Luke the beloved physician wrote how he, Paul and others were sailing to Rome, and “Julius”, “a centurion of Augustus' band”, “courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from there, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse eight of the book of Acts Luke shared how he, Paul and the others, “came unto a place which is called The fair havens” where we read:
And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens;
near whereunto was the city of Lasea.
The verse begins, “And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens;” Luke began with the words, “and, hardly passing it” which means “and with difficulty and scarcely sailing past Salome”, “came unto a place” or “arose and approached a location” “which is called” which means “that was named and known as” “The fair havens” or “the beautiful, handsome, excellent, choice, surpassing, commendable and admirable harbor”. Luke shared how he, Paul and the others traveling with them barely were able to sail by “Salome” and progress to a location known as “The fair havens” or the “beautiful and admirable harbor”.
The verse continues, “near whereunto was the city of Lasea.” Luke added the words, “near whereunto” which means “close to another location that” “was the city of Lasea” or “which was the habitation, abode and dwelling place belonging to Lasea whose name means shaggy and was a city in Crete on the coast near Fair Havens”. Luke shared how “The fair havens” was near to another city known as “Lasea”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn more about the sailing travels of “Paul” to “Rome”. Sailing was difficult because the winds were contrary to their efforts, so they barely made it by “Salome” and came to “The fair havens” that was nearby to “Lasea”. Perhaps a map of “Paul's” voyage would be helpful, and we shall see what we can find. The idea is that “Paul” had a destination which was “Rome”, and God was leading Him as He deemed best to get him there. “Paul” was to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people in “Rome”, and even as God desired for the Romans to know who Jesus was and what He did for them, He wants the world to know His Son Jesus today. Jesus came to the world to die for the sins and wickedness of all mankind, and when they surrender their lives to Him, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life with Him. Those who carefully examine the travels of “Paul” should discover God's determination to fulfill His will, and anyone who yields to Him aligns with His purpose of salvation for all who believe.
Next time Luke shares, “Now when much time was spent … Paul admonished them”, 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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