Children's Bible Ministry of Connecticut, USA

A Previous Message

The Leopard's Spots

You can find them in Africa and in Asia. They can survive in warm or cold weather, in rain forest, in wooded grasslands. Leopards are found in more places than any other type of big cat like lions, tigers, and jaguars. The leopards' spots help to hide or camouflage them. They blend in with tall dry grass or with branches and leaves of trees. The black panther is actually a leopard with its spots being hidden on its black fur.

Leopards have an amazing jumping ability. They can easily jump up to 22 feet long and ten feet high. (How high can you jump?) They take to water easily and are good swimmers. They make harsh coughs, throaty growls, or deep purring sounds.

Mostly leopards eat small animals such as rodents, birds, monkeys, and even fish. They sometimes eat larger animals like antelopes or gazelles and may attack humans. Hunting mostly at night, leopards are fierce, courageous, and patient, sometimes waiting for many hours to catch their prey. The leopard stalks its prey, creeping very close and silently through the grass to make a sudden forward rush, pulling it down and biting its neck. Sometimes they wait, balanced, unmoving in a tree to drop upon their prey. Leopards weigh only about 100 pounds, but they can carry animals heavier than themselves, even up a tree.

Like most big cats leopards prefer to live alone or in small groups.

Leopards live by instinct. God programmed them to be leopards. They can be nothing else. We, humans, have the power of choice. And yet because of sin we have a nature to do wrong, to sin. God says in Jeremiah 13:23, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

We are sinners by birth, and sinners by choice. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). We cannot change ourselves, but God can. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God will forgive your sins and give you a brand-new life, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Your part is to turn from yourself and your sin and put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your only God and Saviour. Christ died for your sins and arose again. He paid the price in full. Your part is to trust Him. His part is to save you. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name (John 1:12).

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain--
He washed it white as snow.

    --Elvina M. Hall

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