Acts 27
Paul Sails for Rome
1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast.[a] So Paul warned them, 10"Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also." 11But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."
The Shipwreck
27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[b] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[c] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[d] deep. 29Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.
33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven't eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion:
John 14:15-24
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
June 4, 2008
Don’t Go Down There
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READ: John 14:15-24
This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. —2 John 1:6
In his book Lessons Learned Early, Jerry Jenkins tells a story about his freshman year in college. It was 1968, a year of tremendous political and social upheaval in the US.
Riots had broken out in many major cities. From the rooftop of his dorm in Chicago, Jerry heard sirens and saw fires burning. Students had been told to stay on campus, but Jerry wanted to see what was happening.
As he ran toward a store that was blazing a few blocks away, a police car pulled up beside him. “Don’t go down there,” the officer warned.
Jerry waited till the car pulled away and then kept walking. The officer returned. This time he made it more clear as he repeated, “Don’t go down there”—and leveled a shotgun out the window.
Our rebellious or willful streaks often lead to unhappy outcomes. In anger, Moses struck the rock to get water rather than just speak to it as God had commanded. He forfeited the privilege of entering the Promised Land with his people (Num. 20:7-12). Jonah disobeyed an order to go to Nineveh and was given 3 days to think about his choice—inside a big fish (Jonah 1).
What does it take for us to obey Him? Will we obey simply because we love Him? (John 14:15,21).
— Cindy Hess Kasper
Nothing between, like worldly pleasure:
Habits of life, though harmless they seem,
Must not my heart from Him ever sever—
He is my all! There’s nothing between. —Tindley
© 1968 by Singspiration, Inc.
Obedience is another word for love and loyalty
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 4, 2008
The Never-forsaking God
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READ:
He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you’ —Hebrews 13:5
What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says? "For He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ " ( Hebrews 13:5-6 ).
"I will never leave you . . ."— not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again.
"I will never . . . forsake you." Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful— just the everyday activities of life— do I hear God’s assurance even in these?
We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing— that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
A Word With You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
The Temporary Difference - #5583
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
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My administrative assistant decided to bring her two young nephews into the office one lunch hour. She wanted them to meet the people she works with and vice versa. Daniel was probably about five, and I'm sure he left wondering who that weird guy is that his aunt works with. When I met Daniel he flashed a big smile that revealed some missing teeth. I asked him what happened and he said, "I lost those teeth." Now, I don't know what possess me at times like that, but I told Daniel I was sorry he lost them and I wanted to help him find them, after which, I got down on the floor and proceeded to crawl around looking for them. Mercifully, he told me I didn't have to keep looking; Daniel said he didn't mind loosing those teeth. He said, "I got permanent ones coming!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Temporary Difference."
Now, the first time a child loses a tooth could be pretty upsetting - there's this big hole that makes you look sorta funny. But every child quickly learns that this is no big problem; you lose the temporary, but you're about to trade it for a permanent!
Our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 4:14-16. The perspective of a man who has been severely hammered - and he has the physical and emotional scars to prove it. He opens by saying, "We do not lose heart." Now, how can you be unsinkable like this when there is so much hardship and pain? He says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." You may be in a pretty low time right now and you're sinking physically, or financially, or emotionally. Wouldn't it be nice to know what Paul's secret of daily renewal is? It's the Daniel with the missing teeth perspective. He says, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all! So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Paul says, when you're feeling the weight of heavy troubles, get out your scale, put your troubles on one side and your eternal rewards on the other, and the scale will go "clunk" as your eternity with your Savior far outweighs any pain now.
In fact, Paul says in Romans 8:18, "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Maybe that's why he says later in the chapter, "We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us." When our kids were going through their junior high-itis, my wife and I would just turn to each other and just say, "TTSP" - we knew that meant This Too Shall Pass.
It's that perspective on earth's hard times that makes them bearable and even victorious, if you focus on what's going to last forever rather than on what's going to last just a little while. That is what is so wonderful about the promise of God's heaven with no pain, no tears, no sin. It's wonderful to hear about the prospect of God's unimaginable rewards for those who have been faithful to Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9, "No one has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God had prepared for those who love Him." Focus on that!
When you focus on the temporary loss, you are vulnerable to do something, anything, to relieve the pain. And you often make a permanent mistake to get through some temporary pain. But you don't have to do that when your eyes are on the prize instead of on the pain of the race.
Even if a little boy with a lost tooth can understand that losing something is okay if it's only temporary and if you will soon trade it in for something you will never lose! You can make it through this. This is only temporary, and it is nothing compared to what you're going to have forever!