Acts - Week 84

Week 84 Acts 27, 28 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 27:39-41 

39 When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground. 40 So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore. 41 But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart. 

After the crew had eaten they threw the cargo of wheat overboard. Now morning is dawning and that is what they had earlier prayed for. They saw a beach and headed the ship toward it. The ship hit a sandbar, however, and became grounded. The strong wind began to break it apart. Now they were really in trouble. What would they do now? 

REFLECT 

Believers are sometimes faced with one struggle after another. Is it your practice to be frequently talking to the Lord about what you face? 

RESPOND 

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that says to “never stop praying.” In the first century the word translated this way was also used of an incessant cough. It refers to praying at frequent intervals. Do you and your disciple do this throughout the day? 

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 27:42-44 

42 The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. 43 But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. 44 The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore. 

If a prisoner escaped the guard was usually killed, so the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners. God had sovereignly helped Paul win the confidence of the commanding officer who prevented that from occurring. Instead, the officer instructed all who could swim to do so, and the others could use whatever they could get ahold of to help them get to shore. All were able to get safely to land. 

REFLECT 

Think of the relief felt by those who were afraid for their lives and were now safe. Have you experienced an event that frightened you and later you were safe? Did you thank God for His deliverance, just as you had been praying for His help? 

RESPOND 

Talk with your disciple about the need to be sure to thank God for an answer to prayer. Sometimes prayer is made but thanks are not given for the outcome. 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 28:1-4 

1 Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2 The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. 3 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4 The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” 

All 276 on board the ship were now safe on the shore of Malta. Imagine how cold everyone was, but the people welcomed them and built a fire to warm them. Out of the fire a poisonous snake suddenly appeared and bit Paul’s hand and continued to hang there. Those watching were quick to make the assumption that Paul was a murderer and this punishment was due him. What would they think when they learned otherwise? 

REFLECT 

Have you sometimes made assumptions that proved later to be wrong? Did this teach you not to be quick to make assumptions? 

RESPOND 

In the Old Testament, Job’s three friends thought he was suffering because of some sin in his life. Read Job 42:7-9 to see God’s summary of the many interactions they had with Job.  They had to go to Job and make sacrifices, and Job had to be humble enough to pray for them.  

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 28:5-8 

5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6 The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. 7 Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. 8 As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 

When Paul did not die from the snakebite, the people now switched their thinking about him being a murderer to being a god. This reveals how bad assumptions can work. The chief official of the island welcomed the group and hosted them for three days. The official’s father was ill and Paul was able to heal him. What would the people on the island now think of Paul? 

REFLECT 

Thank the Lord when you did not make assumptions about someone. 

RESPOND 

As an apostle, Paul was using what God had enabled the apostles to do. To be reminded of this, read Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12 and Hebrews 2:3-4.  

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 28:9-12 

9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. 10 As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. 11 It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island—an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead. 12 Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days. 

Once news spread that Paul had healed the father of the island’s chief official, other sick people came and were healed. God enabled Paul and his companions to win many friends on the island. These friends provided what they would need for the rest of their trip to Rome. They had been wintering on Malta for three months, and now boarded a ship with the sign of Roman twin gods.   

REFLECT 

Do the “twin gods” remind you of some today who have confidence in good luck charms? Do you rely on these rather than on the sovereignty of God? 

RESPOND 

With your disciple, read Romans 8:31-39. Dwell on this passage and use it also in comforting those who may be suffering. Read it to them and then pray for them.