“Save Me from the lion’s mouth” (Psalm 22:21).
An Amazing Fact! In March 2005, Dane Kieser, 16, was visiting a lion park with his mother in Pretoria, South Africa. As Dane was standing by the wire fence, a lioness suddenly grabbed his foot and pulled him under the fence and into the enclosure, where she and two others attacked him. At first the teen struggled and screamed, but he realized he could not possibly fight off 1,300 pounds of hungry lions, so he pretended he was dead—and prayed. At that moment two of the lionesses began to fight with each other over their prey. When the large male lion that had Dane pinned to the ground stepped away, the teen jumped up and grabbed a nearby stick. When the beast once again lunged for him, he whacked it. The snarling lion backed away. With stick in hand, Dane limped slowly toward the fence—followed closely by the hungry lions. Gradually he worked his way to the gate where he was helped out. Despite some serious scars, Dane fully recovered from his wounds.
Surviving a Modern Lion’s Den
I can’t imagine how horrifying it would be to have a pride of lions begin feasting on you while you’re still alive. Praise God that Dane survived!
Let me tell you another amazing story about a modern deliverance from a “lion’s den.” Follow closely; I know you will find this inspiring ...
Some of our Sacramento-area church members recently passed out a number of Bible study invitation cards in their apartment complex. Naturally, they were thrilled when a couple of new guests showed up for the Bible study.
During the study, the group leader, an AFCOE graduate, invited the guests to share how they came to know the Lord. One of the new guests spoke up. He was a muscular gentleman, about 44 years old, named Daniel. He had just retired from the Air Force and began relating a fascinating story …
A Modern Lion’s Den
Daniel told the group that he had always been a Christian but had drifted from the Lord. While on base he had watched a prophecy TV program on Sunday mornings that really intrigued him. Those programs were called “Amazing Facts.” He felt impressed to write down their phone number on a Post-it note and stuck it in his Bible … but he never called for the free offer.
Then Daniel explained that he had learned that after 23 years in the Air Force, and near retirement, he was to be assigned to serve in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan—a remote, perilous place called “the Lion’s Den.”
During this time, Master Sgt. Daniel and his comrades had to live in a cold wooden hut that reminded him of a cave. Besides the daily danger, it was a very difficult time for him personally. He was having problems in his relationships with his wife, with a commander, and with the Lord. He felt like he had been thrown into a lion’s den of trials. Many times Daniel cried and prayed seeking after God.
Then one day in the dark hut in Afghanistan, among the clutter, he spotted a book in English: The Richest Caveman. Daniel said he recognized the name “Batchelor” from the Amazing Facts programs he had seen on TV. He also confessed that he seldom read books. Yet as he started reading the Caveman book, he thought to himself, “I’m like this guy in the book living out here in a cave.” As he finished the book, Daniel prayed and re-consecrated his life to Jesus. A great peace came over him. Next he read the Bible all the way through.
When it was time to move on with his unit, he kindly left the Caveman book in the hut for any other searching soldiers that might camp there.
At this point Daniel told the people in the Bible study group, who were completely stunned by now, “God had to send this Daniel 9,000 miles away to a lion’s den to get his attention.”
Now listen, friend—can you imagine Daniel’s astonishment when the hosts of the Bible study told him, “Doug Batchelor is our pastor, and the Amazing Facts office is around the corner”? Utterly amazed, Daniel showed them the Post-it note still in his Bible with the Amazing Facts phone number he had never called.
Well, when I heard this wonderful story, I decided not to wait for Daniel to call Amazing Facts. I called him, and he came to visit me at the office. I gave him a new copy of the Caveman book, prayed with him, and invited him to a local Amazing Facts prophecy seminar going on that very evening. When I saw Daniel at the meeting, I praised God for His relentless love and providence that tracks us around the planet!
In fact, I spoke to Daniel this week, and he is still attending the local Bible studies. Now that he has retired from the service, he is praying about what God would have him do next with his life. Please remember him in your prayers.
I was also thrilled and humbled to note how many facets of the Amazing Facts ministry were working together to bring peace and truth into Daniel’s life. The TV programs, Bible studies, AFCOE graduates, and our evangelistic team.
What’s even more astonishing is when we remember that Daniel’s experience is just one of the thousands of stories repeated daily of how God is using your ministry through Amazing Facts to bring salvation to people everywhere.
Through your partnership with Amazing Facts, messages of peace and warning are going to every corner of the globe and are rescuing people being mauled by the devil in his den of death. Just as King David prayed, “Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver” (Psalm 7:2).
Through all of our programs and products, every day people are discovering the Bible truths that liberate their souls from sin. They are being guided into a new life with Jesus. But we can only continue this work by God’s grace and with your financial support.
As you know, Amazing Facts receives no denominational or corporate subsidies … it’s just regular, faithful people like you and me, committed to getting the gospel around the world, that keeps us going. And we truly need your generous help now more than ever.
Praise Report!
I recently reviewed a ‘Nielsen ratings’ report of our TV broadcast that shows that between 300,000 and 400,000 people are watching our broadcasts each week. And keep in mind—this is on just 8 of our 300-plus stations. Praise God!
In connection with these viewers, our office receives thousands of requests each week for Bible studies and a wide spectrum of other Christian material. We send most of these materials to them for free. But as you know, they aren’t free for us to print and distribute.
Would you please pray about sending a special year-end gift this month that will help me know we can keep the truth of the everlasting gospel going stronger than ever into the next year? With the world’s economy in such turmoil, what better bank can we invest in than our heavenly bank accounts? And if your gift is postmarked by December 31, you can save on your taxes too.
May you be swallowed up by God’s love,
Doug Batchelor