LIKE A LION

The lion – the king of the jungle – hunts only when it is hungry. After it kills its prey, feeds and is full, it leaves the rest of the carcass for other animals to dine on.

The lion will only go out and hunt again after it has digested its last meal and has used the energy that the meal provided. It consumes only what it needs and puts it to good use.

All animals, birds and plants in their natural habitat do like the lion. Have you ever seen an overweight kangaroo, or ostrich? Have you ever seen leaves on a tree storing up extra sap while others go without?

The Body of Christ can learn two important lessons – one natural, the other spiritual.

THE NATURAL
We have become a culture of hoarders. We build bigger homes to house just a few. We drive larger vehicles for our own singular comfort, disregarding the detrimental impact on the environment. We demand larger closets. Do you really need all those shoes? All those outfits?

Are you depending on the Lord to provide your daily bread or have you, like the world, been relying on your own intellectual and material resources? When the global recession hits home personally can you continue to provide for yourself, having not developed a total dependence on the Lord for all of your needs?

The Body of Christ has succumbed in large measure to the spirit of mammon. It is a mindset of greed and selfishness that is never satisfied with what it has. Mammon has influenced believers to focus on prosperity, and has redefined the word prosper to make it fit in with the world system.

In the Old Testament prosper means to be prudent, to have insight or to wisely understand. In the New Testament it means to have a successful journey. No wonder the Lord told Joshua that if he obeyed His Word, then, and only then would Joshua prosper! Joshua’s obedience would ensure his success.

What is your measure of success in the natural? Is it the same as the Lord’s? Is it your obedience to God’s Word, or is it simply your accumulation of material assets?

THE SPIRITUAL

How many sermons have you heard in church? How many messages have you heard via Christian television or radio? How many Christian books have you read? How many teachings have you listened to on cd?

Now…how many of those messages have you actually eaten (absorbed mentally and spiritually), and digested (meditated on), and then put into practice in your life before listening to another one. I have asked this question before, but it bears asking again….

Have you done the last thing that God told you to do? Have you obeyed His Word?

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:14-19

Be like the lion. If you have been hoarding (naturally or spiritually), use it or lose it. Don’t be caught overweight!