Our three children had been begging for kittens, but we knew kittens might not be a good choice. You see, we had also prayed for a dog, and the Lord had answered that prayer by bringing us a nice, year-old black lab that someone had dropped off in the country by our home. We enjoyed Kipper and thanked the Lord for this answer to prayer. But Kipper had one major fault ... he liked small, fuzzy creatures. Now I don't mean that he liked to play with them ... he liked to eat them!
Our friends had a litter of kittens and asked if we'd like to have some. Of course the answer to that was, “Yes!” We would LIKE them, but so would Kipper! After some pleading from the children, we decided to take some on a trial basis.
Daddy built a sturdy cat house, Curtis painted it and we purchased all the necessary items you need for happy kittens! The day came when the kittens were coming to our house. We carried them in an animal carrier from their home to ours. We were barely out of the van before Kipper was jumping at the carrier and biting at the metal door! We sure were thankful we had their cat house on the deck, with a secure gate across the deck entrance!
Once behind the locked gate, we introduced the kittens to their new home. The children were thrilled to have these new playmates and soon had them named!
But peace had left our house! We now had a dog with front paws hanging over the top of the deck gate and loud barks echoing through the neighborhood. The barks were ringing in our ears, and no peace was in sight as long as Kipper knew those kittens were on the deck.
The kittens growled and hissed at the dog, but they soon got used to Kipper’s noise and contentedly slept and enjoyed the attention from the children. They did not realize the constant danger they were in if the gate were left open or if they wandered between the slats of the protective decking.
One evening Daddy was working in the yard, and Kipper was playing with the children. All of a sudden Curtis started yelling and screaming! Quickly turning to see what was wrong, Daddy saw that one of the kittens had forgotten that there was an enemy out there in the yard and walked out between the slats of the deck.
Sometimes we forget that our enemy, Satan, “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:88Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8)). We think we can just watch this one movie or hang out with this group of friends just once in a while, and it won't affect our light for the Lord Jesus! Do you know that the Bible says, “The friendship of the world is enmity [hatred] with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:44Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)).
In a flash Kipper dashed over and grabbed that little kitten in his strong jaws! Daddy threw his tools down and was over at the dog in a flash! I was in the kitchen and heard yelling and screaming and Daddy’s yelling at the dog, telling him, “NO, KIPPER! NO!” Daddy was trying to pry the dog’s jaws apart. He was sweating as he tried and tried to pry those strong jaws apart! At last the kitten dropped to the ground and ran through a safe slot under the deck where no one could reach her. We were all shaking with fear and near tears as we tried to coax the kitten out so we could see if she was hurt.
Satan pretends he’s your friend and that he has something for you to enjoy, but he truly is “the thief [that comes] ... to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:1010The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)). The wonderful news is that Jesus lovingly assures us, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:1010The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)).
Jesus also said, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:1111I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)). Jesus wants to give you eternal life, but Satan’s plan is to steal and kill and destroy! Which master would you like? I'm sure you are saying, “Jesus”! So, do you want to know how to have Him as your Saviour? Just talk to Him right now and tell Him that you know you are a sinner and thank Him for dying for your sins. And then, do you want to know how to have Him as your Master? Keep close to Him by reading the Bible every day and obeying it, talk to Jesus all day about everything, and keep away from evil (John 17:1515I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (John 17:15)).
It wasn't until the next morning that we found out if the poor kitten survived the terrifying experience of being in the enemy’s jaws! The sun shone onto the deck, as we looked first in the cat house, to count how many kittens were there. And there she was, purring and without a single wound from Kipper’s strong jaws.
How thankful we all were, but it was sad for us to realize that we would never be able to enjoy kittens at our house as long as we had Kipper, an enemy of small animals. It wasn't a chance we wanted to take again. We took those kittens back to their original home, and soon they all had good homes where they wouldn't be in such danger.
But for you and me, there are always going to be dangers around us, and we must always be on guard. Ephesians 6:1111Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11) warns us to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Maybe your parents or your Sunday school teacher can explain to you about the armor of God.
ML-06/22/2008