Before leaving Corinth and making his way back to Jerusalem to close out his third missionary journey, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome.

At the end of the book of Acts, Luke recounts how God made use of hurricane winds that blew Paul’s ship some 600 miles off course and shipwrecked him off the tiny, isolated island of Malta in order to spread the message of the gospel (Acts 27:14-28:10).

I met Robert at Dodge Correctional Institution about six months after his arrest for possession and distribution of a small amount of drugs. He came to our Tuesday morning Bible study, and we met for a pastoral visit a little more than a week later. When we met, Robert told me about his family, his life “before prison,” and he also told me about his crime.

After the Bible class had ended, I began gathering up my things to leave when the prison’s chaplain came out of his office. He motioned me over and asked in a hushed voice, “Would you be willing to talk to the inmate in my office? He just found out that his mother passed away and he’s asking to speak with a pastor.” “Sure,” I responded, and followed him back into his office. 

Perry was sentenced to several years in jail.  During his first year, he noticed how some Christian inmates had comfort and peace which he did not have. Wanting this same comfort and peace for himself, he picked up a Bible. Thinking it was just another book, he decided to skip to the end and just read the conclusion. So, in his quest for peace, Perry began reading the book of Revelation. 

On one occasion, a group of Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. In reply, Jesus told them, “The Kingdom of God is not coming in a way you can observe, nor will people say, “Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ because the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21 EHV). Jesus was teaching that the Kingdom of God is spiritual in nature and includes all of his believers of all time.