Sunday, September 4, 2016
79 Paul shipwrecked
Paul sets sails for Rome. He is put on a ship with other prisoners headed for Italy, but the journey isn't quick or easy. When the ship docks in Crete for a bit, Paul warns them not to go onto the island. For some odd reason, the soldiers and sailors don't listen to the criminal in their midst. Once they set sail the winds pick up and things are not looking good. It's a northeaster and it rocks the ship around for days. Food and supplies run short. Everyone thinks they're gonna die. Paul says that he saw a vision all about this. The good news is they're all gonna make it in one piece to Rome. The bad news is the ship is not.
After fourteen days of storm and terror, the sailors think they might be near land, so some of them lower boats to escape the ship. Paul lets everyone know that if people leave the ship it's not going to go well. He reminds everyone about his vision. So, the men turn around and come back and all is well. As the sun is coming up, Paul offers everyone food. He breaks bread and gives thanks to God and then passes it out to everyone. The whole ship (all 276 people on board) start to feel better........ Finally, the ship comes near land, hits a huge reef, and starts to break apart. The soldiers on the ship want to kill all the prisoners so they can't escape and run off once they reach land. But the soldier who's in charge of Paul stops them. He's been listening to Paul during this whole journey.
The head solider tells everyone to jump overboard and swim for land. Everyone lives. Turns out they shipwrecked on Malta. Luckily, all the native people are really nice to them and welcome everyone. The first night, Paul and company are sitting around a fire with some of the people from Malta when a viper jumps out and bites Paul's hand. That is a poisonous viper. He just shakes the viper off into the fire. The Maltese are amazed that he hasn't dropped dead yet. They think that Paul might be a god or something. A while later, Paul heals a man who's sick with dysentery. After the Maltese people see this, they flock to Paul to get all kinds of cures.
Three months later, when they get a new ship to sail on, the Maltese give Paul and his friends some food and supplies for the journey. Maltese people are good people. After making a few more stops (and converting some more people), Paul and company finally arrive in Rome. When In Rome The Roman Christians come out to greet Paul and, even though he's still a prisoner, Paul is allowed to live by himself there (well, along with the solider that's been guarding him). Three days after arriving in Rome, Paul decides to meet with the Jewish leaders in town and tell his story. He says he's been wrongly accused by their fellow Jews and sent to Rome to stand trail. The Jews in Rome have never heard anything bad about him, so they're open to listening to whatever he has to say. That's when Paul is at his most awesome. He sets up a time to meet at his home with a bunch of the Jews in town, and he tells them what he knows about Jesus. Some folks believe him and some think he's off his rocker. Before they leave, Paul quotes Isaiah 6:9-10. He tells them that God knew they wouldn't believe all the good things he had to tell them. Now the message has to go to the Gentiles. They're the ones who are gonna listen. Paul lives in Rome for two more years and continues to preach and teach about Jesus. So they make it safely off the ship and Paul's vision totally comes true.
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