We are at the end of our journey. We have covered the entire book of Acts, tracing the origins and roots of the church and mission of the Kingdom of God. I have loved reading your comments and insights throughout the time and encourage you to continue to leave your thoughts and feedback on Savage Generation.
Today's reading is from Acts 27-28
Chapter 27:
This is another amazing example of Paul's faithfulness to what God told him. He used every situation as an opportunity to share with others about God. I wonder if I was sailing on the ship if I would have been willing to heed Paul's advice to stay on the ship. You have to believe firmly that God's Word can be trusted in order to stay aboard a ship that you are told is going to wreck and be destroyed, yet they did it and survived. Reflection Question: How often do we ignore God's directions because it defies what seems to be logical?
Chapter 28:
When Paul and them land on the island, Paul is bitten by a snake as they gather firewood. This is horrible. He's been beaten, mocked, ran out of town, but now he's bitten by a snake. However, the snake bite doesn't hurt him and everyone is amazed. This leads to the people of the island giving them great hospitality during their time there as they prepare to sail again. Once in Rome, Paul is speaking to people about Jesus and proclaiming him as Lord and Messiah. Scriptures tell us that some believed and others did not. And then the final verse in Acts sums up most of what we have read, "31Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." That was Paul's mission. That was his objective and he spent his life up until his death doing it. Reflection Question: Am I willing to boldly and without hindrance share the message of Christ with others, recognizing that some will believe and others will reject?
Favor is something that we find throughout Paul's imprisonment. No matter where he was detained, there always seems to be favor.
ReplyDeleteNo matter our circumstances, there is always favor toward us if we but look, listen, and stop.
Word of Knowledge and Healing is the giftings that stand out along this trip. And all those who were in charge of Paul's incarceration saw what was happening and they had to face the reality of Paul's God.
May we have favor in the midst of those we deal with each day. And may the power of God give credance to our testimony
Not to wax lyrical or anything, but I do think there is something poetic that the fall of man was ushered in by a snake and then there's Paul, preaching the gospel of Jesus and a snake has no effect on him.
ReplyDeleteJust me thinking...but that's pretty cool.