Acts 26:24-27:12

24 Suddenly, Festus shouted, "Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!" 25 But Paul replied, "I am not insane, Most Wxcellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. 26 And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—" 28 Agrippa interrupted him. "Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?" 29 Paul replied, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains." 30 Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left. 31 As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, "This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment." 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, "He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar."
Acts 27
Paul Sails for Rome 1 When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. 2 Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia; it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the
coast of the province.
3 The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. 4 Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland. 5 Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia. 6 There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board. 7 We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone. 8 We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9 We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall,and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it. 10 "Men," he said, "I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well." 11 But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. 12 And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.
Devotional (by Derek Young): I love the interaction between Agrippa and Paul in Ch. 26:28-29. It seems as though Agrippa is a bit agitated and feels perhaps a bit overwhelmed by what he is hearing from Paul. Paul
senses this defensiveness and agitation, and in return shows love.
Paul says, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains." Paul is not trying to "convert" or "persuade" Agrippa into anything; he is inviting him on the journey he himself is a part of. How powerful is this? The only reason Paul shares the
gospel with people is because he knows first hand what it is like to experience God’s love and grace and knows it as truth.

At one point or another, we have ALL shared in that experience as well. Why wouldn’t we want people to share in that experience with us? When we invite others over to watch the Colts, it is because we ourselves enjoy watching the Colts play. Don’t we want to share that experience with others? How much greater is it to experience God!!!

Prayer: Jesus, we thank you for the grace, mercy, and blessings you have given us. It is because of this and because of who you are that we want to share your love with others. Help us to forget any fears or hesitation that might get in the way of sharing the good news, and let us be reminded of the joy and beauty of what it is like to be in your presence ourselves.