“Targeted By Satan”


BIBLE READING: Acts 27-28
DISCUSSION                                                                  
                Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you tried to do the right thing, there was always something that would happen that would throw you off course or discourage you?  Maybe you were doing well with your faith, but then you would have a tragedy, a setback, a temptation that got the best of you and sent you down a wrong path. I believe with all my heart that the Devil is either directly or indirectly responsible for those things.  Now don’t get me wrong, we cannot blame him for our faults, because we are still responsible for our own actions.  But Satan is a very crafty and determined individual.  He has made it his mission to do whatever he can to discourage us from living for Jesus.  As you notice, it seems that Satan was at work during the missionary trips of Paul as well.  Whether it was his stoning in Lystra, his imprisonment in Philippi, his beatings in Jerusalem and now the storm and shipwreck while headed to Rome, Satan is doing whatever he can to discourage Paul from his mission.  Yes, Paul was an important figure in the Christian faith for Satan to target, but we are important too.  We may not be appealing to Caesar, but we are appealing to our friends and neighbors.   We may not be inspired by the Holy Spirt to perform miracles and healings, but we are inspired with gifts and abilities to reveal the power of God.  The fact is, all of us are important to God’s plan and if Satan targeted Paul…he will target me.  We cannot allow his efforts to discourage us, because He who is within us, is greater than he who is in the world (I John 4.4)   
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