Day 190 Bible Readings – Acts 27: 22-26 (ESV)

2 Kings 18, 2 Kings 19: 1-13, Acts 27: 13-44, Psalm 104: 31-35

Acts 27: 22-26 (ESV)

“Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”

Verses 22 through 26 from Acts 27 shows Paul talking to the people on the ship about what God had told him. He tells the men that they will survive but the ship will not survive. He also tells them that they must run aground on some island. From the words God spoke, it sounds like Paul had prayed not only for his safety but also for the safety of the men on the ship. I love how Paul only had confidence in the words of God, but he had no confidence in the sailors on the ship.

At the of Acts 27, the ship did run aground on an island fulfilling the words of God. Even when we are in the most dire of circumstances, God can bring us to safety.

Day 189 Bible Reading – Acts 26: 31-32 (ESV)

2 Kings16 & 17, Acts 26: 24-32, Acts 27: 1-12, Psalm 104: 19-30

Acts 26: 31-32 (ESV)

“And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Verses 31 through 32 shows the verdict of Paul’s hearing in front of Festus and King Agrippa in Caesarea. Paul was such a persuasive speaker that both Festus and Agrippa wanted to free him, but since Paul appealed to Caesar they had to send him on to Rome. But since God had told Paul in Acts 23 that he would testify in Rome, so Paul said he wanted to appeal to Caesar to obey what God had told him.

Paul was a very persuasive speaker, and he almost convinced King Agrippa to become a Christian. Paul was allowed to speak to an audience who would not normally hear him, so he was following God’s plan to spread the word of God to as many people as possible. Sometimes we are in difficult situations by design like Paul to fulfill God’s plan. We might not immediately perceive the God’s plan at the moment, but if we have faith in God we have to trust that whatever is happening to us good or bad is part of God’s plan.

Day 188 Bible Reading – Acts 26: 4-8 (ESV)

2 Kings 14: 23-29, 2 Kings 15, Acts 25: 23-27, Acts 26: 1-23, Psalm 104: 1-18

Acts 26: 4-8 (ESV)

“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”

Verses 4 through 8 from Acts 25 shows Paul’s argument on how his belief in Jesus Christ was not inconsistent with his Jewish faith. Paul was raised as a Pharisee, and the Pharisees unlike the Sadducees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the afterlife. Biblical scholars contend that in Paul’s heart and mind, Paul believed that he remained a faithful Pharisee who was convinced of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul’s story of his what happened on the road to Damascus proved to him that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. Paul argued that he was following what the resurrected Jesus had said to him.

I’ve always loved the story of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, but I never knew about how he was able to reconcile what happened to him and his Jewish faith. God had picked the perfect person in Paul to spread the gospel to the jews and the gentiles, because Paul had reconciled within himself how his faith in Jesus Christ was not in opposition to his Jewish faith. Because Paul knew his own mind so well, he was a great evangelizer and was able to lead so many people to Christ who were also struggling to come to the terms with the resurrection of Christ.

Reading Daily Bible Readings Over and Over

Sometimes I have to read the bible passages set forth in my daily bible readings over and over again to decide which verses have touched for the day. If constant reading doesn't work, then I read commentaries on the verses to see what other biblical scholars have said. Sometimes even then, I still get stuck and cannot find any verses that make me think more deeply about what the word of God is trying to me.

But I know if I persist, something will come through and I find biblical verses that have a deeper meaning for me. I just have to keep trying.