Acts 20:28-20 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the
flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the
church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that
after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the
flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert,
remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease
to admonish each one with tears.” (NASB)
Hello,
Did you know this is the only section in scripture to use
the phrase “savage wolves”? OK, not the point of today’s devo…….
As we fight the spiritual battle that we are in, we
sometimes miss the predictable patterns of Satan and his allies. The enemy is
looking for a quick sequence of two things: 1) Your forward spiritual momentum
in some way and then 2) You being momentarily away from the positive
influence(s) that brought that spiritual momentum.
Paul knew this – he knew that as soon as he stepped away,
Satan would step in and try to destroy what God was doing. Paul knew it in
advance – he spent 3 years admonishing them day and night (and you thought your
parents/spouse were all over you….) to try and build up their resistance and
reinforce what God wanted from their lives on a daily basis.
I know I have seen this in my life too. I see progress or
get motivation, then not long after I find discouragement in my life that goes
against the forward momentum I was building spiritually. Satan’s plan has not
changed. But neither has our defense! We must stay connected to the things that
bring us the positive spiritual momentum. This could be people or things we are
listening/watching. But it certainly also includes constant prayer and frequent
intake of the Bible.
So – Satan has a plan….and he has stuck with it for longer
than any of us have been alive. But our plan to be on guard has been around
just as long, we just need to follow the plan!
Have a blessed day,
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