BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 2 3 Paul faced a time like that. Paul, then a prisoner, was getting a free boat ride via the Roman government, to preach in Rome. Paul had told the Roman officer over him that they shouldn't leave port because he had a sense that it wasn't safe (Acts 27:10, The Passion Translation). The captain of the ship didn't care what Paul thought. He loaded everyone up and headed for open waters. Paul had felt like trouble was coming, but it didn't matter. He had to endure the same trouble as the rest of the people on the ship. He went through the same "storm of hurricane force…. After many days of seeing neither the sun nor the stars, and with the violent storm continuing to rage against us, all hope of ever getting through it alive was abandoned" (verses 14, 20). Then, he and the others encountered a shipwreck. While the others feared for their lives, Paul had a different frame of mind. He knew they would be saved. That's what should distinguish us from the world—a different frame of mind. God has done something in us that's given us the right to believe differently than most people. That doesn't mean the unexpected won't happen. It will, but, like Paul, we don't have to follow the fear, panic and uncertainty that others experience. After Paul and the others shipwrecked on Malta, he was helping build a fire when a viper bit his hand. Paul's reaction? "Paul shook the snake off, flung it into the fire, and suffered no harm at all" (Acts 28:3, 5). Think about that. Paul had just helped save 276 souls from being lost at sea. He'd helped them get to shore safely. And just when they thought the trouble was past and they could enjoy a warm fire, a viper bit Paul. Talk about not having a good day. Sometimes you can be in the middle of doing something good—helping others, sharing the gospel, doing all you know to do—and the devil bites you. It may not be a poisonous snake bite, but it can feel like one, coming out of nowhere and feeling like it's the end. Here's the important part though: Paul had a different frame of mind. He just shook that viper off. The islanders watching this happen thought he was a criminal that God was trying to kill. The ocean hadn't killed him. The hurricane hadn't killed him. So to them, God must have sent a snake to kill him. They waited for him to puff up and die. Likewise, people may be waiting for the worst to happen to you too. They may be saying, "Oh man, this is it. He's done! Yeah, he deserves it." Then a few minutes later, when Paul didn't die, they changed their tune: "He must be a god!" (verse 6). People can be fickle. For you, those onlookers may be well-meaning Christians who go to your church. Or they may be people sitting next to you at work. Or neighbors you pass every day on your morning walk. They're watching to see how you respond to being bit. They're waiting to see if you'll puff up and die… or just shake it off. God Raises the Dead Paul was no stranger to pressure. In 2 Corinthians, Paul talked about the trouble he'd faced in western Turkey. As you read what he wrote here, think of the times in your life—maybe even right now—when you've faced pressure, the kind that would make others wonder if you're going to survive. "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves..." (2 Corinthians 1:8-9, New King James Version). B V O V : 2 3 GOD WANTS AN OVERFLOW OF POWER' TO BE SEEN IN OUR HOMES, OUR MONEY... AND OUR VOICES. ' by Dennis Burke

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