“Acts 27:21-44”

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

“When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, ‘Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.’ But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land. They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak. But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, ‘Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.’ Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away. Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.’ Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons. When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. When day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.”

---End of Scripture verses---

When the crew realized for certain that they had made a huge mistake and that their lives were hanging by a thread, Paul told them, “You ought to have followed my advice…” (verse 21). I think all of us parents can sympathize with this situation. How many times have we told our kids, “You should have listened”? How many times could pain and heartache have been avoided if only our children would have obeyed our commands or taken our advice? 

Well, the situation is exactly the same between us and our heavenly Father. If we would only choose to listen to His word and obey His commandments we would incur much less hardship in our lives. That’s the case with the captain and these men on the ship with Paul. When they ignored Paul’s advice they were actually disobeying the commandment of God. When we do that we always invite unnecessary storms into our lives and shipwreck is always a possibility. Just count on it.

But there was still hope to cling to. All was not lost. Paul told the men twice soon afterward to “keep your courage” (verses 22 and 25). Everything was going to end well as long as they chose to listen to the words of the apostle (God’s words) from that point forward. Just as is the case with us, they wouldn’t be able to avoid and reverse all the consequences that came from their bad decisions. But, they could avoid future damage if they presently chose to start making good choices. Paul told them that they would escape with their lives if they would only obey (verse 22).

Friend, as long as you are still drawing breath, it is never too late to make the good decision to follow God and obey His commandments. No matter how sinfully you have lived your life, God still wants you with Him. You may not be able to undo all the damage that you’ve done to your life or erase all the scars from the self-inflicted wounds, but the moment you turn from your sins and to the Lord, the healing begins. Most importantly, when you obey the Gospel; when you put the Lord on in baptism (Galatians 3:27); when you bury the old sinful person and arise to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-9), your immortal soul will be made spotless and whole. You will escape with your life—your eternal life. Heaven will be your home. Later is so much better than never.

Verses 31-32 – “Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “‘Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.’ Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.” I love this statement because I see it as a metaphor for life. Friend, there is a tempest swirling outside of Christ, and the only safe place to be is in His church where all spiritual blessing reside (Ephesians 1:3; 3:20-21).

Christ’s church is the ship. Get in the ship. Stay in the ship. Cut away the ropes of any vessel that could lead you away from the safety of the ship. Sever yourself from evil companions and wicked influences (1 Corinthians 15:33). Pull the plug on the TV or radio or computer if any of these things tend to drag you back into the roiling seas of sin. Climb into the ship and make the determination stay there for the rest of your earthly life. There is nothing out there in the sea of sin that is any good for you.

Verse 44 – “And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.” Because they listened to and obeyed the commandments of the God. Follow His word. Obey His commands. Trust Him with all your heart. Get into the ship and stay there and one day you will arrive safely on dry land. You will make it home to heaven. When all is said and done and life on earth is over, that is all that really matters.

Please read Acts 28:1-10 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

Share