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Daily Inspirational Devotionals
A Tug of War The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10) A family was camping by a lake somewhere deep in the southern part of Louisiana. The father was busy pitching the tent while his wife began setting up the stove and building a small fire. Their boy had already dragged his small canoe down to the water and rowed out toward the middle of the lake to explore. Suddenly the mother and father heard a loud splash, followed by a short scream. The mother immediately ran toward the water to see her boy bobbing in the lake beside his capsized canoe. She didn’t worry too much, since she knew her son could swim. The father laughed, the mother chuckled, and the boy began swimming to shore. As the boy made it to the water’s edge, the mother reached her hand out to help him. He grabbed hold and at that instant heard a loud splash behind him and felt something grab hold of his right ankle, sending him crashing face-first into the water. The mother held on, and to her horror she saw that a huge alligator had followed the boy to shore and had him by the right ankle. Suddenly she realized that she was in a tug-of-war with a six-foot-long, four-hundred-pound sea monster. She gripped her boy’s arm with both hands and pulled with all her might, while the alligator clamped down harder on his ankle. Her boy screamed helplessly in the middle. The scene that this horrified mother found herself in seems a perfect analogy for the spiritual battle that many of us wage each day for our families. We hold our children tightly by one hand, while the enemy fights and pulls on the other end, trying desperately to drag them into his lair. He is a four-hundred-pound monster with gnarly teeth and superhuman strength, and often we feel like ninety-pound housewives struggling against his power. We know that he has only one goal in mind—to drown and devour his prey. “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy,” says Jesus (John 10:10). And in the midst of it, we fight to see that the evil one doesn’t win the battle. The end of our story in Louisiana was a happy one. The mother hung on for dear life, and the father reached them just in time to beat the monster back into hiding. Today the boy has two scars to remind them of the episode—a large gash in his ankle, and five small indentations in his right wrist. They came from his mother’s fingernails. Other than that the boy is fine. This shows once again that the enemy doesn’t have a chance against a determined and loving parent.
Today’s Reading John 10:7-10 Reflections: How often do you feel as if you’re losing your battle with the enemy? Pray today for the strength to hang on and win the battle with Jesus’ help.
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The best-selling Left Behind series has captured the attention of millions of readers, and it has changed lives. It has brought millions of believers the motivation to examine their hearts. Are you ready to embrace eternity? Live each moment as if it could be your last? Your future is more important than your past. Where you are going matters more than where you have been. What you do from this day forward means much more than what you have already done. You may be affected by your past, but you are not defined by it. Not in the eyes of God. What does it mean to embrace eternity? It means grasping each breath as if it could be your last, living life moment by precious moment with your feet planted firmly on earth but your heart aimed squarely at heaven. It means learning to embrace the role of dual citizenship—living in one world while belonging to another. It is a lifestyle of living like there’s no tomorrow and then dying so that your real life can finally begin! This 365-day devotional explores the themes introduced in the Left Behind series—themes of salvation, grace, obedience, and faith. New believers as well as mature believers will find a message of faith that will inspire and motivate daily.
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