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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!
Samantha: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day fifteen, Week three
.
meanwhile, Peter traveled from place
to place and he came down to visit
the believers in the town of Lydda.
There, he met a man named
Aeneas, who had been paralyzed
and bedridden for eight years.
Peter said to him, Aeneas,
Jesus Christ heals you.
get up, and roll up your sleeping mat.
And he was healed instantly.
Then the whole population of Litta
and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around.
And they turned to the Lord.
There was a believer in Joppa named
Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.
She was always doing kind things
for others and helping the poor.
About this time, she became ill and died.
Her body was washed for burial
and laid in an upstairs room.
But the believers had heard that Peter was
nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to
beg him, please come as soon as possible.
So Peter returned with them.
And as soon as he arrived, they
took him to the upstairs room.
The room was filled with widows who were
weeping and showing him the coats and
other clothes Dorcas had made for them.
But Peter asked them
all to leave the room.
Then he knelt and prayed.
Turning to the body, he
said, Get up, Tabitha.
And she opened her eyes.
When she saw Peter, she sat up.
He gave her his hand and helped her up.
Then he called in the widows
and all the believers, and he
presented her to them alive.
The news spread through the whole
town, and many believed in the Lord.
And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa,
living with Simon, a tanner of hides.
In Caesarea, there lived a Roman
army officer named Cornelius.
Who was a captain of the Italian regiment.
He was a devout God-fearing man.
As was everyone in his household.
He gave generously to the poor
and prayed regularly to God.
One afternoon, about three o'clock,
he had a vision in which he saw
an angel of God coming toward him.
Cornelius, the angel said.
Cornelius stared at him in terror.
What is it, sir?
he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, Your prayers
and gifts to the poor have been
received by God as an offering.
Now send some men to Joppa and
summon a man named Simon Peter.
He is staying with Simon, a tanner
who lives near the seashore.
As soon as the angel was gone,
Cornelius called two of his household
servants and a devout soldier,
one of his personal attendants.
He told them what had happened
and sent them off to Joppa.
The next day, as Cornelius messengers
were nearing the town, Peter
went up on the flat roof to pray.
It was about noon, and he was
hungry, but while a meal was being
prepared, he fell into a trance.
He saw the sky open, and
something like a large sheet was
let down by its four corners.
In the sheet were all sorts of
animals, reptiles, and birds.
Then a voice said to him, Get up, Peter.
Kill and eat them.
No, Lord, Peter declared.
I have never eaten anything
that our Jewish laws have
declared impure and unclean.
But the voice spoke again.
Do not call something unclean,
if God has made it clean.
The same vision was repeated three times.
Then the sheet was suddenly
pulled up to heaven.
Peter was very perplexed.
What could the vision mean?
Just then, the men sent by
Cornelius found Simon's house.
Standing outside the gate, they asked if
a man named Simon Peter was staying there.
Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over
the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him,
Three men have come looking for you.
Get up, go downstairs, and go
with them without hesitation.
Don't worry, for I have sent them.
So Peter went down and said,
I'm the men you're looking for.
Why have you come?
They said, We were sent by
Cornelius, a Roman officer.
He is a devout and God fearing man
well respected by all the Jews.
A holy angel instructed him
to summon you to his house so
that he can hear your message.
So Peter invited the men
to stay for the night.
The next day he went with
them, accompanied by some
of the brothers from Joppa.
They arrived in Caesarea
the following day.
Cornelius was waiting for them
and had called together his
relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered his home, Cornelius
fell at his feet and worshipped him.
But Peter pulled him up and said, Stand
up, I'm a human being just like you.
So they talked together and went inside,
where many others were assembled.
Peter told them, You know it is
against our laws for a Jewish
man to enter a Gentile home like
this, or to associate with you.
But God has shown me that
I should no longer think of
anyone as impure or unclean.
So I came without objection
as soon as I was sent for.
Now, tell me why you sent for me.
Cornelius replied, Four days ago, I
was praying in my house about this same
time, three o'clock in the afternoon.
Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes
was standing in front of me.
He told me, Cornelius, your prayer
has been heard, and your gifts to
the poor have been noticed by God.
Now send messengers to Joppa.
And summon a man named Simon Peter.
He is staying in the home of Simon,
a tanner who lives near the seashore.
So I sent for you at once, and
it was good of you to come.
Now we are all here, waiting before God to
hear the message the Lord has given you.
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
preaching 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, and we
apostles are witnesses of all he did
throughout Judea and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging
him on a cross, but God raised
him to life on the third day.
Then God allowed him to appear, not to
the general public, but to us, whom God
had chosen in advance to be his witnesses.
We were those who ate and drank with
him after he rose from the dead.
And he ordered us to preach everywhere
and to testify that Jesus is the
one appointed by God to be the judge
of all, the living and the dead.
He is the one all the prophets
testified about, saying that everyone
who believes in him will have their
sins forgiven through his name.
Even as Peter was saying these
things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all
who 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 and praising God.
Then Peter asked, Can anyone object to
their being baptized, now that they have
received the Holy Spirit, just as we did?
So he gave orders for them to be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Afterward, Cornelius asked him to
stay with them for several days.
Soon the news reached the apostles
and other believers in Judea that the
Gentiles had received the Word of God.
But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem,
the Jewish believers criticized him.
You entered the home of Gentiles
and even ate with them, they said.
Then Peter told them
exactly what had happened.
I was in the town of Joppa, he said,
and while I was praying, I went
into a trance and saw a vision.
Something like a large sheet was let
down by its four corners from the
sky, and it came right down to me.
When I looked inside the sheet,
I saw all sorts of tame and wild
animals, reptiles, and birds.
And I heard a voice say, Get up, Peter.
Kill and eat them.
No, Lord, I replied.
I have never eaten anything
that our Jewish laws have
declared impure or unclean.
But the voice from heaven spoke again.
Do not call something unclean
if God has made it clean.
This happened three times before
the sheet and all it contained
was pulled back up to heaven.
Just then, Caesarea arrived at
the house where we were staying.
The Holy Spirit told me to go with them.
And not to worry that they were Gentiles.
These six brothers here accompanied
me, and we soon entered the home
of the man who had sent for us.
He told us how an angel had appeared
to him in his home and had told
him send messengers to Joppa and
summon a man named Simon Peter.
He will tell you how you and everyone
in your household can be saved.
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.
This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.