Oh Lord Jesus!!!!! All my desire is before thee!!!! My soul followeth hard after thee!!!!! Unto you do I lift up my soul!!!!!! Say unto my soul, "I am thy salvation"!!!!! Great is thy faithfulness!!!!
We all love to hear about prayer but fail to live that kind of life. Why? Because we are to content to live our life without prayer. reasons why people dont pray. 1. They dont believe God will answer their prayers. 2. They dont see the need for much prayer only a few words. 3. They dont desire it. You do what you desire to do dont you? 4. If people who pray are living right and they dont pray they dont see how powerful their prayers can be when prayed against the devil. 5. When people have just about everything they want they see no need to pray they dont see their need for to much of God after all they have what they want why pray. 6. Selfishness. If people had a real love for others it wouldnt be so hard to pray Jesus prayed much because of the needs of the Lost world. What if He had not prayed? Running around as a Christian without prayer is like driving a car on empty it isn't going far. And we wont either. We are kidding our selves when we dont pray. Dont expect to pray for the sick and they be heal when you wont pray. Satan has nothing to worry about when you get out of bed in the morning if you dont pray. He wishes everybody was like those Christians who dont pray. He can get more done. How many of you so called Christians knows what its like to spend a night in prayer with the Lord. You should try it. There is just something about spending the night with the Lord in Prayer. .You know whats sad when you go to a Church at anytime to pray and no one shows up by you. People dont want to pray. And we all wonder why we have such a hard time. Well if you dont pray satan is going to ride you thru the day and night.
I am so grateful for this, I really love D L Moody. I love his teachings so simple and heartily following the Bible. I use to read so much but my eyes get tired so know I read the Bible and listen to these audio books while I go to bed. Thank you for doing such a great job.
Greetings to all saints!!! Grace and Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!!! My request is to pray for my family members. For Samira and Constantine🙏🙏🙏 I ask the Heavenly Father for healing touch of Christ Jesus🙏 Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for Your Great Love for us and for Your Precious Blood shed on the Cross✝️ Thank you Lord Jesus for Your Holy Spirit dwelling in us, for Your wisdom and for Your abundant blessings!😇🥰🌺❣🎶😇💞🙏❣❣🌺💞 Amen❤
I need My savior so much in my life , I am lost at times and I seek not to be lost at any time and keep the love I feel when I hold my grand baby girl an I ask our Lord to keep and bless her when I do this I become so joyful and thank the Lord for all I have I'm poor buy standards of this world but rich with that love an I wish to receive more of every day of my life hear so I may continue when punishment for my sins is here and I then may serve our Father , in heaven , I need friends in Oregon , U,S,A, that may feel they can help me , too be a better person day buy day please , thank you too who may pray for my soul and my our god love and keep you,
New Testament prayer answered Acts 10: 44-45 The VOICE
Peter wasn’t planning to stop at this point, but the Holy Spirit suddenly interrupted and came upon all the people who were listening.
45-46 They began speaking in foreign languages (just as the Jewish disciples did on the Day of Pentecost), and their hearts overflowed in joyful praises to God.
Peter’s friends from Joppa—all of them Jewish, all circumcised—were stunned to see that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on outsiders.
Acts 10: 7-17 The VOICE Response to Cornelius'' vision
7 After the messenger departed, Cornelius immediately called two of his slaves and a soldier under his command—an especially devout soldier.
8 He told them the whole story and sent them to Joppa.
9 Just as these men were nearing Joppa about noon the next day, Peter went up on the flat rooftop of Simon the tanner’s house.
He planned to pray, 10 but he soon grew hungry.
While his lunch was being prepared, Peter had a vision of his own—a vision that linked his present hunger with what was about to happen:
11 A rift opened in the sky, and a wide container—something like a huge sheet suspended by its four corners—descended through the torn opening toward the ground.
12 This container teemed with four-footed animals, creatures that crawl, and birds—pigs, bats, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and vultures.
A Voice: 13 Get up, Peter! Kill! Eat!
Peter: 14 No way, Lord! These animals are forbidden in the dietary laws of the Hebrew Scriptures! I’ve never eaten nonkosher foods like these before—not once in my life!
A Voice: 15 If God calls something permissible and clean, you must not call it forbidden and dirty!
16 Peter saw this vision three times; but the third time, the container of animals flew up through the rift in the sky, the rift healed,
17 and Peter was confused and unsettled as he tried to make sense of this strange vision.
At that very moment, Peter heard the voices of Cornelius’s delegation, who had asked for directions to Simon’s house, coming from the front gate.
Acts 10: 18-23 The VOICE Cornelius' delegation meets Peter
Delegation: 18 Is there a man named Simon, also called Peter, staying at this house?
19-20 Peter’s mind was still racing about the vision when the voice of the Holy Spirit broke through his churning thoughts.
Holy Spirit: The three men who are searching for you have been sent by Me. So get up! Go with them. Don’t hesitate or argue.
21 Peter rushed downstairs to the men.
Peter: I’m the one you’re seeking. Can you tell me why you’ve come?
Delegation: 22 We’ve been sent by our commander and master, Cornelius. He is a Centurion, and he is a good, honest man who worships your God.
All the Jewish people speak well of him. A holy messenger told him to send for you, so you would come to his home and he could hear your message.
23 Peter extended hospitality to them and gave them lodging overnight. When they departed together the next morning, Peter brought some believers from Joppa.
Acts 10: 24-48 The VOICE The true gospel is becoming increasingly clear as the church spreads and develops.
Peter meets Cornelius
24 They arrived in Caesarea the next afternoon just before three o’clock.
Cornelius had anticipated their arrival and had assembled his relatives and close friends to welcome them.
25 When Peter and Cornelius met, Cornelius fell at Peter’s feet in worship,
26 but Peter helped him up.
Peter: Stand up, man! I am just a human being!
27 They talked and entered the house to meet the whole crowd inside.
Peter: 28 You know I am a Jew. We Jews consider it a breach of divine law to associate, much less share hospitality, with outsiders.
But God has shown me something in recent days: I should no longer consider any human beneath me or unclean.
29 That’s why I made no objection when you invited me; rather, I came willingly. Now let me hear the story of why you invited me here.
Cornelius: 30 It was about this time of day four days ago when I was here, in my house, praying the customary midafternoon prayer.
Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere. His clothes were dazzling white, and he stood directly in front of me
31 and addressed me: “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your kindness to the poor has been noticed by God.
32 God wants you to find a man in Joppa, Simon who is also called Peter, who is staying at the home of a tanner named Simon, near the seaside.”
33 I wasted no time, did just as I was told, and you have generously accepted my invitation.
So here we are, in the presence of God, ready to take in all that the Lord has told you to tell us.
Peter: 34 It is clear to me now that God plays no favorites,
35 that God accepts every person whatever his or her culture or ethnic background, that God welcomes all who revere Him and do right.
36 You already know that God sent a message to the people of Israel; it was a message of peace, peace through Jesus the Anointed—who is King of all people.
37 You know this message spread through Judea, beginning in Galilee where John called people to be ritually cleansed through baptism.
38 You know God identified Jesus as the uniquely chosen One by pouring out the Holy Spirit on Him, by empowering Him.
You know Jesus went through the land doing good for all and healing all who were suffering under the oppression of the evil one, for God was with Him.
39 My friends and I stand as witnesses to all Jesus did in the region of Judea and the city of Jerusalem.
The people of our capital city killed Him by hanging Him on a tree,
40 but God raised Him up on the third day and made it possible for us to see Him.
41 Not everyone was granted this privilege, only those of us whom God chose as witnesses.
We actually ate and drank with Him after His resurrection.
42 He told us to spread His message to everyone and to tell them that He is the One whom God has chosen to be Judge, to make a just assessment of all people—both living and dead.
43 All the prophets tell us about Him and assert that every person who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name.
What happens that day in Caesarea changes the face of Christianity forever. It builds a bridge from Jews to Gentiles, from insiders to outsiders, and sends the community of Jesus on a journey beyond the kind of religious and cultural barriers that all people erect.
Through Peter’s short trip, the church makes an important journey toward reaching the ends of the earth because the message of Jesus is not for the Jews alone but for all people of all time.
This is a hard lesson, and not everyone is eager to learn it.
44 Peter wasn’t planning to stop at this point, but the Holy Spirit suddenly interrupted and came upon all the people who were listening.
45-46 They began speaking in foreign languages (just as the Jewish disciples did on the Day of Pentecost), and their hearts overflowed in joyful praises to God. Peter’s friends from Joppa—all of them Jewish, all circumcised—were stunned to see that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on outsiders.
Peter: 47 Can anyone give any good reason not to ceremonially wash these people through baptism as fellow disciples?
After all, it’s obvious they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did on the Day of Pentecost.
48 So he had them baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
The new disciples asked him to stay for several more days.
Christ prays at his baptism Luke 3: 21-23 The VOICE
21 But before John’s imprisonment, when he was still preaching and ritually cleansing through baptism the people in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to him to be baptized.
As Jesus prayed, the heavens opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven.
Voice from Heaven: You are My Son, the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.
What does it mean for Jesus to be baptized by John?
If John’s baptism symbolizes a rejection of the religious establishment centered in the temple in Jerusalem, then Jesus’ baptism by John symbolizes that He is aligned with this radical preacher.
Jesus isn’t simply coming to strengthen or even renew the centers of power. Instead, He is joining John at the margins to be part of something wild and new that God is doing.
And the vivid manifestation of God’s pleasure—the dovelike appearance and the voice from heaven—suggests that even though Jesus is in a sense aligning Himself with John, John is simply the opening act and Jesus is the main attraction.
The choreography between John’s work and Jesus’ work continues, but from this point on, Jesus is in the center of the story.
23 At this, the launch of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old
Luke 9: 28-45 The VOICE In this section of Luke, Jesus is working hard with the disciples.
They have a lot to learn and not much time left to learn it. But their “not-getting-it factor” is quite amazing.
Luke’s tone betrays him shaking his head and chuckling as he writes, thinking about how foolish the disciples can be at times.
And, of course, he’s probably thinking of himself too . . . just as he hopes his readers will when they read about the stupid things the disciples say and do—one moment seeing and hearing glorious things, the next moment missing the point entirely.
28 Those words had about eight days to settle in with the disciples. Then, once again, Jesus went away to pray.
This time He took along only Peter, John, and James.
They climbed a mountainside and came to a place of solitude.
29-32 Jesus began to pray and the disciples tried to stay awake, but their eyes grew heavier and heavier and finally they all fell asleep.
When they awakened, they looked over at Jesus and saw something inexplicable happening.
Jesus was changing before their eyes, beginning with His face.
It seemed to glow. The glow spread, and even His clothing took on a blinding whiteness.
Then, two figures appeared in the glorious radiance emanating from Jesus.
The three disciples somehow knew that these figures were Moses and Elijah.
Peter, James, and John overheard the conversation that took place among Jesus, Moses, and Elijah—a conversation that centered on Jesus’ “departure” and how He would accomplish this departure from the capital city, Jerusalem.
33 The glow began to fade, and it was clear that Moses and Elijah were about to disappear.
Peter (to Jesus): Please, Master, it is good for us to be here and see this.
Can we make three structures—one to honor You, one to honor Moses, and one to honor Elijah, to try to capture what’s happening here?
Peter had no idea what he was saying.
34 While he spoke a cloud descended, and they were enveloped in it, and fear fell on them.
35 Then a voice came out of everywhere and nowhere at once.
Voice from Heaven: This is My Son![ This is the One I have chosen! Listen to Him!
36 Then the voice was silent, the cloud disappeared, and Moses and Elijah were gone.
Peter, James, and John were left speechless, stunned, staring at Jesus who now stood before them alone.
For a long time, they did not say a word about this whole experience.
37 They came down the mountain, and the next day yet another huge crowd gathered around Jesus.
There was a man in the crowd who shouted out.
Man in Crowd: 38 Teacher! Please come and look at my son here, my only child.
39 From time to time, a demonic spirit seizes him. It makes him scream and go into convulsions.
He foams at the mouth. It nearly destroys him and only leaves after causing him great distress.
40 While You were up on the mountain, I begged Your disciples to liberate him from this spirit, but they were incapable of helping us.
Jesus: 41 O generation faithless, twisted, and crooked, how long can I be with you? How much can I bear? Bring your boy here.
42 The boy had taken a few steps toward Jesus when suddenly the demon seemed to rip into the boy, throwing him into convulsions.
Jesus spoke sternly to the demonic spirit, and the boy was healed. Jesus presented the boy to his father.
43 The crowd began cheering and discussing this amazing healing and the power of God, but Jesus turned to His disciples.
Jesus: 44 Listen. Listen hard. Let these words get down deep: the Son of Man is going to be turned over to the authorities and arrested.
45 They had no idea what He meant by this; they heard the words but missed the meaning, and they felt too afraid to ask Him to explain further.
Luke 16 The VOICE Jesus explains why the Pharisees could not baptize Cornelius.
You can't serve two masters.
The parable ends. Jesus never reveals how it came out.
Did the older brother join the party and reconcile with his younger, wayward brother?
Or did he stay outside, fuming over the seeming injustice of his father’s extravagant love?
The story remains unresolved because it is, in fact, an invitation—an invitation to the Pharisees and other opponents of Jesus to join Him in welcoming sinners and other outsiders into the joyful party of the Kingdom.
16 Here’s a parable He told the disciples:
Jesus: Once there was a rich and powerful man who had an asset manager.
One day, the man received word that his asset manager was squandering his assets.
2 The rich man brought in the asset manager and said, “You’ve been accused of wrongdoing. I want a full and accurate accounting of all your financial transactions because you are really close to being fired.”
3 The manager said to himself, “Oh, no! Now what am I going to do? I’m going to lose my job here, and I’m too weak to dig ditches and too proud to beg.
4 I have an idea. This plan will mean that I have a lot of hospitable friends when I get fired.”
5 So the asset manager set up appointments with each person who owed his master money.
He said to the first debtor, “How much do you owe my boss?”
6 The debtor replied, “A hundred barrels[a] of oil.”
The manager said, “I’m discounting your bill by half. Just write 50 on this contract.”
7 Then he said to the second debtor, “How much do you owe?”
This fellow said, “A hundred bales of wheat.
” The manager said, “I’m discounting your debt by 20 percent. Just write down 80 bales on this contract.”
8 When the manager’s boss realized what he had done, he congratulated him for at least being clever.
That’s how it is: those attuned to this evil age are more clever in dealing with their affairs than the enlightened are in dealing with their affairs!
9 Learn some lessons from this crooked but clever asset manager.
Realize that the purpose of money is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind.
Eventually money will be useless to you—but if you use it generously to serve others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination.
10 If you’re faithful in small-scale matters, you’ll be faithful with far bigger responsibilities.
If you’re crooked in small responsibilities, you’ll be no different in bigger things.
11 If you can’t even handle a small thing like money, who’s going to entrust you with spiritual riches that really matter?
12 If you don’t manage well someone else’s assets that are entrusted to you, who’s going to give over to you important spiritual and personal relationships to manage?
13 Imagine you’re a servant and you have two masters giving you orders.
What are you going to do when they have conflicting demands?
You can’t serve both, so you’ll either hate the first and love the second, or you’ll faithfully serve the first and despise the second.
One master is God and the other is money. You can’t serve them both.
14 The Pharisees overheard all this, and they started mocking Jesus because they really loved money.
Jesus (to the Pharisees): 15 You’ve made your choice. Your ambition is to look good in front of other people, not God.
But God sees through to your hearts. He values things differently from you. The goals you and your peers are reaching for God detests.
16 The law and the prophets had their role until the coming of John the Baptist.
Since John’s arrival, the good news of the kingdom of God has been taught while people are clamoring to enter it.
17 That’s not to say that God’s rules for living are useless.
The stars in the sky and the earth beneath your feet will pass away before one letter of God’s rules for living become worthless.
18 Take God’s rules regarding marriage for example.
If a man divorces his wife and marries somebody else, then it’s still adultery because that man has broken his vow to God.
And if a man marries a woman divorced from her husband, he’s committing adultery for the same reason.
19 There was this rich man who had everything—purple clothing of fine quality and high fashion, gourmet meals every day, and a large house.
20 Just outside his front gate lay this poor homeless fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered in ugly skin lesions.
21 He was so hungry he wished he could scavenge scraps from the rich man’s trash. Dogs would come and lick the sores on his skin.
22 The poor fellow died and was carried on the arms of the heavenly messengers to the embrace of Abraham.
Then the rich fellow died and was buried.
23 and found himself in the place of the dead. In his torment, he looked up, and off in the distance he saw Abraham, with Lazarus in his embrace.
24 He shouted out, “Father Abraham! Please show me mercy! Would you send that beggar Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water and cool my tongue? These flames are hot, and I’m in agony!”
25 But Abraham said, “Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain.
So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony.
26 Besides, a great canyon separates you and us.
Nobody can cross over from our side to yours, or from your side to ours.”
27 “Please, Father Abraham, I beg you,” the formerly rich man continued, “send Lazarus to my father’s house.
28 I have five brothers there, and they’re on the same path I was on. If Lazarus warns them, they’ll choose another path and won’t end up here in torment.”
29 But Abraham said, “Why send Lazarus? They already have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to instruct them. Let your brothers hear them.”
30 “No, Father Abraham,” he said, “they’re already ignoring the law and the prophets.
But if someone came back from the dead, then they’d listen for sure; then they’d change their way of life.”
31 Abraham answered, “If they’re not listening to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead.”
Thanks to Moody Audio Bible 🙏❤️
Thanks to Dwight L Moody for Audio Bible video. I can’t stop listening and learning 🙏😊
Amen
Oh Lord Jesus!!!!! All my desire is before thee!!!! My soul followeth hard after thee!!!!! Unto you do I lift up my soul!!!!!! Say unto my soul, "I am thy salvation"!!!!! Great is thy faithfulness!!!!
Thank you very much for this wonderful information. I am in the process of building my pray life. This is s great help thank you again
We all love to hear about prayer but fail to live that kind of life. Why? Because we are to content to live our life without prayer. reasons why people dont pray. 1. They dont believe God will answer their prayers. 2. They dont see the need for much prayer only a few words. 3. They dont desire it. You do what you desire to do dont you? 4. If people who pray are living right and they dont pray they dont see how powerful their prayers can be when prayed against the devil. 5. When people have just about everything they want they see no need to pray they dont see their need for to much of God after all they have what they want why pray. 6. Selfishness. If people had a real love for others it wouldnt be so hard to pray Jesus prayed much because of the needs of the Lost world. What if He had not prayed? Running around as a Christian without prayer is like driving a car on empty it isn't going far. And we wont either. We are kidding our selves when we dont pray. Dont expect to pray for the sick and they be heal when you wont pray. Satan has nothing to worry about when you get out of bed in the morning if you dont pray. He wishes everybody was like those Christians who dont pray. He can get more done. How many of you so called Christians knows what its like to spend a night in prayer with the Lord. You should try it. There is just something about spending the night with the Lord in Prayer. .You know whats sad when you go to a Church at anytime to pray and no one shows up by you. People dont want to pray. And we all wonder why we have such a hard time. Well if you dont pray satan is going to ride you thru the day and night.
I am so grateful for this, I really love D L Moody. I love his teachings so simple and heartily following the Bible. I use to read so much but my eyes get tired so know I read the Bible and listen to these audio books while I go to bed. Thank you for doing such a great job.
Greetings to all saints!!!
Grace and Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!!!
My request is to pray for my family members. For Samira and Constantine🙏🙏🙏
I ask the Heavenly Father for healing touch of Christ Jesus🙏
Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for Your Great Love for us and for Your Precious Blood shed on the Cross✝️
Thank you Lord Jesus for Your Holy Spirit dwelling in us, for Your wisdom and for Your abundant blessings!😇🥰🌺❣🎶😇💞🙏❣❣🌺💞
Amen❤
Hey I bless you in Jesus name and i just want to say whatever you do don't stop sharing these books it work 🙏🏿
THIS IS GOOD..
I need My savior so much in my life , I am lost at times and I seek not to be lost at any time and keep the love I feel when I hold my grand baby girl an I ask our Lord to keep and bless her when I do this I become so joyful and thank the Lord for all I have I'm poor buy standards of this world but rich with that love an I wish to receive more of every day of my life hear so I may continue when punishment for my sins is here and I then may serve our Father , in heaven , I need friends in Oregon , U,S,A, that may feel they can help me , too be a better person day buy day please , thank you too who may pray for my soul and my our god love and keep you,
Joseph Fish on F,B
Prayer works!
Amen. Lord teach us how to pray.
See the chapter links embedded in the video description to navigate this audiobook.
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What a rich resource! Thank you for providing these recordings!
Thank you
Thank you God Bless
New Testament prayer answered
Acts 10: 44-45 The VOICE
Peter wasn’t planning to stop at this point, but the Holy Spirit suddenly interrupted and came upon all the people who were listening.
45-46 They began speaking in foreign languages (just as the Jewish disciples did on the Day of Pentecost), and their hearts overflowed in joyful praises to God.
Peter’s friends from Joppa—all of them Jewish, all circumcised—were stunned to see that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on outsiders.
Old Testament prayer
Daniel 9: 23
Acts 10: 2-6 The VOICE
Cornelius practiced constant prayer to God
Cornelius was an outsider, but he was a devout man—a God-fearing fellow with a God-fearing family.
He consistently and generously gave to the poor, and he practiced constant prayer to God.
3 About three o’clock one afternoon, he had a vision of a messenger of God.
Messenger of God: Cornelius!
Cornelius (terrified):
4 What is it, sir?
Messenger of God:
God has heard your prayers, and He has seen your kindness to the poor.
God has taken notice of you.
5-6 Send men south to Joppa, to the house of a tanner named Simon.
Ask to speak to a guest of his named Simon, but also called Peter.
You’ll find this house near the waterfront.
Acts 10: 7-17 The VOICE
Response to Cornelius'' vision
7 After the messenger departed, Cornelius immediately called two of his slaves and a soldier under his command—an especially devout soldier.
8 He told them the whole story and sent them to Joppa.
9 Just as these men were nearing Joppa about noon the next day, Peter went up on the flat rooftop of Simon the tanner’s house.
He planned to pray, 10 but he soon grew hungry.
While his lunch was being prepared, Peter had a vision of his own—a vision that linked his present hunger with what was about to happen:
11 A rift opened in the sky, and a wide container—something like a huge sheet suspended by its four corners—descended through the torn opening toward the ground.
12 This container teemed with four-footed animals, creatures that crawl, and birds—pigs, bats, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and vultures.
A Voice: 13 Get up, Peter! Kill! Eat!
Peter: 14 No way, Lord! These animals are forbidden in the dietary laws of the Hebrew Scriptures! I’ve never eaten nonkosher foods like these before—not once in my life!
A Voice: 15 If God calls something permissible and clean, you must not call it forbidden and dirty!
16 Peter saw this vision three times; but the third time, the container of animals flew up through the rift in the sky, the rift healed,
17 and Peter was confused and unsettled as he tried to make sense of this strange vision.
At that very moment, Peter heard the voices of Cornelius’s delegation, who had asked for directions to Simon’s house, coming from the front gate.
Acts 10: 18-23 The VOICE
Cornelius' delegation meets Peter
Delegation: 18 Is there a man named Simon, also called Peter, staying at this house?
19-20 Peter’s mind was still racing about the vision when the voice of the Holy Spirit broke through his churning thoughts.
Holy Spirit: The three men who are searching for you have been sent by Me. So get up! Go with them. Don’t hesitate or argue.
21 Peter rushed downstairs to the men.
Peter: I’m the one you’re seeking. Can you tell me why you’ve come?
Delegation: 22 We’ve been sent by our commander and master, Cornelius. He is a Centurion, and he is a good, honest man who worships your God.
All the Jewish people speak well of him. A holy messenger told him to send for you, so you would come to his home and he could hear your message.
23 Peter extended hospitality to them and gave them lodging overnight. When they departed together the next morning, Peter brought some believers from Joppa.
Acts 10: 24-48 The VOICE
The true gospel is becoming increasingly clear as the church spreads and develops.
Peter meets Cornelius
24 They arrived in Caesarea the next afternoon just before three o’clock.
Cornelius had anticipated their arrival and had assembled his relatives and close friends to welcome them.
25 When Peter and Cornelius met, Cornelius fell at Peter’s feet in worship,
26 but Peter helped him up.
Peter: Stand up, man! I am just a human being!
27 They talked and entered the house to meet the whole crowd inside.
Peter: 28 You know I am a Jew. We Jews consider it a breach of divine law to associate, much less share hospitality, with outsiders.
But God has shown me something in recent days: I should no longer consider any human beneath me or unclean.
29 That’s why I made no objection when you invited me; rather, I came willingly. Now let me hear the story of why you invited me here.
Cornelius: 30 It was about this time of day four days ago when I was here, in my house, praying the customary midafternoon prayer.
Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere. His clothes were dazzling white, and he stood directly in front of me
31 and addressed me: “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your kindness to the poor has been noticed by God.
32 God wants you to find a man in Joppa, Simon who is also called Peter, who is staying at the home of a tanner named Simon, near the seaside.”
33 I wasted no time, did just as I was told, and you have generously accepted my invitation.
So here we are, in the presence of God, ready to take in all that the Lord has told you to tell us.
Peter: 34 It is clear to me now that God plays no favorites,
35 that God accepts every person whatever his or her culture or ethnic background, that God welcomes all who revere Him and do right.
36 You already know that God sent a message to the people of Israel; it was a message of peace, peace through Jesus the Anointed—who is King of all people.
37 You know this message spread through Judea, beginning in Galilee where John called people to be ritually cleansed through baptism.
38 You know God identified Jesus as the uniquely chosen One by pouring out the Holy Spirit on Him, by empowering Him.
You know Jesus went through the land doing good for all and healing all who were suffering under the oppression of the evil one, for God was with Him.
39 My friends and I stand as witnesses to all Jesus did in the region of Judea and the city of Jerusalem.
The people of our capital city killed Him by hanging Him on a tree,
40 but God raised Him up on the third day and made it possible for us to see Him.
41 Not everyone was granted this privilege, only those of us whom God chose as witnesses.
We actually ate and drank with Him after His resurrection.
42 He told us to spread His message to everyone and to tell them that He is the One whom God has chosen to be Judge, to make a just assessment of all people—both living and dead.
43 All the prophets tell us about Him and assert that every person who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name.
What happens that day in Caesarea changes the face of Christianity forever. It builds a bridge from Jews to Gentiles, from insiders to outsiders, and sends the community of Jesus on a journey beyond the kind of religious and cultural barriers that all people erect.
Through Peter’s short trip, the church makes an important journey toward reaching the ends of the earth because the message of Jesus is not for the Jews alone but for all people of all time.
This is a hard lesson, and not everyone is eager to learn it.
44 Peter wasn’t planning to stop at this point, but the Holy Spirit suddenly interrupted and came upon all the people who were listening.
45-46 They began speaking in foreign languages (just as the Jewish disciples did on the Day of Pentecost), and their hearts overflowed in joyful praises to God. Peter’s friends from Joppa—all of them Jewish, all circumcised—were stunned to see that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on outsiders.
Peter: 47 Can anyone give any good reason not to ceremonially wash these people through baptism as fellow disciples?
After all, it’s obvious they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did on the Day of Pentecost.
48 So he had them baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
The new disciples asked him to stay for several more days.
Christ prays at his baptism
Luke 3: 21-23 The VOICE
21 But before John’s imprisonment, when he was still preaching and ritually cleansing through baptism the people in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to him to be baptized.
As Jesus prayed, the heavens opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven.
Voice from Heaven: You are My Son, the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.
What does it mean for Jesus to be baptized by John?
If John’s baptism symbolizes a rejection of the religious establishment centered in the temple in Jerusalem, then Jesus’ baptism by John symbolizes that He is aligned with this radical preacher.
Jesus isn’t simply coming to strengthen or even renew the centers of power. Instead, He is joining John at the margins to be part of something wild and new that God is doing.
And the vivid manifestation of God’s pleasure—the dovelike appearance and the voice from heaven—suggests that even though Jesus is in a sense aligning Himself with John, John is simply the opening act and Jesus is the main attraction.
The choreography between John’s work and Jesus’ work continues, but from this point on, Jesus is in the center of the story.
23 At this, the launch of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old
Luke 9: 28-45 The VOICE
In this section of Luke, Jesus is working hard with the disciples.
They have a lot to learn and not much time left to learn it. But their “not-getting-it factor” is quite amazing.
Luke’s tone betrays him shaking his head and chuckling as he writes, thinking about how foolish the disciples can be at times.
And, of course, he’s probably thinking of himself too . . . just as he hopes his readers will when they read about the stupid things the disciples say and do—one moment seeing and hearing glorious things, the next moment missing the point entirely.
28 Those words had about eight days to settle in with the disciples. Then, once again, Jesus went away to pray.
This time He took along only Peter, John, and James.
They climbed a mountainside and came to a place of solitude.
29-32 Jesus began to pray and the disciples tried to stay awake, but their eyes grew heavier and heavier and finally they all fell asleep.
When they awakened, they looked over at Jesus and saw something inexplicable happening.
Jesus was changing before their eyes, beginning with His face.
It seemed to glow. The glow spread, and even His clothing took on a blinding whiteness.
Then, two figures appeared in the glorious radiance emanating from Jesus.
The three disciples somehow knew that these figures were Moses and Elijah.
Peter, James, and John overheard the conversation that took place among Jesus, Moses, and Elijah—a conversation that centered on Jesus’ “departure” and how He would accomplish this departure from the capital city, Jerusalem.
33 The glow began to fade, and it was clear that Moses and Elijah were about to disappear.
Peter (to Jesus): Please, Master, it is good for us to be here and see this.
Can we make three structures—one to honor You, one to honor Moses, and one to honor Elijah, to try to capture what’s happening here?
Peter had no idea what he was saying.
34 While he spoke a cloud descended, and they were enveloped in it, and fear fell on them.
35 Then a voice came out of everywhere and nowhere at once.
Voice from Heaven:
This is My Son![ This is the One I have chosen! Listen to Him!
36 Then the voice was silent, the cloud disappeared, and Moses and Elijah were gone.
Peter, James, and John were left speechless, stunned, staring at Jesus who now stood before them alone.
For a long time, they did not say a word about this whole experience.
37 They came down the mountain, and the next day yet another huge crowd gathered around Jesus.
There was a man in the crowd who shouted out.
Man in Crowd: 38 Teacher! Please come and look at my son here, my only child.
39 From time to time, a demonic spirit seizes him. It makes him scream and go into convulsions.
He foams at the mouth. It nearly destroys him and only leaves after causing him great distress.
40 While You were up on the mountain, I begged Your disciples to liberate him from this spirit, but they were incapable of helping us.
Jesus: 41 O generation faithless, twisted, and crooked, how long can I be with you? How much can I bear? Bring your boy here.
42 The boy had taken a few steps toward Jesus when suddenly the demon seemed to rip into the boy, throwing him into convulsions.
Jesus spoke sternly to the demonic spirit, and the boy was healed. Jesus presented the boy to his father.
43 The crowd began cheering and discussing this amazing healing and the power of God, but Jesus turned to His disciples.
Jesus: 44 Listen. Listen hard. Let these words get down deep: the Son of Man is going to be turned over to the authorities and arrested.
45 They had no idea what He meant by this; they heard the words but missed the meaning, and they felt too afraid to ask Him to explain further.
Luke 16 The VOICE
Jesus explains why the Pharisees could not baptize Cornelius.
You can't serve two masters.
The parable ends. Jesus never reveals how it came out.
Did the older brother join the party and reconcile with his younger, wayward brother?
Or did he stay outside, fuming over the seeming injustice of his father’s extravagant love?
The story remains unresolved because it is, in fact, an invitation—an invitation to the Pharisees and other opponents of Jesus to join Him in welcoming sinners and other outsiders into the joyful party of the Kingdom.
16 Here’s a parable He told the disciples:
Jesus: Once there was a rich and powerful man who had an asset manager.
One day, the man received word that his asset manager was squandering his assets.
2 The rich man brought in the asset manager and said, “You’ve been accused of wrongdoing. I want a full and accurate accounting of all your financial transactions because you are really close to being fired.”
3 The manager said to himself, “Oh, no! Now what am I going to do? I’m going to lose my job here, and I’m too weak to dig ditches and too proud to beg.
4 I have an idea. This plan will mean that I have a lot of hospitable friends when I get fired.”
5 So the asset manager set up appointments with each person who owed his master money.
He said to the first debtor, “How much do you owe my boss?”
6 The debtor replied, “A hundred barrels[a] of oil.”
The manager said, “I’m discounting your bill by half. Just write 50 on this contract.”
7 Then he said to the second debtor, “How much do you owe?”
This fellow said, “A hundred bales of wheat.
” The manager said, “I’m discounting your debt by 20 percent. Just write down 80 bales on this contract.”
8 When the manager’s boss realized what he had done, he congratulated him for at least being clever.
That’s how it is: those attuned to this evil age are more clever in dealing with their affairs than the enlightened are in dealing with their affairs!
9 Learn some lessons from this crooked but clever asset manager.
Realize that the purpose of money is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind.
Eventually money will be useless to you—but if you use it generously to serve others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination.
10 If you’re faithful in small-scale matters, you’ll be faithful with far bigger responsibilities.
If you’re crooked in small responsibilities, you’ll be no different in bigger things.
11 If you can’t even handle a small thing like money, who’s going to entrust you with spiritual riches that really matter?
12 If you don’t manage well someone else’s assets that are entrusted to you, who’s going to give over to you important spiritual and personal relationships to manage?
13 Imagine you’re a servant and you have two masters giving you orders.
What are you going to do when they have conflicting demands?
You can’t serve both, so you’ll either hate the first and love the second, or you’ll faithfully serve the first and despise the second.
One master is God and the other is money. You can’t serve them both.
14 The Pharisees overheard all this, and they started mocking Jesus because they really loved money.
Jesus (to the Pharisees): 15 You’ve made your choice. Your ambition is to look good in front of other people, not God.
But God sees through to your hearts. He values things differently from you. The goals you and your peers are reaching for God detests.
16 The law and the prophets had their role until the coming of John the Baptist.
Since John’s arrival, the good news of the kingdom of God has been taught while people are clamoring to enter it.
17 That’s not to say that God’s rules for living are useless.
The stars in the sky and the earth beneath your feet will pass away before one letter of God’s rules for living become worthless.
18 Take God’s rules regarding marriage for example.
If a man divorces his wife and marries somebody else, then it’s still adultery because that man has broken his vow to God.
And if a man marries a woman divorced from her husband, he’s committing adultery for the same reason.
19 There was this rich man who had everything—purple clothing of fine quality and high fashion, gourmet meals every day, and a large house.
20 Just outside his front gate lay this poor homeless fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered in ugly skin lesions.
21 He was so hungry he wished he could scavenge scraps from the rich man’s trash. Dogs would come and lick the sores on his skin.
22 The poor fellow died and was carried on the arms of the heavenly messengers to the embrace of Abraham.
Then the rich fellow died and was buried.
23 and found himself in the place of the dead. In his torment, he looked up, and off in the distance he saw Abraham, with Lazarus in his embrace.
24 He shouted out, “Father Abraham! Please show me mercy! Would you send that beggar Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water and cool my tongue? These flames are hot, and I’m in agony!”
25 But Abraham said, “Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain.
So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony.
26 Besides, a great canyon separates you and us.
Nobody can cross over from our side to yours, or from your side to ours.”
27 “Please, Father Abraham, I beg you,” the formerly rich man continued, “send Lazarus to my father’s house.
28 I have five brothers there, and they’re on the same path I was on. If Lazarus warns them, they’ll choose another path and won’t end up here in torment.”
29 But Abraham said, “Why send Lazarus? They already have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to instruct them. Let your brothers hear them.”
30 “No, Father Abraham,” he said, “they’re already ignoring the law and the prophets.
But if someone came back from the dead, then they’d listen for sure; then they’d change their way of life.”
31 Abraham answered, “If they’re not listening to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead.”
What a blessing to have journeyed through this book. Holy Spirit led on each page.
Thank you for posting
Saul doesn't know
Amen and Amen
Prayer is just communing with Gid life ke xou woukd talk with. Best friend. A constate state of mind.. a thankful spirit.
Search me, oh God, Jehovah-jireh. 🕯️
Thank you Aneko Press
❤ Shalom Shalom ❤
Such an encouraging book to remain steadfast in prayer for the salvation of our loved ones. Thank you for this ministry.