Luke the beloved physician wrote how he, Paul, and others with him were sailing toward Rome, and although Paul warned them not to leave Crete, they left anyway and a storm arose that eventually caused them to be “fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that you have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse thirty-five of the book of Acts Luke shared how Paul, “took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all” where we read:
And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:
and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
The verse begins, “And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:” Luke began with the words, “and when he had thus spoken” which means “and at the time and moment he, Paul, uttered, declared and proclaimed his words”, “he took bread” or “he, Paul, lay hold of and received a loaf of bread”, “and gave thanks to God” which means “and expressed gratitude and grace to the Heavenly Father God” “in the presence of them all” or “in front and in the presence of each, every, the whole and everyone aboard the ship”. Luke shared after “Paul” exhorted the men aboard the ship to eat some food, he received a loaf of bread and expressed his gratitude to God in the presence of all the men aboard the ship.
The verse goes on to say, “and when he had broken it, he began to eat.” Luke continued with the words, “and when he had broken it” which means “and at the time he, Paul, tore or broke loose a piece of the loaf of bread”, “he began to eat” or “he, Paul, started and initiated consuming and devouring the bread”. Luke shared how “Paul” took a piece of bread and began to devour it before all the men aboard the ship.
When we meditate Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Paul” thanked God for the food in front of everyone aboard the ship after encouraging them to eat. “Paul” had a captive audience, and now he was using this opportunity to demonstrate how he was grateful to God for His provision. God loves people, and He provides everything for them. He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and because He wants to live with them forever, anyone who yields to Jesus will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with God. Those who examine this act of “Paul” will see how he was demonstrating to those on the ship how a believer in Jesus responds in the midst of a storm, and the freedom of God's provision allowed him to bear witness that Jesus Christ is “Savior and Lord” of the world.
Next time Luke shares, “then were they all of good cheer”, 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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