Throwing It All Overboard

Acts 27  

18  We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.

19  On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle with their own hands.

20  When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

22  [Paul said]”…I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.

23  Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and…serve stood beside me

24  and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul.  You must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ “

30  In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.

31  Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”

32  So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33  Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat, “For the last 14 days…you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.”

35  …he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all…

36  They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.

38  When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

39  When daylight came…they saw a bay with a sandy beach…

40  Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea…

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

43  But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan…

44  …everyone reached land safely.

For the past 3 days, I’ve been following Paul’s harrowing journey at sea to Rome in my daily devotions.  God’s peace prevailed in Paul through the violent storm in such a way that he repeatedly encouraged and advised other passengers on the ship (v.22-24, 31, 33-34).  God’s favor rested on Paul, a prisoner, which even the centurion would listen to his instructions and move to protect his life (v.31, 43).  But what’s not so obvious is the loss of all material things to the sailors in this dangerous voyage here—cargo (v.18), ship’s tackle (v.19), lifeboat (v.32), grain/food (v.38), anchors (v.40), and finally the ship itself (v.41).  Trials tend to strip away everything we hold dear.  The sailors started out full of all the supplies and equipment needed to sail to Rome.  Now they were left empty, except for the promises of God spoken through Paul.  When we experience trials in life, ultimately, clinging to God and His Word, His character, and His relationship with us are what will carry us through.

Building Unity

Acts 21:15-26 

15  After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.

16  Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay.  He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

17  When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly.18  the next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

19  Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

20 When they heard this, they praised God.  Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.

21  They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.

22  What shall we do?  They will certainly hear that you have come,

23  so do what we tell you.  There are four men with us who have made a vow.

24  Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.  Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.

25  As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”

26  The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.  Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

By the grace and power of God, Paul was a passionate Pharisee who had turned into the first Christian missionary to the Gentiles, with great success and much sacrifice.  After nearly 2 months of reading the book of Acts in my daily devotions, the number of new believers and the places where the gospel had spread under Paul’s ministry truly astounded me.  Yet the Holy Spirit had moved Paul to go back to Jerusalem, with much warning about his future imprisonment.  He reported to the Jewish church elders there all that God has accomplished through his ministry.  Then the elder reported to Paul the trouble brewing among the Jewish believers towards him and his ministry.  Paul could very well ignore this report and went on his way back to spreading the gospel among the Gentiles.  He could have opposed the authority of the Jewish church elders, some who were uneducated fishermen, whereas he was a highly educated Pharisee.  After all, these men would not know more about Jewish law than he would! Instead, he submitted to church authority and worked to bridge the gap between the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and himself by publicly observing the law the very next day.  Before the week was over, this decision had cost him his freedom. 

Why did Paul make such a costly decision?  For the sake of unity in the church, he and the Jewish elders wanted to put an end to rumors and lies about Paul not observing the law.  This lie might have caused Jewish brothers and sisters to stumble in their newfound faith.  Paul was sensitive to how his actions, or lack of, can affect other believers.  Paul was attempting not to make observing the law the dividing issue in the early Church, and he publicly tried to reconcile with the Jewish believers.  Today, there are a lot of issues that divides the body of Christ.  What are we doing to build unity and not let side issues distract us? 

When I was in a workplace Bible study, I was witnessing for Christ along with African American sisters and a couple of messianic Jewish brothers for a few years.  In college, one of my best friends had roots in a Pentecostal/assembly of God church.  We had spent many hours praying with one another, encouraging, and leading an evangelistic Bible study together in college.  Almost all my college Christian friends were Caucasian, and a couple of Hispanic sisters belonged to one of my Bible study groups.  After I married my husband, I minister in Chinese churches for more than 20 years, learning Cantonese and improving my Mandarin so that I can better fellowship with sisters and brothers.  One of my best prayer partners was a Cantonese sister, and two sisters from Beijing and I served the Lord closely together.  Can you guess that I am a second-generation Chinese Christian, born in Taiwan, grew up in Chicago area, raised in and serve in conservative Chinese churches all my life?  The bond of Christ should be our strongest bond.