Monday, October 24, 2016
Acts 4:32 to 5:42
Introduction (1:1-2)Christ's resurrection ministry (1:3-11)The period of waiting for the Holy Spirit (1:12-26)The filling with the Spirit (ch. 2)The healing of the lame man and the resultant arrest of Peter and John (3:1;4:31)- The community of goods (4:32;5:11)
- The arrest of the 12 apostles (5:12-42)
The choice of the Seven (6:1-7)Stephen's arrest and martyrdom (6:8;7:60)The scattering of the Jerusalem believers (8:1-4)Philip's ministry (8:5-40)
Acts 4
32 All the believers were united in heart
and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared
everything they had.
33 The apostles testified powerfully to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them
all.
34 There were no needy people among them,
because those who owned land or houses would sell them
35 and bring the money to the apostles to
give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one
the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was
from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
37 He sold a field he owned and brought the
money to the apostles.
ACTS 5 NLT
1 But there was a certain man named
Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.
2 He brought part of the money to the
apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the
rest.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you
let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of
the money for yourself.
4 The property was yours to sell or not
sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give
away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to
God!”
5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he
fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.
6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him
in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came
in, not knowing what had happened.
8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you
and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the
price.”
9 And Peter said, “How could the two of
you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The
young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will
carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and
died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her
out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear gripped the entire church and
everyone else who heard what had happened.
12 The apostles were performing many
miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were
meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.
13 But no one else dared to join them, even
though all the people had high regard for them.
14 Yet more and more people believed and
were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.
15As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people
were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might
fall across some of them as he went by.
16 Crowds came from the villages around
Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they
were all healed.
17The high priest and his officials, who were
Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
18 They arrested the apostles and put them
in the public jail.
19But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened
the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,
20 “Go to the Temple and give the people
this message of life!”
21 So at daybreak the apostles entered the
Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest
and his officials arrived, they convened the high council —the full assembly of
the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the
jail for trial.
22 But when the Temple guards went to the
jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported,
23 “The jail was securely locked, with the
guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”
24 When the captain of the Temple guard and
the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would
all end.
25 Then someone arrived with startling
news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the
people!”
26 The captain went with his Temple guards
and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the
people would stone them.
27 Then they brought the apostles before
the high council, where the high priest confronted them.
28 “We gave you strict orders never again
to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem
with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his
death!”
29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We
must obey God rather than any human authority.
30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus
from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.
31 Then God put him in the place of honor
at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel
would repent of their sins and be forgiven.
32 We are witnesses of these things and so
is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, the high council
was furious and decided to kill them.
34 But one member, a Pharisee named
Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people,
stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a
while.
35 Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of
Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!
36 Some time ago there was that fellow
Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him,
but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole
movement came to nothing.
37 After him, at the time of the census,
there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed,
too, and all his followers were scattered.
38 “So my advice is, leave these men alone.
Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own,
it will soon be overthrown.
39 But if it is from God, you will not be
able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against
God!”
40 The others accepted his advice. They
called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again
to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.
41 The apostles left the high council rejoicing
that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of
Jesus.
42 And every day, in the Temple and from
house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the
Messiah.”
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Acts 3 to 4:31
Introduction (1:1-2)Christ's resurrection ministry (1:3-11)The period of waiting for the Holy Spirit (1:12-26)The filling with the Spirit (ch. 2)- The healing of the lame man and the resultant arrest of Peter and John (3:1;4:31)
The community of goods (4:32;5:11)The arrest of the 12 apostles (5:12-42)The choice of the Seven (6:1-7)Stephen's arrest and martyrdom (6:8;7:60)The scattering of the Jerusalem believers (8:1-4)Philip's ministry (8:5-40)
ACTS 3 NLT
1 Peter and John went to the Temple one
afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.
2 As they approached the Temple, a man
lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple
gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going
into the Temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to
enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently,
and Peter said, “Look at us!”
5 The lame man looked at them eagerly,
expecting some money.
6But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or
gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, get up and walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the
right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were
instantly healed and strengthened.
8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and
began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the
Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard
him praising God.
10 When they realized he was the lame
beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely
astounded!
11 They all rushed out in amazement to
Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed
the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And
why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or
godliness?
13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus
by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before
Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him.
14 You rejected this holy, righteous one
and instead demanded the release of a murderer.
15 You killed the author of life, but God
raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus,
this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’
name has healed him before your very eyes.
17 “Friends, I realize that what you and
your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.
18 But God was fulfilling what all the
prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things.
19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God,
so that your sins may be wiped away.
20 Then times of refreshment will come from
the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed
Messiah.
21 For he must remain in heaven until the
time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through
his holy prophets.
22 Moses said, ‘The LORD your God will
raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully
to everything he tells you.’
23Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen
to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet
spoke about what is happening today.
25 You are the children of those prophets,
and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God
said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be
blessed.’
26 When God raised up his servant, Jesus,
he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you
back from your sinful ways.”
ACTS 4 NLT
1 While Peter and John were speaking to
the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple
guard, and some of the Sadducees.
2 These leaders were very disturbed that
Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a
resurrection of the dead.
3 They arrested them and, since it was
already evening, put them in jail until morning.
4 But many of the people who heard their
message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men,
not counting women and children.
5 The next day the council of all the
rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.
6 Annas the high priest was there, along
with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.
7 They brought in the two disciples and
demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people,
9 are we being questioned today because
we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was
healed?
10 Let me clearly state to all of you and
to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus
Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the
dead.
11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the
Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become
the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else! God
has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
13 The members of the council were amazed
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were
ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized
them as men who had been with Jesus.
14 But since they could see the man who had
been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council
could say.
15 So they ordered Peter and John out of
the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
16 “What should we do with these men?” they
asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign,
and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
17But to keep them from spreading their
propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name
again.”
18 So they called the apostles back in and
commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you
think God wants us to obey you rather than him?
20 We cannot stop telling about everything
we have seen and heard.”
21 The council then threatened them
further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish
them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of
a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and
John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and
elders had said.
24 When they heard the report, all the
believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign
Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit
through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so
angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26 The kings of the earth prepared for
battle; the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his
Messiah.’
27 “In fact, this has happened here in this
very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and
the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you
anointed.
28 But everything they did was determined
beforehand according to your will.
29 And now, O Lord, hear their
threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your
word.
30 Stretch out your hand with healing
power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy
servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place
shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the
word of God with boldness.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Operation World - Today we are praying for Senegal: Seychelles
Click on this link to get to Operation World.
http://www.operationworld.org/oct21
Today we are praying for Senegal: Seychelles
http://www.operationworld.org/oct21
Today we are praying for Senegal: Seychelles
Acts Chapter 1 and 2
- Introduction (1:1-2)
- Christ's resurrection ministry (1:3-11)
- The period of waiting for the Holy Spirit (1:12-26)
- The filling with the Spirit (ch. 2)
The healing of the lame man and the resultant arrest of Peter and John (3:1;4:31)The community of goods (4:32;5:11)The arrest of the 12 apostles (5:12-42)The choice of the Seven (6:1-7)Stephen's arrest and martyrdom (6:8;7:60)The scattering of the Jerusalem believers (8:1-4)Philip's ministry (8:5-40)
ACTS 1
1 In my first book I told you, Theophilus,
about everything Jesus began to do and teach
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven
after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy
Spirit.
3 During the forty days after he suffered
and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them
in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the
Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he
commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he
promised, as I told you before.
5 John baptized with water, but in just a
few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus,
they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and
restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the
authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
8But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me
everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into
a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.
10 As they strained to see him rising into
heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.
11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are
you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into
heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him
go!”
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem
from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.
13 When they arrived, they went to the
upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those
who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew,
Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of
James).
14 They all met together and were
constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other
women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, when about
120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed
them.
16 “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had
to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was
predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.
17 Judas was one of us and shared in the
ministry with us.”
18 (Judas had bought a field with the money
he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open,
spilling out all his intestines.
19 The news of his death spread to all the
people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name which means
“Field of Blood.”)
20Peter continued, “This was written in the book
of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in
it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’
21 “So now we must choose a replacement for
Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling
with the Lord Jesus—
22 from the time he was baptized by John
until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness
of Jesus’ resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called
Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know
every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen
25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this
ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”
26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was
selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.
ACTS 2
1 On the day of Pentecost all the
believers were meeting together in one place.
2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven
like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were
sitting.
3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues
of fire appeared and settled on each of them.
4 And everyone present was filled with the
Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them
this ability.
5 At that time there were devout Jews from
every nation living in Jerusalem.
6When they heard the loud noise, everyone came
running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by
the believers.
7They were completely amazed. “How can this
be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,
8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own
native languages!
9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites,
people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas
of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism),
Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages
about the wonderful things God has done!”
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed.
“What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them,
saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the
eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you,
fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.
15These people are not drunk, as some of you are
assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that.
16 No, what you see was predicted long ago
by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will
pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your
young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens
above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark, and the moon
will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the LORD
arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of
the LORD will be saved.’
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly
endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs
through him, as you well know.
23 But God knew what would happen, and his
prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of
lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
24 But God released him from the horrors of
death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its
grip.
25 King David said this about him: ‘I see
that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside
me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad, and my
tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the
dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life, and
you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’
29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You
can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died
and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us.
30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God
had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his
throne.
31 David was looking into the future and
speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave
him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we
are all witnesses of this.
33 Now he is exalted to the place of
highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had
promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and
hear today.
34 For David himself never ascended into
heaven, yet he said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at
my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies, making them
a footstool under your feet.”’
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for
certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and
Messiah!”
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and
they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we
do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent
of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
39This promise is to you, to your children, and
to those far away —all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
40 Then Peter continued preaching for a
long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this
crooked generation!”
41 Those who believed what Peter said were
baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
42 All the believers devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including
the Lord’s Supper ), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all,
and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
44 And all the believers met together in
one place and shared everything they had.
45 They sold their property and possessions
and shared the money with those in need.
46 They worshiped together at the Temple
each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great
joy and generosity —
47 all the while praising God and enjoying
the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship
those who were being saved.
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