Keep up your courage. 7/26/15

Day 205 - Reading the New Testament in one year.

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/Acts.27

Acts 27:1-26

Paul Sails for Rome

27 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.[a] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

The Storm

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 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 overboard 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.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now 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 whom I 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.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

One in the wounds of Jesus July 25th

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” EPHESIANS 2:13

As believers we all receive the benefits of the transactions that took place on the cross. On the cross there was a double transfer. Christ became sin so that we might become the righteous- ness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Sin was transferred to Christ, and righteousness was transferred to us. On the cross this glorious double transfer took place. Now we can shout, “He has the sin, and I have the righteousness!” When sin shows up in our flesh in the form of negative reactions, and the devil comes to accuse us, we can say, “Sorry, Satan. My Christ has the sin, and I have the righteous- ness.” This double transfer accomplished on the cross is now made real to us in our union with Christ in our spirit. All of us can enjoy this double transfer. No wonder Paul speaks of being near in the blood of Christ. Brothers and sisters, we are one in the wounds of Jesus! We are near to God, and we are near to one another. This is all because of the righteousness of God, which is a major factor between us. We are linked together in God’s righteousness. Not only in Romans but also in 1 Corinthians, Paul brings in righteousness as the factor for the saints to be linked together. In 1 Corinthians 1:29-31 he says, 29 “That no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — that is, righteousness and sanctification and redemption — 31 that, as it is written, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” In these verses, the common factor between us is Christ as our righteousness. This is the factor of our boasting and glorying. We are boasting in the Lord. This kind of common boasting links us together. It is of God that we are all in Christ Jesus. God’s wisdom was to put us all in Christ. Now, Christ is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Every Christian has this boast. Our boast is nothing but Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 6:14). When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was dealing with a church problem of division. But the way he handled this problem was not by dealing with the issue of the church. He did not discuss how to organize the church, how to set up the church in an outward way, or even how to properly stand on the ground of the church. Paul did not touch those kinds of matters. Rather, he turned the saints to Christ: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:13). It is “Christ the power of God” and Christ “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). It is as if Paul was shouting, “Saints, come back to Christ!” His burden was to recon- nect the divided saints by a major factor in God’s New Testament economy — Christ our righteousness. 

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