Discipleship

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9)


I just read a book again that I hadn't read in a long time. It's called The Lion Never Sleeps, by Mike Taliaferro. Mike now leads our sister church in San Antonio (where Carmen and I became Christians), the Mission Point Christian Church. But for a long time he lead churches in Brazil and Africa. The point of the book (which is a quick read but impacting nevertheless) is that as a Christian, you are going to face attacks from Satan. If we are not prepared, we are easy prey for Satan. When lions attack, they look for the weak animal, the animal that strays from the herd, the old or the injured animal. They know that if they are injured during the hunt they could die.

Satan is compared many times throughout the bible to a Lion. He is hunting, looking for those Christians who are not close to their bible, not close to God in prayer, not close to other Christians and those who have weak convictions. He wants the easy target. When someone is a new Christian, Satan is even more alert, looking for the opportunity to find that new Christian that strays from the herd so he can destroy their faith, tempting them with a taste of their old life before their convictions are too strong. Mike says in far more eloquent fashion how Satan can attack, using real stories of lion attacks in Africa, as well as real stories of how Satan has attacked Christians. He tells how some have been destroyed because of the attacks, and also, how some have won the victory in Jesus.

This video shows lions in attack, and a very lucky buffalo narrowly escaping with the help of the herd.