Acts 27
Paul was put aboard a ship for Italy along with other prisoners and taken to the Augustan Regiment named Julius.
Julius treated Paul well and allowed to to visit and care for his friends ---
I say ---Paul hadn't been convicted of anything yet so Julius maybe was allowing him to have this freedom because he wan't a condemned man ----
For days the winds were making the ship sail slowly and they had to hug the shoes as the winds were against them ----so Paul gives a warning of Looming Danger ahead ----but Julius rejects the warning ---and the shi carries on
And What happens ----there is a Ship wreck ----
-They Should have listened to Paul---who was prophesying ----
These verses describe that the winds were fierce and what the crew was feeling ---
18 On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo;
19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight].
20 Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us,
from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned.
I say ------Here we have a hopeless feeling of doom that has come upon these men ----all because they did not listen to Paul's warning -----
This happens in our lives ----we get a nudge not to go somewhere or do something we were planning on and we don't listen and disaster strikes ----our decisions can help us or hinder us ---
I say ------so Paul gives the a lecture and encouragement
Paul stood up before them and said, “
Men, you should have followed my advice and should not have set sail from Crete, and brought on this damage and loss.
22 But
even now I urge you to
keep up your courage and be in good spirits, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship.
So Paul tells them an angel the God he serves came to him
an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,
24 and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you [the lives of] all those who are sailing with you.’
25 So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God
and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told;
26 but we must run [the ship] aground on some island.”
-----About the 14th night some of the men thought they might be close to land -----so they took their surrounding [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet).
Fear came upon them that they might run aground on the rocks they dropped 4 anchors ----some of the men were planning an escape from the ship and lowered the skiff into the water pretending to lay out the anchors from the bow of the ship ---
Verse 31-------Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved.”
The men cut the ties from the skiff and let it fall and drift away ------
Paul again encourages the remaining crew to eat and Paul gives thanks to God in front of everyone ---------their spirits are lifted and they begin throwing things of the ship to lighten it up -----
When daylight came they saw a bay with a beach and decided to go there ---they pulled up the anchors and headed for the beach ----but ended up running aground on a reef --the waves were coming on the boat from the other side ---the stern of the ship was breaking up under the force of the waves ---the solders were planing to kill the prisoners so they wouldn't escape and swim to safety ----but Julius wanted to save Paul so he kept the soldiers from ---executing their plan ---so the governor told the men who could swim to jump overboard and swim to shore ---the others he told to hang on to things that were thrown from the ship into the water like planks etc ---and so all of them were brought safely to the beach -----
I say -----So Paul is showing us True Faith here and how if we trust in God we can weather any storm ---and come to victory -----Fear --doubt and bad decision making will hinder the right outcome -----
thanks God for that
