Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Lion's Roar

After my mom died my father joined us on vacation to Northern California. We picked him up at the San Francisco Air Port for a quick tour of the sights before we went to our final vacation spot, Mt Hermon Christian Confrence grounds where he spent his summers as a kid. . He really wanted to take the grand kids to see something special at the SF Zoo that he had enjoyed as a child. In the center of the zoo is a "lion house". Hundreds of people pack into the center of a church size room that is lined with steel barred cages, kind of like Alcatraz in the round. The lions are let in, one to a cage. The keepers roll in a cart with huge chunks of meat, maybe upwards of 25 lbs a chunk and they rattle the bars of the cages to announce dinner has arrived. In eager anticipation the lions ROAR! That was my first real appreciation for the strength of steel bars!. If you are close enough you can feel the roar deep in your chest! It feels very threatening, but I doubt anyone has ever been hurt by the caged lions. Dangerous? Definitely, but not in that situation, they just make a lot of noise. This reminds me of another lion that goes around making a lot of noise but is, in reality, caged. Scriptures say the devil goes around as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Know this, it is just noise to all believers because "greater is HE that is in you than he that is in the world." His ONLY power is the voice that speaks to us and it ahs now authority or power over us. Jesus destroyed Satan's power and sin's hold on us on the cross. The secret is to just ignore him and all the noise he makes. Jesus has him caged and conquered.

2 comments:

Doni Brinkman said...

I will never forget that either. It was the most powerful sound I have ever heard.

heidi jo said...

i know JUST the sound you are talking about!! we had an experience at a zoo a few years back that just blew us away. i videoed this male lion just calling and calling to the female inthe next habitat over (with her romping babies!)... i had NO IDEA just how powerful that sound could be. it was absolutely incredible. video didn't even BEGIN to do it justice. puts aslan into perspective... the caged lion is NOTHING compared to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!!!