From disaster to Hope

Acts 28:1-12

It is possible to get a little enthusiastic, when things turn out in a manner that you hoped for but were not sure of?  Your on a ship and it’s going to the bottom and this prisoner named Paul, tells you that all is well, all will be saved, not one is going to die, and all you can do is hope that he heard his God correctly, and that his God has control over the storm.  Now it has happen, the ship is gone, but not one of the 276 has lost their lives, and guess what else, the place we ended up is on the island of Malta, and the native people are unusually kind. 

Now I’m not sure about you, but I’m impressed, no it’s more than that, I am amazed at this guy named Paul, is he a prophet, why is he a prisoner, and what is his Gods’ name?  You see I also am a prisoner of Rome, I’m a thief and a murderer, and it is because of Paul that the Roman soldiers did not kill me.  This is what took place, the native people kindled a fire and welcomed all of us, for it had begun to rain and we were very cold. 

I’ve been watching my fellow prisoner for 14 days, and this Paul, he was always showing kindness to someone, always going out of his way to help one of us, and now unlike me, he is gathering a bundle of sticks to put on the fire when a viper came out of the heat and fastened on his hand.  The people of Malta saw the creature hanging from his hand and they said to one another; “No doubt this man is a murderer.  Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”  Now we were all watching Paul and waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead.  And as I look back on it, the natives of Malta drew back from the fire and had their eyes fixed on Paul, I also stood by the fire keeping warm, and my eyes were also on him.

After sometime the natives changed their minds and began to call Paul a god, and all 275 of us who had been in the ship with him were wondering who is this man, how can he know the things that will happen, who is he?  Now I must tell you what happened next, the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days, his father was very sick with fever and dysentery.  And Paul ask if he could pray over him, and this is what happen, Paul prayed putting his hands on him and he was healed, and when this was known, people from all over the island came to Paul with diseases and were cured. 

Now I must tell you that 275 of us benefitted greatly from what Paul had done, we were all treated with honor, even me a thief and a murderer, and when we were about to sail after being there three months, they put on board whatever we needed. 

Once more, I’m letting my imagination take me into the story, I’m that fellow prisoner of Paul’s, and I’m going to Rome for a punishment that is deserved, but Paul keeps telling me that he has an appointment with Caesar that was ordained by his God, and His Son, and that he is not a prisoner of Rome, but of Jesus Christ.  Now I must tell you that I’m not sure of the other 274 who have witness these things, but I have put my trust in the hands of Paul’s God, and he has told me the following and I have acted on what I’ve heard.  This is what Paul told me;  “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

(Romans 10:9-10 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice