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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Oliver: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day seven, Week two
.
One day soon afterward, Jesus
went up on a mountain to pray,
and he prayed to God all night.
At daybreak he called together
all of his disciples, and chose
twelve of them to be apostles.
Here are their names.
Simon, whom he named Peter.
Andrew, Peter's brother.
James, John, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James, son of Alpheus.
Simon, who was called the Zealot,
Judas, son of James, Judas
Iscariot, who later betrayed him.
When they came down from the mountain,
the disciples stood with Jesus on a
large level area, surrounded by many
of his followers and by the crowds.
There were people from all over Judea,
and from Jerusalem, and from as far
north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.
They had come to hear Him and to be
healed of their diseases, and those
troubled by evil spirits were healed.
Everyone tried to touch Him,
because healing power went out
from Him, and He healed everyone.
Then Jesus turned to His disciples
and said, God blesses you who are
poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
God blesses you who are hungry
now, for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.
What blessings await you when
people hate you and exclude you,
and mock you and curse you as evil,
because you follow the Son of Man?
When that happens, be happy.
Yes, leap for joy, for a great
reward awaits you in heaven.
And remember, their ancestors treated
the ancient prophets that same way.
What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
What sorrow awaits you who are
fat and prosperous now, for a
time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh
now, for your laughing will
turn to mourning and sorrow.
What sorrow awaits you who are
praised by the crowds, for their
ancestors also praised false prophets.
But to you who are willing to
listen, I say love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who hurt you.
If someone slaps you on one
cheek, offer the other cheek also.
If someone demands your
coat, offer your shirt also.
Give to anyone who asks.
And when things are taken away from
you, don't try to get them back.
Do to others as you would
like them to do to you.
If you love only those who love you,
why should you get credit for that?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good only to those who do
good to you, why should you get credit?
Even sinners do that much.
And if you lend money only to those who
can repay you, why should you get credit?
Even sinners will lend to other
sinners for a full return.
Love your enemies.
Do good to them.
Lend to them without
expecting to be repaid.
Then your reward from heaven will be very
great, and you will truly be acting as
children of the Most High, for He is kind
to those who are unthankful and wicked.
You must be compassionate, just
as your Father is compassionate.
Do not judge others, and
you will not be judged.
Do not condemn others, or it
will all come back against you.
Amen.
Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and you will receive.
Your gift will return to you in
full, pressed down, shaken together
to make room for more, running
over, and poured into your lap.
The amount you give will
determine the amount you get back.
Then Jesus gave the
following illustration.
Can one blind person lead another?
Won't they both fall into a ditch?
Students are not greater than their
teacher, but the student who is fully
trained will become like the teacher.
And why worry about a speck
in your friend's eye when
you have a log in your own?
How can you think of saying, Friend,
let me help you get rid of that
speck in your eye, When you can't
see past the log in your own eye?
Hypocrite.
First get rid of the log in your own
eye, Then you will see well enough to
deal with the speck in your friend's eye.
A good tree can't produce bad fruit,
And a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
A tree is identified by its fruit, figs
are never gathered from thorn bushes, and
grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.
A good person produces good things
from the treasury of a good heart, and
an evil person produces evil things
from the treasury of an evil heart.
What you say flows from
what is in your heart.
So why do you keep calling me, Lord,
Lord, when you don't do what I say?
I will show you what it's like when
someone comes to me, listens to
my teaching, and then follows it.
It is like a person building a
house, who digs deep, and lays
the foundation on solid rock.
When the floodwaters rise and
break against that house, it stands
firm because it is well built.
But anyone who hears, and doesn't obey,
is like a person who builds a house right
on the ground, without a foundation.
When the floods sweep down
against that house, it will
collapse into a heap of ruins.
Oliver: This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.