Paul Arrives in Rome

Bible:

After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. Acts 28:11-16 ESV

[The Lord says:] “Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.

“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” Isaiah 45:20-23 ESV

Reflection:

The twin gods that the Greeks and Romans believed in were called Castor and Pollux. They were the sons of Zeus, and people believed that these twin gods could save them from trouble at sea, and sailors also prayed to them for favorable winds before they sailed. If a ship was caught in a storm, people on board might pray to Castor and Pollux to save them, and some sailors believed they saw Castor and Pollux  during a storm. What they really saw is what we call St. Elmo’s Fire, which is a glowing ball of light that sometimes appears during storms, especially near their end. You might have heard of Castor and Pollux as the Gemini twins, and there is a star constellation named after them.

Paul finally reached Rome after going through a terrible storm, and the ship that brought him there had a figurehead of these twin gods. This means that the front of the ship was carved in their image, and that some of the people that sailed on it might have believed that Castor and Pollux would help and protect them on the sea. Paul didn’t believe that, of course. He knew that it was the only true God who had brought him safely through the storm and on to Rome, just as he had promised. Some Christians came and met Paul when he got to Rome, which gave him comfort and courage. Paul wasn’t thrown into a prison, but instead he was allowed to live by himself with a soldier guarding him. In every way, the Lord was taking care of Paul.

We also know that we can count on our Heavenly Father to take care of us. Some people today still believe in the twin gods, and in other constellations of the zodiac in the sky, but we know that the stars don’t control our future. Our lives are in God’s hands, and no matter what trouble we go through, we can trust in him to see us through it. Jesus came to bring us through the worst trouble of all, sin and death. He died for us on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and he rose again from the dead to defeat death forever. We know he will keep us safe until we reach our heavenly home with him.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your help and protection, and for Jesus, our Savior. In His Name, Amen.

Source:

https://www.ancient.eu/Castor_and_Pollux/

Paul Sets Sail

Bible:

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. Acts 27:1-4 ESV

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 ESV

Reflection:

At the time of Paul, the Romans sailed many ships on the Mediterranean Sea. The waters of this sea are usually calm without much of a current to carry a ship in a different direction than the way the captain would want to sail, but the Mediterranean Sea has prevailing winds. This means that the winds usually blow south, so going from the north to the south is quick and easy, but sailing to the north is much more difficult. Since Paul was traveling north to Rome, the ship would sail along the coastline rather than across the open sea. A ship might “tack,” which means to travel in a zigzag, or it might use rowers. Rowers were groups of men who pulled at huge oars to move the ship along. Rowers were usually slaves, and it was very hard work.

Paul was fulfilling his dream of traveling to Rome, but it wasn’t the way he had once planned to go there. He was sailing as a prisoner, on his way to a trial before the emperor. There were many reasons he might have felt anxious or afraid. There was always the chance of danger at sea from a storm. He had his coming trial with the emperor to think about. And he didn’t know how he would be treated as a prisoner. But Paul had many reasons not to be afraid also. The centurion in charge of him was kind to him and let some of his friends visit him and take care of his needs. Paul also had friends traveling with him. When the book of Acts says, “we,” it means that Luke, who wrote the book, was along, so Paul had Luke for company on the trip as well as a man named Aristarchus. Most importantly, he knew that God was with him, and the Lord had promised that he would give his testimony in Rome.

When we travel through life, whether we move from place to place or stay where we are, we sometimes have things that might make us afraid or anxious. We worry about getting hurt, or about the people we love, or about losing our friends or our homes, or about many other things. But like Paul, we really don’t have to be afraid. We have the Lord’s promise to be with us always, and he will help us through whatever happens until he brings us safely to heaven. We know that God will keep these promises because of Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could become God’s children forever. Because of Jesus, we can go confidently on our journey through life until we finally reach our destination with the Lord.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us through our life. Please bring us safely to our home in heaven. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Source:

https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/s/ships-sailors-and-navigation.html

Made Clean

Bible:

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Mark 1:40-42 ESV

The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. Leviticus 13:45-46 ESV

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. Hebrews 13:12-13 ESV

Reflection:

In the 1300s a horrible epidemic called the black death swept through Asia and Europe. Millions of people died of this terrible disease, and no one knew how to stop its spread or how to cure it. People tried to keep away from those who had the plague. For example, ships entering Venice were searched and were burned if there were any foreigners or dead bodies on board. In a town called Pistoia, the Council made it a law that no one could travel to a place where there was the plague, or return home if they had been there. In Milan, people who were sick with the plague were walled up in their houses so that they couldn’t get out, and food was thrown to them over the top of the wall. In the French port of Marseille, men chased a ship out of the harbor when they realized it carried the plague. All these things tried to put a distance between sick people and well people.

God’s people had laws of separation if someone had a skin disease. What the Bible calls leprosy can also mean other skin diseases, and the law was the same. The sick person had to leave other people and live alone outside the town or the camp. People with these diseases had to wear torn clothes and wear their hair loose so others could see that they were sick and stay away from them. If anyone came near, they had to shout, “Unclean, unclean!” to warn them to stay away. It was a sad and lonely life.

A man who was unclean broke this law when he saw that Jesus was near. He believed that Jesus could help him, and so he went right up to Jesus and begged him to heal him. The man was very humble and said that Jesus could make him clean if he wanted to. He would let Jesus decide whether to help him or not. Jesus also broke the law. He felt so sorry for the man that he reached out and touched him. Probably no one had come close to this sick man or touched him for a long time. Jesus said that he wanted to make him clean, and his touch made him well instantly.

We were all unclean with sin, and Jesus took all our uncleanness on himself. When he died on the cross for us, he died a shameful death outside the city, a death meant for terrible criminals. Jesus took our place in this shameful death, and he is not afraid to touch us with his love and forgiveness to make us clean. We can always come to Jesus with the shame of uncleanness and sin in our lives, and know that he will reach out to us and forgive us and make us clean in God’s eyes once again.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for touching us and making us clean from sin. Amen.

Source:

http://www.blackdeath.info/facts.html

Leaving Their Boats

Bible:

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 4:1-11 ESV

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11 ESV

Reflection:

There’s a story that when the conqueror Hernan Cortes and his men arrived on their ships at the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to conquer it, Cortes found out that some of his men found out how outnumbered they were, and talked about turning back. Cortes gave the order that the ships they had come on should be burned. This meant that everyone understood there would be no turning back. They would have to press forward and conquer and make their life in the new land, because it would be impossible for them to return to Cuba, the place they had come from. This actually didn’t happen, although something similar did. When Cortes wanted to press on to the city of Tenochtitlan in Mexico, some of his men grumbled and decided to mutiny, and Cortes had his ships sunk so that they couldn’t turn back.

Peter had been following Jesus for awhile, but he also continued to work in his fishing business on the lake. In fact, Jesus used his boat to teach from one day because the crowd was pressing on him so hard. After Jesus finished teaching the people, he told Peter to go out into the deep part of the lake and put down his nets for a catch. Fishermen usually worked at night, when fish are closer to the surface, and they also usually worked closer to the shore where it is easier to catch fish. Peter hadn’t caught any fish the night before, and he thought Jesus’ idea sounded a little strange, but he had been with Jesus long enough to trust him and to do what he said. When he did, he caught a huge number of fish right away, so many that the nets started breaking. He and his brother Andrew waved their arms to get help from James and John, who were their partners and in another boat. When Peter saw this miracle, he suddenly faced the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, and it frightened him. He knew that he was a sinner and deserved God’s punishment, and he begged Jesus to go away and leave him alone. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He wanted to give Peter a new job, a job of catching people for God’s kingdom instead of fish for his own business. The four men left their boats and their fishing nets and everything they had behind and started following Jesus for good. There would be no turning back now.

Jesus also calls us to follow him. Sometimes he calls people to leave behind the life they had before, and more often he calls people to use the life they have to follow him and to serve others and share his good news with them. But he calls everyone to leave behind their sins and their pride and selfishness. He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and that we could have a new life in him, and the things that keep us from following him are the things we need to leave behind. He sends us his Holy Spirit to help us to trust him instead of our own hard work, and to live our lives in his way instead of our own. Everything is different for people who follow Jesus, and he is with his people every day with his love and help and forgiveness.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, help us to follow you every day. Amen.

Source:

https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_d00.html

No Answer

Bible:

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. I Kings 18:25-29 ESV

Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble. Isaiah 46:6-7 ESV

Reflection:

Many years ago a huge ship named the Titanic was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, and it crashed into an iceberg. There were wireless operators on the Titanic who were able to send messages to other ships, and they sent many messages after the ship started to sink. An early one began: “Come at once. We have struck a berg.” Other messages followed, such as, “We have struck an iceberg and sinking by the head,” and “We are putting passengers off in small boats. Women and children in boats. Cannot last much longer. Losing power.” Other ships received these messages and some of them tried to reach the Titanic to help, but the ship was too far away, and no help could arrive until it was too late. Many people fell into the icy water and drowned.

The prophets of Baal wanted Baal to send fire down to their altar to prove his power. They called out to their god, and as the day went on they prayed more and more desperately, but there was no answer. They called to him most of the day, and danced around the altar. They even cut themselves and let the blood run, thinking that would please Baal and make him answer them. Elijah started to make fun of them and told them to keep calling. But no matter how much they shouted and prayed to Baal, there was no answer. Baal didn’t answer the prayers of the priests because he wasn’t real. When the 450 priests prayed to him, there was really no one there to hear. Baal was a god of fertility, a god who was supposed to bring rain and help the crops grow, but for three years there had been no rain. There was a terrible drought, and people and animals were hungry and thirsty.

Only the true God could send rain or hold it back. Our God hears all our prayers and is able to answer us and help us. We never have to worry that God won’t listen to us or that he can’t help us. He showed us how much he loves us by sending Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and because of that we are God’s children. God listens to our prayers and helps us the way a good father listens to and helps his children. We can be sure that he will always answer our prayers in the way that is best, and that he will always love us.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing our prayers and helping us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17631595

The Light of the Temple

Bible:

As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.” So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. I Kings 5:7-12 ESV

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32 ESV

Reflection:

A lighthouse is a high tower with a light that flashes from the top. Lighthouses are still used to help ships and even planes know where they are and which way to go. A lighthouse can mark hazardous shorelines or other dangerous parts of the landscape so that a ship will steer clear of rocks or reefs that could cause it to sink. It also is a landmark to help the ship’s pilot know where the ship is. The oldest lighthouse in the world is called the Tower of Hercules. It is over 180 feet tall and stands in northwestern Spain. It was built at the time of the Roman empire in the first century, and it is still being used today to help signal and guide ships.

When Solomon built the temple, it wasn’t only the people of Israel who knew about it. Solomon got help from a neighboring king, Hiram, and his country, Tyre. Because of David and Solomon, Hiram knew about the true God. He felt happy and honored to help in the building project. He thanked God for Solomon and his wisdom and didn’t waste any time sending cedar and cypress trees for wood and floating them on rafts on the Mediterranean Sea to the land of Israel. People from King Hiram’s country did the work of cutting down the trees and also breaking them into boards to build with. God’s temple was a little like a lighthouse, shining out the faith of the people of Israel in their God and of the wonderful things he had done for them. Other nations would hear about the true God because of the temple.

Many years later there was another temple in Jerusalem, and Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to that temple. An old man named Simeon came to see the baby, and he knew that at last, at the end of his life, he was seeing the promised Savior. He called Jesus a light for the Gentiles–the people who were not part of Israel–and the glory of God’s people Israel. Jesus is God’s true temple. He is God, and we can always find God’s love and forgiveness in him. He is a lighthouse that tells of God’s goodness to all people in the world. He died on the cross to give all people forgiveness and bring them back to their heavenly Father.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to show the world your goodness and love and to bring us back to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Source:

http://www.galiciaguide.com/Tower-of-hercules.html

Cedars in Lebanon

Bible:

But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92:10-15 ESV

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:9-11 ESV

Reflection:

For thousands of years, Lebanon has been famous for its cedar trees. In fact, the cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon. This evergreen tree gives high quality timber as well as oils and resins. When David’s son Solomon built a temple for God, he used cedars from Lebanon. The ships and temples of the Egyptian pharaohs also used these cedars, and the resin was used to make mummies in ancient Egypt. Cedars in Lebanon can live for a long time, as long as a thousand years! The wood from these cedars is sweet-smelling and very durable for making furniture and buildings. Its oils repel moths and its resins and saps kill fungus and other kinds of germs. The cedar’s sap has been used to protect structures from insects and fungus and also to treat diseases. God made an amazing tree when he made the cedar of Lebanon!

Psalm 92 talked about wicked people who don’t follow God’s ways, but now it talks about righteous people. It compares righteous people to cedars in Lebanon, living a long time and staying green and giving sap even in their old age. It says that righteous people are planted  like trees in the house of the Lord. They get their life and their strength from God himself. They praise him for his righteousness and his strength, which is like a solid rock under them. Because of God’s help and strength, they give good gifts to the world.

We are righteous because Jesus died for us and took our sins away. Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can follow him and do good works. We are sinners by ourselves, but we have been given new life through Jesus, and we have a wonderful promise from God, who raised Jesus from the dead.  Not only does he give us a new life through Jesus, but he also promises that after our bodies die, someday he will raise them up and make them new. We will live in the new world God will make, not only a thousand years, but forever and ever!

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to make me righteous and to give me life now and forever with you. Amen.

Source:

http://www.arkive.org/cedar-of-lebanon/cedrus-libani/

Keep Away!

Bible:

The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. I Samuel 5:6-12 ESV

Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2:11-12 ESV

Reflection:

In 1347, black death came to Europe through the port of Sicily. Some ships came into port, and the people on these ships were infected with the plague. Many of them were already dead. When the people of the port saw that the sailors were carrying this horrible disease, they made the ships leave port. They wanted to keep the plague from entering their area, but it was too late. The first horrible spread of the plague through Europe had started. Rich people tried to escape to the countryside, but many people had no place to run. About 20 million people in Europe died, which was about a third of its population.

God showed his power against the Philistines with a plague when they captured the ark of the covenant. Everywhere the ark was brought, the plague broke out. The people panicked and tried to get away from the ark. They decided that they couldn’t keep the ark with them because God’s anger came with it. Like the ships that were forced to leave port in Sicily, the Philistine towns got ready to send the ark away from themselves before more people got sick or died from the plague.

God’s anger against sinners is very frightening, and left to ourselves we are afraid of God and want to run away from him. But God is everywhere, and there is no place to hide from him. The good news is that the same God who is angry over our sins loves us and gives us a place to hide from his anger. He sent his Son Jesus to die and take the punishment for our sins. We can run to Jesus for help and forgiveness. When we are in Jesus, we are safe from God’s anger and safe in his love forever.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving us and dying for us so that we are safe from God’s anger over our sins. Amen.

Source:

http://historymedren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/p/blackdeath.htm