{"id":35405,"date":"2023-10-25T20:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/alligator-knocks-at-home-and-bites-mans-leg\/"},"modified":"2023-10-25T20:05:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T20:05:00","slug":"alligator-knocks-at-home-and-bites-mans-leg","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/alligator-knocks-at-home-and-bites-mans-leg\/","title":{"rendered":"Alligator Knocks at a Home and Bites Man\u2019s Leg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Florida man was bitten on the leg by an unexpected visitor: An alligator waiting right outside his door. Daytona Beach resident Scot Hollingsworth was watching TV when he heard a bump at the door. He said, &ldquo;I jumped up and headed over and opened the door, stepped out while trying to reach the lights and barely got out the door and got my leg clamped on and (it) started shaking really violently. I suspect I surprised the alligator as much as he surprised me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from the nine-foot gator.<\/p>\n\n<p>The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that people should keep a safe distance from alligators at all times. You should also keep pets on a leash, swim only in designated areas during daylight hours, and never feed an alligator.<\/p>\n\n<p>The commission also explains on their website that Floridians can anticipate seeing more alligators than usual as the weather warms up. The reptiles are also most active between dusk and dawn.<\/p>\n\n<p>Florida is home to a total of around 1.3 million alligators, according to the commission&rsquo;s website. The agency routinely euthanizes so-called &ldquo;nuisance&rdquo; gators, which are four feet long or larger and pose a threat to people or wildlife. The commission says relocated alligators will usually try to return to the site where they were captured and continue to create problems, so they must be euthanized or rehomed to zoos or wildlife rescues.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>Satan also lurks in the shadows and is ready to viciously attack any unsuspecting Christian. Our defense is similar, be on guard, and be prepared to resist him by putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18). <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[446],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3406,3415,3463,3597,3670,3731,3744,3745,3769,3775,3867,3903,3905,4195,4526,4849,4883,5064,5134,5261],"tax_ctp_topics":[397],"class_list":["post-35405","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-alertness","tax_ctp_tags-animals","tax_ctp_tags-avoiding-temptation","tax_ctp_tags-christian-warfare","tax_ctp_tags-conformity","tax_ctp_tags-danger","tax_ctp_tags-deceiver","tax_ctp_tags-deception","tax_ctp_tags-destruction","tax_ctp_tags-devil","tax_ctp_tags-enemy","tax_ctp_tags-evil","tax_ctp_tags-evil-activity","tax_ctp_tags-hurt","tax_ctp_tags-nature","tax_ctp_tags-risk","tax_ctp_tags-satan","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-warfare","tax_ctp_tags-temptation","tax_ctp_tags-warning"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alligator Knocks at a Home and Bites Man\u2019s Leg - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/alligator-knocks-at-home-and-bites-mans-leg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alligator Knocks at a Home and Bites Man\u2019s Leg - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Florida man was bitten on the leg by an unexpected visitor: An alligator waiting right outside his door. 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