It’s February 15; Good Morning Union
Be self-controlled and alert, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
The safari was amazing. I’ve done them before but the joy of watching my granddaughter experience it for the first time was worth everything. The lions were the highlight- so big and impressive- and “kingly” with a roar that could be bone-chilling if you didn’t know you were safe in the hands of a skilled guide. And that was at least part of my ah-ha for the day. I thought about my verse for today and was reminded that the lion is both the illustration of God’s kingly power when He is referred to as the “Lion of Judah;” AND it’s the illustration of the destructive power of the devil as my verse suggests for today. Same animal—different values.
The guides knew exactly where to go to find these free-roaming animals in the vast expanses of the open lands- basically, where is there water and where is there food!! As long as I stay close to my guide I will be both safe and wowed by the experience.
But the other half of my ah-ha today was the danger lurking only a few yards from us as we observed these stately beings. Katie and I talked about Daniel in the lions’ den and what it might be like to be thrown into that peaceful pride of lions lying in the shade of the tree. Our conclusion was, we probably wouldn’t last long!
And that was the conclusion of the king when he reluctantly threw Daniel into a similar controlled situation- in the confined spaces of a cave rather than in the open spaces of the Mara! The next morning he came back and asked the $64000 question, “Daniel, is your God whom you serve able to deliver you from the lions?” And Daniel’s answer was, “Sure!”
And my ah-ha from the jeep looking at that pride of lions was the same question, asked, I believe, by a searching and wondering world, “So, Christian, is YOUR God able to deliver you from the mouth of the lion, the devil, or have you given that lion, who seeks to devour you, the right to your life?” I choose the Lion of Judah as the king of my life, SO THAT the “other” lion is defeated as I stay close to my Guide. That decision gives me success in this life, hope for the future life, and an illustration to a searching world that yes, indeed, “My God sends His angels and they shut the lion’s mouth so he cannot hurt me.” I pray that you have the same Guide I have!
Have a great day not being devoured by discovering the Lion of Judah with His guarantee of success,
Pastor Rich
Heading home today!! See you in CM on Monday!
Quote for the day: “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands”
ÔÇò Martin Luther
PS—Family Worship is a concert with Tim Timmons tonight at 7:30pm in the Church
PPS—Afterglo by Rachel and her CABL team