Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 28:1-16.  Let’s go!

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.”……

On verses 1-10:  Has anyone ever judged you and jumped to conclusions about you because of your circumstances?  In Acts 28:34, Paul is bitten by a snake and based on these unfortunate circumstances the residents of Malta assume he is guilty of murder.  But when Paul shows no ill effects from the snake bite, those same people change their minds and call him a god (v6)!  That’s how fickle public opinion can be.

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 27:13-26.  Let’s go!

Acts 27:13-26 (NIV)
13  When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
14  Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island.
15  The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.
16  As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.
17  When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along…..

On verses 13-26:  As Paul and about 270 others sail to Rome, their ship is caught in the middle of a storm of hurricane proportions called a northeaster.  After many days of fearing for their lives, Paul stands up and addresses everyone on the ship, telling them that to keep up their courage, because God spoke to Paul and assured him that he would go to Rome to testify before Caesar and that not one person on this ship would be lost.

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 26:19-32.  Let’s go!

Acts 26:19-23 (NIV)
19  “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.
20  First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
21  That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
22  But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen–
23  that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
 
On verses 19-23:  Paul continues his defense in the presence of King Agrippa, insisting that the message he has been preaching is nothing beyond what the Jewish Scriptures already said would happen.  In other words, Paul was not starting some new sect or religion that departed from the Jewish faith, but rather was preaching what the Jewish Scriptures themselves speak about: that the Christ (Messiah) would die, rise from death and give light to both Jews and Gentiles alike.

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 25:13-27.  Let’s go!

Acts 25:13-27 (NIV)
13  A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
14  Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.
15  When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16  “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.
17  When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in…..

On verses 13-27:  King Agrippa II was a Jewish ruler who came from a long line of kings (including his great grandfather King Herod the Great and his father Herod Agrippa I).  Under Roman supervision, King Agrippa ruled over various territories in the region.  Here we see King Agrippa accompanied by Bernice, who was King Agrippa’s sister and with whom King Agrippa was rumoured to be carrying on an incestuous relationship.  King Agrippa appears here in a visit to Caesarea most likely because he wished to build diplomatic ties with the newly appointed Governor Festus.  Festus had to give Caesar a report on Paul’s case before sending Paul to Caesar. 

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 26:19-32.  Let’s go!

Acts 26:19-23 (NIV)
19  “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.
20  First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
21  That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
22  But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen–
23  that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
 
On verses 19-23:  Paul continues his defense in the presence of King Agrippa, insisting that the message he has been preaching is nothing beyond what the Jewish Scriptures already said would happen.  In other words, Paul was not starting some new sect or religion that departed from the Jewish faith, but rather was preaching what the Jewish Scriptures themselves speak about: that the Christ (Messiah) would die, rise from death and give light to both Jews and Gentiles alike.