A Lion in My Yard

Is that a lion I see?  I can’t be sure, but it looks like one to me.

We are warned in II Corinthians 11:14 that “…even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  He becomes even harder to spot when he is endorsed by religious leaders with little or no spiritual understanding.

It is wisdom to protect our children from anything that even appears questionable from a Scriptural standpoint.  Trust your God-given instincts.  Many times that is the Holy Spirit giving you warning.

I will be held accountable for the decisions I make regarding my children while they are young.  My fear of God and my love for my children causes me to prohibit certain things in our home, in their lives, and even in their choices of friends and whose homes they visit.  Yes, I am sure I do offend. But I would rather offend than to place my precious children in harm’s way, physically or spiritually.

I would rather be over-protective than to be deceived and allow my children to believe the lies of this world and the prince of it.  They don’t always understand what they are being protected from and many times buck against it or feel left out because their peers are participating.  It is my job as the parent to explain the best I can and then teach them to simply trust me beyond that until they are old enough to fully understand.  When was the last time you understood the reasons for everything God does and does not allow in your life?

Many times, there are situations in which I am just not sure whether the thing in question is ok, or if I am just being paranoid.  That’s when I ask myself: If there was even the remotest possibility that I had seen a lion in my yard, would I send my children out to play?

“Children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.  They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.”  Psalm 127:3-5

Be careful, my friend, not to do damage to your little arrows, for they are our protection in the next generation, and you want them to shoot straight and true.  They will not be able to if you do not protect them while they are young.  They need to be able to spot the enemy afar off and do battle with him wisely and shrewdly.  If they have learned to believe his lies while they are young, he will deceive them even more easily when he “speaks with them in the gate” as adults, and then, dear brothers and sisters, we will indeed be ashamed.

“Be sober, be alert; for your adversary, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  I Peter 5:8

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God…” I John 4:1a