Mike Woodard tells the story about a friend hunting elk in the northern wilderness of British Columbia hunting. He and his hunting buddy were positioned on a hill over looking hundreds of acres of range. Suddenly in the distance they spotted four adult grizzly bears charging down a ridge toward them. Fear gripped their hearts. There was no point in running; there was no place to hide or to find safety. The only hope was to stand their ground and do all they could hoping the bears would never reach them. They knew, even with high powered rifles the odds of dispatching four adult Grizzlies was slim. In the seconds it took to form a plan the bears disappeared into thicket just below them. They only had about a 20 meter window from the thicket to their position. The plan was to make as much noise, yelling and screaming to hopefully spook the bears. In the minutes that followed they could smell the stench of the bears. After exhausting their vocal cords and every ounce of adrenaline they stopped and waited. The bears never came. They must have entered the thicket and proceeded down the creek bed to the valley below.
When I read this story it occurred to me, “What are the deadly beasts I hope never reach me? What are the things that would destroy my life? The list included some of the big destroyers: adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions. There are some more subtle ones like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy. What are yours? The real question is what am I doing to make sure they never reach me?
There are four things you can do to protect yourself from these deadly predators:
-First, identify what they are. They will be different or each person. You personally the things that you fear the most will destroy you. Too many believers have fallen to creatures they fail to identify.
-Second, don’t put yourself in harms way. People that play with fire get burned. Are your activities pushing you toward danger? If so, then change them. Don't allow them to push you closer to the edge.
-Third, draw on God’s wisdom by spending time in reading the Bible and in prayer. Spiritual refreshing multiplies your ability to ward off the enemy.
-Fourth, realize there is a real spiritual battle you have to fight consistently. You can't serve Him on Sunday and reject Him on Monday. The devil knows your weakness and will make every excuse in the book to attack you with it. Make up your mind you're in this battle to win.
When I read this story it occurred to me, “What are the deadly beasts I hope never reach me? What are the things that would destroy my life? The list included some of the big destroyers: adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions. There are some more subtle ones like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy. What are yours? The real question is what am I doing to make sure they never reach me?
There are four things you can do to protect yourself from these deadly predators:
-First, identify what they are. They will be different or each person. You personally the things that you fear the most will destroy you. Too many believers have fallen to creatures they fail to identify.
-Second, don’t put yourself in harms way. People that play with fire get burned. Are your activities pushing you toward danger? If so, then change them. Don't allow them to push you closer to the edge.
-Third, draw on God’s wisdom by spending time in reading the Bible and in prayer. Spiritual refreshing multiplies your ability to ward off the enemy.
-Fourth, realize there is a real spiritual battle you have to fight consistently. You can't serve Him on Sunday and reject Him on Monday. The devil knows your weakness and will make every excuse in the book to attack you with it. Make up your mind you're in this battle to win.
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