Good morning. And Paul was with them, moving about freely in
Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. He was talking and
arguing with the Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jews; but they were attempting to
put him to death. Sometimes people have a violent reaction when they are
confronted with truth that goes against things they have believed all their
lives. But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea
and sent him away to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and
Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear the Lord and in
the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they continued to increase. The last sentence
makes you wonder did they send Paul away to protect him or so that he would
stop stirring up trouble where they lived? Now that Paul is out of the scene,
the book of Acts shifts emphasis. As Peter was traveling throughout all those
regions, he came down to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man
who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. Jesus Christ heals
you; get up and make your bed. Immediately he got up. It seems strange that
Peter would tell him to make his bed. I don’t know why; but it is possible that
as long as the bed was unmade it indicated the possibility that the paralysis
could return, and he could go back and lay down. All those who lived in the
area saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Besides bringing healing to
believers, miracles also opened the door for people to come to the Lord. Father
help this to be a life-changing day for the reader. Bring miracles to him/her
and his/her family.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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