In John 1:19-27, the Jews sent priests and Levites to find out who John the Baptist professed to be.  Even before Jesus began His earthly ministry, the Jewish leaders were questioning any speaking about the Messiah.  We today need to make sure that those proclaiming Christ are doing so to bring glory to God.  I don't feel that the Jewish leaders were wrong to question John, since they had a responsibility as God's people to make sure no false prophets rose to power.  We as God's people today have that same responsibility.  When asked, John told them he was not the Messiah.  They then asked if he were Elias, and he said no, or this prophet, and he said no.  They wanted to know the source of his authority to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.  He was simply John the Baptist, acting under the power of his calling by God.  If we are proclaiming Christ and anyone asks us who we are, we can only answer that we are a follower of Christ, acting under His authority.  John said he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.  He was doing nothing against the Scriptures.  We need to make sure if someone is proclaiming Christ today that what they proclaim is consistent with the Scriptures.  Those sent to question John the Baptist wanted to know, if he were none of those mentioned, why he was baptizing people.  Knowing a person's motivation is always a good thing.  If John were doing this for personal gain, the religious leaders needed to know, as would we today with anyone who is becoming well known because of their proclaiming Christ.  John said he baptized in water, but One was standing among them, who they knew not, Who was preferred above John.  He said this was One whose sandals he was not worthy to unlatch.  We can never be worthy of the love of Christ, and He will always be preferred above all others, because He is the only way for people to be restored to God.

In John 1:16, John the Baptist continues to speak of Jesus, and how we all received His fullness, grace for Grace.  Christ never lacks in His ability to provide for His followers.  We do His work by His guidance and from His never ending provision for us.  When we, as His followers, serve the Creator of all things, why do we so often feel that we cannot afford to do whatever He calls us to do.  Sometimes I wonder how small we really feel God is.  We have received the fullness of Christ, not some small percentage.  We receive this fulness by His grace, the unmerited gift of God.  As we have received the blessings of life through His grace, we are called to reach out to the rest of the world in Grace.  We cannot wait for people to become worthy of our love and compassion.  We are to reach out to them as God reached out to us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  We want forgiveness by the grace of God, but do not want to offer forgiveness to others.  In John 1:17, John the Baptist stated that the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  We hear a lot today about displaying the Ten Commandments, but we must realize they can only point to our inability to live up to God's calling.  We are told they are to be written on our hearts.  In other words, they are not just words engraved in stone, but living words in our hearts.  Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  This is what we should be concentrating on.  The law was fulfilled in Christ, by His truth and grace.  It seems at times that we are more concerned with displaying the Ten Commandments than we are in living by them.  What we need to display is the grace of God in our lives.

In John 1:15, John the Baptist again told the people that Jesus was the One he had been talking about.  Christianity is never about who we are, but always about Who He is.  People may point to a Christian and talk about how good they are, but if so, it needs to be because they reflect Christ.  There are many good people in the world who do many good things, but they either don't know Christ or do not reflect His glory.  There are others who profess Christ as their Savior, but don't reflect Him in their actions and attitudes.  Our purpose as followers of Christ is to reflect His glory in all that we do.  Once more, we are not called to give up on the world and cower in fear, but we are to work so that the lost might be redeemed.  When Christianity becomes a religion of hate and exclusion, then it becomes simply a religion.  Christianity is always about a relationship with Christ, and not about our goodness and what we deserve.  John the Baptist did everything to point people to Christ.  We must be the same way.  Following Christ is a choice, and even though once we accept Him as our Savior we are saved forever, it is still a choice we must make every day as to whether or not we will reflect His glory to the world.  We have the power of God dwelling in us, through the Holy Spirit, and we sit around defeated, because the world is so bad.  If God's people will claim the power of God in their lives, then we will reflect hope and forgiveness to a lost and dying world.  People have never seen God except through Jesus Christ.  We are to reflect Christ to the world so that they might see God.

John 1:14 tells us, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."  Jesus was totally man and totally God.  We sometimes hear people say that Jesus could not have sinned because He was born without a sin nature.  I guess that is where I differ in my understanding of sin compared to some.  If I was born already condemned to sin with no choice in the matter, how can God condemn me.  He would have made me that way.  We are not punished for the sins of Adam and Eve, or any other long forgotten relative.  We are condemned for our own rebellion against God.  If Jesus had no ability to seek the will of the world instead of the will of the Father, then He was not fully human.  We hear people justify their actions by saying they are only human, as if this removes the responsibility from them.  Jesus showed us what it means to be only human.  God created man and woman and pronounced them very good.  Still, He gave them free will and has to every person since.  Those who walked with Jesus beheld His glory.  This does not mean He had a halo hanging over His head or some kind of mystical aura.  It means by His actions and His very nature, people saw His glory.  Some believed and some denied Who He was, and still do today.  As His followers, people should see the glory of God reflected through us, by our actions and our very nature.  If we are judgmental and act superior to everyone, God's glory is not going to shine through.  We can never be the only begotten of the Heavenly Father, but we can be His child.  When we speak of Jesus as the Son of God, we must never forget the Only Begotten Son.  He is the only One Who can restore our relationship to God because He is the Only One Who overcame sin and defeated death.

Jesus came to the Jews first and they did not receive Him.  Then, in John 1:12, we read, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on His name."   Then, in verse 13, "Which were, born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of me, but of God."  Christ came to save all.  Yes, He went first to the Jews, not so they would alone be saved, but so they could share the gospel with all people.  When Christ calls us to Him, it is not so we can keep salvation for ourselves.  We, as His people, have a responsibility to share the gospel with all people.  The Jews, God's chosen people, failed to accept Him because He wasn't what they wanted.  They wanted worldly power, but Christ offered the power to become sons of God.  When we begin to feel weak in the eyes of the world, remember we have the power of being a child of God.  The only way the world can defeat us is if they defeat our Heavenly Father.  We were all born into this world, whatever state it may be in.  That makes us a human, no better or worse than any other human.  It does not make us a child of God.  Now, I personally believe that until we reach the age where we know right from wrong and choose the wrong that we are His.  Sin, our sin, is what separates us, and choosing Christ as our Savior is what restores us.  I have heard some people say that they are a Christian, but they don't believe in the idea of being born again.  Since that is the cornerstone of salvation, you cannot be one without the other.  As a follower of Christ, we are born again by faith in Christ.  My will, my power, my abilities, will not save me.  Only the will and power of God can save me.  His will is for all to be saved, but the choice belongs to each individual whether they will be or not.  In order to be born again, we must confess our sins.  If we say we are a Christian, but we have never done anything to need forgiveness for, then we make either ourself or God a liar.  Only One has ever lived Who needed no forgiveness, and that was Jesus, the Christ.

Then John told about John the Baptist, who was beginning to have people follow him, some even thinking he might be the Messiah.  When people are hungry for hope, they will look to anyone for that hope.  John the Baptist was a  good man to listen to, even to follow, but he was not the Messiah.  Today, people follow religious leaders as if they were the answer to life's problems themselves.  If they do not point you to following Christ and away from following them, then something is wrong.  John the Baptist was there to prepare people to get ready for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, and then have them follow Christ.  This is found in John 1:7,8.  Again, everything we teach must be founded in the Bible, so we must know what it actually says.  Jesus was and is the true Light of the world.  We, like John the Baptist are sent, as followers of His, into the world to bear witness to that Light.   When Jesus was in the world, a world made by Him, the world did not acknowledge Him.  He had a few who believed and followed, but even they did not understand Who He really was until after His death, burial, and resurrection.  We today need to understand Who we really follow.  He is not just a man Who walked and taught and died and rose again over two thousand years ago.  He was and is the Creator of this world, and He has promised that He will be with those who put their faith in Him in an even more powerful way through the Holy Spirit.   We need to claim that Power.  John the Baptist boldly proclaimed the coming of Christ in the corrupt and evil world in which he lived.  Even the leaders of God's people refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  Today, we have religious leaders who are more concerned with maintaining their status than with sharing the gospel with all people.  We need to be more like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness of lost people, make ready the way of the Lord.  If we truly believe the end is near, we need to be witnessing to as many as we can instead of withdrawing in fear and anguish.  Our commission was not to withdraw and hang on, but to go and witness.

John further states in John 1:3,  that through the Word, Christ Himself, everything was made.  He was not just with God, but was the Creator of everything.  I am not sure there are any words to accurately describe the Trinity, but again, there is but One God, manifested as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We in the church today are guided by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is not a replacement for the God of the Old Testament or for Jesus.  God is all Three, and all Three are God.  John was declaring Jesus the Creator of all things.  He spoke into being all things, except man who was created from the dust in the image of God, and woman who was created from the rib of man.  If anyone states that we are no different than any other animal, they are wrong.  Some religions believe that Jesus was not the only begotten Son of God, but that He had a heavenly father and mother, who had a heavenly father and mother.  We can never allow that belief to become acceptable in Christianity.  God did not say "I became," but "I Am."  God always was, before anything else. He is without beginning or end.  He is the One Who created and sustains the universe.  Christ came to bring life, everlasting, meaningful life, to mankind and to be a Light unto the world.  Until a person accepts Christ as a personal Savior, life is without meaning.  We stumble around in darkness looking for hope and purpose.  Through Christ, we find light and meaning in life.

In the book of Acts, we find a record of the beginning of the church after the crucifixion of Christ.  I think now we will look at the life of Christ presented in the book of John.  Maybe it would have been more logical to go in the reverse order, but I just started where I felt led.  In John 1:1, we read' "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  At the beginning of the world, the Word, Christ, already existed.  In the beginning does not mean that God suddenly appeared at some point.  God has always and will always be.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the Three in One, have always been and will always be. The Christ we serve as our Savior did not come into existence a little over two thousand years ago.  He always has been.  Neither is He a second God, but He is God.  Though He would become a man during His ministry on earth, He did not cease to be God.  Though I cannot explain the Three in One nature of God effectively, I can accept in faith that it exists.  Though we speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as being different Beings, They are not.  There is but one God, shown to us in three different manifestations.  We must never try to make the three into different Gods.  I have heard people say they believe in Jesus as their Savior, but want nothing to do with the God of the Old Testament.  We must realize and acknowledge that they are the same.  Since the beginning, Christ has been God.  There is no Old Testament God Who is not the New Testament God.  So, as His followers, even if we cannot totally understand the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the One true God, we must accept the fact by faith.  Jesus, our Redeemer, always was and always will be God.

In Acts 28:25 through the end of the book, Paul is still under arrest and still witnessing.  First, the Jewish leaders decided to leave, some believing and some not. Paul had one last thing to share with them before they left.  He said well spoke the Holy Ghost by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet to our fathers.  He wasn't telling them some new thing.  As a Jew, they shared a common ancestry.  As Christians today, we share an ancestry not by physical birth, but by rebirth into the family of God.  In our spiritual family, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  Paul said the Holy Ghost through Isaiah said of their fathers, hearing they would not understand and seeing they would not perceive.  Their hearts were waxed gross, their ears grown dull of hearing and their eyes were shut, lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart and be converted, and God would heal them.  Today, so many people refuse to listen to the gospel and see the reality of God because they have closed their heart and mind to anything related to God, so they remain unhealed in their relationship to God.  Since the Jews, God's chosen people, refused to listen to the gospel, it was going to be presented to the Gentiles, and they would hear it.  The Gentiles would be us, but like the Jews in Paul's day and most since, many have closed their heart to God.  The Jews left Paul with great reasoning among themselves.  This does not mean they had accepted Christ through reasoning, but they were still arguing about what Paul had said.  We cannot reason our way to salvation, but must simply act in faith.  Paul remained there for two whole years, in his own hired house, though still not free.  He received all who came to him and continued to preach the gospel with all confidence and no one forbid him from preaching and teaching.  Wherever we are, our task is to preach and teach about Jesus.  May we be as faithful as Paul was.

In Acts 28:21, the Jewish leaders in Rome said they knew nothing about what Paul had been charged with.  They had received no letters from Judea about him, nor had any of the brethren who came there said anything about Paul.  They wanted to hear what he had to say about Christianity, because everywhere this sect was spoken against.  All we can ever ask is that people will want to hear what we have to say about Christ, no matter the circumstances.  They thought Christianity but a sect, but wanted to know more about it.  Acts 28:23 states, And when they had appointed him a day, there came many unto him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning until evening.  Paul based his beliefs on the Scriptures, and so must we.  In order to do that, we must have a deep knowledge of what the Scriptures say.  Had Paul been speaking from a superficial understanding of the Scriptures, he would have soon run out of things to proclaim or he wouldn't have been able to relate it all to Christ.  Our witness should always be consistent with the teaching of the Bible, and we should be able to declare that truth all day long if necessary.  As always, some of the people believed and some didn't.  The gospel divides people into those who believe God and those who refuse to believe, and always will.  No matter how in depth we get in our witnessing to people, some are never going to believe.  Some today are going to view Christianity as a cult or just another of many religions, and are going to treat Christians as though they are ignorant to believe such myths, and some will do all they can to stop the spread of the gospel.  We need more people like Paul today, who know what the Scriptures teach, live under the authority and power of the gospel, and will never back away, no matter the cost.

In the second half of Acts 28:17, Paul begins to present his case to the Roman Jewish leaders.  Paul's testimony never wavered.  He had done nothing against the Jewish beliefs, but he was still being persecuted by the Jews.  As we live our life, even in times of trials, we need to never waver in our testamony.  When we fail to live up to our calling as His followers, we can never try to weaken His word to try and justify anything we do against His will.  On the other hand, we must never weaken our testamony to escape the trials of the world.  We often complain that the law of the land will not allow us to exercise our faith openly when we don't do it anyway.  The Jews may have attempted to prevent Paul from exercising his faith, but all they could do was have him arrested.  We often give up without a fight and moan about how the government keeps us from doing certain things.  Paul said he had committed nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers.  He did not suddenly cease to be a Jew when he encountered Christ.  He simply became what all Jews were supposed to be.  He simply reached out to the Gentiles, the rest of the world, with the gospel.  When we as Christians reach out to people that some may see as our enemies and undeserving of salvation, we may have some fellow Christians oppose us.  We do not cease to be a Christian, but we simply become what a Christian should be.  Paul was rewarded by being arrested, and were we to be also, we can only hope we will be as faithful as Paul was.  Again, if we want to write like Paul, remember most of his writing was done when he was under arrest.  Paul told them he had to appeal to Caesar, though he could have been freed and had done nothing against his country. He knew, as should we, that real freedom comes through Christ.

In Acts 28:15, we are told that as Paul and his group were on the way to Rome, the brethren came to meet him, as far as the Appii forum and the three taverns.  If we hear of a great man of God coming to our area, especially if he is being brought under arrest, we need to go show him our support.  It doesn't even have to be a great man of God, that is to say well known.  Anytime this were to happen to any Christian, we need to show our support.  Whe  Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.  Just like Paul, if we were to find ourselves in a bad situation in the eyes of the world, we should thank God if fellow Christians showed up to support us, and we should be encouraged.  Paul knew his situation was where God wanted him to be, but he was still encouraged by the support.  We must remember that Christians were being persecuted at this time, so far them to openly come to Paul was a statement of faith.  The centurian delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was allowed to live by himself with his guard.  Though still not free, he was in a better position to accomplish his mission, which was to be a witness in Rome.  As we do God's will, we should be thankful for any improvement in our condition.  Even if things are still far from ideal, we need to continue on with our mission.  Paul was in a position where he could call the chief of the Jews together, and this is what he did after three days.  We might wonder at the three day wait, but Matthew Henry says Paul waited for someone to lay a charge against him, and no one had.  Since he was there because of the charges brought by the Jews, he called them to him.  We must wait on God's timing as we witness for Him, but we must be active in carrying out our mission.  Paul was where God wanted him, the leaders of those who were accusing him were there, and after all the time waiting, it was time to move forward. Even  if we must wait for an extended period of time before completing our mission for God, we can not wait forever.  Even in less than ideal conditions, God will let us know when it is time to move forward.

In Acts 28:11, after three months on Militia, they found another ship of Alexandria heading for Rome.  The ship, whose sign was Castor and Pollux, had wintered at the isle.  Castor and Pollux were supposedly the gods of the sea.  There are some who profess Christianity that might view this as a good thing.  After just being shipwrecked, what harm could it do to have the protection of other gods.  After all, this ship hadn't been tossed around for days until it sank.  This is the thinking that lets other religious beliefs creep into Christianity.  It is better to shipwreck under God's protection than to winter safely under the protection of other gods.  God's protection is eternal.  They sailed first to Syracuse, where they stayed for three days. Then they sailed to Rhegium, and after a day, the south wind blew, and brought them the next day to Puteoli.  This is where they could have been with their ship intact, had they listened to Paul's warning from God the winter before.  Again, when we try to run ahead of God's will, we can expect failure.  Until we get back in line with His timing, we will find difficulty in all that we do.  At Puteoli, they found brethren, fellow Christians.  We must acknowledge that wherever we find fellow Christians, they are brethren, or family.  No matter their nationality, they are family.  There are no borders with Christ.  They stayed for seven days with the believers at Puteoli.  God told Paul of his mission to Rome, but he never told him to ignore others along the way.  If we get so focused on our mission that we have no time for people around us, we are not glorifying God.

In Acts 28:7, we see the hospitality of the barbarians displayed.  The chief man of the island, named Publius, received them and lodged them three days courteously.  He did not question whether or not they were taking advantage of him.  Surely some one of less importance could meet their needs.  He simply invited them into his home until other arrangements could be made.  We need to learn, as God's people, to look to the need and the best way to fill it.  We must never feel that it is someone else's responsibility, especially if it is because we feel that it is beneath us.  Publis' father was sick with a fever and a bloody flux.  Paul entered his room, went to him, laid hands on him, prayed, and he was healed.  Paul did not worry about the condition being contagious.  He didn't say he was too tired after his ordeal.  He didn't present himself as a god as they had assumed.  He simply saw a need, and prayed that God would meet that need.  We need to be careful that we are not too concerned about how a person's condition might affect us and we must never be too busy or too tired or just too indifferent to reach out to others in need.  Then, when we do, we need to make sure that God receives the glory, no matter the outcome.  After God healed the man through Paul's prayers for Him, the people began to bring others to him who were sick, and through his prayers and faith in God, many were healed.  Paul and the others were honored with with many honors, and when they left, three months later, they were laded with such things as were necessary.  God was still watching over them.  Paul had not prayed for the healing of the people so he might be rewarded, but he accepted their help while he was there and as he left.  We need to learn to accept the graciousness of God in meeting our needs, but we must never expect material rewards for the things we do for God.  If we begin to believe that God has to reward us materially for the things we do for him, remember that Paul was still a prisoner on his way to Rome to stand trial.  God was simply meeting his needs along the way.

After surviving the ship wreck and having the natives be friendly, things were looking better.  When they were settled, due to the rain and cold, they built a fire.  While Paul was putting wood on the fire, he was bitten by a vipor, which attached itself to his hand.  About now, we might be asking, "What next, Lord."  It would seem to me that Paul had suffered enough by now.  Just because we are following God's will for our life does not mean that we be limited in the amount that we suffer, but instead that God will be with us through the suffering.  Ultimately if we are obedient, He will be glorified by our obedience through the suffering.  The barbarians, seeing the vipor latched onto Paul's hand, decided he must be a murderer, who had escaped the sea only to have vengence claim his life.  Today, we often hear the statement that if something bad is happening to someone, especially a Christian, that they must be being punished for some sin.  As Christians, we don't see it as the universe or karma or any other belief.  We see it as God's punishment of some sin.  They,like Paul, may not be being punished for anything, but just have been put in a position to bring glory to God.  In Acts 28:5, it says Paul shook the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.  When we are truly doing God's work and following His will, we don't have to worry about the things of this world overcoming us.  The barbarians were amazed, and when Paul didn't fall down and die, they thought he was a god.  We can never let anyone attempt to treat us as a god.  Even if God does something miraculous through us, we must make sure the glory goes to Him.  We do not perform miracles.  God performs miracles, and sometimes we are blessed enough for Him to perform them through us.  If someone begins to tell you about the miracles they have performed, something is wrong.  If they tell you they are giong to perform a miracle at a certain time, something is wrong.  We do not dictate God's miracles.  Anytime the emphasis is on a person and not God, something is wrong.  Only when the emphasis is on God and His power is everything right.

After they reached land, they finally knew where they were, an island called Melita.  After being tossed about in the storms of life from following our own way instead of God, once we turn to Him, we will be placed firmly on the ground of His will.  Then, we will finally know where we are.  They were on land, but had nothing.  They could have landed on an island where people looked only to themselves with no concern for others at best or hatred for them at worst.  Fortunately, the people were friendly, even if they were called barbarous.  Matthew Henry said they received a better reception than he feared they would have by many so called Christians, who would have looked for what they could have gotten from the group.  He further states that if God places someone within the borders of our habitation, especially someone in destress, we are to show them hospitality.  Too often, we as Christians look at others with fear or hatred instead of compassion.  We are afraid they are going to either misuse what we give them or try to take what is ours.  We are afraid they will prove unworthy of our help.  God did not put us in the judgment business, but in the restoration business.  Too often, we leave the restoration up to the Samaritans, the non Christians, of the world, because we don't want to be bothered by those who may be unworthy of our help.  When we begin to question the worth of people, remember that Christ died for us, and we can never be worthy.  Sometimes, it seems that compassion has gone out of Christianity today.  There seems to be the attitude that God has blessed us because we are special people and He wants us to keep everything He blesses us with for our own good, and we should despise those who might try to take anything from us.  We need to remember that God blesses us so that we can bless others.

In Acts 27:37, we are told there were two hundred seventy six souls on board ship.  We are not talking about just a small crew and a few passengers.  We may sometimes feel that what we do for God is not that important, but Paul's listening to God led to the physical deliverance of two hundred seventy six people.  We may never know how many people are affected by our obedience to God, so we must always be ready to obey.  After they ate, they began to lighten the ship again.  They cast the wheat into the sea.  They had eaten enough and were close to shore, so they threw the food overboard.  We may have to reach the very bottom of our material goods to believe in the word of God.  When we cease to rely on our own abilities, we can finally begin to rely on God. In the daylight, they still didn't see land, but they saw a creek with a shore that they thought they might sail into.  They were still looking to save the ship.  They raised the anchors, committed themselves to the sea, and hoisted the main sail and set toward shore.  We need to learn that when God has told us something is going to be lost, we can quit trying to save it.  Where the two seas met, they ran the ship aground.  The front stuck fast, but the back broke up from the violence of the waves.  Paul had told them God had revealed to him that the ship would be lost, and it was.  God's word is always reliable.  We can never counteract it, nor could those sailors.  They still weren't totally accepting what Paul had said, because he had said no lives would be lost, but the soldiers were ready to kill the prisoners, lest any should escape.  We need to totally trust the word of God, not just the parts that benefit us personally.  The soldiers were ready to accept Paul's word that they would find land, but not the part about no one losing his life.  They were about to actively insure that was wrong.  Even if we don't want to believe God's word, we better never be guilty of trying to prove Him wrong.  Fortunately, the centurian, willing to save Paul, stopped them from killing the prisoners and told those who could to swim to shore.  The others floated in on boards or broken pieces of the ship, and all were saved.  We may not feel qualified to do what God asks, but we can be sure He will provide a way.  If we cannot swim, He will give us a board, but His word can always be relied on.

In Acts 27:27, it states that after fourteen days of being driven up and down in the Adria, about midnight a shipman deemed they drew near some body of land.  Then, as they sounded the water, it got more and more shallow.  They then cast anchors, waiting for the day.  They still couldn't see land.  Sometimes, when we find ourselves adrift in life, we need to cast anchor and wait for the light.  As Christians, Christ is both our Anchor and our Light, so we must just wait for His direction.  Even after Paul assured them that God had told him no life would be lost, they still looked to their own understanding.  They were going to abandon the ship and save themselves, with no concern for the others on board.  They were going to sneak away while pretending to check the anchors.  We should not be surprised when people of the world look only for what seems best for them, with no concern for others.  Until people accept the fact that Christ is the only way to salvation, they will try everything possible to save themselves, no matter how many people they hurt.  Paul told the centurians that unless the seamen remained aboard, they would be lost.  So, the centurian had the lines to the boat cut.  We must cut all other ways to life except the one God has provided or allwill be lost.  They had not listened to Paul when he advised them not to sail, but at least the centurian was listening now.  Hopefully, we won't have to be tossed about for fourteen days before listening to God, but too often we refuse to give up our own plans, even when we know they are not God's plans.

In Acts 27:33, Paul encouraged them to eat, to "take some meat."  He said that this was the fourteenth day they had fasted.  I don't believe they had eaten nothing for that time, and that is Matthew Henry's understanding as well.  They had simply eaten what they could and still work to save the ship.  In our spiritual life, we are sometimes virtually fasting when it comes to God's word.  We are so busy with the cares of everyday life that we grab what we can of God's word on the run.  We get no real spiritual feeding,  only enough to keep us barely functional in our relationship to God.  Paul told them this was for their own health, and not a hair on their head would be lost.  When we set aside time for spiritual feeding, we need to realize that it is for our own good.  We are going to lose nothing of value when we do this, but are going to preserve everything.  We cannot fight the enemy without spiritual feeding.  It takes more than skimming a few verses a day in the Bible.  We must daily get to the meat of the word.  Paul took bread, and when he had blessed it, in the presence of them all, he began to eat.  Paul set the example by doing what he said they needed to do.  It is not enough that we tell people what they need to do, and then fail to do it ourselves.  Paul set the example, first by asking God's blessing on the food, and then by eating.  We need to set the example for those around us.  Paul did not wait to see if they were going to listen.  He simply did what he knew God was asking him to do.  We cannot wait for others when we know what God wants us to do.  We must simply obey.  Then, after Paul started eating, they all were of good cheer and took some meat.  Paul's example led to the others joining in.  We need to set the same example today.  Our following God should lead others to follow Him also.

In Acts 27:23, Paul told them an angel of God had appeared to him, of which he said, "Whose I am, and Who I serve," telling him not to fear.  Paul had to appear before Caesar, and God was giving all them that sailed with him to Paul.  Paul said he was God's and he served Him.  We need to be able to say the same.  We readily claim salvation, but often have to be dragged to service.  In the Air Force, there was an expression, "Never volunteer."  Sometimes, I think it carries over into the church as well.  We volunteer others quickly enough, but not ourselves.  God was not giving those on the ship to Paul that he might own them.  He was sparing their lives because of Paul.  They had not listened to Paul, but God was not punishing them because of that.  When we lead someone to a saving knowledge of God, we do not own them.  They owe us nothing.  If they refuse to listen, God is not going to strike them dead at that moment.  Those on the ship with Paul were saved physically, so there was hope they could be saved spiritually.  Our task is to witness. God does the saving.  Again, Paul told them to be of good cheer, because he believed God.  No matter the circumstances, if we are following God's direction, we need to be of good cheer.  He then told them that they would be cast upon a certain island.  I am not sure we would be of good cheer if we had just been told we were going to be shipwrecked, especially if we were not saved, but they had been told they would live.  If we were told that we would lose everything of value, but would live, would we be of good cheer?  As a Christian, that is what we are asked to do.  Even if we lose everything in this world, which eventually we will, for we can certainly take nothing with us, we have life eternal, so we need to always be of good cheer.

After they had given up hope, Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Sirs, ye should have hearkened to me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss."   I don't believe Paul was playing I told you so.  He was simply stating the obvious.  If we warn people about a dangerous situation that God has made us aware of, and they ignore us and suffer from their decision, we must never gloat about it.  This is especially true when it comes to salvation.  If we witness to a person, and they ignore us, and die in their sins, we can never feel that they got what they deserved.  Paul, in the next verse, Acts 27:22, then offered them some hope, when he said, "And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship."  They had ignored Paul when he warned them not to sail, now days into the tempest, he asks them to be of good cheer.  Would we listen, under the circumstances?  Lost people  today are in the middle of a spiritual tempest, and no matter how many times they have refused to listen, we must still continue to witness.  All is not lost as long as we have breath, unless we have finally left the door to salvation closed for good.  We bring a message of hope, and they need to be of good cheer.  Once they listen to the message and accept the salvation of Christ through faith, then their lives will never be lost.  The storm did not immediately stop.  They had to take Paul at his word by faith.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, the tempest may not stop, but we know that our life is eternally safe.

In Acts 27:18, we find they were being exceedingly tossed by the tempest, so the next day they lightened the ship.  The third day every one cast out the tackling of the ship. First the crew was working to save the ship-they lightened- and the next day everyone was-we threw out.  When we see devestation in the world, especially to those that God has already warned, and they have ignored His warning, which would be everyone, we cannot sit back and ignore nor applaud the action.  We could say that Paul and the others with him only helped because they wanted to save themselves, but they knew the outcome was in God's hands.  Even knowing the ultimate fate of those who refuse to listen to God does not excuse us from helping them when they need help, whether it benefits us or not.  Too often today Christians seem to be in the punishment business instead of the saving business.  We seem to want others punished or even destroyed instead of saved.  Then, Paul and the rest of those on the ship spent several days in darkness, seeing neither the sun or moon.  The lost in the world today are in a similar darkness.  They cannot or will not see the light of salvation.  We are charged with doing everything we can to help them come to the Light.  They had given up hope we are told in verse twenty.  At times, people have to reach the point of realizing being saved by the world  is impossible before accepting the salvation of Christ.  Though this is always true, that until we believe that Christ is the only way to salvation, some only get to that point when all seems lost.  We, as His follower, are to be there to give them hope, not rejoice in their misery.

In Acts 27:14, we find that after the gentle south wind, there arose a tempestuous wind called an Euroclydon.  When we go against the word or will of God, things may begin smoothly, but eventually the tempest will come.  It may not be in this lifetime, but the eventual outcome is assured.  Even if we gain the world, when time passes away, so will everything we gained outside of the will of God.  Only those things laid up in Heaven will last.  The ship was caught up in the wind and they just had to let it go where it would.  Matthew Henry states that the wind was sent by God to bring glory to Himself and honor to Paul.  Since God had sent a warning by Paul of the danger, we can either believe He sent the wind after they refused to listen to Paul, or that He knew of its existence before hand.  I choose to believe the latter, since God has no constraints of time and I don't believe He would act after the fact just to prove Himself right.  The real issue is that those in charge of the ship refused to believe Paul's warning from God.  They ran under a island called Clauda.  They were no longer in control of the ship.  When we begin to go against the will of God, somewhere we will lose control of our life.  We will stumble around in darkness just trying to hang on.  This is true, no matter our material status.  When we are not operating under the power and protection of God, there can never be any real peace. The lost of the world may never acknowledge it, and like the sailors with Paul continue to struggle to save their stuff, it is a losing battle.  The Christian can never deny it.

The ship sailed in spite of Paul's warning.  They had decided that the port they were at was not a good place to winter, and they wanted to reach Phenice, a haven of Crete, and winter there.  We can warn people of the dangers of continuing on the path they are on, when we know from God's word that it will lead to destruction, but we cannot force them to not continue. As long as lost people think something better lies ahead, they will continue to listen to the world instead of God.  This can even be true of God's people.  We have a plan to achieve greater success, and even when God tells us we are going the wrong way, we continue.  The ultimate result may not be destruction of earthly possessions, but it will destroy our effectiveness for God.  As they set sail, they had a gentle south wind blowing, which led them to believe that they were right and Paul was wrong.  The wrong decision about listening to the world as opposed to God usually starts out successfully.  If temptation, or even disobedience to God, had immediate negative results, we would quickly turn away from it.  God warns us, but then He allows us to make our choice.  Again, there are those who say that whatever happens it is God's will.  As I have stated before, as long as there is free will, then not everything that happens is the will of God.  He allows it to happen, but He does not cause it to happen.  When we find ourselves in a bad situation, we cannot blame God.  Paul was under arrest, on a ship that God had warned him was going to crash, but he didn't put the responsibility on God.  The devil can't make me do it and God will not make me do it, so the responsibility rests with me.  Even when the way starts smoothly, if we know it is not the way God wants us to go, it will end in destruction.  We will not lose our salvation over the wrong choice, but we will destroy our closeness to God.

After they had spent much time at The Fair Havens, it was no longer a good time for sailing.  It was past the fast, the Jewish day of atonement, around September twentieth by our calender, according to Matthew Henry.  The journey so far had taken longer than expected, but the crew was ready to move on.  Sometimes, in our impatience, we only think of moving ahead, without considering if it would be dangerous or not.  At such times, we need to ask God for guidance, which is what Paul did.  In Acts 27:10, he warned them that he perceived that  "this voyage would be with hurt and much damage, not only for the laden and ship, but also of our lives." Paul was not talking about some strange vibe he got.  He was speaking of what the Holy Spirit was revealing to him.  When God has revealed to us a danger, either to ourselves or others, all we can do is make them aware of the warning.  Paul was still a prisoner, so we might ask why he would care, unless he were worried about his own safety.  Since he had already placed his life in the hands of God, and not Caesar, I think it is safe to assume that he was concerned for the crew, passengers, and even the cargo and ship.  We must never become indifferent to the welfare of others.  God expects His people to reach out to everyone, even those who hate us, with love and empathy.  They may not believe us when we warn them, but that doesn't relieve us of the responsibility of doing so.  The centurian did not believe Paul, but listened to the master and owner of the ship instead.  People today may chose to believe others instead of God's messengers, especially when it supports their decision, but we still have the responsibility to deliver God's word.

After leaving Sidon, they sailed under Cyprus because the wind was contrary.  After they sailed over the sea of Ciicia and Pamphylia, they came to Myra, a city of Lycia.  There the centurian found a ship of Alexandria, sailing for Italy, and he put Paul and all the others with him on it.  Again, all this time Paul could have been free had he simply allowed King Agrippa and Festus to determine his guilt or innocence.  We need to acknowledge that the easiest answer is not always the best answer.  They continued their journey sailing slowly for many days, and were barely come over to Cnidus, the wind not suffering them.  Then they sailed under Crete, over against Salmone.  Hardly passing there, they came to a place called The Fair Havens, which is close to the city of Lasea.  We might think that God could have provided better transportation for Paul.  Surely He could have given them favorable winds for the journey, since He had told Paul he was to be a witness in Rome.  Why was it that everything seemed to be working against them if God was in control?  We too often see things from a temporary view, while God sees things from the eternal view.  Just because God has called us for a specific task does not mean that we will never encounter opposition.  When circumstances seem to be going against us, we need to remember that God has insured the ultimate victory, if we only wait on Him.  We can never let impatience push us ahead of God.  We never hear Paul saying that there must be a quicker, better way.  He was content to wait on God, and so must we be.

In Acts 27, we find the record of the beginning of Paul's trip from Caesarea to Rome.  We are not told how much time passed from Paul's testamony before Agrippa until his being put on a ship to get to Rome.  We might think that since Paul was under arrest in the care of the Roman army that they would just privide a ship to transport him, but they had to wait for a ship going that way.  When we hear someone say that God doesn't expect them to be hampered by travelling by public transportation, we need to look at Paul.  He was going to do what God was sending him to do, but he was at the mercy of those who had him imprisoned, as well as their finding transportation.  Paul and other prisoners were delivered to the custody of a centurian named Julius, who was of the band of Augustus.  Still, Paul was not without friends with him, including Luke by the use of the term "we sailed" and his being acknowledged as the author of Acts.  When we are feeling imprisoned by the world, we can take heart in the fact that we are not alone.  Even if they aren't with us physically, we can be certain that we have Christians with us in Spirit, supporting us in prayer.  They left Adramytthium, planning to sail by the coasts of Asia.  A Macedonian named Aristarcus sailed with them, another to support Paul.  The next day, they docked at Sidon, and Julius gave Paul liberity to meet with his friends there.  We need to realize that even when carrying out instructions from those in power over them, not all people in power over us wish us to suffer.  We must also acknowledge that Paul did not take advantage of the trust Julius placed in him.  He was free and on land, but he had an obligation to represent God to those around him and an obligation to preach the gospel in Rome.  When things are hard, and we see what seems to be an easy escape, we need to ask if it glorifies God and supports our calling from Him.

Before Paul sets sail, with other prisoners, in chapter twenty seven of Acts, I think we will review.  First thing, as we read the Bible, we need to read with the question of what does this mean to me today.  Even though it is nice to know what the early Christians like Peter and Paul experienced, the more important question is what does that mean to me about being foiiower of Christ.  The Bible, like Christ, must be personal and teach us each time we read it.  Otherwise, we could read it once and think we knew everything it meant to them, those long ago Israelites and Christians that the Bible was written about.  To be meaningful, the Bible must speak to me personally every time I read it, which means I must never quit reading it.  Next, we need to understand that God has a plan for the life of each Christian.  This does not mean that we have to accept that plan, but it is there.  Paul at any point could have been freed from his physical bonds by simply doing what society wanted him to do.  He was in physical bonds because he would not renounce his spiritual bond to Christ.  He said that not everything was expedient in his relationship to Christ and other Christians.  We must never do the expedient thing if it means not following God's will for our life.  So, the next point would be that God will reveal to each of us His will for our life.  Paul did not choose to remain in bonds because he liked to suffer, but because he knew God's plan for him and saw God's work in carrying out that plan.  If we begin to look to what brings  us the greatest material success in the world instead of what brings us closest to God, we will never be what God wants us to be.  The last point for now is that we attempt to put Christianity into time frames, when with God time is immaterial.  What was expected of the New Testament Christian is no different than what is expected of the Christian today.  All Christians for all time have been expected to follow God's plan for their lives.  God today is the same God that the Israelites and the first Christians served.  When we speak of how bad the world is today, we need to realize that since the fall of Adam and Eve, the world has been bad.  When we talk of how Christians are treated today, we need to realize that nothing has changed.  Christians have been persecuted since the beginning and will continue to be.  When Christians such as Paul proclaim Christ to the world, they become the enemy of the world.  God said whoever was not for Him was against Him, and so it is for His people.  Those who are not for God are against us, as His people.  The passage of time has never changed this, so we should not be surprised when we are reviled and persecuted.

In Acts 26: 27-28, we find some of the saddest words a person can say.  Paul asked, "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets?  I know thou believest."  Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Almost thou persuadeth me to be a Christian."   To be so close to salvation and state almost.  There are no degrees to salvation.  Almost is totally lost.  It doesn't matter if a person intellectually accepts what Christ did, but never responds in faith of the reality that Christ died for them personally, they are lost.  King Agrippa, after hearing Paul, almost claimed his salvation, but he went away so close, but still lost.  Then Paul said in verse 29, "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except for these bonds."  When we encounter someone who is so close to accepting Christ as their Savior, we can only pray that they, and anyone else around us will not go away almost persuaded.  Then the king, and the governor, and Bernice, and all that sat with them got up and left.  All had heard Paul's testamony, and they all went away lost.  Paul, in bonds, was more free than those who had listened to his testamony.  He was eternally free, and so are all of Christ's followers today, no matter our circumstances.  After conferring with each other, King Agrippa concluded that Paul had done nothing worthy of death and could be free had he not appealed to Caesar.  He only saw the worldly situation, not the divine implication.  Paul had been told he was to witness in Rome, and that is where he was headed.  When life seems to get us down, we need to look for the divine implications.  God will never abandon us when we are following His will.

In Acts 26:24, Festus responded to Paul by telling him much learning had made him mad.  Paul's education could not be denied, so the only way to deny what he was saying was to claim he had gone insane.  Some of the disciples had been dismissed as ignorant and unlearned, and now Paul was being accused of being too educated. When people of the world hear about Christ but don't want to accept Him, they will use any excuse to attempt to discredit the messenger.  I have even heard Christians discuss preachers based on their education or lack there of.  The key is whether a man is called by God and empowered by God.  There must always be a total reliance on God.  Paul responded that he was not mad but spoke forth the words of truth and soberness.  He addressed Festus as most noble.  We might be offended if someone called us mad, and defend ourselves.  Paul respectfully defended the gospel.  There seems to be too much anger in Christianity today.  The attitude seems to be that we personally have been put down or mistreated.  We need to be as Paul was, respectful and compassionate toward even those who may offend us personally, but more importantly toward those who offend the gospel.  We are sent to reach people, not reject them.  Then, Paul continued as he spoke freely before the king that King Agrippa knew these things, because Paul knew none of these things were hidden from the king because they weren't done in a corner.  The truth of Jesus death on the cross was not a secret, though by this time, those in power may have wished it had been.  The gospel has never been a hidden fact.  We are charged with presenting it to everyone we encounter, by both word and example.  If lost people look at Christians and see nothing different in our lives, then our words will likely fall on deaf ears.  The world saw something different in Paul, and we need to live so they see something different in us.

In Acts 26:20, Paul tells King Agrippa of his obedience to the call of God for him to witness for Christ.  He began in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and then throughout all the coasts of Judea.  Then he went to the Gentiles, that they might repent and turn to God,and do works meet for repentance.  This does not mean they were to work to earn or keep their salvation.  It meant, and still means today, that once a person becomes a Christian, they are to live their life to reflect God.  We may often fall short of that standard, but that does not mean we are suddenly in need of salvation again.  God said that once a person accepts the gift of salvation that nothing can take that person from Him.  We are sealed to Him by His power, not by our strength or actions.  If we find ourselves off course, doing anything that we know God would not want us to do, or not doing what we know He would want us to do, then we need to ask His forgiveness and move forward in faith once again.  Until we acknowledge that we are in need of forgiveness, we can  neither come to Christ in the first place or return to Him in the second.  To say we have done nothing to need forgiveness for makes God a liar, for He said all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  Paul then said it was because of his witnessing to everyone, the Gentiles included, that the Jews had him arrested and wanted to kill him.  He stated that he said nothing but what Moses had said was to come.  He also said his help was from heaven.  When we are doing God's work, following His will for our life, we can rest assured in His help from heaven.  Then, in verse 23, Paul got to the heart of the gospel once again.  Christ should suffer, be the first to rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.  This is the only message that we can proclaim.  Jesus is the Christ, crucified, resurrected Lord.

In Acts 26:19, Paul states, "Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision."  Paul recognized that this was God speaking to him, and he knew he must obey the will of God.  If we are ever called upon to answer to anyone about our relationship to God and to our obedience to Him, may we say as Paul did that we were not disobedient to the heavenly vision, or call in most cases.  We spend a lot of time discussing how bad the world is and not enough time proclaiming how great God is.  There is nothing sadder than the world ignoring Christianity.  Paul could not and would not be ignored.  It seems to me that we are more concerned with material blessings from God than we are with being a blessing to God.  Paul was under arrest with people wanting to kill him to stop him from witnessing for Christ, but he would not stop.  The first question we should ask individually and as the church is what does God want.  When the first question is can we afford it we are living by sight.  At the risk of meddling, we nearly always find a way to get the things we want, but too often we cannot find any way to do what God wants us to do.  God blesses us so we can help others.  Paul supported himself on his journeys.  I am not saying we should not support missionaries and preachers.  I am saying that if we know that God wants us to do something for Him, we should simply begin to do it in faith, believing that God will provide a way for us to continue.  Faith means that we, like Peter, must get out of the boat.  Then, once we are out we must keep our eyes on Jesus in faith.  We, like Peter, often begin to sink because we look at the waves and not the Master of the waves.  Then, we say we knew we should have waited until conditions were better.  Again, this is not the just living by faith, but the weak in faith living by sight.

Paul continued to tell King Agrippa about his religious life.  In Acts 26:12-18, Paul told Agrippa about his experience on the road to Damascus.  He was once again on his way to persecute Christians, under the authority of the high priest.  Before we became a Christian, we were on our way somewhere, and the very act of not accepting Christ as our Savior was in effect persecuting Him.  When we fail to believe He died for us, we crucify Him in our life.  On his way, Paul saw a great light at midday, brighter than the sun.  Those with him saw it also.  When they fell to the earth, Paul heard a voice speaking to him in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutist thou me?  It is hard for the to kick against the pricks."  When we encounter Christ, it will be a personal experience.  Those with Paul saw the bright light, but the Voice was for Paul alone.  There may be times when many people are saved during the same time frame, but each will be saved because they encountered and accepted Christ individually.  Paul asked Who was speaking to him, calling Him Lord, and was told, "I am Jesus, Whom thou persecutist."  When we come to Christ, we must acknowledge Who He is and our role in His death.  Though I wasn't there at the physical crucifixion, I am just as guilty of nailing Him to the cross as those who were.  He died on the cross for everyone, but for my salvation He died for me and because of my sins alone.  Salvation can be nothing but personal.  Paul said he was then told to rise and be a witness to these things and that he was to be a witness to the Gentiles.  He was to open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they might have an inheritance among those sanctified by God.  This is our task today.  We are to bring people to the saving knowledge of God.

Paul continued in  Acts 26:9 to speak of his own persecution of Christians.  He was actively working against Jesus and had many of His followers put in prison, having received authority from the chief priests.  When they were put to death, he gave witness against them.  This should tell us today that no matter how much we have worked against God, Christ still died to offer us forgiveness.  Christ died to bring forgiveness for the sins of the whole world for all time.  What this means is that many, many people will go to hell, their sins forgive, but having never believed that what Christ did on the cross, or in some cases that He even existed, was for them.  It is not a matter of will my sins be forgiven, but will I by faith in Christ accept that forgiveness.  It is like a person in the desert dying of thirst having a glass of water set in front of him.  He has choices.  He can think the glass but a mirage and ignore it.  He can decide to wait awhile to see if it is real or he is rescued so he doesn't need the glass of water. Even though real, neither of those reactions bring him any relief.  Only when he has faith that the water as real and actually takes a drink will it do him any good.  As long as a person today looks at Christ's crucifixion as anything other than actual fact and accepts it by faith as being done for them, they remain dying without hope.  As Paul taught, all sins, no matter how severe or how small, are forgiven.

In Acts 26:7, Paul stated that the twelve tribes of Israel served God day and night in the hope of the promise to come, the Messiah.  We as Christians should serve God day and night in the hope of the promise that has come, Jesus Christ, the Messiah that the Jews looked for.  Paul still based his beliefs on this promise.  We look back and wonder how they could have missed the fulfillment of the promise of God, and yet over two thousand years later, they are still missing the truth.  Of course, we could also ask how so many people in the world today, Gentiles to the Jews, can fail to see the truth. Paul told King Agrippa that because of his hope in the Messiah he was being persecuted.  Agrippa was familiar with the beliefs of the Jews, and he would be able to see the truth of what Paul was saying.  Sometimes, we have to just patiently wait for God to work out all the details before we can successfully accomplish His will for us.  I am sure Paul's plan for going to Rome did not include being arrested and tried multiple times before he got there.  Yet, we do not read of his questioning God.  We can never be impatient with God.  Paul asked Agrippa why it should be thought incredible to him that God could raise the dead.  That was the hope of every Jew.  The knowledge that all of God's people would live with Him eternally was a cornerstone of their faith.  Yet, they were attempting to kill Paul for proclaiming that Christ was raised from the dead, the Messiah they looked for.  Too often people look for the god they want instead of to the God Who is.  People are searching for hope today, and they will look everywhere but to God.  To find hope in God requires faith in God, and it requires letting go of faith in one's self.  Paul put his life in God's care, and so must we.

 In Acts 26:1, King Agrippa meets with Paul and tells him that he can speak for himself.  Paul stretched forth his hand, and said that he was happy to answer for himself, especially before King Agrippa, because the king was expert in all the matters the Jews were accusing him of.  In any court, even the court of public opinion, we can only hope that the people or person we are speaking to has at least some knowledge of the real teachings of Christianity.  Too often, if we take a stand against sin, we are accused of hating the sinner, for example.  Paul asked King Agrippa to be patient.  Then, Paul began to share his testamony.  Again, people may question a lot of things we say about Christianity, but they can never even claim to disprove our personal experience with Christ.  Paul said from his youth, which was among his own nation, the Jews, at Jerusalem, he lived after the strictest sect of their religion as a Pharisee.  The Jews knew this about him.  Now, he was judged of the hope and promise made of God to their fathers.  Our testamony should always be based on the promises made to people from the beginning.  We may not be able to say we strictly followed God's law before we met Christ and accepted Him as our Savior, but we must acknowledge all that He taught the world through His revelation of Himself.  Salvation will always be consistent with what God's word has always taught.  If we say that we became a Christian in any way other than by what Christ did for us on the cross, or that the Bible, God's written word for His people, has no relevance for us today, then something is wrong.  God is not going to suddenly change the way to salvation.

Having recently posted a couple of tributes to my momma, I would like to post one today to the Alabama carpenter, Jerrell Tatum, my father-in-law for the last few years of his life.  Time ceased and eternity began for him three years ago today.  He was a wonderful Christian man, who was married to Bobbie Glass Tatum for over fifty-seven years.  That in its self speaks volumes about his faith.  He loved and cherished her for all those years, as she did him.  We as Christians need these examples to follow.  He was daddy to Pam, Darryll, and Jeff,and granddaddy to many, and they loved and respected him, and still do.  That speaks of a man's character.  We as Christians can only pray for the same from our children and grandchildren.  He amazed me with his ability to build things, but I am sure he would say the best thing he ever built was his relationship with Christ and the love of his family.  No matter our calling in life or how good we may be at it, as Christians our first priority is to build our relationship with God and then with family.  Those who knew him knew that he was one of the biggest Alabama football fans, but he was a bigger God fan. The last few weeks, he was determined to get well enough to sing a song in church. Though he never got to sing there, he has been in that heavenly choir for three years for us, and for time without end for Him.  We need to take time occasionally to celebrate those Christians like Jerrell Tatum.  We have work to do here to spread the gospel, but we always need good examples to encourage us.  If we have that relationship with Christ that he has, not had, we will one day join him in that heavenly choir.  They may have even said Roll Tide to welcome him home.

Festus wanted to meet with Agrippa for one reason in particular.  He was to send Paul to the judgment of Caesar, and he didn't know what to charge him with.  He told Agrippa that Paul had been left bound by Felix, and that while he was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews wanted to have a judgment against Paul.  He would not take Paul to Jerusalem, but he had them come to Caesarea.  When they presented their case, Festus said in Acts 25: 19,20 that when they presented their case against Paul, that it wasn't anything he supposed, "but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive."  We often hear people today speak of Christianity as a superstition, a fable, or a myth.  This is done today to discredit Christians, and even though Festus was using this belief that Christianity was nothing more than a superstition to show that Paul had done nothing to justify death, he still viewed the gospel as a superstition.  He did not say that it concerned Jesus Who was dead and now lived again, but only stated that was Paul's claim.  Until a person accepts the truth of the gospel in faith, then the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus will remain a superstition to them.  We should never be astonished when we hear people of the world calling Christianity a made up story and Christians naive.  We cannot become Christians through intellectual means, but only by simple child like faith.  Festus said he asked Paul if he would go to Jerusalem to answer charges against him, but he appealed to Caesar.  Now, Festus was wondering what to charge Paul with.  It is not our calling to make things easy for those who falsely accuse us.

After more time passed with Paul still under arrest, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to salute Festus.  Agrippa was the son of Herod who had James killed and the grandson of Herod the Great who ruled when Jesus was born.  Bernice was his sister, with whom he was allegedly having an affair.  Matthew Henry says that such was the nature of those in power and to not think that the former days were better.  Again, corruption and corrupt people in government is nothing new. We cannot live in the "good old days", which were probably not as good as we remember them.  When we remember how ideal the world was in the 1950's, we seem to overlook things like segregation and the spread of Communism.  We forget that many in the church not only overlooked segregation, but endorced it.  We will never live in a perfect world, but can only be ambassadors of Christ in the world in which we live.  "The only good Communist is a dead Communist" was never what God taught His people.  Today, neither is "Nuke them 'til they glow and let God sort them out."  The let God sort them out seems to give His endorsement, but He said "Love your enemies."  We see no evidence that Paul ever prayed for the destruction of his enemies.  Stephen, as he was being stoned, did not say "Get them God."  Stephen asked for God to forgive them and Paul continued to witness to, and I am sure, pray for those who persecuted him.  When we see a statement like love your enemies, we want to interpret what that means instead of accepting it by faith.  Many people who claim to take the Bible literally, word for word, immediately begin to interpret the meaning of passages that do not agree with what they believe.  We cannot pick and choose what part of God's teachings we want to believe.  Christ  is the example, and if we are to be His followers, we must live by His example.

In Acts 25:8, Paul stated once again that he was not guilty of any offence against the laws of the Jews, the temple, or Caesar.  Since they could not get Paul executed based on religious laws, then they then attempted to get him executed for opposing Caesar.  If we make a stand for God today and people cannot discredit us based on religious reasons, don't be surprised if they accuse us of not being patriotic at the least or treasonous at the worst.  If we as Christians are to bear witness against someone, even if just in the court of public opinion, we need to verify the truth of what we say.  Otherwise, we are just repeating gossip. Wanting to please the Jews, Festus asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to answer the charges against him.  In Acts 25:10, Paul answered, "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews I have done no wrong, as thou very well knowest."  Then, Paul continued in verse 11, "For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if none of these things whereof they accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them.  I appeal to Caesar."  Paul knew that they were not wanting to give him a fair hearing.  They just wanted to get him in their custody to kill him.  When we are guilty of an offence, whether against the church or against the government, we must be ready to accept the consequences.  Paul's statement that he was ready to die if he was guilty was not just a meaningless statement.  His conviction about right and wrong was that strong.  For the same reason, he wasn't going to willing die for something he didn't do.  Our actions bring consequences, and we must accept that fact.  Still, if someone is trying to punish us for something we did not do, we must appeal to the highest court possible on this earth.  We know that ultimately God is the final Judge, but until then we are subjected to the courts of this land.  Festus had no choice since Paul was a Roman citizen.  He had to take him to Caesar.  We should never neglect our rights as citizens when accused of having committed some offence.

After ten days in Jerusalem, Festus returned to Caesarea, and some of the Jewish leaders went with him.  He sat in the judgment seat against Paul, with the Jews as Paul's accusers.  Had they been as determined to do God's will as they were to kill Paul and truly be His people then Christianity would have spread much faster.  They were too concerned with maintaining their status as a people who were above the Gentiles because of their relationship to God by birth than they were in establishing a real relationship with God.  We need to insure that what we do as Christians is based on a real relationship with God and not just on the fact that we call ourselves by His name.  Paul's accusers laid many and grievous complaints against him, which they could not prove.  Though all they could do was bring false charges against Paul, they didn't give up trying.  If we as Christians make claims against people, whether relating to Christianity or to everyday events, we have a responsibility to insure that the claims are correct.  In our age of social media, it is so easy for false claims to be made, and too often Christians repeat them as fact.  God expects us, as His people, to be truthful in all things.  When the actions of God's people, whether the Jews in Paul's day or the Christian in the world today, begin to propose or support lies in His name, then His plan for His people is cast aside for selfish purposes.  The Jewish leaders continued to bring charges against Paul in any court they could get a hearing and continued to plot to get him out where they could ambush and murder him.  I'm not sure what their plans were for those guarding him, but they would have most likely have had to kill them also.  All this was done in the name of God.  If we as God's people begin to work for our own purposes instead of following His will, we can be sure that more and more people will be effected.

I have referred to Paul's trip to Rome in previous posts, and realize that I should have said the beginning of Paul's trip to Rome.  He so far was at Caesarea, but the ground work for him being in Rome was already set.  Now, when Festus got to Caesarea, he stayed three days before going to Jerusalem.  In Acts 25:2, the high priest  and the chief of the Jews came to Festus and informed against Paul.  They evidently saw Paul as on of the biggest threats to the Jewish faith that existed.  They were subjected to Roman rule, where force could be used against them, but they were more concerned about Paul's preaching.  We need that same power in preaching and praying today. They once again planned to lay in wait to kill Paul.  God's people should never lay in wait to do evil, and even by their own Law, which they were accusing Paul of violating, murder was wrong.  Anytime we attempt to do anything in God's name that goes against God's teachings, we can be sure that we are not doing it for God.  The chief priest and the elders were attempting to justify their actions by claiming to be acting in God's will, when by the very act of refusing to believe in Jesus as the Messiah they had put themselves outside the will of God.  His desire, then and now, was that all people would believe in Jesus as their Savior.  Festus told them that Paul was to remain at Caesarea, but as we will see, that wasn't for long.

At approximately 8:00 P.M., on July 1st, time ceased to exist for my momma, Nadine Rice Dobbs, and eternity where time is no more started.  It has been a week of dealing with many things for the family left behind, but it has been but the blink of an eye for her.  We have dealt with the loss, and she has celebrated the gain.  She no longer feels all the pain she suffered, especially the last few weeks.  She is reunited with those who went before, especially my daddy, Leroy Dobbs, Sr.  Most importantly, there are no barriers between God and her.  She was truly a follower of Christ on this earth, and prayed for people everywhere to become His followers.  There would have been nothing more heartbreaking for her than to think anyone would believe that this world, this temporary life, was all there was all that existed.  Some day, when time ends for us, we will either be celebrating with her, or separated forever.  The choice is simple.  We either accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, or we reject Him.  Since momma has moved beyond this land of time, of pain, and even of prayer as we know it, it would be my prayer that you would accept the free gift of salvation through Christ.  Then, when time ends, as it will for everyone, we can join her in celebration in the land where time is no more.  There could be no greater memorial or tribute to her.

Felix left Paul under house arrest for a number of days,  but when he returned, he sent for Paul.  Felix, and his wife Drusilla, a Jewess were to hear what Paul had to say about the Christian faith.  Intellectual curosity about Christianity is not enough for salvation.  Until we come to Christ by faith believing in His sacrifice for us, we are lost.  Since Drusilla was a Jewess, at least in name, Felix may have figured she would be able to help him understand what problem the Jews had with Paul.  As Paul witnessed to them about righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, Felix trembled.  Even when approached with only curosity, the truth of the gospel can leave people trembling.  We cannot come into the presence of the gospel seeking the truth of the gospel without being moved, one way or the other.  We either accept that truth, or we do as Felix did with Paul, and wait for another day.  Felix said when he had a more convient season he would send for Paul.  People today say that when they have their life more under control, either by stopping doing something they know is wrong or starting to do something that is right, they will turn to God.  This will never happen.  There will never be a more convenient season to accept Christ.  We must come when we are called.  Then, in Acts 24:26, we see another reason Felix had not freed Paul.  He had hoped for a bribe.  Having corrupt politicians is nothing new.  There have always been those who attempt to benefit personally by their public service, as they would call it.  While waiting for money or some other resolution to the question of what to do with Paul, Felix sent for him more often.  This went on for two years, until Porcius Festus came to see Felix, then Felix had Paul bound, hoping to find favor with the Jews.

In Acts 24:22,   we are told that when Felix heard these things, having a more excellent knowledge of that way, he deferred the Jews, saying when Lysias, the chief captain came down, he would know the uttermost of the matter.  Felix understood more about the Jewish faith and Christianity than the Jews thought.  There are probably people today who know more about Christianity than we give them credit for, even people in the government, but they don't know the Christ of Christianity.  Felix delayed the hearing until the chief captain could be there.  He was going to get all the facts to see who was telling the truth.  Either the Jews were lying or Paul was.  The chief captain, having had to rescue Paul, could tell him more.  Sometimes we may have to wait for the truth to come out, but if we are faithful to our call from God, the truth will always be on our side.  While he was waiting on the chief captain, Felix commanded a centurian to keep Paul, but to let him have liberty and to not prevent his acquaintances from ministering to him.  Felix should have freed Paul, as there was no proof that any of the charges were true, but he kept Paul in limbo, neither truly free nor imprisoned.  Sometimes, we put ourselves in spiritual limbo, neither accepting the freedom that Christ offers through our faith in Him, nor rejecting the worries of this world.

This past week was a long one.  We knew my momma was in the last few days of her life, and on the first of July, at about eight p.m., she went home to be with her Lord.  Since I stated the purpose of this blog to be exploring what it means to be a Christian in todays world, we could look a long time and never find a better example than Nadine Rice Dobbs.  She was married for over fifty seven years to Leroy Dobbs, Sr., and loved him without question for all those years, and for the next eleven after he died.  She was at church whenever there was a service, until the last few months of her life.  She brought my brother, sister, and me to all those services as well as long as we were at home.  I know you may have heard the expression she drug us to church, but not only that, she drug us out if we acted up.  She loved us as Christ would expect a mother to love, from the day we were born until the day she died.  She was a Sunday School teacher for many, many years.  She didn't just go in and read what the quarterly said.  She studied all week to be prepared to teach.  She worked in Vacation Bible School, whether teaching or feeding the children snacks.  When she was almost eighty, she went on a mission trip to Guatemala.  After that, she went with my wife and me, and then with just me, to New Mexico to work on a mission church there, caulking walls and getting things ready to paint.  She always supported her pastor and often fed him.  She loved her grand children and great-grand children, as well as all the rest of her family, and always lifted them up in prayer.  At her funeral, one of her former pastors spoke about what a great prayer warrior she was, and anyone who knew her would have said the same thing.  She was always quick with a kind word for anyone who needed one.  The world may not know her as they do Paul, but she is still a great example of what a follower of Christ should be, and for nearly sixty eight years, I got to have her as my momma.

In Acts 24:10, Paul begins his defence.  The first thing he states is that he knows that Felix has been a judge of the people for many years, and that he would cheerfully answer for himself.  Confronted with the same type situation, we should pray to be as gracious as Paul was.  He said that not twelve days had passed since he got to Jerusalem to worship.  He hadn't been there long and he wasn't there to stir up trouble, but simply to worship.  What a great defence we would have if we were brought before a judge for causing dissension and we could truthfully say we were only there to worship.  Paul said they didn't find him in the Temple disputing with anyone, or raising up the people, either in the synagogue or the city.  Again, another good defence for us would be that they lied.  In Acts 24:13, Paul states, "Neither can they prove the things of whereof they now accuse me." (KJV) Paul was not saying there was proof they couldn't produce, but that there was no proof that existed.  We should hope to always be as innocent as Paul was.  He did say then that he would confess to one thing, that after the way they called heresy, he worshipped the God of his fathers, believing all the Law and the prophets.  Paul said he had hope toward God of the resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust, which the Jews themselves allowed.  He said he had good conscience toward both God and men, that he was guilty of no offence to either.  He could say this about God because of the grace of Christ.  This would be a powerful testamony for any Christian.  After many years he had come to bring alms to his nation and offerings.  Certain Jews from Asia found him purified in the Temple, neither with a multitude nor with tumult.  He also said those who had something against him should be there before Felix.  If we are accused of some wrong, our accusers should be there to state their claim.  He said that since his accusers weren't there, let those of the council accuse him.  The only thing they could accuse him of was proclaiming the resurrection of the dead.  We always need to make sure that what we are accused of is what someone is trying us for, and not what they claim falsely that we have done.

Starting in Acts 23:31, we are told of Paul's trip to Rome.  He had been provided with an animal to ride, so when the soldiers got to Antipatris by night, the next morning they left Paul with the horsemen.  The rest of the soldiers returned to the castle.  There were still seventy soldiers to escort Paul the rest of the way.  God will never leave us without ample protection to do His will.  This does not mean we will never suffer or even be killed while serving Him, but we will never be left without the power of God behind us.  From Antipatris, they delivered Paul to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle and Paul to the governor.  The governor saw that Paul was of Cilicia and said he would hear him and his accusers, so he sent for them.  All we can ever hope for is that if we are accused, then we and our accusers are brought together to present the facts.  In Acts 24:1, we are told that Ananias and the elders got there five days later.  They brought an orator named Tertullus, a Roman, with them and he informed the governor against Paul.  The chief priest is the one who should have been in the best position to inform against Paul, but maybe since their charges weren't true, they felt they needed someone who spoke well.  If we were to bring charges against a fellow Christian, whether in the church or the secular world, hopefully we would be able to speak for ourselves.  Tertullus was a spokesman for hire, and he started by flattering Felix, the governor.  He said they enjoyed peace due to Felix' s rule and were thankful for it.  What they enjoyed was repression at his hands, but they wanted his favor.  Then, he accused Paul of being a petulant fellow, full of sedition.  In other words, he was a threat to the peace of the country.  People today will use all methods to discredit God's work, especially lies, because it cannot be discredited with the truth.  He then said that they had judged Paul by their Law, but the chief captain Lysias came and took him from them with great violence.  He did not say that they were the cause of that violence.  We can expect not only lies but also half truths when the world speaks against us.  We don't have to look far to see that if we speak out against sin we are accused of hating the sinner.  The Jews also accented, saying these things were so.

Over forty Jewish men had taken a vow to kill Paul, and the chief captain sent two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen,and two hundred spearmen to escort Paul to Felix the governor.  He was taking no chances with having harm come to Paul, already afraid from his actions so far.  God had told Paul that he was to go to Rome, and now he was providing him an armed escort.  We can trust God to provide well above what is needed for us to do His will.  The Jewish leaders agreed to the plot, and the government officials worked to stop it.  They were to leave with Paul during the night.  Some interpret it as three hours past sunset and others at three hours past midnight.  Either way, the chief captain wasn't waiting for morning.  We need to be as ready to move for God, day or night.  He wrote a letter to Felix, explaining why he was sending Paul to him.  He called Felix the most excellent governor, maybe still being a little nervous about what he had done to Paul and wanting to get in the good graces of Felix.  He told about how the Jews had tried to kill Paul and how he had rescued him since he knew he was a Roman.  He failed to mention how he had thought Paul was an Egyptian, had him arrested and bound, and was ready to scourge him.  I don't think we would find it unusual that people in power do their best to make themselves look good, especially to those above them.  He said after he rescued Paul, he took him before their council, since he perceived that he was accused of something to do with Jewish law.  Even then, he saw nothing worthy of death or bonds.  He was presenting more facts than he had gained at the time he had arrested Paul.  Again, when some people attempt to defend themselves today, they may suddenly present facts that they should have known but chose to ignore.  We as Christians have a responsibility to know the facts before hand and act from knowledge of what is really happening.  He said when he found out that the Jews had a plot to kill Paul, he sent him to Felix so he could find out the truth from the Jews.  This is what we would call passing the buck.  As Christians, we need to confront things that are wrong and stand firm instead of trying to pass the responsibility on to someone else.

After Paul heard of the plot to kill him,  he called for the centurians and asked that they take the young man to the chief captain because he had something to tell him. The centurian did as Paul asked, and took him to the chief captain and told him why he was there.  It took a certain degree of courage to do this.  He was listening to a prisoner and going to the chief captain without being summoned.  Today, there are still people, even those who aren't Christians, who are willing to go out of their way to help others.  What we as Christians need to make sure of is that we are always ready to do the same.  The chief captain took him aside privatily to ask what he had to say.  The young man told him of the plot the Jews had to get Paul in a position to kill him.  They were willing to defy the government troops in order to kill Paul.  Today, there are many people who are willing to defy even their government in order to kill Christians and they aren't concerned with who gets killed with them.  The chief captain listened to him and sent him away, charging him to tell no one that he had told the chief captain about the plot.  It took a degree of courage for the young man to do what he did.  He could have been viewed as lying to help Paul and arrested himself.  Even if we were to find ourselves called on to do something that could cause us trouble, may we always have the faith necessary to do the right thing.  The chief captain could have sent him away without listening, but he didn't.  The chief captain believed him, maybe because he had already seen how the Jews were acting.  He began to make plans to send Paul to Rome.  Those who were God's people in name only had gotten Paul his transportation to Rome, though that certainly wasn't their intent.  We can be sure that God will bring about His purpose, even working through those who are attempiing to stop Him.

In Acts 23:11, after Paul was once again in the custody of the chief captain, the next night the Lord stood by him and told him to be of good cheer.  Paul had been beaten, chained, imprisoned and still had people trying to kill him, and he was told by the Lord to be of good cheer.  Our problems are few compared to his, so we should have no trouble being of good cheer.  Paul had testified in Jerusalem and now he was to testify in Rome.  He might not have considered his time in Jerusalem to be successful, but God did.  We may have trouble seeing success in what we do for the Lord, but if we are doing what God wants us to do, He will see the success.  The Jews had not given up on killing Paul.  More than forty of them had made a conspiracy, according to KJV, to neither eat or drink until they had killed Paul.  We can only assume that they either died of thirst and starvation or they broke their vow, because they did not kill Paul.  We should be very careful about making vows to God when they are not in His will.  They went to the chief priests and council, told them of their vow, then asked them to lie to the chief captain to get Paul in a position that they could kill him.  This speaks loudly of the spiritual condition of many of those who were supposedly God's chosen people.  As followers of Christ, if we ever think of doing anything immoral in the name of God, we better pray that He just takes us on home before we bring dishonor to His name.  Paul's nephew heard of their plot and went to Paul and told him.  Plots against God are hard to keep secret.  The enemies of God will never subvert His plans, and His plan was for Paul to go to Rome.  Paul did not have to worry, and we don't either.

In Acts 23:6, Paul realized he was speaking to both Pharisees and Saducees.  These were two groups of God's chosen people who did not even agree as to what God taught.  We have many groups of Christians today who cannot agree about things the Bible teaches.  Paul then said, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question."  When Paul said this, his accusers were divided.  Paul didn't lie about anything.  That is who he was, and since they were questioning him about his teaching that Christ was the resurrected Lord, then his statement was true.  The members of the council were teaching two different truths.  The Saducees taught there was no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit.  The Pharisees taught that there were both.  For the Saducees, we have to wonder how they got so far away from the teachings of God.  Yet, today there are professed Christians who teach things that are not Biblical and many disagree with other groups.  The Pharisees said they found no fault with Paul,that if a spirit or angel had revealed to Paul that they could not fight against God.  Then, there was an uproar once again caused by the two groups, which would imply that the chief priest was the ruler of God's people in name only.  Otherwise, he would have stopped the uproar.  The chief captain, fearing for Paul's life, sent soldiers to take him by force from the Jews.  It is a sad commentary when government officials have to save a Christian from a group professing to be God's people.  Still, today we occasionally hear about fights breaking out at a church and the police having to be called to break it up, or one group within a church suing the other over some disagreement.  This certainly does not glorify God.