our satellite dish! There have been times when I thought that if he had no other responsibilities he would never leave the woods or his fishing boat. If I or our children need to know something about an animal, we are confident he can come up with an answer. I have even been on a few outdoor adventures with him, but after a few freezing mornings in a deer stand or duck blind, I determined I would leave the great outdoors to him; just give me a good book and a blanket and I’ll be waiting on you when you get back! (It just dawned on me as I was writing this that I have married a Christian killer…talk about an oxymoron.)
Nevertheless, his outdoor knowledge has taught me several interesting facts over the years, one of which I’d like to share with you. You see, my outdoorsman is also my Sunday school teacher. In one of his lessons he gave a description of the power of a lion’s tongue. The illustration so struck me that I have never forgotten it, and I think about it often. He said that a lion’s tongue is so strong and so rough that it can totally consume a portion of its prey in three licks. The first lick removes the skin or hide of the animal. The second lick removes the top layer of flesh and by the time it licks for the third time, it has devoured that section down to the bone.
Now when I heard that illustration, my mind went immediately to I Peter 5:8 and a new revelation of the meaning of that scripture dawned in my life. The scripture says, “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I had read and heard that scripture hundreds of times in my life but it never had full meaning until I heard the description of the capability of a lion’s tongue.
Listen Friend, you have heard me say in other devotions that God allowed certain words or scenarios to be written in the Bible for a reason…nothing was just haphazardly described or depicted. In my former recollections of the meaning of this verse, I nonchalantly thought, “Okay, the devil is like a roaring lion…a strong and fearsome beast”…end of thought. It wasn’t until I knew what devouring power a lion had that I realized what God was conveying in that verse.
The devil’s whole ambition is to destroy mankind. So, with his first lick, he “removes our hide;” for example, he tempts us with what appears to be a harmless thought. Then he licks again with a stronger temptation, and perhaps we allow ourselves to perform actions related to the previous thought temptation. Finally, he licks a third time. This time his lick goes to the bone and all of our moral character is devoured as we find ourselves compromised in a devastating situation with potentially excruciating consequences. Oh, what a grusome picture this paints. We must be ever mindful to keep the faith and to keep our eyes always on Christ.
Friend, take time to do a personal check-up. Are you protecting yourself with the armor of God and holding to your faith; or, do you sense that you have been licked by the roaring lion? Regardless of what “level of licking” you may currently find yourself in, Christ is always willing to forgive you if you will repent and turn to Him. He wants to give life back to your dry bones just as He did in Ezekiel’s day.
“Again he said unto me,…O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:…and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above:… and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet…” Ezekiel 37:4-10
Nevertheless, his outdoor knowledge has taught me several interesting facts over the years, one of which I’d like to share with you. You see, my outdoorsman is also my Sunday school teacher. In one of his lessons he gave a description of the power of a lion’s tongue. The illustration so struck me that I have never forgotten it, and I think about it often. He said that a lion’s tongue is so strong and so rough that it can totally consume a portion of its prey in three licks. The first lick removes the skin or hide of the animal. The second lick removes the top layer of flesh and by the time it licks for the third time, it has devoured that section down to the bone.
Now when I heard that illustration, my mind went immediately to I Peter 5:8 and a new revelation of the meaning of that scripture dawned in my life. The scripture says, “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I had read and heard that scripture hundreds of times in my life but it never had full meaning until I heard the description of the capability of a lion’s tongue.
Listen Friend, you have heard me say in other devotions that God allowed certain words or scenarios to be written in the Bible for a reason…nothing was just haphazardly described or depicted. In my former recollections of the meaning of this verse, I nonchalantly thought, “Okay, the devil is like a roaring lion…a strong and fearsome beast”…end of thought. It wasn’t until I knew what devouring power a lion had that I realized what God was conveying in that verse.
The devil’s whole ambition is to destroy mankind. So, with his first lick, he “removes our hide;” for example, he tempts us with what appears to be a harmless thought. Then he licks again with a stronger temptation, and perhaps we allow ourselves to perform actions related to the previous thought temptation. Finally, he licks a third time. This time his lick goes to the bone and all of our moral character is devoured as we find ourselves compromised in a devastating situation with potentially excruciating consequences. Oh, what a grusome picture this paints. We must be ever mindful to keep the faith and to keep our eyes always on Christ.
Friend, take time to do a personal check-up. Are you protecting yourself with the armor of God and holding to your faith; or, do you sense that you have been licked by the roaring lion? Regardless of what “level of licking” you may currently find yourself in, Christ is always willing to forgive you if you will repent and turn to Him. He wants to give life back to your dry bones just as He did in Ezekiel’s day.
“Again he said unto me,…O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:…and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above:… and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet…” Ezekiel 37:4-10
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