ACTS:27 finds Paul, in chains, being put on a ship by Julius, a centurion of Agustus' band . From verse 1 thru verse 9 Paul & the other prisoners & the sailors that were in charge of the ship went to various city ports but in verse 10 Paul perceived that there would be hurt & damage to their lives (a warning from God). The ship owners & centurions did not believe Paul so they sailed away.
In verse 14 here comes the winds & they were in the storm 14 days. They tried throwing cargo over board, letting the ship have its own course, everything they could do to keep the ship upright in the storm. To their dismay nothing worked.
In verse 21 Paul stood up again and told them they should have listen to him but not to fear for their lives. They would not be harmed but everything else would be lost. ( for not listening to the voice of God.)
In verse 31 the sailors were close to land & going to leave the ship in a small boat. Paul told them to stay in the ship & they would be saved. They cut the ropes & let the small boat fall off. They had not eaten for 14 days . Paul blessed the food & thanked God for protection. They all ate. There was over 200 men on the ship. The next day they tried to sail again but they ran aground & got stuck on the rocks. The ship broke in two. The sailors wanted to kill the prisoners so they would not escape but the centurion, willing to save Paul, stopped them and they all swam ashore.
All in all, in the storms of life believe in God. Trust in Him to bring you thru every trial in your life. Believe in the leadership of the Church, the pastor And stay in the Ship of God (Church). He will see us thru.
Kirk Fults
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What a rich chapter of His word!
Here we have Paul delivered to Julius, the Roman centurion who is given charge of making sure he arrives to stand before Caesar in Rome. Their travels are charted giving us a log of all the places they sailed to on the way to Italy.
When they had reached Crete Paul admonishes them in verse 10 to stay put due the life threatening sailing conditions. Julius, however, listens to the counsel to the owner of the ship and decides to sail on. How many times have we seen where one ignores the warnings of preaching and Godly counsel only to listen to themselves or the advice of others who are telling them what they want to hear? For Julius, the decision caused them to be caught in one of the most violent storms in the Mediterranean Sea, the Euroclydon. We could end up in a devastating life-changing storm that could have been avoided if we would but listen and follow godly counsel. Even so, there was hope for all after Paul had heard from the Angel of the Lord. Every man would survive the journey. This tells us if we repent and heed the counsel of the Lord we all have the hope of making it to heaven together. God is no respecter of persons.
In verse 30 some of the men had lost faith and were attempting to abandon the ship.
Paul warns them that they must stay in the ship to survive. This time they listened to the godly counsel and cut the ropes to the lifeboat. They cut away even the temptation of leaving the main ship. We must follow our pastors and spiritual leaders in much the same way, cutting away every temptation of the heart that may try to lead us away from God and the church and ultimately destroy us.
Verse 38 reminds us that to stay afloat in the storm, we have no choice but to "lighten" the ship. This involves getting rid of things that may not necessarily be sinful, but a distraction or enough of a detriment to our spiritual well being, that the "extra weight" will bring our downfall. We must live by the words of the Lord in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The chapter closes with all the men making it to shore safely even after the ship had ran aground and snapped in half! They made it because they listened to the counsel of the Lord, stayed in the ship by faith, and lightened their load to stay afloat. When God promises we will make it to heaven if we follow Him and listen to the pastors and leaders he places in our lives, the world can throw its best Euroclydon at us to no avail!
Grace be unto you, and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ!
Dwight Chandler
