ACTS 27:21-25 – “Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 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.”

THEME OF THE DAY: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE DEFINED AND MODELED BY THE APOSTLE PAUL.  It would be safe to say the greatest Christian ever to live would be the Apostle Paul.  This is not a statement to exalt him too much or even deify him.  His place in the history of Christianity is unmatched and shall never be duplicated.

So, in looking at the Apostle Paul’s life through the glasses of today’s scripture, we see a Christian impacting a group of unbelievers in a tough circumstance. Imagine watching Paul in action.  He basically took over the ship giving orders and proclaiming the one true God is going to save them.  Bold, confident, and assured all things work together for good to those who love God, he makes a profound statement about himself and his life . . .

“For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship” (Acts 27:23).

What the apostle does is define for us the Christian life in two directions – who we are and how we live.

First, the Christian is a person apprehended and bought by the blood of Christ to be the possession of God. Paul would say of himself and who owns his life – to whom I belong.  Here is where many Christians fail to grow in their faith.  They don’t realize they are no longer governed by themselves.  They surrender self-will and self-love. God bought them for Himself and His purposes, and what He bought wasn’t a part of us, but all of us.  The Apostle Peter makes this transfer of ownership clear . . .

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

 Once we get it settled in our minds we exist for Him, not ourselves; that we are His possession, the foundation for the Christian life is laid and understood.

Then, the Apostle Paul would go from ownership of his life to living his life – “For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship” (Acts 27:23). Worship marks the daily life of a Christian but not like we may think.  Worship is not about music, though it can contain such. Worship isn’t an activity we go to, though there is this element in corporate worship.  Worship in its simplest understanding is acknowledging the worth-ship of God in everything we do.  All service for God is acts of worship. And it isn’t just “Christian” activity or service. There is no separation in the Christian; no secular and sacred. All we do is to reflect the glory of God and be acts of worship to Him.   This was how Paul lived, and such a life makes much of the Lord in all things and nothing of ourselves in anything. We are the Lord’s possession to worship Him who owns us in all things.

PRAYER:  Father, help me live the simple Christian life as a person owned by You to live worshipping You in all things.

REFLECTION: Simplify life. We live as God’s bought property to worship Him in everything we do.