Following Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FOLLOWING JESUS

Acts 28:11-16

11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

NIV

It seems this is just another portion of the travel log; however, it does come to a close as Paul arrives in Rome. Their first landing in what is now Italy was at the city of Puteoli. It is situated on the western coast near the area now called Naples, but the name itself comes from a Latin word meaning "stink”. There was a volcano in the area that gave off a sulfurous odor; thus, the region was named Puteoli. There were brothers in the lord in that area, believers in the Way. This shows that the gospel was being spread throughout, and the church was growing. Certainly, this was the first time Paul had been in this region, so the message of Jesus was moving on, being spread by other believers and reaching new areas, where new local groups of believers sprang up. The gospel continues to reach new people, bringing them hope of eternal life, although we consider it a fact rather than a hope. Paul stayed with these brothers for a week. We do wonder what the Roman Centurion thought about this delay in reaching Rome, given the letter he was bringing to Caesar's court. Paul was still considered a prisoner, yet it appears he decided to stay for a week with the brothers in Puteoli. And so they came to Rome.  When Paul was still in Jerusalem, and there had been such an uproar, and the soldiers were ordered to take Paul into the barracks, the Lord visited him and told him that he had testified in Jerusalem, and now he would testify in Rome, and the Lord made sure Paul arrived safely at Rome. What we can be assured of is that whatever the Lord says will happen, it will happen. Once again, we have the choice, even as believers, or perhaps we should use the term Christian, to follow our own path, or follow the path the Lord has laid out for us. If we consider ourselves as believers, we believe that God directs the way we should go, the places we should be, and the decisions He makes for our lives. That is all wrapped up in the words we profess: "I have decided to follow Jesus." Paul had made that choice, although his following Jesus did not always end up in a bed of roses; there were some thorns along the way. However, there were some rough patches along the way onboard ship, with the storms and being shipwrecked, the Lord made sure Paul arrived in Rome. We might go through a rough patch in life, or we might have smooth sailing, but if we are following Jesus, we will arrive where he wants us to be, both in the eternal and in the present. The key in Paul's life was that he followed the Lord's leading, and that is what we should do: always follow Jesus. 

Focus

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FOCUS

Acts 28:1-10

28:1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. 7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

NIV

Two major truths are within this record of what happened with all 276 souls reaching land safely. However, first, we know of this island, Malta, although it was new to those who arrived there. They were met and greeted with kindness by the islanders, and this is when the first truth is given to us. While Paul was helping build the fire, he was attacked by a viper, a snake that must have had deadly venom, because when the islanders saw the snake fastened to Paul's hand, they thought he must have been a murderer and that justice was being served. Why was it like that? When something bad happens to a believer, do people assume they did something wrong and deserve punishment? Of course, our society does have laws, and when they are broken, some form of justice must be served, depending on the severity of the crime, ranging from a speeding ticket to incarceration for crimes against humanity. However, how do we, as believers, handle infractions of God's commands? Do we think justice must be served? Do we think God will punish them in some way? What about his grace? What about his forgiveness? What about his love and mercy? Interestingly, the poisonous snake had no effect on Paul, and the islanders changed their opinion from him being a murderer to a god. We should take our cue from how Paul dealt with the apparent problem. He just shook it off, paid no attention to its danger to him. Maybe that is how we should think regarding anything unpleasant that comes into our lives. We should not focus on the problem, but understand that we are children of God and he will take care of us. That snake would have been deadly for any islander, but for Paul, a man of God, who believed God, who trusted in Jesus, it was of no concern. The second truth is that Paul, still under arrest and a prisoner of Rome, went about healing all who came to him. His personal situation did not preclude him from serving his Lord, being a vessel of blessings to the Islanders. Again, we could take our clue from this truth. No matter our personal situation that we might face, we can still be a vessel of blessings to others. If we spend our time focused on our own situation, complaining to God about our aches and pains, or some infirmity we might be afflicted with, we are not looking for ways to bless others, encouraging them, praying for their healing, or even seeing some difficult time they might be experiencing, reaching out to help them. Paul's life was not all a bed of roses; he had experienced pain and suffering at the hands of men who opposed his message, but even as a prisoner, he lifted up the name of Jesus and healed others. Could we do anything like that? Could we see others' needs over our own? Let us look outward, even in the midst of inner pain. What is our focus? 

Jumping Toward Safety

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

JUMPING TOWARD SAFETY

Acts 27:39-44

39 When 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. 40 Cutting 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. 41 But 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. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But 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. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

NIV

On the surface, this is a record of the attempt to run the ship aground and the subsequent breaking apart of the ship, with all souls making it to shore safely. However, there is an underlying parallel or a metaphor of life in the sea of sin. We could try to sail the open sea of life, but as the 276 souls aboard the ship discovered, storms can take life in a completely opposite direction from the course planned. The Lord had assured Paul that all aboard the ship would be saved, and that is exactly what happened when the ship hit that sandbar, and the stern began to break up as it was being pounded by the surf. Some were able to swim; others used pieces of the broken-up ship to float to the shore, yet all souls were saved. There could be times when it seems our lives are simply being pushed around by some storm, taking us off the course we had planned. But the Lord needed us to run aground, hit a sandbar, and break us apart so that we could swim toward his safety. It might also be possible that although we have already declared ourselves to be Christians and are attempting to live by some standard we believe is scriptural, we could be drifting off course. We have the correct compass for our lives, and we have the Lord standing at the rudder ready to take us on the right course, or path he has planned out for us, but we might want to take hold of that rudder and try to sail our course. That might be when the Lord intervenes with a storm to drive us off our course toward the place he has prepared for us to land safely.  Those onboard the ship, when daybreak came, did not recognize the land. They were headed into an unknown shore. When the light of Jesus came into our lives, we recognized his light, but at the same time, we were sure of where we were headed. Still, it seems we could get distracted by other places along the way, and that is when the Lord needs to take charge of the rudder and steer us to the open shore of heaven. We can hoist the sails, but let us leave the rudder of our lives in the hands of the Lord.  In another sense, we might have to jump ship that we want to steer, and swim to the safety of the shore with Jesus, so that we are jumping toward safety.                                      

Lighten the Load

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIGHTEN THE LOAD

Acts 27:33-38

33 Just 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. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." 35 After 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. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

NIV

Paul encourages the others on onboard to eat so they will survive, assuring them that not one of them will lose a single hair from their head. That is quite a statement of faith, yet was it faith, or was it straight from the mouth of God? Paul also demonstrated his faith in the Almighty God of heaven and earth when he took the bread and gave thanks to God in front of all 276 souls  onboard. That is reminiscent of when Jesus took the bread and broke it, giving thanks to God before he gave it to his disciples to eat. Nevertheless, here is a prisoner of the Roman guards, leading the way in giving thanks to God and encouraging them all that they will be saved.  It did not matter his place in the world, his position in life, where he was, or what circumstances he found himself in; he was going to serve his Lord and speak up for God. Here is where we should enter this conversation and always be an encourager to others, assuring them of God's power to save them and that they will not lose a single hair from their heads. Of course, we do lose some hair as we get a little older, but the metaphor holds true. When we are resurrected, we will be in all the fullest glory of the representation of Jesus. That is, we will be in a completely glorified form, able to leap buildings in a single bound, or, rather, be able to travel at the speed of thought. At least something like that, for Jesus, in his glorified form, appeared in a locked room. Whatever form we are in, we will not have lost a single hair on our heads; we will be saved. As the crew began to prepare for the ship to run aground, they lightened it further by throwing all the grain overboard. This would have meant the ship would be higher in the water and possibly make it farther to a place of safety. We wonder if we can use that as an example of how we should throw some things into the sea. Have we tossed those attitudes that weigh us down? Have we thrown bitterness, unforgiveness, criticism, ill or hurt feelings, envy, jealousy, pride, boastfulness, anger, or a host of other attitudes or feelings overboard to lighten our lives so we can reach the place of safety? We know it is God who saves us, but at the same time, the Lord desires that we rid ourselves of what weighs us down. He sent the Spirit to help us lighten the load. 

Who's Got The Plan?

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WHO'S GOT THE PLAN

Acts 27:27-32

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In 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. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

NIV

The men of the ship, most likely the sailors or crew, tried to do everything they knew to save themselves from what they thought was an impending disaster. We cannot imagine spending 14 days pounded by a storm at sea. According to the following text, there were 276 souls onboard. Because they dropped four anchors from the stern, combined with the number of souls, we think the ship was rather large. However, our story comes from what Paul told the centurion. Human effort alone would have caused them great harm, for unless those men stayed with the ship, the rest onboard could not be saved. When the angel of the Lord informed Paul of God's plan of saving all the men on the ship, in fact, not a hair on their heads would be harmed, that meant all who were on board. That meant a unified belief in the plan told to Paul, who was nothing but a prisoner, yet the only spokesperson for God. How was it that the others listened, especially the centurion, to a prisoner? What did Paul know about sailing, or how to manage a ship on the high seas, and in a storm? Yet he seemed to be in charge of everyone's safety on the ship. However, he was the only one who had heard from God. Here is where we take our clue for this life in the community of faith. We might think that it is our efforts that keep a church afloat, or, for that matter, cause it to grow. Sure, we need to maintain the building where we meet, but that is not the church. We are the church, and our safety depends solely on God; therefore, we should all be onboard with God's plan. When we try to save ourselves by either dropping anchors or making an effort to get to a lifeboat of our own making, we stand in danger of causing ourselves great harm. The centurion ordered his soldiers to cut the ropes that held the lifeboat, and that is what we need to do. We should cut all ties to self-effort and place our complete trust in God's plan.  We might make our plans, but God orders our footsteps; therefore, let us keep step with the Lord as he calls out the cadence. Who's got the plan?

Whose I Am

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WHOSE I AM

Acts 27:21-26

21 After 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. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and 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.' 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."

NIV

In the middle of one of the most difficult times in the lives of all the sailors, the pilot, and the owner who lost all his cargo, his potential profits, and now the ship has been tossed so much that it appears it will break up and they will all be left to drown out at sea, Paul tells them to keep up their courage. He told them God would save them all. It was an angel of the Lord who assured Paul of the graciousness of God, that he gave Paul all the lives who sailed with him. Paul was assured that it would happen just as he had been told because he had faith in God. This is where we enter this narrative, or learn how our lives are because of God's generosity. He gave Paul all the lives who sailed with him, but from a personal perspective, because God is generous, he gave us life. When we consider how he displayed his displeasure with all the people on earth during the time of Noah, wiping them all from the face of the earth, except Noah and his family, it is amazing to consider that he did not want us to perish, but to have everlasting life. From exacting such justice on the wickedness of mankind, to sending Jesus to pay the price for our wickedness, or sin, so that we would not be wiped off the face of the earth, but would be forgiven, as he gives us eternal life. Although it is still true that he will judge all people, and he will serve justice on those who refused his generosity, his free gift of salvation through Jesus, and they will be tossed into the sea. Still, not the type of sea the ship Paul was on, this sea they will be tossed into is the sea of burning sulfur, which is the second death. However, we can take courage; in fact, we can keep up our courage because God has graciously saved us and given us life. We will be resurrected to live forever in the presence of God, whose we are, and whom we serve because we have been told so, and we believe, we have faith in God that everything will happen just as he told us it would. It is true because we love each other, we have faith, and hope in each other, yet because of our imperfections, we fail each other. God never fails us; he is always faithful to his own word, and he said he loves us. We can profess when it comes to God, whose we are, whom we serve, He has been generous to us. 

Jesus is our Lifeboat

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

JESUS IS OUR LIFEBOAT

Acts 27:13-20

13 When 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. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When 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. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

NIV

Just when things were looking good, the gentle south wind gave them what they were looking for, or they thought they had obtained what they wanted, but what they thought and what happened are two opposite things. They were not prepared for the violent storm that was descending upon them. It came without warning as it swept down from the island. They did whatever they thought would keep the ship afloat and able to make it through the storm. They even gave up their precious cargo and all the extra furniture or extra tacking in an attempt to save themselves from perishing. They were hardly able to secure the lifeboat, hoisting it aboard. From that record, it appears ships of that day dragged a lifeboat behind the main ship. But it was not going to save them from the following text, we know the ship ran aground; however, because of God, all lives were saved. There may be storms that come into our lives; they can appear without warning. It is possible that when we think we have obtained what we wanted, a storm shows up and tosses us about. That may not always be the case, but it could happen. When that storm tries to drown us, we might attempt to save ourselves somehow, doing whatever we can to overcome it, attempting to throw all the extra stuff overboard, ridding ourselves of something. Still, the reality is that our only salvation comes from the Lord. When they had tried everything to survive the storm, failing, they finally gave up all hope of being saved. We wonder whether we believe that our being saved depends on what we do to overcome life's storms. What we know is that we can never give up all hope of being saved, for our salvation was not secured by our doing anything, or even by throwing all things overboard, ridding ourselves of things, attitudes, or behaviors, but by Jesus and Him alone. All our hope is in Jesus. Whatever we have in an attempt to travel over the seas of life isn't enough to reach our destination. Our only lifeboat is Jesus. We are secure in Jesus.