Stormy Peace

-



Scripture

Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.
(Acts 27:35 NASB)
All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.
(Acts 27:36 NASB)
All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.
(Acts 27:37 NASB)

Observation

Paul was merely a prisoner on the ship when they found themselves in a terrible storm. For fourteen days the storm raged on and they all thought that they would die. These were rough men of the sea and they were most certainly not followers of Jesus Christ. In the midst of it all, Paul seems to keep his cool. Not only does he keep his cool, but he uses every single circumstance to minister and share Jesus with the world around him. This scene becomes reminiscent of the last supper when Jesus is with his disciples. Now Paul, the lowly prisoner on the ship, tells the men what lies ahead and he encourages them to stop in the midst of the storm and eat. Paul then prays and gives thanks to God in the presence of 276 people, and they join him in eating the bread. Had the storm not come, could Paul have had the opportunity to minister to all 276?

Application

In the midst of the terrible storm Paul seemed to have a real peace about him. This is probably because he knew that he was living in God's hands, and Paul saw every situation as an opportunity to continue to spread the Good News about Jesus Christ. How else could Paul have had a captive audience of 276 people from Alexandria? This was a boatload of people from Egypt! Paul had never been there and would never go there and somehow on his way to prison in Rome, God gives him the opportunity to spread the Gospel to a group of people to whom he's never ministered before. However, one can only imagine how far reaching that ministry ultimately became as those people, as sailors, traveled the world, and then eventually took the good news home with them. Alexandria eventually becomes one of the major cities of Christianity in the early church. Did it have something to do with with sailors on a boat with a prisoner?

Prayer

Lord, may we experience stormy peace in our lives as we trust in You in all of our circumstances. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

The Advantage of Sanctification

-
Scripture: Rom. 6:22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Observation: Two sides of life are presented here in great contrast.  One is a life of sin and enslavement to evil.  The other side of life is freedom which provides the advantage of sanctification (or holiness as some translate the word) that leads to eternal life.  The options here are a life of sin, slavery and death; or freedom, holiness and eternal life.  The advantage of holiness or sanctification is the benefit of the life of freedom.  Jesus died so that we might be made holy like him and this is something that is offered as a “fruit” or “advantage” right now.  The end is eternal life — but the living of life is that it can be lived out in holiness.  The next verse is really just an affirmation of the verse 22.  Sin will lead
Read more