Daily Devotional: BE!
Day 10: Be Free Indeed
[I am also making this a Life Walk Bible Lesson, (Lesson 120) and posting it on my Life Walk Bible Lesson Website]
A Story of Two People Named Saul
The Apostle Paul [formerly called Saul of Tarsus] was held prisoner and taken onto a ship, which was to transport them to the place of judgement.
Let’s look at the record of this event in the Book of Acts, Chapter 27. And I am reading from the New International Version today.
[I apologize upfront: I do not speak Greek, and therefore I am not sure of the pronunciation of some of these city names. Some of the names have been changed, in modern times, and some cities mentioned in Scripture no longer exist.] I will do my best to pronounce them the way I have heard them pronounced.
Paul Sails for Rome — Acts 27
1 “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. 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 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.”
The Shipwreck
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.
29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
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 fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.
34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”
35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
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 did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
40 Cutting loose the anchors, they 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.
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. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.”
I learn some valuable lessons from this event.
- Listen to God, when He warns you of the coming danger, not popular opinion.
- Eat something to maintain your physical strength during emotionally stressful circumstances. I’m not talking about emotional, or stress induced eating. I am talking about not going without nourishing food when stressed.
- Stick together — everyone who was in the same circumstance was saved because of Paul’s obedience to God. They were now traveling with Paul, and he became their God-given covering.
- No matter how long the deliverance takes, keep obeying God.
Paul also equates our own troubles, and sin, with that which can cause us to shipwreck our faith, if we let it. Don’t do that.
Paul admonishes Timothy, his student:
1 Timothy 1:18-19
18 “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”
5. Hold onto your faith
6. Hold onto a good conscience
I want to remind us all of the Words of Jesus Christ, in John 8:35-36
35 “Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
No longer be a slave to sin, for we have been set free by Jesus. And when Jesus sets us free, we are free — totally free from the power of sin to rule over us any longer.
Once God has set us free from a sinful past, and has filled us with His Holy Spirit, Who is our indwelling Teacher, Helper, Comforter, Counsellor, and Advocate, we are no longer bound by sin, but set free from it.
So then, what we have been set free from, the sin, and the penalty for it — which is death — don’t look back on it. Remember Lot’s Wife. God told Lot’s wife, when God was rescuing Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah, Don’t look back. Don’t wish for it. But she did not obey God, and perished.
And God still tells the believer, in all He teaches us, Leave it alone! Get rid of it. It has no place in the Body of the Believer. Remove it from the heart and mind completely, just like God removes the sin as far as the east is from the west, and remembers it no more.
God rescues the believer in trouble. Let’s see what He did for King David, who suffered intolerable persecution for obeying God.
In his youth, and young adult years, King David lived with a physically violent and emotionally abusive man, and chose to sing to the Lord, which as a byproduct of his joy, caused the demonic realm to back off.
God also gave David amazing insight into the sufferings of the Anointed One, as he experienced the things Jesus would as well. And I have to believe that David saw down the road — an even greater distance in time — into a hurricane that threatened to take out another Saul, who was going to be tried by a violent and emotionally abusive Caesar for his obedience to God.
Let’s read what happens when God gets angry and rescues the believer, the one who trusts in God for all things, whose faith is not shipwrecked by fear.
2 Samuel 22
1 “David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said: “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer;
3 My God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my Shield and the Horn of my Salvation. He is my Stronghold, my Refuge and my Savior — from violent people you save me.
4 I called to the Lord, Who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God.
From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears.
8 The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because He was angry.
9 Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness His canopy around Him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of His presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning He routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from His nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All His laws are before me; I have not turned away from His decrees.
24 I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
26 “To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless,
27 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the devious You show Yourself shrewd.
28 You save the humble, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
29 You, Lord, are my Lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.
30 With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
31 As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?
33 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield; Your help has made me great.
37 You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle; You humbled my adversaries before me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the Lord, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44 You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples; You have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me,
45 foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48 He is the God who avenges me, Who puts the nations under me,
49 Who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of Your name.
51 He gives his king great victories; He shows unfailing kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
I learn several things from this event also.
1. David announces first of all, Who God is to him, affirming God in all His attributes that he has experienced so far. David gives God glory to God for what he knows about God up until that time.
2. David calls on God when he is in trouble, and God hears him.
God does not deal with us according to our sin, but according to our righteousness. God dealt with the Apostle Paul according to his righteous behavior since his conversion also, and rescued him in the storm. Jesus walked on the water to rescue His disciples during the hurricane on the Sea of Galilee, in the same way, and brought them to a safe haven, as it was written in the Psalms, that it would occur.
3. When the enemy of our soul confronts us, God is our Support
4. When God is on our side, it makes us feel like we can accomplish anything, even what seems impossible.
5. God gives us the victory in both Spiritual and physical battles
6. God sets us free from the enemy of our soul, in whatever way that enemy manifests itself
7. David begins and ends with praising God. He has now learned more about God through his difficult circumstances and can now praise Him even more for rescuing him out of them
And I leave you with this Blessing:
If you are in a difficult, or even an intolerable circumstance from which you need rescuing — God is right there with you in the same way as He was for these two people. He will help you.
If it physically possible for you to remove yourself from the circumstances you are in, do so. If you are in an abusive relationship, and it is possible for you to leave, then leave, even if that is difficult for you to do — it may save your life.
Get help from trusted people who can help you physically, if necessary. But know, without a shadow of a doubt, your fearless faith in God, and your trust in Him will be rewarded.
God does not want us to stay where His way of life is not accepted, and just take the abuse. Jesus told the disciples, to wipe the dust of their feet on the way out, as a witness to the cities who rejected the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. If you can leave, leave the abusive situation and be free.
But again, I remind us that it is about being set free from sin that I have been speaking of today primarily.
So be free, with God’s help, and enjoy the victory that God has given you today.
