SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

A New Leg of the Journey

A New Leg of the Journey
Words of Faith 8-12-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Acts 27
When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. [2] We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
[3] The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. [4] From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. [5] When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. [6] There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. [7] We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. [8] We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

How do you set out on a fresh journey?
After two years in Caesarea, Paul was finally going to find out what Rome was all about, but there was a long and perilous journey ahead. Paul began his 2000-mile trip to Rome at Caesarea. To avoid the open seas, the ship followed the coastline around the Mediterranean.
At a place called Myra, Paul was put on a vessel bound for Italy. It arrived with difficulty at Cnidus, then went to Crete, landing at the port of Fair Havens. This was about halfway to Rome.
How did Paul approach this fresh leg of his faith journey? Many things were now out of his control. Surely he committed the journey to the Lord and trusted Him for every detail.
But Paul also did not try to go it alone! Luke and Aristarchus offered to go along and were permitted to join him. Paul might have declined the offer because of the dangers involved. Out of pride, he might have declared his sufficiency to go it alone, but Paul knew that there is little wisdom in solitary efforts. He also asked for, and received, permission to visit with friends in Sidon before heading out to sea. There is a powerful lesson here.
As we begin a new season, there is often a sense of starting on a fresh journey. The calendar may mark an actual turning point in the course of life-- a change of job, location, or opportunity-- or it may simply mark an artificial point of reflecting and starting anew. Either way, we can gain some perspective and start with newness.
Like Paul, there are many things that are beyond our control in the season that is to come. Plan as we may, we will not pick the route that is ahead! We will not choose the storms. Who would have thought that the last season would bring the journey it did? But we can be confident in this journey that God is in charge and has us in His care.
So how do we start the fresh journey of faith? How do we begin a new leg of the journey? We must connect with our companions for the journey. God does not intend that we travel alone. Paul could have put aside the offers of Luke and Aristarchus. He could have declared himself a "Lone Apostle". Instead, Paul recognized that God's strength for the journey is found in friends! Far too often we try to go it alone and what God really desires is that we journey together in small numbers.
A good question: Who are your traveling companions as you start the season ahead? You may immediately think of family, a few friends, or a class you attend. More pointedly, is there someone with whom you can bare your soul along the journey?
Do you not see any? Perhaps you need to look more closely. You may also need to be more intentional in the months ahead. You may need to place yourself more carefully into fellowship and find a small group or study in your church in order to discover the traveling friends God has for you.
The truth is that we do not know at all what the future will bring, but we know that God is in charge and we can make the journey together.

Lord, help me to trust You completely with the journey You have planned for me. Show me those with whom I need to travel. In Jesus' name.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an E-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an E-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.