Acts 27:1-12, Paul Is Taken to Rome

1When it was time for us to sail to Rome, Captain Julius from the Emperor's special troops was put in charge of Paul and the other prisoners. 2We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to some ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus from Thessalonica in Macedonia sailed on the ship with us.


3The next day we came to shore at Sidon. Captain Julius was very kind to Paul. He even let him visit his friends, so they could give him whatever he needed. 4When we left Sidon, the winds were blowing against us, and we sailed close to the island of Cyprus to be safe from the wind. 5Then we sailed south of Cilicia and Pamphylia until we came to the port of Myra in Lycia. 6There the army captain found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he ordered us to board that ship.


7We sailed along slowly for several days and had a hard time reaching Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed past Cape Salmone, where the island of Crete would protect us from the wind. 8We went slowly along the coast and finally reached a place called Fair Havens, not far from the town of Lasea.


9By now we had already lost a lot of time, and sailing was no longer safe. In fact, even the Great Day of Forgiveness was past. 10Then Paul spoke to the crew of the ship, "Men, listen to me! If we sail now, our ship and its cargo will be badly damaged, and many lives will be lost." 11But Julius listened to the captain of the ship and its owner, rather than to Paul. 12The harbor at Fair Havens wasn't a good place to spend the winter. Because of this, almost everyone agreed that we should at least try to sail along the coast of Crete as far as Phoenix. It had a harbor that opened toward the southwest and northwest, and we could spend the winter there.

For all practical purposes, Paul looked like a tourist...stopping off at ports and visiting friends. He was treated with friendship and respect. He was even part of the discussion surrounding the wisdom of sailing during the winter months.

The truth was...he was a prisoner, headed to Rome to see the emperor. He was not master of his own fate. He was not empowered to make decisions for himself.

It just didn't look like that from a distance.

Occasionally we get caught up in the tempo of life. We get involved with the schemes and dreams of those around us and, for all practical purposes, nobody would ever realize we are not free...that we are slaves to Christ.

I think Christ would prefer that was a little more obvious.

Live boldly out there today...