Daily Bible CEV May 22 Scroll

The Storm at Sea

Acts 27 ¹³When a gentle wind from the south started blowing, the men thought it was a good time to do what they had planned. So they pulled up the anchor, and we sailed along the coast of Crete. ¹⁴But soon a strong wind called "The Northeaster" blew against us from the island. ¹⁵The wind struck the ship, and we could not sail against it. So we let the wind carry the ship.

¹⁶We went along the island of Cauda on the side that was protected from the wind. We had a hard time holding the lifeboat in place, ¹⁷but finally we got it where it belonged. Then the sailors wrapped ropes around the ship to hold it together. They lowered the sail and let the ship drift along, because they were afraid it might hit the sandbanks in the gulf of Syrtis.

¹⁸The storm was so fierce that the next day they threw some of the ship's cargo overboard. ¹⁹Then on the third day, with their bare hands they threw overboard some of the ship's gear. ²⁰For several days we could not see either the sun or the stars. A strong wind kept blowing, and we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

²¹Since none of us had eaten anything for a long time, Paul stood up and told the men:

You should have listened to me! If you had stayed on in Crete, you would not have had this damage and loss. ²²But now I beg you to cheer up, because you will be safe. Only the ship will be lost.

²³I belong to God, and I worship him. Last night he sent an angel ²⁴to tell me, "Paul, don't be afraid! You will stand trial before the Emperor. And because of you, God will save the lives of everyone on the ship." ²⁵Cheer up! I am sure that God will do exactly what he promised. ²⁶But we will first be shipwrecked on some island.

²⁷For fourteen days and nights we had been blown around over the Mediterranean Sea. But about midnight the sailors realized that we were getting near land. ²⁸They measured and found that the water was about one hundred twenty feet deep. A little later they measured again and found it was only about ninety feet. ²⁹The sailors were afraid that we might hit some rocks, and they let down four anchors from the back of the ship. Then they prayed for daylight.

³⁰The sailors wanted to escape from the ship. So they lowered the lifeboat into the water, pretending that they were letting down an anchor from the front of the ship. ³¹But Paul said to Captain Julius and the soldiers, "If the sailors don't stay on the ship, you won't have any chance to save your lives." ³²The soldiers then cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall into the sea.

³³Just before daylight Paul begged the people to eat something. He told them, "For fourteen days you have been so worried that you haven't eaten a thing. ³⁴I beg you to eat something. Your lives depend on it. Do this and not one of you will be hurt."

³⁵After Paul had said this, he took a piece of bread and gave thanks to God. Then in front of everyone, he broke the bread and ate some. ³⁶They all felt encouraged, and each of them ate something. ³⁷There were 276 people on the ship, ³⁸and after everyone had eaten, they threw the cargo of wheat into the sea to make the ship lighter.

The Shipwreck

³⁹Morning came, and the ship's crew saw a coast that they did not recognize. But they did see a cove with a beach. So they decided to try to run the ship aground on the beach. ⁴⁰They cut the anchors loose and let them sink into the sea. At the same time they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Next, they raised the sail at the front of the ship and let the wind carry the ship toward the beach. ⁴¹But it ran aground on a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck firmly in the sand, and the rear was being smashed by the force of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners to keep them from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³But Captain Julius wanted to save Paul's life, and he did not let the soldiers do what they had planned. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to dive into the water and head for shore. ⁴⁴Then he told the others to hold on to planks of wood or parts of the ship. At last, everyone safely reached shore.

The LORD Speaks to Samuel

1 Samuel 3 ^1-2Samuel served the LORD by helping Eli the priest, who was by that time almost blind. In those days, the LORD hardly ever spoke directly to people, and he did not appear to them in dreams very often. But one night, Eli was asleep in his room, ³and Samuel was sleeping on a mat near the sacred chest in the LORD's house. They had not been asleep very long ⁴when the LORD called out Samuel's name.

"Here I am!" Samuel answered. ⁵Then he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. What do you want?"

"I didn't call you," Eli answered. "Go back to bed."

Samuel went back.

⁶Again the LORD called out Samuel's name. Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you want?"

Eli told him, "Son, I didn't call you. Go back to sleep."

⁷The LORD had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. ⁸When the LORD called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, "Here I am. What do you want?"

Eli finally realized that it was the LORD who was speaking to Samuel. ⁹So he said, "Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, 'I'm listening, LORD. What do you want me to do?' "

Once again Samuel went back and lay down.

¹⁰The LORD then stood beside Samuel and called out as he had done before, "Samuel! Samuel!"

"I'm listening," Samuel answered. "What do you want me to do?"

¹¹The LORD said:

Samuel, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock everyone who hears about it! ¹²I will punish Eli and his family, just as I promised. ¹³He knew that his sons refused to respect me, and he let them get away with it, even though I said I would punish his family forever. ¹⁴I warned Eli that sacrifices or offerings could never make things right! His family has done too many disgusting things.

¹⁵The next morning, Samuel got up and opened the doors to the LORD's house. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said. ¹⁶But Eli told him, "Samuel, my boy, come here!"

"Here I am," Samuel answered.

¹⁷Eli said, "What did God say to you? Tell me everything. I pray that God will punish you terribly if you don't tell me every word he said!"

¹⁸Samuel told Eli everything. Then Eli said, "He is the LORD, and he will do what's right."

The LORD Helps Samuel

¹⁹As Samuel grew up, the LORD helped him and made everything Samuel said come true. ²⁰From the town of Dan in the north to the town of Beersheba in the south, everyone in the country knew that Samuel was truly the LORD's prophet. ²¹The LORD often appeared to Samuel at Shiloh and told him what to say.

Psalm 51
[For the music leader. A psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had been with Bathsheba.]
A Prayer for Forgiveness

¹You are kind, God! Please have pity on me.

You are always merciful! Please wipe away my sins.

²Wash me clean from all of my sin and guilt.

³I know about my sins,

and I cannot forget my terrible guilt.

⁴You are really the one I have sinned against;

I have disobeyed you and have done wrong.

So it is right and fair for you

to correct and punish me.

⁵I have sinned and done wrong since the day I was born.

⁶But you want complete honesty,

so teach me true wisdom.

⁷Wash me with hyssop

until I am clean and whiter than snow.

⁸Let me be happy and joyful!

You crushed my bones, now let them celebrate.

⁹Turn your eyes from my sin and cover my guilt.

¹⁰Create pure thoughts in me

and make me faithful again.

¹¹Don't chase me away from you

or take your Holy Spirit away from me.

¹²Make me as happy as you did when you saved me;

make me want to obey!

¹³I will teach sinners your Law,

and they will return to you.

¹⁴Keep me from any deadly sin. Only you can save me!

Then I will shout and sing about your power to save.

¹⁵Help me to speak, and I will praise you, Lord.

¹⁶

Offerings and sacrifices are not what you want.

¹⁷The way to please you

is to feel sorrow deep in our hearts.

This is the kind of sacrifice you won't refuse.

¹⁸Please be willing, Lord, to help the city of Zion

and to rebuild its walls.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with the proper sacrifices,

and we will offer bulls on your altar once again.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.