Stay On The Ship

King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Stay On The Ship
Date: Friday November 18, 2011
Chapters: Acts 26-28
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-november-18
All Scripture quoted comes from the King James Version.

Hello My Friend,

“Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.” - Luke 8:22-25.

The word faith means to persuade your thinking into believing the truths that God has revealed, even when God is not in our lives we live by faith or what people would call fate or destiny. Once in a while you will hear people say that there is no such thing as fate, it's all by chance. Well, nothing is by chance, believe it or not God is in control of everything so whether or not we are in His will He is still in control of every situation we encounter. Now, at times it may seem as though we are faced with one storm after another and that God is no where to be found, but the truth is, if you are saved, He is always with you, He may become dormant in our mind and body, but with a little faith He awakens and calms every storm.

When Paul headed back to Jerusalem he had no idea what would become of him, he heard rumors, people warned him to stay away before he got killed, he got arrested, and even some of the Jews plotted to kill him. I am sure that he was a bit depressed and nervous at times, but the one thing he could count on was that he knew God was with him. After they could not find anything to charge him with he was sent from one country to another in hopes that someone would find something to charge him with and kill him. Now, he is standing before King Agrippa and gets to defend himself.

“For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles...And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” - Acts 26:21-23,30-32.

Paul never stopped witnessing the Gospel to anyone God led him to no matter what he was going through. Everyone needs to know about Christ, it does not matter what color, race, or religion you are if you are we all face the same fate, which is a second death. The only way we can escape that fate is through Jesus Christ, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” -Revelation 2:10,11.

King Agrippa was about to let Paul go, but he knew he had to stand before Caesar so, he was boarded on a prisoner ship headed for Rome along with 275 other men. As they were sailing a storm was brewing, Paul warned them not to continue in the direction that they were going, but they refused to listen and headed right for it. For 14 days these men were in the middle of a hurricane, many were about to jump ship, but then Paul spoke up.

“Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved...And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship...And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.” - Acts 27:31,39,42-44.

This is an illustration of a person safely tucked in the ship of Christ, those who receive Him, although they face some storms will always come out of them better than they entered them. Those who jump ship or never receive Him cannot be saved and end up in a worse storm. The Holy Spirit warns us about storms that are brewing in our own lives, often we ignore those warnings and it is only when we are in the middle of a hurricane that we realize we should have listened. The amazing thing about God is that even when we do ignore the warnings He will help us out of the storm. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:8-10.

After all the treacherous storms Paul went through and not knowing what was to come of him when he arrived in Rome, he prevailed through his faith in God and was blessed after his suffering, spending two years preaching in Rome. Paul, a man that began his life persecuting Christians, turned his life around and became the most well known and greatest evangelist there ever was. He endured much pain, suffering, and some humiliation, but never lost sight of Christ. He is a testimony that anyone can turn their life around and be blessed by living their lives for Christ. It's not easy to remain faithful, sometimes we may even get shipwrecked, but Christ is always there and when we humble ourselves and abide in His ship He will make sure that we too prevail and are blessed through our suffering. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:1,2.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, we thank You for the powerful God that You are. Even the winds and waves recognize You as their Creator and obey Your voice. Your Word is the lighthouse that directs us safely toward heaven when the furious waves swirl about us and the water rises up to our necks and Your Son is the ship that keeps us safe in the storm.
Keep us firmly anchored in Your ways so that we stay above the waters and endure to the day we get to see You in Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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