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December 19 - Acts 28 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, the 19th of
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  December, and we are today going to finish off the book of the
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  Acts of the Apostles and the last chapter, boy, they cover
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  some ground. They end up, you know, you would
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  have remembered, just shipwrecked.
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  They land on the beach. They travelled the rest of the
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  way to Rome. Paul finds an audience there,
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  and then the author Luke, wraps it up with a little summary that
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  is quite a lot to cover in one actually not very long chapter.
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  And for some, this is a little confusing because the last line
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  talks about over the next couple of years, you know, these things
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  happen and you think, hang on, hang on, aren't we telling the
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  story? How can you gloss over years
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  just in the last sentence, just covering over generally and
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  vaguely what happened. But if we think all the way back
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  to chapter 1 of this book, chapter 1 outlines Jesus telling
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  his disciples to carry this news with them all the way to the
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  ends of the earth. And this is what Paul's mission
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  was, was to share it with the Gentiles all the way through to
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  the ends of the earth. And that happens by him taking
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  his message to the heart of the world, to the heart of the Roman
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  Empire, and sharing it there so that from him, from there it
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  could travel out. And so this is the ending of
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  that, the ending of that story of the church, starting in those
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  humble beginnings to the ends of the earth.
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  And so let us finish the story together as we read Acts chapter
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  28. Once we were safe on shore, we
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  learnt that we were on the island of Malta.
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  The people of the island were very kind to us.
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  It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to
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  welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of
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  sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake,
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  driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.
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  The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said
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  to each other, A murderer, no doubt, though he escaped the
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  sea, justice will not be permitted him to live.
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  But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.
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  The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead.
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  But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn't
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  harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a God.
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  Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to
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  Publius, the chief official of the island.
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  He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days.
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  As it happened, Publius father was ill with fever and
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  dysentery. All went in and prayed for him,
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  and laying his hands on him, he healed him.
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  Then all the other sick people on the island came and were
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  healed. As a result we were showered
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  with honours and when the time came to sail, people supplied us
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  with everything we would need for the trip.
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  It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on
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  another ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian
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  ship with the Twin Gods as its figurehead.
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  Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days.
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  From there we sailed across to Regime a day later AS wind began
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  blowing. So the following day we sailed
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  up the coast to Poutioli. There we found some believers
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  who invited us to spend a week with them, and so we came to
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  Rome. The brothers and sisters in Rome
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  had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the
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  Forum on the Apian Way. Others joined us at the Three
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  Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was
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  encouraged and thanked God. When we arrived in Rome, Paul
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  was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was
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  guarded by a soldier. Three days after Paul's arrival,
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  he called together the local Jewish leaders.
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  He said to them, Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed
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  over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing
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  against our people or the customs of our ancestors.
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  The Romans tried me and wanted to release me because they found
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  no cause for the death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders
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  protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to
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  Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against
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  my own people. I asked you to come here today
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  so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I
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  am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of
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  Israel, the Messiah has already come, they replied.
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  We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you
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  from anyone who has come here, but we want to hear what you
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  believe, for the one thing we know about this movement is that
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  it is denounced everywhere. So a time was set, and on that
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  day a large number of people came to Paul's lodging.
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  He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to
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  persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures, using the Law of
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  Moses and the books of the prophets.
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  He spoke to them from morning until evening.
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  Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did
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  not believe. And after they had argued back
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  and forth among themselves, they're left with this final
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  word from Paul. The Holy Spirit was right when
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  he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, go
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  and say to this people, when you hear what I say, you will not
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  understand. When you see what I do, you will
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  not comprehend. For the hearts of these people
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  are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have
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  closed their eyes, so their eyes cannot see, and their ears
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  cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they
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  cannot turn to me and let me heal them.
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  So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been
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  offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.
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  For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own
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  expense. He welcomed all who visited him,
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  boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the
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  Lord Jesus Christ, and no one tried to stop him.
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  Lord Jesus, here we are in our point in history as members of
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  your church today, your church, that we hear this story of its
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  origin and how your church was born and through your spirit
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  grew across the whole globe. Our Lord, we love you, and we
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  thank you for the gift of our church, that we can be a part of
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  this body of believers, that we can represent you even though we
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  do it so poorly so often, that the gathering and body of your
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  people can continue to be your presence in this world.
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  And Lord, even though we see the Western church failing and
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  struggling and shrinking, Lord, we know that your Kingdom is
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  doing none of those things. Lord, your Kingdom grows and
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  Your spirit moves it as your will dictates.
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  So Lord, I pray that we would be a part of your Kingdom and that
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  we would live lives that would shine Your light into the world
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  around us. And Lord, as we hear the words
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  of Isaiah about hearts being hardened, eyes being closed, and
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  ears being shut, Lord, I pray that you would continue to open
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  the hearts of those to whom your word comes.
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  Lord Jesus, transform this world so that your love can be known
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  far and wide, because you are our only hope, and You are the
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  only source of salvation and the author of life itself.
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  And we love you and we are so grateful that you have chosen to
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  give us this gift of faith and include us and your family.
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  So we lift you up and we praise you and we pray your will be
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  done. And we pray all of this in your
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  name, Jesus, Amen.