Acts Twenty Eight

SCRIPTURE

Acts 28:1-10 (NIV) ¹ Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ² The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. ³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. ⁷ There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. ⁸ His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. ¹⁰ They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

OBSERVATION

God had brought them to the Isle of Malta where the native people welcomed all 276 of them and did their best to make them comfortable. The storm abated, but the weather was cold; so the natives built a fire. After all he had done for the passengers, Paul could well have requested a throne and insisted that everybody serve him! Instead, he did his share of the work and helped gather fuel for the fire.

UNDERSTANDING

Paul never once acted like a prisoner or a victim, nor did he act as if because he had helped the crew so much that somehow he was going to get special treatment.  Instead he went to work serving people.  The truth is no task is too small for the servant of God, we must be like Jesus who humbled Himself and became a servant.  That is what Paul is doing here.

LIFE APPLICATION

Wherever we go, regardless of our situations, we can be a sweet fragrance of Christ to whomever we meet.  Are we being the fragrance of Christ to our world by serving them?  Or are we being victims or acting in an entitled fashion?

As we have seen throughout the book of Acts, God's power is at work in and through us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  WE must continually seek to be filled up with the Holy Spirit so that we can be poured out wherever we go.  

 

Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit!