Author: cackywalker@yahoo.com

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“”The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. But when she of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged for yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us a command when He said,

‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’

When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for His message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord’s message spread throughout the region.

Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”” (Acts 13: vv. 44-52, NLT)

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“So Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucid and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.” (Acts 13: vv. 4-5, NLT)

“Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.

On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. After the usual tradings from the Books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.’ (Acts 13: vv. 13-15, NLT)

“”Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believers in Him is declared right with God -something the law of Moses could never do. Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they say, ‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in Your own day, something you wouldn’t believe, even if someone told you about it(Habakkuk 1:15 Greek Version).'”

“As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week. Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.” (Acts 13: vv. 38-43, NLT)

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“For Christ, himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between the Jews and Gentiles by creating Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

He brought us this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” (Ephesians 2: vv 14-18, NLT)

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“The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed, and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me, ” the angel ordered.

So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realized it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent His angel and saved me from Herod and from what the jews leaders had planned to do to me!”

When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. when she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone,” Peter is standing at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison “Tell James and the other brothers what happened, ” he said. And then he went to another place.”” (Acts 12:vv 6-17, NLT)

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“A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart cruise the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge; while the fool feeds on trash. For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. ” (Proverbs 15: 13-15, NLT)

“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” (Proverbs 15: 30, NLT)

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“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who were sent to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles. about the Lord Jesus. The power of the the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And may were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas wen to Tarsus to look for Saul. when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed with the church a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was the church in Antioch that the believers were first called Christians).” (Acts 11, vv. 19-26, NLT)

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“”As I began to speak, ” Peter continued, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?’

When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, ‘We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”” (Acts 11: vv. 15-18, NLT)

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“”Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel – that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began to preach his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”” (Acts 10: vv. 34-38, NLT)

“Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those were were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues, praising God. (Acts 10: vv 44-46, NLT)

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Excerpts from Job, Chapter 38

“”Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind? Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path of the lightning?

Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends the rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew? Who is the mother of ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? For the water turns as hard as a rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

Can you direct the movement of the stars – binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? And who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods? “” (Job 38: vv. 24-38, NLT)

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“But believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Phillip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Phillip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”

(Acts 8: vv4 -8, NLT)