“Escaping a Shipwreck”

​B I B L E  B I T S  &  B I T E S
Devotions for Families

Season: Book of Acts
Episode 31: “Escaping a Shipwreck”
Today’s Bible Bite: Acts 27

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkt00DptsW0 (Sharefaith Kids – Paul is Shipwrecked)

“When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment.” (Acts 27:1, NLT)

After it was decided that Paul should be sent as he requested to present his case to Caesar, he was put on a ship headed for Italy with other prisoners, the ship’s crew, Roman soldiers and at least two of Paul’s friend, Luke and Aristarchus. The Centurion trusted Paul and let him get off the ship when they harboured to restock their supplies. Because it was getting close to winter, they ran into some stormy weather which made the trip take much longer than expected. Once on the island of Crete they landed at Fair Havens; Paul advised the officer that they should winter there. However, the ship’s crew wanted to go to a nicer spot to winter, so when they woke one morning to a nice day, they took their chance. But what began as a nice gentle breeze turned into a raging storm; for two weeks, the storm kept up until everyone was feeling hopeless—they thought for sure they were all dead men.

However, an angel came to Paul and told him that he was going to survive and everyone on the ship would as well, though the boat would become shipwrecked. Paul told everyone his message and ate some bread, also encouraging the others to do so. Some of the sailors didn’t trust Paul’s advice so they planned to take the lifeboat; Paul warned the officer that if everyone didn’t stay on board, they would not survive, so the soldiers cut the lifeboat free so that no one could use it to escape. Soon, the ship struck a sandbar and the soldiers wanted to kill all the prisoners rather than risk having any of them escape, but the Centurion wanted to spare Paul and refused to let them go ahead with their plan. Everyone was encouraged to swim to shore or to grab hold of pieces of the ship to help them float to safety. And just as Paul had reassured them, even though the ship was destroyed, all the people were saved.

Think about it...
• Paul was a prisoner, but the Centurion, Julius, trusted him. Why do you think Julius trusted Paul?
• The trip was getting close to winter. Why was this a bad time to travel by ship?
• Paul encouraged them to stay at Fair Havens. What did he say would happen if they kept going?
• A storm raged for two weeks and all the men were worried, except Paul. Why did Paul still have hope?
• Paul knew that God still had work for him to do and knew that God would rescue him. Do you remember to talk to God when you experience troubles? We should follow Paul’s example.
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for keeping Paul and all the men on board the ship safe. It reminds us that there is no trouble so big that you can’t help us. Help me to trust you to take care of me, just like Paul did.
~ Pastor Jane