Tag: Forgiveness

If you know anything about Jesus, then you know His greatest victory was defeating death!  That’s right, He rose from the dead after being crucified by the Romans!  You can read about the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapters 27 and 28.  The historical accounts of those events can also be found in Mark, Luke, and John given from the perspective of each of those men.  You can also read about the trial and death of Jesus in the Roman historical records.  Yes, Jesus existed, they really did nail Him to a cross, and yes, Jesus defeated death and came back to life!

After Jesus rose from the dead, an angel even came down from Heaven to tell two women who loved Jesus that He was alive.

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”

Matthew 28:1-4

Our Pastor preached one time about how it amused him that the angel sat on the stone after he rolled it away.  It was like the angel was relaxed and he wanted to make sure the women understood that everything was okay.  He was also showing them that the Romans and their big stone were nothing compared to the power and glory of God!

“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.”

Matthew 28:6

In verse 7, the angel tells them,

“Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.’  Now I have told you.”

That is the part of the Resurrection that most people know.  The part I want to tell you about is in Matthew 27.  This is where you will find the account of Jesus’ crucifixion and death.  What happened after He died is absolutely incredible, and we don’t hear a lot about it.  At the moment Jesus gave up His Spirit willingly on that cross, there was a resurrection bonanza in Jerusalem!  I will give you the full Scripture for context.

The Death of Jesus

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”  Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge.  He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  The rest said, “Now leave him alone.  Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split.  The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:45-54

Did you catch that?  When Jesus died, a bunch of tombs broke open and people who had been dead were now alive and walking around!  No wonder the Roman guards were terrified!  Can you imagine that?!  Jesus told everyone that He is the resurrection and the life, and He meant it!

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 11:25

When He died and gave up His Spirit, His power opened the graves and brought people back to life!  Jesus Himself walked around and chilled with His followers for 40 days after he rose from the dead.

“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.”

Acts 1:3

“…he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:9-11

I just think it is really cool and amazing that people who were dead were walking around Jerusalem reuniting with family and friends!  It wasn’t even the day of Jesus’ resurrection yet.  He had just died!

Not many people know about or talk about that part of the resurrection, so I wanted you to know!  Jesus can and will do the same thing for every person who puts their trust in Him for their salvation.  He is the resurrection and the life and if you believe in Jesus, He will raise you from the dead too!

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26

Matthew 27:51 records an extremely important part of the crucifixion.  Did you notice that before the earth shook and the tombs broke open that “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”  Why is that important?

Before Jesus came, the Israelites had the Ark of the Covenant, which held God’s Spirit.  This was kept inside the temple and the entrance was covered by a giant curtain.  Only the High Priest could enter the temple and be near the Ark.  There was a separation between God and man, and sacrifices had to be made for the sins of the people.

The job of High Priest was serious business.  They would tie a rope around the ankle of the High Priest because if he went inside the temple near God’s Spirit and he was secretly living his life in sin, he would immediately die.  The other priests were not allowed to go inside the temple or they would die too, so that is why they had the rope.  If the High Priest died, they would just pull him out, then elect a new High Priest to do the job.  Now there is a bit of history you probably didn’t know.  Learned that one from my Pastor!

When Jesus died, the curtain was torn in two because one of His titles is the Great High Priest (in the order of Melchizedek, Hebrews 5:6), so He was the final sacrifice for all of mankind’s sin.  That order of priesthood signified the final order.  It was the High Priest who offered sacrifices to God for the sins of the people.  Because of Jesus, there is no longer a need for another High Priest sacrificing lambs for sins.  Jesus paid the price once and for all!  He is the Lamb of God.  There is now no separation and mankind can freely approach God through Jesus Christ!

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Hebrews 4:14-16

May that be an encouragement to you today!  There is real hope and it can be yours!

Grace and Peace to you all!

Romans 10:9

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Jesus is everything!  Jesus is my Lord and Savior!  He is the Lord and Savior of this entire world and every human being in it!  Jesus is known by many names in the Bible, a few of which are King of kings and Lord of lords, Lamb of God, the Alpha and Omega, Lion of Judah, and the Prince of Peace.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  He is also God in human form, and He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice by willingly dying on the cross to forgive the sins of all mankind.  He arose from the dead after three days conquering the evil one, sin, and death with one mighty blow!  He ascended into Heaven, and one day He will return to this earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords forever!

Through Jesus we have access to Heaven!

Jesus said plainly and directly in John 14:6:

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In Matthew 16:15-16 Jesus asks Peter a very important question:

“But what about you?” he asked.  “Who do you say I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

In John 1:1-3 we learn that Jesus was with God from the beginning of Creation and He is God:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

In John 1:14 we learn that Jesus, that is, God in human form, came to earth to be among us:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Very simply Jesus is your Savior.  He came to die for you, so your sins can be forgiven and you can be reconciled back to God and allowed into Heaven.

Jesus was crucified and killed, buried in a tomb, and came back to life on the third day just as the Bible says!

The Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth states:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-5

The story of the birth of Jesus Christ and His life, death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven can be found in the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Those four books are known as “The Gospels.”

Most of all Jesus died for you.  He is your Savior from sin and death.

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Titus 2:13

“..while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,..”

Philippians 2:8-11

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

After conquering death, Jesus left all of his followers with one important command before he ascended into Heaven:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

That is what I have been doing for almost 22 years now!  Jesus is Lord and He is alive!  I can testify to that and I do!  Read my book to find out about what happened to me when I stopped breathing in 2012!  I was with Jesus and He protected me!

Jesus rescued us, and all you have to do is receive that gift!

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

Hebrews 2:14-15

I pray you receive that precious gift of freedom today!  Proclaim “Jesus is Lord,” and receive Him as your Savior!

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

God bless you all!

I have always liked history.  It was one of my favorite classes in school.  It is fascinating to learn about how people from other times lived.  Take the Romans for example.  It is simply amazing that the roads the ancient Romans built are still there today!  It is an incredible feat of craftsmanship that has stood the test of time.  The ancient Romans were a people of skill and brutality.  They helped advance Western Civilization, and many of the things we know and enjoy today were because of the Romans.  The Romans also took thick metal spikes and drove them through the hands and feet of Jesus when they nailed him to a gnarly wooden cross.  Like I said, skilled and brutal.

I know many of you might not ever step foot in a church on Sunday.  That’s okay, I get it!  Church can be weird and uncomfortable for people.  I know.  You would have never found me in church before I knew Christ!  Ever since I came to Jesus, He has always used me outside the church walls, so let me take you to church today…ancient style!  Let’s do it like Jesus did chillin’ outside in the fresh air where the people were at.

I’d like you to walk with me down the Roman’s Road today.  No, not the ancient stone road you see above.  The road I’m talking about is a spiritual one.  It doesn’t lead to what was once ancient Rome or Gual or anywhere else their beautiful roads carried travelers.  Even better!  It leads you to Heaven!

The Apostle Paul bravely proclaimed the Gospel in Rome.  His letter to the believers in Rome can be found in the Book of Romans in the Holy Bible.  Within the divinely inspired pages of that letter, Paul clearly defines who needs to be saved, why we need to be saved, how we can get saved, how we receive that gift of salvation, and what the end result is.  Saved from what?  From sin and our approaching deaths, that’s what!

Let’s take that walk shall we?

Who needs to be saved?  Well, all of us do!

Romans 3:10-11

“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”

Romans 3:23

“..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Why do we need to be saved?

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death..”

How did God save us?

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

How do we receive this gift of salvation?

Romans 10:9-10

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

verses 11-13

“As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 6:23 (full verse)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What is the end result of this gift of salvation?

Romans 5:1-2

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 8:1

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:38-39

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any power, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That’s it, we’re here!  I love the Roman’s Road.  It is strong and it has stood the test of time!  Even after all this time following Jesus, I still enjoy walking through those verses and soaking in all the wisdom they offer!

Did you like outside church today?  Those verses sting a bit, don’t they?  They are supposed to.  God’s Word is living and active, and He is leading you toward repentance.  Better the sting of God’s Word now, then the sting of eternity without Him!

I pray you take heed of those words today.  Walk the road again if you need to.  Open your heart to God.  He will take you by the hand and lead you gently down the road…all the way to Heaven.

If anyone would like to pray to receive that free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, or you have any questions, or need prayer, please don’t hesitate to contact me!  If you are in the Denver area, I will baptize you myself if you would like!

Take a look at that ancient road of wisdom again, and let it lead you home!

Grace and Peace to you all!

The fast answer to that question is that the Holy Spirit is One with the Father and the Son, so the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit.  He is here on earth, and we can have access to Him!  Incredible and a bit nutty sounding I know, but it is true!

God uses His Holy Spirit on earth to do many things, which you can read about in the poster above.  I encourage you to look through all of those verses.  You will come away with a deep understanding and appreciation of Who the Holy Spirit is, and if He does not dwell within you yet, you are going to want Him to!

The main thing God’s Holy Spirit does for us is, well, make us holy.  Before I came to Jesus I could not even conceive of how anybody could be holy or even act holy.  I had no idea the kind of power God gives us access to before I knew Christ!

Before I got saved, I thought Christians were a bunch of phonies.  I thought they were just self righteous people that wanted to act good and pretend to be holy for whatever reason.  I did not understand that God’s Holy Spirit actually indwells in every single believer in Jesus Christ and empowers them to actually be holy!  My anniversary of accepting Christ is in October (’96), and after almost 22 years, I sure know that power now though!

If you are an unbeliever right now like I was back in the early 90s, I know this sounds nuts to you.  Believe me, I know.  Read my post “Heart Poured Out” and “Wrestling God.”  I know believing in God and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior sounds crazy!  To the world it is absolute madness!

I am here to tell you as a former hard partying unbeliever that it is not madness at all.  It is joy and peace and the fear of death is conquered!  The Holy Spirit is so beautiful I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it is!  The river of joy that flows within my soul is constant and steady even through the worst storms of my life.

Think about what I am telling you for a moment.  As I sit here writing this, God’s Holy Spirit is inside of me.  He is inside a lot of us throughout the whole world!  He is empowering me to preach to you this very moment, and I absolutely would not be here doing this if it wasn’t for Him!  Do you think a guy who loved drinking, partying, and chasing girls just gives that up and starts preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then keeps preaching it for 22 years!  No way!  I have the Holy Spirit of God inside of me because I repented of my sin and accepted Christ in 1996!

You have access to the Holy Spirit and God’s power too!  He will empower you to be holy.  He will change your heart and set you free from the fear of death.  He will give you power over sin and death!  Repent and believe today!  None of us know which day will be our last.

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16

I will be talking about faith in this post, but first I want to thank all of you who have downloaded my book (which is my testimony of how I came to faith in Jesus).  Many of you have taken me up on my free book offer, thank you!  I hope you are enjoying it and it is encouraging to you!  If you have any questions or would like to talk with me about it, please don’t hesitate to contact me!  I would love that!  My free book promotion is active  until 11:59 p.m. PT on Monday 8-20-18.  Be sure to grab your free copy of “One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life” soon!

Okay, back to faith.  I have often asked myself, “would you have accepted Christ if you had not lived in a haunted house?”  I really don’t know.  Probably not at the time I did as a freshman in college.  I was real worldly and I liked to party.  I was definitely scared of death before I knew Christ and I had a gut feeling that Heaven and hell were real.  I didn’t want to die and I wanted to know how to get to Heaven, so maybe I would have accepted Christ in time.  Living with a demon sure did speed up my decision making process though, I know that!  I believe God has a plan for all of us (Jeremiah 29:11-13), so if I was destined to preach the Gospel, nothing was ever going to stop that.

I love the above verse.  This is the complete section of scripture that verse comes from as quoted from the 1984 NIV (Thompson Chain-Reference) Bible I use:

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

That is all I know too folks!  I did not grow up as a Christian, and I never went to church.  My family lived with a demon in our house for 4 years when I was in high school, and when I went to college I met Jesus and He saved me and my whole family from that darkness!  I went from hating Christians and never believing to having absolute faith in Christ because of God’s power, and I have been following Jesus ever since!

If you read my book, then you know that my life continued to be strange and supernatural after I accepted Christ.  No, there were no more demons.  Jesus took care of that.  I had two very dramatic experiences in 1998 and one in 2012 that strengthened my faith to a point where I know without a doubt that anything is possible with God, and I mean anything!  If you read about what the Lord did for me when I stopped breathing on 4-28-2012, then you know what I mean!

Another question that I asked myself and God for years is simply, “Why me?”  Why did our family move into that house?  Why did God choose to open my eyes to angels in 1998?  Then, when I thought everything supernatural had calmed down, I stop breathing in 2012 and God does a mighty miracle in the Holy Spirit to save me!  “Why does this keep happening to me?!”

I don’t have an answer for why, so I stopped asking it.  It doesn’t matter anymore.  It all happened, and it happened to me and my family.  This is my life and these are my memories, and that’s just the way it is.  One answer I do have is that I am supposed to tell people.  God has made that clear to me, and He has empowered me to do it!

No matter how crazy it makes me look, no matter what it does to my name, I don’t care.  It is not about my name.  I gave that up a long time ago!  It is about the Name of Jesus.  Ryan never died for your sins and I never will.  Jesus Christ died to forgive your sins, and no one else ever has or ever will.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, period.  My greatest purpose is to make that known to the world.

My faith does not rest in the wisdom of men, but on God’s power!  With everything I have gone through, do you think it bothers me if somebody hates me for being a Christian or they think I’m stupid?  I know the Gospel is foolishness to the world.  I have had people call me a fool for believing.  I used to think the same thing, and I had fun making fun of Christians before I knew Christ.  I didn’t understand that I had that hatred in my heart for believers in Jesus because I was part of the spirit of the world, which is Satan’s spirit.  I didn’t understand I needed to be saved.  No, it doesn’t bother me and it won’t stop me either.  I am one of God’s soldiers in an ancient spiritual war and I am fighting it in God’s power.

With what God has revealed to me and with everything that has happened, I know 100% that Jesus Christ is Lord and that everything in the Bible is true!  It doesn’t matter what the realm of men say to me about it.  Mock me, hate me, even kill me.  I am still going to proclaim Jesus is Lord and tell the world about Him!

How could I not?!  God rescued me from real darkness and real evil, then He surrounded me with light and love and tended to me with angels.  Then after a 14 year break from supernatural events, my crazy supernatural life continued when He gave me my breath back and let me live in 2012!  Do you think He did all those things for me, so that I would hide away and keep the knowledge to myself?  No way!  He commands us to speak the truth and share the Gospel with the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20).

These events changed the course of my life, and that is why I am here today preaching to the world.  God let me live and gave me breath back, so I could use that breath for His glory!  He wants me to share it with the world to help people believe.  He knows it is hard.  I know it is hard.  Why did this happen to me and not you?  I don’t know, but we can at least learn from each other and help each other.  I want you to know Heaven is real, and I want you to be there, and most importantly, so does God!  You don’t have to live through the torment of a haunted house to realize that!  Learn from my experiences instead.

Most of us have never had to live through the terror of a real haunted house.  There is nothing funny about Halloween to me.  Those scary movies Hollywood makes are disgusting (as are most of their movies), and they don’t know what they are messing with.  They don’t even have the Holy Spirit, and they are making movies about demons.  They don’t know what they are messing with folks!  Those fallen spirits are incomparably stronger than us if we don’t have Jesus.  With Jesus though, you can overcome any evil!

Let your faith rest on God’s power.  The Lord still does miracles!  Angels still help and rescue people just like they did in the Bible.  Believers in Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit can still cast out demons (I know, I did it once!).  And Jesus Christ is still alive and well moving in power among us today!  People, hear me, that is exciting!

I know it’s hard to believe and lay down your life to Jesus.  I hope what I have gone through will help make that easier.  God loves you so much that He died for you.  He does not want you to perish.  He wants all of us to come to eternal life!  Isn’t that great news today?!  You have a Creator, He loves you, and He wants to be with you!  Mind blower!  Your sins are already forgiven in Jesus.  He paid the price for you.  All you need to do is receive that gift and that forgiveness is yours!  You can have that right now.  Let salvation and peace be yours today!

I love you all in Christ!  Grace and peace to you!

“For I resolved to nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

1 Corinthians 2:2

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

We have lions where we live.  No, not African lions.  We have 150 pound Colorado mountain lions.  They are beautiful, elusive, stealthy, and very, very deadly.  Just look at those eyes!  He will kill you if he gets the chance.  Happens a lot here.  All it takes is for one runner or biker to go out on the wrong trail at the wrong time too early in the morning, and they are breakfast.  This lion may have been responsible for attacking a 5 year old boy near Aspen, CO.  His mother saved him.  It is a reality most people have to deal with here, and we take measures to defend ourselves.

We don’t live in the mountains, but we are very close to the foothills of the front range of the Rockies and we are just up the street from a big canyon.  Our neighborhood sits up in the rolling hills above our town.  Our house is at 6,115 feet.  It feels a lot like the foothills out here.  Even the driving is a bit like mountain driving.  We have a stream and woods surrounding us, and there are a lot of deer, rabbits, coyotes, fox, mice, snakes, and other critters out here.  The lions love it!  We even get black bears coming through sometimes.

Recently, we received a warning on the NextDoor App.  If you are not familiar with that app, it is a way for people in the same neighborhood and town to stay connected.  People send out warnings, updates, news, and the local police department posts information too.

At the beginning of the summer, when school was about to end, a woman posted a frantic warning about spotting a mountain lion.  She had been jogging early that morning (not wise in lion country), and she witnessed a few deer dart out of the woods at full speed next to the High School just outside our neighborhood.  There are several elementary schools and a middle school close by too.  Behind the deer, was a full grown mountain lion giving full chase!  The lady immediately went home, and posted the warning.  We have lived here for 12 years, so that kind of news was not new to us.  The local elementary schools have had to shut down recess and bring the kids inside many times because a lion was spotted watching the kids from a distance.

That chase happened only a few hundred yards from our home.  Gives you that warm fuzzy feeling doesn’t it?  Look at that big cat’s eyes again.  He is not messing around.  He is hungry, and he doesn’t care about your feelings, your life, or your loved ones.  He wants to eat, and he is designed perfectly for killing.

How do we live like that, you might ask?  How do we let our kids play outside?  Aren’t we afraid?  All great questions, and reasonable.  We are able to live with the lions because we take wise measures to defend ourselves.  They have powerful jaws full of sharp teeth and strong paws with razor sharp claws.  When I take my kids to the park, I pack a .45 with a spare mag.  Those are my claws and teeth.

I received professional training in my 20s from a man who spent 25 years training SWAT teams.  He was great!  He was an old gunny guy and it was like military training!  He was yelling and everything.  I had a great time.  Before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I was considering being a police officer.  The disease ruined that chance, but I am forever grateful for the training I received.  My wife and kids have an elite body guard who also happens to roll with angels too.

People might say, but preacher Ryan, you have the protection of angels.  Why do you pack heat?  Yes, my family has angels protecting us, but the Bible also says not to test God.  If I am going to hike on the trails and visit the parks around here, then I need to do my part in protecting my family too.  I’m not going to walk around naive in lion country, and I wouldn’t recommend you do either.

I do what the mountain lion would do.  I protect my young, and I will do it to the point of my death if necessary.  I know some people hate guns.  If you live in Colorado, it is legal to own firearms, open carry them on your hip like the Wild West (except in Denver), or even conceal carry (with a special license).  We also have the “Make My Day” law here.  I am not going to get into the politics of guns.  I live in Colorado, I am trained, we have lions, I have kids, I carry for them, and it’s that simple.  My wife is from Alaska.  Everybody carries heat up there!  We are tough rugged mountain people for Christ, feel me?  Love always protects (1 Corinthians 13:7).

The Bible tells us we have an enemy who is like a lion too, and he wants to kill us.

“Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

1 Peter 5:8

His name is Satan, also known as Lucifer.  The Bible also tells us that we need armor and weapons to defend ourselves against him.  These are not weapons of the earthly kind like my .45, no, these are spiritual weapons from our Heavenly Father.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:10-12

When I am with my kids at the park, I stand close by them ready to defend them at a moment’s notice.  I pay attention to the wind and the smells in the air.  You won’t hear a mountain lion coming like you will with a bear.  I have encountered lions twice in the mountains.  They are incredibly stealthy!  I pay attention to my surroundings and watch my kids intently.  I am not afraid.  I am alert, I have what I need to defend my family, and I am ready to fight for them.  Nobody is going to hurt my wife and kids, not even a big lion!

God wants us to stand ready against our enemy the devil too.  He wants us to strap up and take a stand!  Listen to how Paul says it, continuing in Ephesians:

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

Ephesians 6:13-18

Did you hear that?  How many of the evil one’s flaming arrows can you extinguish through faith?  That’s right, ALL of them!  What kind of faith can do that?!  Only faith in Jesus Christ folks.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you defeat Satan and this world.  You are taken out of this world and set apart for God, and the evil one no longer has hold over you through the fear of death.  You defeat death and you are made righteous through the Blood of Jesus.  You are filled with the Holy Spirit and given Holy Armor to defeat the evil one and all of his attacks!

Remember, we have an enemy and we need our weapons and armor.  Be alert, be ready, and pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of requests!  Take it seriously, and train.  Sharpen your sword and shine your shield.  This is a battleground, not a playground.

One more thing.  Don’t ever forget, our Lord Jesus is a Lion too, and He is much more powerful than the evil one!  Jesus is Lord!

Grace and peace to you all!

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Romans 10:9-10