Following Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FOLLOWING JESUS

Acts 28:11-16

11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

NIV

It seems this is just another portion of the travel log; however, it does come to a close as Paul arrives in Rome. Their first landing in what is now Italy was at the city of Puteoli. It is situated on the western coast near the area now called Naples, but the name itself comes from a Latin word meaning "stink”. There was a volcano in the area that gave off a sulfurous odor; thus, the region was named Puteoli. There were brothers in the lord in that area, believers in the Way. This shows that the gospel was being spread throughout, and the church was growing. Certainly, this was the first time Paul had been in this region, so the message of Jesus was moving on, being spread by other believers and reaching new areas, where new local groups of believers sprang up. The gospel continues to reach new people, bringing them hope of eternal life, although we consider it a fact rather than a hope. Paul stayed with these brothers for a week. We do wonder what the Roman Centurion thought about this delay in reaching Rome, given the letter he was bringing to Caesar's court. Paul was still considered a prisoner, yet it appears he decided to stay for a week with the brothers in Puteoli. And so they came to Rome.  When Paul was still in Jerusalem, and there had been such an uproar, and the soldiers were ordered to take Paul into the barracks, the Lord visited him and told him that he had testified in Jerusalem, and now he would testify in Rome, and the Lord made sure Paul arrived safely at Rome. What we can be assured of is that whatever the Lord says will happen, it will happen. Once again, we have the choice, even as believers, or perhaps we should use the term Christian, to follow our own path, or follow the path the Lord has laid out for us. If we consider ourselves as believers, we believe that God directs the way we should go, the places we should be, and the decisions He makes for our lives. That is all wrapped up in the words we profess: "I have decided to follow Jesus." Paul had made that choice, although his following Jesus did not always end up in a bed of roses; there were some thorns along the way. However, there were some rough patches along the way onboard ship, with the storms and being shipwrecked, the Lord made sure Paul arrived in Rome. We might go through a rough patch in life, or we might have smooth sailing, but if we are following Jesus, we will arrive where he wants us to be, both in the eternal and in the present. The key in Paul's life was that he followed the Lord's leading, and that is what we should do: always follow Jesus.