Joy Today

When something seems to drag on and on, my "walking with Jesus" friend, have you, or I EVER asked:" Lord, how I o n g is this going to last/ is this going to drag on? Stranded on a tiny, wind-blown island, we can imagine that Paul and his shipmates may have asked that question. Well, Acts 28:11, informs us: Another ship out of Alexandria, that had stayed in the harbor on Malta during the stormy winter season, and was headed for Italy offered them passage. So, after three months on the island, they were, finally,on their way again. It's 113 miles from tiny Malta across to Sicily, the island located off the tip of the "Italian boot/peninsula." They went into the port of Syracuse, on the southeast of the island, and stayed there three days. Next, the ship sailed north and made port. at Rhegium on the tip of the "Italian boot." Passing between the tip of the boot and the northern tip of Sicily, they sailed up the West Coast of Italy, making port at ...

See where Paul went from Malta to Puteoli(near modern Naples) Italy To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

We have now "walked through Acts. 27, and into 28. How is your visualization today, my "walking with Jesus" friend? Can you visualize a medium size sailing ship? Can you visualize 1,000 miles of the Mediterranean Sea between the port of Fair Haven on Cyprus and the sandbar on the tiny island of Malta? Did you know that Malta is so tiny that you can travel across it, or from one end to the other in just 30 minutes? ( Its only 122 square miles in size. Oahu, Hawaii is about 600 square miles) So, my friend, what ARE the odds that a storm-tossed ship, in 1,000 miles of the Mediterranean sea, would shipwreck on SUCH a tiny dot of land? I think we would all say that the odds were slim to none!! BUT, that IS what happened, and we are persuaded that GOD made sure the ship ran aground on Malta, and was not lost at sea! In the midst of any storm, God is ready to hear our prayers, and miracles are still possible when God comes on the scene. "Call unto ME," says the Lord...

Shipwrecked on the tiny island of Malta, Paul and his shipmates soon made the acquaintance of the chief man of the island: Publius. He treated us kindly, lodging us for three days. While they were there, the Father of Publius was taken ill of a fever and a flow of blood. Paul entered in, laid hands on him, and healed him. So then, others cane from all over the island, with various diseases, "and were healed," reports Acts 28:9. So Publius honored them with many honors, and when they departed from his place, he loaded them up with many necessary provisions."(Acts 28:10) A year or so later, when the Apostle Paul wrote to his dear brothers and sisters in Christ in Philippians 4:13, he assured them:" My God SHALL <it's a promise > supply ALL your need, according to His riches in Christ Jesus our Lord." As WE walk with the Lord, WE are granted that same promise. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP ...

Yes, my "walking with Jesus" friend, all 276 persons from the ship survived, and found themselves shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Acts 28:2, reports that the barbarian people there showed them great kindness. They kindled a fire to warm us from the rain and cold. But when Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, there came a viper up out of the heat and fastened on his hand.. When the barbarians saw the snake hang on Paul's 'hand, they said, among themselves, no doubt this man is a murderer who, although he has escaped the sea, yet vengeance is not allowing him to live. But, Paul shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. The people watched, thinking Paul would swell up and fall down dead. But after they watched for a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god."(Acts 28:1-6) Jesus said:"Truly, truly, I tell you, He who believes in Me, the same works that I do, he shall do al...

Day dawned, but the wind and sea stayed rough, my " walking with Jesus" friend. Paul gave thanks, and everyone, all 276 of us aboard, did take and eat, and began to feel better. The crew further lightened the ship by throwing the wheat overboard. We had been tossed toward an island, the crew did not recognize the coastline, but noticed a bay with a beach and hoped we could be driven between the rocks and pushed onto the beach. So, they cut off the anchors, leaving them in the sea, lowered the rudders, raised the mainsail and headed for shore. But the ship hit a sandbar and ran aground. The stren (back) was exposed to the pounding waves and soon began to break apart. The soldiers advised the commanding officer to kill all the prisoners, lest any should escape, but Julius was set on getting Paul to Caesar, so he refused that idea. [Thank God] All who could swim jumped overboard and made for land. The rest grabbed onto planks and other debris. As the angel of the Lord had told...

Altogether, my "walking with Jesus" friend, Paul told everyone, "Take heart. I believe God will provide for us just as the angel of the Lord told me. But, we will be shipwrecked on an island." About midnight, on the Fourteenth day of the storm, as we were being driven to and fro, the sailors sensed that land was near. They "sounded," and found 120 feet of water below the ship. A little later, they "sounded" again, and found only ninety feet of water. At this rate, they knew we would soon be driven ashore; and, fearing rocks along the coast, they threw out four anchors from the stern(the back) and prayed for daylight. Some of the sailors planned to abandon ship. So they lowered the emergency boat...But Paul told them: 'You will all die unless everyone STAYS on board. They believed Paul, so they just let the little boat drop into the sea. Finally, at first light, Paul urged everyone to eat something to gain strength, because, as God's angel...

While frantically coping with their storm tossed ship, the howling winds and crashing waves, the crew had not eaten for several days, says Acts 27:21, my "walking with Jesus" friend. "At that point, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, 'You should have listened to me and not left safe Harbor on Crete. Then you would not have encountered this storm and suffered loss of valuable cargo. Nevertheless, at this point, I urge you to be of good cheer, [ they probably thought: Hey man, be of good cheer in the midst of this terrible storm, what ARE you talking about?] Paul continued:'Yes, be of good cheer for there shall be no loss of any man's life, although the ship will be lost. For there stood by me this night, the angel of the Lord God, whose I am, and whom I serve. The angel said: Fear not, Paul, you must be brought before Caesar: and therefore God has given you all those who are on board with you. Therefore, sirs, be of good cheer for I believe God, ...

Did the ship's officers pay attention to Paul's warning? (Do WE always pay attention to the counsel of the Holy Spirit?) Well, my "walking with Jesus" friend, they listened to Paul, "BUT, the officers in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship's captain and the owner than to Paul. And, since Fair Havens is an exposed harbor, therefore, a poor place to spend the winter, most of the crew advised trying to go further up tho coast to Phoenix, in order to over-wintef there.Just then a light wind began blowing from the south, and it looked like a perfect day for the trip. So, they pulled up anchor and sailed along the shore. Soon the weather changed suddenly, and a heavy wind blew the ship out to sea. At first, they tried to get back near the shore, but they could not, so they gave up and let the ship "run before the gale," because they were unable to control it." Frantically, the sailors began tossing cargo overboard to lighten the ship,...

By personal decision, Paul tells everyone, Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord. When he came into my life,/ when Jesus comes into the life of any individual, the Holy Spirit of God also comes to dwell with that person. (John 14:15-17) and one of the duties of the Holy Spirit is to:" ...show you things to come."(John 16:13)So, as you " see," by implication, WHEN we listen carefully to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we have help to look ahead, and make wise decisions. Let's keep all that in mind, my "walking with Jesus" friend, as we read about Paul and the ship headed for Italy in Acts 27:7-10." Setting sail from Myra, we had several days of rough sailing, til we finally came near Cnidus, but the winds had become too strong, so we ran across to Crete.. Beating into the wind with great difficulty and moving very slowly along the southern coast, we arrived at Fairhavens, on the south coast of Crete. We stayed there several days. The weather was becomi...

Yes, I sent a map. On the far right side of the map is the port of Sidon. There, Paul, his guard, and others board an Egyptian ship bound for Italy. They sail north, around the island of Cyprus, then west to the port of Myrna. At this point, my "walking with Jesus" friend, shall we remind ourselves of some facts about a sailing ship? When does it move? Only when it catches the wind in its sails. What happens when the wind is very strong? Yes, among other things, they have to take down the sails. What happens when there are high waves, even waves coming from several different directions all at once? What happens depends on the size and weight of the ship, the skill of the seamen and the duration of the storm. Obviously, the longer the storm, with high winds and heavy waves, continues, the greater the degree of danger to the ship, it's crew, passengers and cargo. Do we wonder if there is a storm ahead for the ship Paul is on? The voyage from Caesarea, Sidon, Myra, and other...

MMS Received To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

So, the trial before King Agrippa and Gov. Festus resolved nothing, my "walking with Jesus" friend. It simply left Festus with no choice but to send Paul to Caesar in Rome. Arrangements were finalized for Paul to be sent to Rome. He and several other prisoners were put under the custody of an officer named Julius, a member of the Imperial Guard. They were brought aboard a ship headed up the Turkish coast. A Greek, named Aristarchus from Thessalonica was also on board. They sailed from Caesarea north to Sidon. Docking there, Julius was very kind to Paul. He let him go ashore to visit with friends and receive their hospitality. When they put to sea again, they encountered headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on coarse. So, the sailed north of Cyprus, between the island and the mainland. They passed along the coast of the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra in the province of Lucia. There our officer ground and Egyptian ship from Alexandria, bound f...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. When King Agrippa confessed to Paul:" You ALMOST persuade me to become a Christian," Paul pressed on, saying, "I would to God that not only you, but also, all those who are hearing me today, were altogether believing, even as I am, except for these chains." And after Paul spoke, the King and the Governor rose up and went aside to confer in private. And they were agreed that Paul had done nothing wrong and did not deserve to be retained nor put to death. And Agrippa said to Festus, we could have set this man free IF he had not appealed to Caesar."(Acts 26:28-32) How recently have you or I persuaded someone to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, receive forgiveness, and walk in newness of life? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."( Romans 10:17) To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you becaus...

"And, O King Agrippa," Paul explained, "that preaching caused disagreement and dismay among some Jews, so that they arrested me in the temple and tried to kill me. ( It was a pretty scary situation for Paul, right, my "walking with Jesus" friend?) "But God protected me" Paul said, "So that I am still alive today. I teach nothing except what Moses and the prophets said: that the Messiah would suffer, die, and be the first to rise from the dead, to bring light to the Jews and Gentiles alike." As Paul paused, suddenly Festus shouted:" Paul, you have gone mad. Your long studying has broken your mind." Then, with all calm and deliberate force, Paul replied, " I am not mad, honorable governor. I speak words of revelation and sober truth. King Agrippa, you know about these things. I simply speak straightforwardly. I am sure these events are familiar to everyone. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? Actually, I KNOW that you DO...

Well, my "walking with Jesus" friend, after describing the bright light and the appearance of Jesus, Paul continued:" And further, Jesus instructed me, 'Grt up. Stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose: to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of things which I will reveal to you. I will rescue you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I will send you, to open their eyes, and to turn them from their present darkness into the light of the Lord, and to deliver them from the power of Satan turning them to the greater power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in ME, Jesus Christ, crucified, raised Alive by the power of God, and coming again, "Paul reported. Those were the words of Jesus to me. And I was obedient to his words. I preached Christ fearlessly, first in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, throughout Judaea and to the Ge...

Well, my "walking with Jesus" friend, after describing the bright light and the appearance of Jesus, Paul continued:" And further, Jesus instructed me, 'Grt up. Stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose: to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of things which I will reveal to you. I will rescue you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I will send you, to open their eyes, and to turn them from their present darkness into the light of the Lord, and to deliver them from the power of Satan turning them to the greater power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in ME, Jesus Christ, crucified, raised Alive by the power of God, and coming again, "Paul reported. Those were the words of Jesus to me. And I was obedient to his words. I preached Christ fearlessly, first in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, throughout Judaea and to the Ge...

"But they do not want to believe it. You see," King Agrippa,"There came a man named Jesus, whose ancestry fit the prophesies about Messiah. His teachings were with Divine Authority, he performed many miracles of healing, and he said he had come from Above. However, the chief priests were jealous of his big following. They stirred up the crowd, brought false witnesses and ended up getting him crucified. He had said he would come alive again in three days. And he did rise from the grave and is alive even now, " your honor." I believe in the resurrection of the dead because I myself have seen this Jesus, completely alive againeven after they crucified him.in fact, He appeared to me on the road to Damascus. As a zealous Pharisee,,I was on the way to Damascus with letters from the high Priest authorizing me to capture Believers in Jesus, the Messiah. And bring them in chains to Jerusalem. Suddenly a light brighter than the sun came upon us from heaven. And a voice...

"Finally," Gov. Festus concluded," King Agrippa, it does not seem reasonable to send a prisoner to the Emperor without any charges against him.(Acts 25:27)" Well, my "walking with Jesus" friend, I think we would agree with that. So, the trial began. King Agrippa said to Paul, "Go ahead. Tell us your story." So, Paul, with many gestures presented his defence. "I am fortunate, your honor, King Agrippa, to present my defence before you, for I know you are an expert on Jewish laws and customs. Now, please, listen patiently. As the Jews are well aware, I was given a thoroughJewish training from my earliest childhood in Tarsus, and later at Jerusalem, and I was careful to live according to all the Jewish laws. If they would be honest, my accusers would acknowledge that I was a very strict Pharisee, keeping all the Jewish laws and customs very carefully. So, their accusations are not about me keeping the law. The real reason behind their accusatio...

In Caesarea, my " walking with Jesus"friend, Gov. Festus tells King Agrippa: while I make arrangements for Paul to go to Caesar, I am keeping him in prison, and trying to figure out what to write to the Emperor. "I'd like to hear the man myself," Agrippa said. "OK, tomorrow, " Festus agreed. The next day, after King Agrippa and his consort Bernice arrived in the courtroom, with much pomp and ceremony, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city, Festus ordered Paul brought in. Then Festus addressed the audience. Your Excellency King Agrippa, Bernice and all present, this is the man whose death is demanded both by the local Jews, and by those in Jerusalem. But, in my opinion, he has done nothing worthy of death. However, being a Roman citizen, he has appealed his case to Caesar, and I have no alternative but to send him to Caesar. But, what shall I write to the Emperor? For there are no real charges against him. So, I have brought hi...

Shall we put on a political hat this morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend? In Acts 25:13, we have Festus, the Roman governor of the Province of Judea, AND we have King Agrippa II, King over several provinces. King Agrippa comes to visit Gov. Festus, who discusses Paul's case with him:" There is a prisoner here whose case was left to me by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders gave me THEIR side of the story and asked me to have him killed. Of course, I quickly pointed out that the man is a Roman Citizen and Roman law does not convict a man before he is tried. He is given an opportunity to defend himself face to face with his accusers. When they came here for the trial, I called the case and had Paul brought in. And I found that the accusations were actually something about their religion, and about someone called Jesus who died, but Paul insists he is alive. I was perplexed," Festus continued, "As to how to decide a ...

Please, come with me to Acts 25:6-11, my "walking with Jesus" friend, we will hear what happens next. " Eight or ten days later, Gov. Festus returned to Caesarea. The following day he opened Paul's trial. When Paul was brought into court, the Jews from Jerusalem gathered around and hurled against Paul many serious accusations, which they could not prove. Paul denied the charges. "I am not guilty," he said. "I have not opposed the Jewish laws. I have not disrespected the temple. I have certainly not rebelled against the Roman government." Well, Festus was anxious to please the Jews, so he asked Paul:"Are you willing to go to Jerusalem to stand trial before me?" But Paul replied:"NO! I demand my privilege as a Roman citizen, of a hearing before the Emperor himself. You, Gov. Festus, know very well that I am NOT guilty...I am innocent and neither you nor anyone else has a right to turn me over to these men from Jerusalem who only want...

"Walking with Jesus," my friend, at this time we are also "walking with the Apostle Paul." Gov. Felix has left him in prison for two years...with no trial, and no decision. Now Felix is replaced by Gov. Festus. Acts 25:1-5, reports:" Three days after Festus arrived in the provincial capitol of Caesarea, to take over his responsibilities, he left for Jerusalem. There, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders got hold of him. They gave him Their story about Paul. They pleaded with him to bring Paul to Jerusalem for trial. Festus suspected there would be trouble in Jerusalem. (He was correct. In fact, the sneaky group that had plotted to waylay and kill him was still intent on accomplishing that.)Anyway Festus said, "No. Paul is at Caesarea. I am returning there soon. Those with authority in the matter must come THERE for the trial." What do you think, my friend? Has Paul been kept safe, again? Surely he can say, with Psalm 62:3, "Lord, You have...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. We are in Acts 24:24, and, while the scripture does not record that the Commander ever came from Jerusalem, it does record that Gov. Felix sent for Paul to come from prison and explain himself further. So, Paul told Felix about faith in Jesus Christ, whose life, death, resurrection and Power completely fulfilled Jewish prophecy. "And, as Paul reasoned with them about righteousness and the judgement to come, Felix grew terrified. ' Go away for now,' he told Paul, 'And when I have a more convenient time, I will send for you again.' He also hoped that Paul would bribe him for his freedom, so he did send for him from time to time. Two years passed in this way, with Paul remaining in prison in Caesarea. Then Felix was succeeded as Roman governor of the Province of Judea, by Porcius Festus. And in the transition, Felix left Paul in chains because he wanted to keep favor with the Jews."( Acts 24:24-27) Paul re...