Paul sets sail for Rome on his way to be heard by Caeser. Luke is with him, as you read that pronoun "we". Paul is assigned to Julius, a Roman centurion. This is a difficult time to set sail...it was late in the year and it tended to be cloudy which made navigation almost impossible. The decision was made to go anyway because the boat captain didn't want to winter where they were. Paul knew by the Holy Spirit that they were in trouble, and they did wreck. Paul knew that no one would be harmed. They did wreck...the guards wanted to kill the prisoners because if the prisoners escaped, their lives would be taken by law. Julius decided to let the prisoners live. Publius hosted the crew and had a very ill father that Paul healed. They stayed on the island of Malta for three months. Again they set sail and arrived in Rome. Paul preaches at Rome, under guard. God used these very trials as an opportunity for the gospel to be spread. Don't be surprised at how God can use you. They may not be the circumstances that you pick, but it is all about God's plan...not ours.
Paul is under house arrest and writes his "prison" letters. These are to Ephesians, Colossians and Philipians.....there will also be one to Philemon. Right now, I am going to ask that Bonnie/Philemon write the blog for Philemon. Yes, she was on stage with Beth Moore, and this woman knows the book, because she IS Philemon.
While Paul waited for two years in his rented house, tradition says this is when Luke wrote Luke and Acts...
Look what comes up from the depths of the sea.
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Here we have another promise fulfilled....God told Paul the ship would wreck and everyone would survive and they did! Question.....how long was he in prison earlier?
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