For September 3, 2026
Rare And Precious by Greg Holmes, D.MIN – Director of Missions serving 17 churches
EPHESIANS MAY BE THE FIRST of Paul’s four prison epistles, letters he wrote while incarcerated in Rome. More about that in a moment. Earlier, the Judaizers had been trying to find a way to kill him, and while in court before Festus in Caesarea on the northern coast of Israel, it looked like that might happen, as Festus sought to send him to king Agrippa in Jerusalem. Instead, Paul, who was a Roman citizen, said “‘If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!’ After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’” (Acts 25:11-12) So Paul was sent to Rome where he was kept under house arrest. “When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.” (Acts 28:16)