Satan is a Roaring Lion

In 1 Peter 5:8 Peter warns,

We have all seen in the movies a lion hanging out near a water hole and along comes a zebra. The next thing you see is a lion jumping out of nowhere and in a matter of seconds the lion sinks his teeth into the prey. It is all over for that zebra.

Like the zebra, Satan is seeking to devour us-anyway possible.

IN WHAT WAY

Who has not heard or felt the temptations of Satan? Sometimes his voice sounds so reasonable and his message so easy to justify. Satan,the hungry lion, is checking everything out. He is watching us. He is looking for vulnerability, weakness. He is looking for his next prey to bring down. Satan and his angels never take a vacation – not a month, not a week, not a day, not an hour, not even a nanosecond.

“Satan has had great success with this gullible generation. As a consequence, literally hosts of people have been victimized by him and his angels” (James E. Faust, “The Great Imitator,” Ensign, Nov. 1987)

Here are some examples

THIS WAY

First experience with porn-Age 11
The demand is so great pornography, on the internet and in general, is so omnipresent you can scarcely avoid it if that is your aim.Internet pornography statistics may seem to be as incomprehensible as the amount of pornography itself, but certain research and news organizations have taken the time to do the math when it comes to the facts about pornography consumption. The statistics are truly staggering. On average, a child will have their first experience with online porn at age 11.

Colorado and Washington States legalized marijuana
For the first time, two American states have legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana. Voters in Colorado and Washington States had the opportunity to make history by voting on and passing initiatives that would legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana in their respective states. Massachusetts voters joined 17 states and the District of Columbia in electing to allow medical use of the drug.

Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage
Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage on an election night that jubilant gay rights advocates called a historic turning point, the first time that marriage for gay men and lesbians has been approved at the ballot box. In Minnesota, in another first, voters rejected a proposal to amend the State Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, a measure that has been enshrined in the constitutions of 30 states.

Supreme Court Upholds Pro-Abortion
The Supreme Court has issued a 5-4 decision essentially upholding the Obamacare law that pro-life groups regard as the biggest expansion of abortion and abortion funding since Roe v. Wade.

See: Satan Exposed

THE MARVELOUS POWER OF SATAN

Pay attention to how the Prophet Joseph described Satan’s power when he prayed to know which church to join:

I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. . . . Not to an imaginary ruin but [by] the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being (Joseph Smith 2:15, 16).

During the last couple of weeks as part of my work, I’ve been to jails in Vernal, Provo, Logan, Weber, and Salt Lake  – In addition I visited the Utah State Hospital Forensic Unit. For years I’ve seen evil up front and personal-usually behind bars.  In recent days I’ve visited with an elderly gentleman who stabbed his wife to death, a young man who raped a child and so forth and so on… Most the people I visit are members of the LDS Church. I know of no crime that hasn’t been committed by a Mormon who had attended Church on the previous Sunday! Satan, the Lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. 

THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS, IT DOESN’T GET BETTER

“The last days will certainly be more challenging to young disciples than simply coping with sharp economic downturns. … In the very, very last days, for example, He will display His mercy in an unusual way: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22). (Neal Maxwell “These Are Your Days,” Ensign, Oct 2004)

Why? Because the “Lion” will “Devour” them.

“I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now. Words of profanity, vulgarity, and blasphemy are heard everywhere. Unspeakable wickedness and perversion were once hidden in dark places; now they are in the open, even accorded legal protection… The world is spiraling downward at an ever-quickening pace. I am sorry to tell you that it will not get better. … These are days of great spiritual danger …. (Boyd K. Packer The One Pure Defense: Address to CES Religious Educators • 6 February 2004 • Salt Lake Tabernacle)

As you can tell after many years in psych wards, jails, prisons, other institutions and attending an occasional funeral — I’ve clearly lost my ability to sugar coat  what I feel is TRUE. (Really, 30 years ago I use to be excellent at building rapport and patient and kind in bringing a client along. I had great bedside manners. Somewhere over the years I’m pretty sure I lost that. Perhaps because it is the “11th hour” perhaps because of the “Strength of the Lion” – I’m still debating if that is good or bad.) Nevertheless, today I want to speak “plainly” about these issues assuming at least one of you – I care about – may successfully fight “the lion.”

To learn more about Satan’s methods “to devour” you see: “The Safest Road to Hell…”

SATAN’S CHARACTER
Enoch was shown the power of Satan upon earth:

And there came generation upon generation; and Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man; and behold, the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth. And he saw angels descending out of heaven; and he heard a loud voice saying: Wo, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth. And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.(Moses 7:24-26)

CHALLENGE

Pray.
“Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan…” D & C 10:5
Then help the ones you love to do the same.

dr rick
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