{"id":2212,"date":"2020-05-11T09:43:47","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T17:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2020-05-11T09:43:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T17:43:47","slug":"devotion-acts-2727-44-the-wild-ride-gets-more-wild-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2212","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Acts 27:27-44 The Wild Ride Gets More Wild Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
Acts 27:27-44<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic\u00a0Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.\u00a028\u00a0They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet\u00a0deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet\u00a0deep.\u00a029\u00a0Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.\u00a030\u00a0In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat\u00a0down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.\u00a031\u00a0Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, \u201cUnless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.\u201d\u00a032\u00a0So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.\u00a0 33\u00a0Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. \u201cFor the last fourteen days,\u201d he said,\u00a0\u201cyou have been in constant suspense and have gone without food\u2014you\u00a0haven\u2019t eaten anything.\u00a034\u00a0Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive.\u00a0Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.\u201d\u00a035\u00a0After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it\u00a0and began to eat.\u00a036\u00a0They were all encouraged\u00a0and ate some food themselves.\u00a037\u00a0Altogether there were 276 of us on board.\u00a038\u00a0When they had\u00a0eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.\u00a0 39\u00a0When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach,\u00a0where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.\u00a040\u00a0Cutting loose the anchors,\u00a0they 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.\u00a041\u00a0But 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\u00a0The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.\u00a043\u00a0But the centurion wanted to spare Paul\u2019s life\u00a0and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.\u00a044\u00a0The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship.\u00a0In this way everyone reached land safely.<\/i><\/div>\n

\u201cIn an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat\u00a0down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.\u00a031\u00a0Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, \u201cUnless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.\u201d\u00a032\u00a0So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.<\/i>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a0Vs 22-26<\/b>\u00a0Paul shared with his shipmates the message the Lord had sent to him.\u00a0\u00a0Obviously there were sailors who, though all that Paul had said had come true thus far, they didn\u2019t believe in the God Paul told of and they certainly weren\u2019t going to risk their lives on what Paul had said.\u00a0\u00a0They were going to literally abandon ship.\u00a0\u00a0This should not surprise us, the people did not believe Noah and so they perished. (Genesis 6-7<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Paul told the centurion that unless these men stay with the ship than he could not be saved.\u00a0\u00a0Well, the centurion believed Paul and quickly took action so that the men could not leave.<\/p>\n

What was meant that if the men left then the centurion would not be saved?\u00a0\u00a0Did it mean that God would pull back his protection from those on board and all would perish?\u00a0\u00a0Well, we know that at least Paul would not die.\u00a0\u00a0And likely, neither would Luke and the others who were accompanying Paul.\u00a0\u00a0So would God pull His protection from everyone but them?\u00a0\u00a0Would He do that even if all the others were believing what Paul had told them about the message from the Lord?\u00a0\u00a0Is that how we know God to be?\u00a0\u00a0After all God gave the people of Noah\u2019s time an opportunity to believe and be saved, only the unbelieving would die.\u00a0\u00a0Also, the people of Sodom could have repented.\u00a0\u00a0They could have heeded Lot\u2019s words.\u00a0\u00a0But they did not, only those who believed and obeyed God\u2019s message were saved.\u00a0\u00a0So the fact that some on board, and certainly the centurion, were heeding God\u2019s message means that, as we understand how God dealt with the people in Noah\u2019s time and the people of Sodom, they were warned and if they listened and obeyed, they were saved.\u00a0\u00a0The same as with Rahab (Joshua 2:17-21, 6:22-25<\/b>). So it seems very unlikely that the Lord would have pulled his protection from those who seemed to be heeding His words.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the reason the centurion would not have lived would be because of an uprising from his men and any sailors left on board.\u00a0\u00a0Had those attempting to leave the ship succeeded, how would the rest of the men felt?\u00a0\u00a0As these men would have sailed off the men on board would surely have begun to feel \u201cleft behind.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They would begin to wonder if this centurion, who is not a sailor, was making wise decisions.\u00a0\u00a0Why was he giving regard to what Paul was saying?\u00a0\u00a0Had he converted?\u00a0\u00a0Why was he forsaking their gods?\u00a0\u00a0Was the centurion losing his mind?\u00a0\u00a0Family, those who spread even a little dissent poison the minds of all.\u00a0\u00a0Galatians 5:9<\/b>\u00a0\u201cA little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Fear is nefarious and spreads fast.\u00a0\u00a0A cunningly placed lie is a gas that spreads and kills. The Lord is against those who cause division and warns us against allowing them being, or staying, amongst us.\u00a0\u00a0(Romans 16:17, Titus 3:10<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0We know how serious the Lord views those who cause division.\u00a0\u00a0In the times of Moses he dealt with it quickly when Miriam and Aaron were being divisive. (Genesis 12:1-15<\/b>) God is against divisive people until, and if, they repent.\u00a0\u00a0Divisive people are dangerous.\u00a0\u00a0They rise up against leaders and lead others to revolt.\u00a0\u00a0All it takes is a lie, or a scoff, or a smirk, or a rolling of the eyes done repeatedly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It seems likely that it was not that God would have pulled His protection from the ship because some had left, but that the poisons of fear and doubt left by those who abandoned ship would have led to a revolt against the centurion leading to his murder.\u00a0\u00a0But since the centurion moved quickly, decisively and strongly, he maintained control and authority over those on the ship.\u00a0\u00a0Divisive people brings down churches, small groups and even countries.\u00a0\u00a0Divisive people, going against the will of God, are dangerous.\u00a0\u00a0However, God\u2019s people are those who are used to divide those who will suffer the second death from continuing on that path.\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s people are His instruments to save and preserve.\u00a0\u00a0God saved the centurion from impending treachery.\u00a0\u00a0God also can and does save us.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God who loves us so and who is able to bring about His will.\u00a0\u00a0Heed the warning of God, as led by God \u201cWarn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.\u00a011\u00a0You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(Titus 3:10-11<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Praise God who loves and keeps us!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/p>\n

P<\/b><\/span>salm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n

Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts 27:27-44\u00a0–\u00a0On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic\u00a0Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.\u00a028\u00a0They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet\u00a0deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet\u00a0deep.\u00a029\u00a0Fearing that we would be dashed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1969,1865,2186,94,1874,17,10,105],"class_list":["post-2212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-galatians","tag-genesis","tag-joshua","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-romans","tag-titus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2213,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}