Bible Passages Bridge: New Testament in a Year

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Acts 11 - Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

July 10
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King James and other versions... [http://bibleabc.net/bible/kjv/act11-1.htm]
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Peter Returns to Jerusalem
11 1The apostles* and the brothers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted
God's teaching too. 2But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers* argued
with him. 3They said, "You went into the homes of people that are not Jews and are
not circumcised* ! You even ate with them!" 4So Peter explained the whole story
to them. 5Peter said, "I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, a vision*
came to me. In the vision I saw something coming down from the sky. It looked like
a big sheet. It was being lowered to the ground by its four corners. It came down
and stopped very close to me. 6I looked inside it. I saw animals, both tame and
wild. I saw animals that crawl and birds that fly in the air. 7I heard a voice say
to me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill any of these animals and eat it!' 8But I said, 'I would
never do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or not pure.' 9But
the voice from the sky answered again, 'God has made these things clean (pure).
Don't call them unholy!' 10This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken
back into the sky. 11Then three men came to the house where I was staying. These
three men were sent to me from the city of Caesarea. 12The Spirit* told me to go
with them without doubting. These six brothers (believers) here also went with me.
We went to the house of Cornelius. 13Cornelius told us about the angel he saw standing
in his house. The angel said to Cornelius, 'Send some men to Joppa. Invite Simon
Peter to come. 14He will speak to you. The things he will say will save you and
all your family.' 15After I began my speech, the Holy Spirit* came on them the
same as he (the Spirit) came on us at the beginning.* 16Then I remembered the words
of the Lord (Jesus). The Lord said, 'John baptized* people in water, but you will
be baptized in the Holy Spirit!' 17God gave to these people the same gift that he
gave to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So could I stop the work of God?
No!" 18When the Jewish believers heard these things, they stopped arguing. They
praised God and said, "So God is allowing the non-Jewish people to change their
hearts and have life the same as us!"

The Good News Comes to Antioch
19The believers were scattered by the persecution* that happened after Stephen was
killed. Some of the believers went to places far away like Phoenicia, Cyprus, and
Antioch. The believers told the Good News* in these places; but they told it only
to Jews. 20Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When these men
came to Antioch, they also spoke to Greeks (non-Jews). They told these Greek people
the Good News about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord was helping the believers. And a
large group of people believed and started following the Lord (Jesus). 22The church
(group of believers) in Jerusalem heard about these new believers [in Antioch].
So the believers in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23-24Barnabas was a good
man. He was full of the Holy Spirit* and full of faith. When Barnabas went to Antioch,
he saw that God had blessed those people very much. This made Barnabas very happy.
He encouraged all the believers in Antioch. He told them, "Never lose your faith.
Always obey the Lord with all your hearts." Many, many people became followers of
the Lord [Jesus]. 25Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus. He was looking for
Saul. 26When he found Saul, Barnabas brought him to Antioch. Saul and Barnabas
stayed there a whole year. Every time the group of believers came together, Saul
and Barnabas met with them and taught many people. In Antioch the followers [of
Jesus] were called "Christians" for the first time. 27About that same time some
prophets* went from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of these prophets was named Agabus.
In Antioch, Agabus stood up and spoke. With the help of the Holy Spirit* he said,
"A very bad time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food for people
to eat." (This time without food happened when Claudius was emperor.* ) 29The believers
decided that they would all try to help their brothers [and sisters] who lived in
Judea. Each believer planned to send them as much as he could. 30They gathered the
money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul. Then Barnabas and Saul brought it to the
elders* in Judea.

Footnotes: apostles The men Jesus chose to be his special helpers. Jewish believers
Literally, "those of circumcision." This may mean Jews who thought that all Christians
must be circumcised and obey the law of Moses (See Gal. 2:12). circumcised To have
the foreskin cut off. This was done to every Jewish baby boy. It was a mark of the
agreement that God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14). vision(s) Something like dreams
used by God to speak to people. Spirit, Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God,
the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, He does God's
work among people in the world. beginning The beginning of the church on the day
of Pentecost. (Read Acts 2). baptized A Greek word meaning to immerse, dip, or
bury a person or thing briefly under water. persecution A time when the Jews were
punishing people that believed in Christ (Acts 8:1-4). Good News, message The news
that God has made a way for people to have their sins forgiven and live with Him
forever. prophets People that spoke for God. emperor The ruler (leader) of the
Roman empire. elders A group of men chosen to lead a church. Also called "overseers"
and "pastors" ("shepherds"), they have the work of caring for God's people (Acts
20:28; Eph. 4:11; Tit. 1:7,9).
"Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: EASY-TO-READ VERSION © 2001 by World Bible Translation
Center, Inc. and used by permission."
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Friday, July 9, 2010

New Testament in a Year - July 10

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