Category: Devotions

What kind of leader are you following?

Acts 27: 11 “But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.”

Following someone who has much to gain can be unwise. The final decision was left to the centurion but he ruled that they should follow the experts. The pilot and the owner had goods on board, they were the middle men contracted to transport grain perhaps.

Leaders should lose more than gain; give more than be given and learn more than they teach.

Be careful the type of leader you are following lest you become like them.

What kind of leader are you following?

Acts 27: 11 “But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.”

 

Following someone who has much to gain can be unwise. The final decision was left to the centurion but he ruled that they should follow the experts. The pilot and the owner had goods on board, they were the middle men contracted to transport grain perhaps.

 

Leaders should lose more than gain; give more than be given and learn more than they teach.

 

Be careful the type of leader you are following lest you become like them.

Who is your teacher?

Acts 27:10 “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.”

We trust those who have experience of going through worst times than the present storm. Paul was simply speaking from experience. In 2 Corinthians 11 he tells us that he had been shipwrecked 3 times and spent a night and a day perhaps clinging on to some floating wood. People who can be best described as walking with a limp because of life’s experiences can be trusted more than those who have had victory after victory. For lessons and wisdom is gained in failure.

Job tells us in 27:11 that he will teach us the power of God. I would much rather be taught the power of God from someone like Job than someone who has never had trouble or pretends so.

Wisdom is born in the anvil of life and I would rather spend time with people who have experienced the vice and who have been shipwrecked than those too lazy to board a ship to go anywhere!

 

Don’t pass by Easter Sunday!

Acts 27:9 “Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.”

The Fast (the day of atonement) has been estimated to be 5^th October in AD59. Between this date and mid-November sailing was dangerous and after November there was no sailing at all. “What am I still doing out here? I shouldn’t be here right now!”  The question everyone asks you when you are trying to advance is … “Are you on budget? Are you on time?” NO! “The need is greater than what I have and we have not advanced further than I had wanted.”

They were in a predicament because they were still there in the wrong place at the wrong time (after the Fast).

Yom Kippur (day of atonement) is the holiest day of the year for the Jews. At the centre of the celebration is that of repentance and atonement.

Today is Easter Sunday, it is the holiest days of the year for Christians, at its centre is that of repentance and atonement!

The Day of Atonement is found in Leviticus 23:26-32.

Two of the main characters are live goats.

Jesus Christ was given 2 roles, that of High Priest and as the sacrifice for our sins.

One goat represented the Lord and the other would be called the scapegoat and it represents Satan.

The goat representing the Lord would be sacrificed by the High priest. It clearly symbolises Jesus, the ultimate sin offering for everyone.

The scapegoat would be let go into the wilderness once atonement had been made on it by stating the sins of the community are now on the animal. It was not sacrificed like the other goat representing the Lord.

The resurrected Jesus is the High Priest who presents the sacrificed goat’s blood before God. In contrast, Satan carries the sin and blame for all he has done to deceive mankind.

So back to the point: Wrong place wrong time.

The resurrection day is a once and once for all moment in history. This momentous event will not repeat itself in the same way. If you come through the cross and resurrection and are still travelling in this life and have not surrendered to the demands of the cross and have not come into a resurrection new life experience, then it is a dangerous time and place for you. If you are sailing in life oblivious to this then it could be your undoing.

Today call people to acknowledge what you know, ask them why they are still trying to sail after the Fast!

 

Easter Saturday is a part of Easter

Acts 27:8 “We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.”

The Message: “After much difficulty, we finally made it to the southern coast of the island of Crete and docked at Good Harbor (appropriate name!)”.

The ship had been battered against the winds and they could not hold their course, they eventually harboured but with great difficulty.

And Easter Saturday also took great difficulty to get there. There wasn’t a more difficult day than yesterday. Darkness during the day. Confusion. Despair. Betrayal. The End. It was indeed tough.

 

It was at Fair Havens, a harbour south of Crete, where the ship waited to catch the right weather, they were hoping for the right wind to move them forward. They would wait a considerable time.

And Easter Saturday was also a waiting time. What did the disciples do now? They waited. Was there anyone with hope that things could get better? Not many. Maybe Mary wondered but probably no one else. It seemed like a lifetime. How could one day last so long? It was indeed a waiting time.

 

The harbour was unsuitable to harbour in because the winter winds blew straight into the harbour. The ship was in danger of being broken in half, submerged by the power of the wind.

And Easter Saturday was also a dangerous time. In their waiting they hid away, they couldn’t walk in the street, they would be crucified next, they were sure of it. But they faced other dangers. This team of disciples were on the brink of falling out with each other because of the denial, betrayal and the majority who simply fell away as Jesus went to the cross. They were angry, with the Romans, the Jews and with themselves. Finally, the greatest danger of all: their guilt for not protecting Jesus, not being there, failing Him. It was indeed dangerous.

 

Are you going through tough times? Are you in limbo? Are you shaking under insecurity and trouble?

It is Easter Saturday.

But it’s not over!

At Easter HE held his course

Acts 27:7 “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.”

There’s only been one man who has been able to hold his course.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Jesus held his course to the end.

When the church to be had fallen asleep, Jesus was awake and said “Rise let’s go”, he held his course (Matthew 26:45-46).

When Judas kissed him out of love and respect, Jesus said “do it”, he held his course (Matthew 26:50).

When the disciples wanted to stand up for justice, Jesus said “Put you sword away!”, he held his course (John 18:10-11).

When encouraged to defend himself to Pilate regarding the many accusations, he didn’t speak, he held his course (Mark 15:4-5).

When women who followed Jesus to the cross were wailing, Jesus said “do not weep for me”, he held his course (Luke 23:27-28).

When the crowd wanted Jesus to come down from the cross, he didn’t, he held his course (Mark 15: 32).

When darkness came, Jesus thought of and quoted the Scriptures, he held his course (Mathew 27:46).

When Jesus saw John and his mother at the foot of the cross, he said, “Dear woman, here is your son” and to John “here is your mother, he held his course (John 19: 26-27).

When the sun stopped shining, Jesus said “Father”, he held his course (Luke 23:45-46).

Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30)

He had held his course for you and me who often find ourselves unable to do so.

Easter help

Acts 27: 6 “There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board”

They are on the way to Rome and have landed at Myra. It wasn’t difficult for Julius to find the next ship to Italy, there were regular vessels stopping off from Egypt to Italy. The nation depended on Egypt for grain and other produce. This Egyptian ship was from Alexandria and it was heading in their direction. Perfect. The prisoners all got on board and waited for their final leg to commence.

This was an indirect journey for Paul. I have taken those trips a lot in the last several years. I still get to where I want to go but it takes 2 aeroplanes and one time 4 to get there!

The person responsible to get Paul to where God wants him to be is a centurion named Julius, the unlikeliest of chosen people! But he found the next ship, he made Paul’s dream possible.

Never overlook even the strangest of individuals because they could be sent by God to get you to your destiny. It apparently looked like Jesus would collapse under the weight of his own cross and would not make it alone.

Mark 15: 20-22 “And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).”

We have a diversion, a stop along the way, a readjustment; someone else is introduced to the scene, Simon. But can you see the picture of what happened. Jesus was being led out of the city to be crucified and at the same time coming in to the city from the country was Simon. He was coming in the opposite direction. He exchanged with Jesus and turned around and followed Him and ever since people have been doing exactly the same thing as Simon did. Jesus turns the direction of people’s lives around.

Jesus stopped, caught his breath and was introduced to someone who would help him get through the final chapter.

Thank God for those people who have or are helping you reach your potential in God and fulfil His purpose for your life. They may be the unlikeliest and they may be a little press-ganged into serving, but nevertheless you know you would not get there without them.

Easter familiar v unfamiliar experiences.

Acts 27:5 “When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.”

If you simply found a map of Turkey it would be easy to find the coast- line of Cilicia and Pamphylia and the town of Myra in the region of Lycia.

The port of Cilicia, which is in modern-day Turkey, was a colony of Rhodes.

Pamphylia is north-east of Rhodes.

Myra is a little east of Patara.

Why do I say all this? It is because Paul has been this way before. His journey to Rome is along familiar territory.

“After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara.” Acts 21:1

In Chapter 21 they tore themselves away from Ephesus and went through Greece to Kos and then south of Turkey.

So here we are again, this time on the way to Rome and Paul is recognising the places he has seen before. Yet this time there was something unfamiliar and that was he knew he would arrive in Rome and not Jerusalem, the place where he arrived last time. Rome was his ultimate destination, the opportunity to tell Caesar Jesus loved him, the place of Paul’s total surrender.

You may not think you are heading down familiar territory today. You may be experiencing everything for the first time and you may even be anxious about that. The truth is life is a constant mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar.

When Jesus walked through the streets of Jerusalem heading to Calvary this was familiar territory, he had gone through this route many times.

Matthew 26:2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

He says “You disciples know something and so do I. You know the calendar, you know when the Passover is as it happens every year and I know what will happen this time.” Nothing happened in holy week that Jesus didn’t know would happen and yet he also was experiencing the unfamiliar in that though he had seen crucifixion and knew he would go through it, he had never experienced the pain of the curse and separation.

As it was for Jesus, for Paul, it is for you.

Look around you carefully and you will see the familiar and the unfamiliar.

The first can speed you up and the second can slow you down.

The first can reveal your confidence and the second needs you to trust your God.

The first has victories and failures and the second reserves its judgment.

The first has more to do with the journey and the second is focused on the destination.

Wisdom differentiates the territories. You need to recognise and adapt to both.

Easter winds

Acts 27:4 “From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.”

Is anything coming against you today? How do you get to where you want to go when the winds of life push against you? How do you see vision fulfilled when the landscape of your life changes rapidly? I want to offer 5 important truths.

The Message says “Out to sea again, we sailed north under the protection of the northeast shore of Cyprus because winds out of the west were against us”

The Amplified says “From there we put out to sea and sailed to the leeward (sheltered) side of Cyprus [for protection from weather] because the winds were against us.”

They are heading to Rome, Paul’s destiny to be before Caesar, but the winds are against them. So in order to keep heading in the right direction they sail along the northern coast of Cyprus.

When you are surrendering your life and fulfilling the purpose of God you will need to navigate the many things that will come against you. These may look like signs that you shouldn’t continue (many view them as such) but these obstacles are to be overcome, not listened to. We need to adjust our lives continually in order to fulfil what God lays out before us.

““Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32.

In this interesting episode we see Satan trying to abort the purpose of Jesus by sifting the disciples like wheat. His purpose was to “…confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (29-30). This sifting seems to have already started as minutes before though they had all wanted to know the identity of the betrayer they then begin to betray the identity of Christ themselves by arguing about who is the greatest!

Satan demanding to sift the disciples is Jesus’ greatest threat to his purpose and destiny. If the disciples do not remain as disciples then who will be left when all this is over? How will the Church be born?

The winds are against Christ. How does he manoeuvre the course of his destiny so that the winds do not stop him?

““Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32. So … here are the 5 ways Jesus shows us how to keep going:

• Expose what the enemy desires to do, acknowledge the weak spots. (“Satan has asked …”)
• Expectations will fall short. This is the only time that Jesus doesn’t use Peter (rock) with the name Simon (“you won’t live up to your name”).
• Intercessory Prayer (This is the only time Luke records Jesus interceding for an individual)
• Realise there will be set-backs. (“And when you have turned back” indicates that Simon will turn away)
• Have a plan to recover ground. (“strengthen your brothers”)

Easter kindness

Acts 27:3 “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.”

Through the persecution in Jerusalem believers had scattered everywhere planting churches along their way and so we see in Sidon where the boat docked Paul’s ‘friends’ were here. Luke records how the centurion Julius showed an act of kindness to Paul. The word ‘kindness’ here simply means ‘the decent thing to do, a civilised act’. Paul on his journey to Rome and he knows that death could await him there along the way is having acts of kindness shown to him. In your most troubled hour there can be kindness close by. A kindness that confirms you are doing the right thing; that strengthens and encourages you to keep going; kindness that provides for your needs. Just see the holy week of Jesus:

• The owner of the donkey and colt willingly gave them to Jesus to ride on.
• Simon the Leper (he had most probably been healed) gave his home in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem, so that each night Jesus could sleep there.
• The woman who anointed his head with perfume in the Bethany home.
• The man who gave the upper room of his house so that Jesus could eat the Passover meal with his disciples.
• The soldiers who offered wine mixed with myrrh, used to dull the pain, but Jesus tasted and then refused to drink it. (Jesus did drink a sour wine later, but this offer was less of a kindness and more of a male bystander wanting to keep him alive longer to see what might happen after some thought he was calling on Elijah).

Throughout the harrowing week for Jesus there were ordinary people who showed small acts of kindness to him. There were probably a few more unrecorded.

In our time of difficulty we must not focus solely on what is ahead of us that we miss those acts of kindness around us.

Maybe today God wants you not only to be thankful for a friend but for you to be that friend for someone else who is journeying to their destiny and needs kindness shown to them. Are you ready today?