The Lion Cub

*Word of caution: This post is going to be a little more mature than other posts I have done in the past, a little heavier topic. Also, the ending to the story may seem a little graphic to some, please skip over it if you are naturally weak in the stomach or have a vivid imagination.*

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There once was a young man not too long ago that had recently come into a large sum of money due to a grandparent passing away. The young man who had a fancy for exotic pets and things of the like, went out and bought himself a baby lion.

 He absolutely loved the new addition to his home, it was soft and small and he played with it and fed it every day. He took care of it as many people take care of the family dog, gave it walks and so forth.

As time went on the cub began to grow and the man decided it was time to move it to an outdoor pen. It was about the size of a golden retriever now. He loved his baby lion, and despite his friends constant warnings of being careful and to remember it was still a wild animal, he continued to let it out and play with it.

A couple years later the lion was now full grown, with a long flowing mane and a roar that would turn your blood cold.. The man didn't let it out as much now, he had invested himself into business and just didn't have the time to be bothered anymore.

*Warning: the following is rather graphic*

One day the man came out on one of his days off to feed the big cat and to let it out for some exercise. He opened the gate to the cage... The lion charged towards the man and attacked him viciously!

It grabbed onto his arm and dragged him further into the cage, the man started to scream for help but there was no one near close enough that could hear him on his large property. As he screamed helplessly The lion began to tear into his arm dismembering it, pulling it right off the man's body. The lion then began to maul the mans face pulling skin and tearing out his throat.. as the man slowly bled to death in a pool of his own blood... slowly losing sensation of everything around.. everything going black.. the last thought he had was thinking about all the fun times he had had with the lion cub he had kept... 

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"He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless;"- Psalm 10:9a 

Did that last part catch you by surprise? Maybe cause a little twisting in your gut? Good. It was supposed to. The image I gave up there had a purpose, I wanted to give you a mental picture of what Temptation does in all of our lives.

More specifically I am referring to the temptation to sin. Not just the silly little temptation of "Oh, should I take another cookie?"

No, I'm talking about full blown sin. The temptation to addiction to drugs, alcohol, pornography. These things are destroying lives everywhere! And not just in the world! They are just as big a deal in our Christian homes as well!

Sin starts out as just a little temptation.. a little baby lion. It's cute and fun to play with. You don't get caught doing it and it was fun to do. So you do it again, and again until soon enough your tiny little temptation has blown up into a full blown lion that you cannot control. It has turned into something that has a hold on your life and you can't shake it off.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

It's always in that little moment when your guard is down that he will pounce and try to devour you with something in your life! Idle hands are the devils workshop, that saying did not come about just as a joke. Did you see that first part in that verse? "Be self controlled", when you see temptation coming your way you need to control yourself and run from it.

The Bible has so many passages about resisting temptation and warning of us to flee it, don't you think we should probably take notice?

 "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by His own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full- grown, gives birth to death." James 1:13-15 (emphasis added) 

That's pretty heavy.. Temptation to sin. Sin to death. A death in the spirit. A separation from God... do you really want that? I don't.. 

"But Ryan! How do we resist this?! The verse you just put up there said "by his own evil desire"! How is it even possible to resist then if it comes from us?!"

You're right.. we can't fight it by ourselves. It's completely impossible. The young man that decides he's not going to watch pornography anymore and happens to see an add on the computer while he's surfing the net is completely helpless to his own desire and sin nature. He's doomed to a life of addiction to it. 

But there is hope! We can resist through Christ who gives us our strength and helps us run the good race.

The first step is prayer. In Luke 22:40 the words Jesus gave his disciples were "Pray that you will not not fall into temptation." 

Also in the Lord's Prayer we pray "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:13)

The next step is to get read up on your Bible and to store God's word in you. One of the greatest examples of this is in Luke chapter 4:1-13 when the devil tries to tempt Jesus. What does Jesus do? He refutes him and responds back with the Scripture that he knew and had learned.

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119: 11

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word." Psalm 119:67

Another equally famous passage is the one of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 , this is the equipping of the Christian Soldier. How do we fulfill all of these? By reading the scripture. 

God does not leave us to fight alone though, assuredly not! He promises us that he is there to help us endure in all the trials! He will help us resist and through him we are able to overcome and say "Get behind me Satan!"

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And 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 Corinthians  10:13

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 (emphasis added)

God is faithful, he has spoken and told us what to do. It is our job to seek him and through him we will come victorious. 

God Bless, and stay strong.

   Ryan