"Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it's only nine o'clock in the morning.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or allow your Holy One to experience decay.

he looked ahead and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah: "He was not abandoned to Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.'

After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said, "The Lord told my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,

They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need.

"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

And seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could not say anything against them.

So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

After an interval of about three hours, Ananias' wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them,

When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported,

He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!"

So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect messages from God in order to wait on tables.

God gave him no property here, not even a foot of land, yet he promised to give it to him and to his descendants after him as a permanent possession, even though he had no child.

Eventually, a different king who had not known Joseph became ruler of Egypt.

However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says,

Before this, he had not come on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: "Like a sheep he was led away to be slaughtered, and like a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch went on his way rejoicing and did not see Philip again.

but their plot became known to him. They were even watching the gates day and night to murder him,

but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall by lowering him in a basket.

But Peter said, "Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!"

not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

But I replied, "Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!'

That very night, before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, and guards in front of the door were watching the prisoners.

So Peter went out and began to follow him, not realizing that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

The people kept shouting, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man!"

Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

When John was finishing his work, he said, "Who do you think I am? I'm not the Messiah. No, but he is coming after me, and I'm not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.'

For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders, not knowing who Jesus was, condemned him and so fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

In another Psalm he says, "You will not let your Holy One experience decay.'

However, the man whom God raised did not experience decay.

"Look, you mockers! Be amazed and die! Since I am performing an action in your days, one that you would not believe even if someone told you!'"

yet he has not abandoned his witness: he continues to do good, to give you rain from heaven, to give you fruitful seasons, and to fill you with food and your hearts with joy."

"Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any burden but these essential requirements:

but Paul did not think it was right to take along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and who had not gone with them into the work.

They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them,

During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

and are advocating customs that we're not allowed to accept or practice as Romans."

At that hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire family were baptized immediately.

But Paul told the guards, "The magistrates have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out."

That night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

One night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, "Stop being afraid to speak out! Don't remain silent!

You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.

There is a danger not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into disrepute and that she will be robbed of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her."

Even some officials of the province of Asia who were his friends sent him a message urging him not to risk his life in the theater.

Since these things cannot be denied, you must be quiet and not do anything reckless.

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

I therefore declare to you today that I'm not responsible for the blood of any of you,

I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.

So be alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped tearfully warning each of you.

So we located some disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem,

When we heard this, we and the people who lived there begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

At this Paul replied, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? I'm ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!"

When he could not be persuaded otherwise, we remained silent except to say, "May the Lord's will be done."

But they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs.

The tribune asked, "Oh, do you speak Greek? You're not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led 4,000 assassins into the desert, are you?"

"The Lord told me, "Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are destined to do.' Since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.

Up to this point they listened to him, but then they began to shout, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He's not fit to go on living!"

Paul answered, "I didn't realize, brothers, that he is the high priest. After all, it is written, "You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.'"

That night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Have courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, you must testify in Rome, too."

In the morning, the Jewish leaders formed a conspiracy and took an oath not to eat or drink anything before they had killed Paul.

They went to the high priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to taste any food before we have killed Paul.

Don't believe them, because more than 40 of them are planning to ambush him. They've taken an oath not to eat or drink before they've killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent."

The tribune dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell anyone that he had notified him.

So the soldiers, in keeping with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

But so as not to detain you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness.

He ordered the centurion to guard Paul but to let him have some freedom and not to keep any of his friends from caring for his needs.

I answered them that it was not the Roman custom to sentence a man to be punished until the accused met his accusers face to face and had an opportunity to defend himself against the charge.

Then Festus said, "King Agrippa and all you men who are present with us! You see this man about whom the whole Jewish nation petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

I find that he has not done anything deserving of death. But since he has appealed to his Majesty, I have decided to send him.

Our twelve tribes, worshiping day and night with intense devotion, hope to attain it. It is because of this hope, O King, that I am accused by the Jews.

"And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

But Paul said, "I'm not out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus. I'm reporting what is absolutely true.

Paul replied, "Whether quickly or not, I wish to God that not only you but everyone listening to me today would become what I am except for these chains!"

"Men, I see that during this voyage there will be hardship and a heavy loss not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives."

But the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship and not by what Paul said.

Since the harbor was not a good place to spend the winter, most of the men favored putting out to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. It is a Cretian harbor that faces southwest and northwest.

But it was not long before a violent wind (called a northeaster) swept down from the island.

After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood among his shipmates and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete. You would have avoided this hardship and damage.

For just last night an angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood by me

It was the fourteenth night, and we were drifting through the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors suspected that land was near.

Right up to daybreak Paul kept urging all of them to eat something. He said, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, not eating anything.