Acts 28:30-31

Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Acts 28:30-31 

The book of Acts ends by leaving Paul in his own rented home to share with whomever would come to see him. For the next two years, as he awaited his day in court, Paul was under a house arrest ministry program! Four years of imprisonment without any charges, can you imagine. Why would God allow the greatest missionary in church history to sit locked up for 4 years? It makes no sense to us. But God has His ways and we must submit to His will even when we do not fully understand the whys of His ways.

God brought the Gospel to those on the island of Malta through a storm. By the mouth of Paul, these 2 years under house arrest in Rome would produce what we today call Paul’s prison epistles — his letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and to Philemon. All four were written from lock-up as well as the book of Philippians with the underlying theme of joy in the Lord. During this time, many of Paul’s helpers came to him to visit and to be an encouragement. Timothy (Philippians 1:1) was there; as was Luke, Aristarchus, Epaphras, Justus, and Demas (Colossians 4). Ever wonder why God is allowing something in your life? A better question would be: Lord, what would You have me to do from here?

Resting in the fact that He is the Lord,

Pastor Jack Abeelen