Yesterday morning I stepped out my front door to a present left on my doorstep from my cat: a baby squirrel. Smokey often leaves me presents...lizards and birds usually....never totally dead, but definitely grasping for that last breath. My dad says that my cats used to do that when I was a little girl too. I asked him why....he says that the cat thinks she is bringing me something special.
Smokey is the only living cat in my neighborhood currently. I live in an area where coyotes have frequented, and they have eaten all the small dogs, cats, and other random animals that inhabited the woods behind my house. Smokey is fast though, and can outrun all the dogs as well as the coyotes. Her hunter instinct takes over when she leaves the confines of the house and enters the night scene going on in the front yard. She always gets what she goes after--eventually; never completely killing the critter but instead disabling the critter's ability to fight back.
We just finished REVIVAL at our church, and so many people were saved and lives renewed for Jesus Christ. It's a great, unified feeling when church people all get on one page. However, the Devil can't stand it.
Something I've learned about the Devil: he is no respector of persons. He often goes after the "newbies"----the weak, brand-new Christian as well as the seasoned children of God. He preys on their new decision to accept Christ as their way to Heaven and offers hundreds of reasons why they will never make it. He also attacks and tries to disable the Christian who WANTS to do what is right, who steps out on faith to make a right choice to stand for Christ. Like Smokey, he bites for the "thrill of the kill" and throws us---his presents---off to die in humiliation and grief, he hopes.
Sometimes he sinks his teeth into an adult's desire to serve the Lord by tossing something discouraging and evil into his path. We've all been there. So, we have to be ready for it. We have to dig down inside and find that killer instinct--the Holy Spirit-- and use His power to triumph. There is no reason to be afraid of someone who is NO MATCH for our Holy God. Stay prayed up and well-read. We don't have to be constantly looking around the corner for doom and gloom to hit us, but we sure can make sure we are prepared for the fight with God's help. There is no time like the present to make your life count for eternity. No battle in history was ever won without a plan, so prepare. But don't waste another second worrying about the "yuck" that Satan throws in our paths to discourage us. After all, we are on the WINNING SIDE!
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