ACTS of the Apostles, Part 2

Thursday, October 6

ACTS of the Apostles, Part 2

Learning How to be Daring and Dynamic

Read Acts 27: 27-44

Focus Verses: Acts 27:42-43

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 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.

This account doesn’t say that Julius, the centurion, was a believer, but he most likely knew that Paul was a Roman citizen and a Christian who bravely spoke what he believed. The centurion’s actions that day proved that he felt Paul needed to be protected.

During the storm, as the ship got closer to shore, it hit a sandbar and began to splinter in the crashing waves. At first the soldiers planned to take the lifeboat and escape to shore, leaving the prisoners to go down with the ship. Paul stopped them with these chilling words:

“Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” There was a confidence/authority in Paul’s words that convinced the soldiers to stay onboard. They perhaps didn’t realize that God was in control and guiding them and their thoughts. However, they were worried that the prisoners might jump overboard and escape, so they planned to kill them. On these words Julius, the centurion, ordered the soldiers not to kill anyone, thus saving Paul’s life, too.

As the situation grew more dire, the centurion told everyone who could swim, including the prisoners, to jump and swim to shore, and those who couldn’t swim to hold on to floating pieces of wood. (My mind can’t help but think of the pieces of the wood representing that old wooden cross and how we must hold on to those pieces of wood not to drown in the storms of life.).

This could have been a tragic disaster, with everyone including Paul drowning. But no one lost their lives that day. God still had more for Paul and the others on that boat to do. A close call like this often shocks people into listening to God. I can only imagine that once they were all safe on shore, Paul continued telling them about Jesus. And I am confident that some of them accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord and witnessed for him by sharing this story with others.

God wants to work through us the way He worked through Paul. In order for that to happen, we need to be sensitive to what God is saying and, like Paul, do what He asks us to do. Our prayer each day should be that we will always sense His leading and allow Him to work though us to bring others to Himself.

Thank you, Lord, that You are the One that keeps us afloat during the storms and disasters of life. May our mess because Your message of rescue and mercy. Thank You for allowing us to be a part of Your plan to help those that are lost find you. Let us be so sensitive that when the Holy Spirit nudges us to speak up or to act in a situation, like Paul, we will obey. In Jesus’ Name and for the Father’s glory, Amen.