Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 27 – 28 … Passage for Reflection: Acts 27: 35 – 36 … NIV 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.
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlighted text by Dr. Smith in his devotional will have little meaning unless you know or have studied the context from which it is taken. So, I exhort you to go back and read Acts, Chapter 27, where Dr. Luke recounts the voyage in an Egyptian vessel where the Apostle Paul and his Roman guard, along with Luke, were making as Paul was being taken to Rome to stand trial there. As you will read, the ship encounters a horrible storm, into which Paul had forewarned the ship should not set sail. However, they did; and Paul has an opportunity – by God’s divine intervention in the storm – to save all the men aboard IF they follow his lead and stay on board even though the ship is going to be destroyed.
You know, I’ve read that account before; and I’ve read the highlight passage before; but until, with Dr. Smith’s help, today, I had never seen how the meal Paul shared with the ship’s crew was a picture of the “last supper” with all the spiritual ramifications involved in that meal of remembrance and cleansing. It’s really a wonderful picture of how all of us are in the vessel of life where The Lord is our Captain. And our life vessel is going to go through storms at some point on our voyage; but how our ship traverses the storm will have everything to do with how we feed daily on the Bread of Life.
And we need to take heart, as Christians on God’s vessel of life, that God is going to bring us through the storms of life - IF and when we’re willing to remember our Lord’s way and partake of His Bread of Life [i.e., His word]. It’s easy for us to forgetfully or fearfully avoid doing this daily, just as the men on the Egyptian ship had done on the fateful voyage into their storm. But Paul reminded them to remember to follow God’s way and to take the “bread of life” in remembrance of The Lord. And they did; and they were saved.
Dr. Smith’s discipleship question for today is as follows: ”How can I survive life’s storms if I do not partake regularly of both the Bread of Life and the memorial by which I remember Him?” And I don’t think that question refers to how often we, as Christians, take communion as much as it reflects on how much and how regularly we feed on God’s truth from His word. If we do not seek a remembrance of God by partaking of the “Bread of Life” daily, how can we expect to weather the storms of life?
I’m going to leave it there today. It’s a lot to take in; and I personally was edified greatly by today’s message. I hope you were too.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, as I take in your “Daily Bread,” You keep me on course on this journey through life’s storms. Amen
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