The beloved physician Luke wrote how he, Paul, and others with him were sailing toward Rome, and although Paul warned them not to leave Crete and a storm arose, “when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, ...”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse twenty-four of the book of Acts Luke shared the angel tells Paul, “Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar” where we read:
Saying, Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar:
and, lo, God has given you all them that sail with you.
The verse begins, “Saying, Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar:” Luke began with the words, “saying, Fear not, Paul” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming, do not be afraid, struck with fright or be terrified”; “you must be brought” or “it is necessary for you, Paul, to be carried and presented” “before Caesar” which means “in front and in the presence of Caesar whose name means severed and was the surname of Julius Caesar, which adopted by Octavius Augustus and his successors afterwards became a title, and was appropriated by the Roman emperors as part of their title”. Luke shared how “Paul” told the people aboard the ship that God's angel told him not to be afraid because it was necessary for him to be presented in front of “Caesar”.
The verse continues, “and, lo, God has given you all them that sail with you.” Luke added the words, “and, lo” which means “and behold, look and consider”, “God has given you all them” or “the Heavenly Father God has freely bestowed, granted and graciously delivered to “Paul” each, every, the whole and everyone of the people aboard the ship” “that sail with you” which means “who voyage alongside and beside you, Paul”. Luke shared how “Paul” told the men aboard the ship that He was giving to “Paul” not only his own life but also all the souls aboard the ship.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we realize what “God's angel” told “Paul” when he appeared to him in the middle of the night. The angel said he had no need to “fear” because he would be led to “Caesar”, and he promised that “all” the others aboard the “ship” would be saved. God loves people, and His idea is to offer salvation to every person who believes and trusts in His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”. Those who are wise carefully study the words of the “angel” from God, and understand this was another effort for God to invite all people to “come” to Him through His Son Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life in Heaven.
Next time Luke shares how Paul says, “I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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