ACTS 8 25-40

     Book of the Acts of the First Believers

25 - Now when they had given witness about the word of the LORD in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the good news message to many villages of the Samaritans along the way.

     26 Now at about this time an angel of the LORD said to Philip, “Go down south to the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

     27 So he went and he came upon an Ethiopian eunich who was an official of the court of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was the official in charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship. 28 He was returning, seated in his chariot, reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit{/Presence of God} said to Philip, “Go near to this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31 And the eunich andwered, “How can I? Unless someone guide me?” {These days the best guide is God’s Spirit, genuinely.} And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him in the chariot. 32 The passage of Scripture he was reading was, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter. And like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he said not a word. 33 He was humiliated and justice was denied him. And who can describe his descendants? For his life was taken away from the earth.”

     34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “If I may ask, who does the prophet say this about? About himself, or someone else?”

     35 Then Philip, beginning with that verse, told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to a body of water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized!?” 38 And so he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

     39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the LORD carried Philip away. The eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

     40 Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he went on, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

                     ~*~

 🗝️ [  ] - word/language insights, cross references, etc.

      {  } - thots

Next: 9:1-20

From my own studies. Paraphrased to post.

LUKE 17 11-19

 a paraphrased ‘enter the story’

 🍃🕊️reading & study 🕊️🍃

     04/06 - GospeL Verses 

11 - As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he passed between Samaria and Galilee, 12 and as he was entering a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and cried out, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!” {There he is! It’s our chance! We mustn’t miss it!} 14 When he saw them he told them to go and show theirselves to the priests, and as they went, they were healed. 15 Then one of them, a Samaritan, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. 17 And Jesus said, “Wasn’t it ten who were cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to the man, “Rise up and go your way, your faith has made you well.”

                      ~ * ~

🗝️ [  ] - word/language insights, usually from biblehub dot com - peering through translator partial unbelief; cross references, etc.

      {  } - thots

Tomorrows verses - Luke 18:1-8

My own studies. Been neglecting Psalms (jan 1-20, feb-20’s, mar-30’s, apr-40’s, etc. dec-120-150) and the Prophets.

WeekLy BooK oF Acts 8 1-24

 ⭐️

 a paraphrased study

       ~~ 8:1-24 ~~

1 - And Saul (later called Paul who wrote the majority of the New Testament letters, about insights given him by the Lord) approved of his execution. (And do we think the Father does not forgive and pardon? Coupled with “your faith has made you well”.)

     And there arose on that very day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, and dragging off men and women and committing them to prison. (Thought police.) 4 But those who were scattered went around spreading the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and told them about Jesus. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what he was saying, especially when they saw the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits, shrieking in a loud voice, came out of many. And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city!

     9 But there was a man named Simon, who was a practitioner of magic who had amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great”. 11 And they listened to him because it had been a long time that he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, many men and women were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and miracles performed, he was amazed.

     14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 which had not yet fallen upon any of them, they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit(/Presence of God). 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said, “May your silver perish with you! To think you you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right with God. (You cannot be part of this kingdom of God movement, if your heart is not right.) 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that it indeed be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

 🗝️ [  ] - word/language insights, facts, cross references, etc.

      (  ) - thots

W𝕖𝕖𝕜𝕝𝕪 B𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕠𝕗 A𝕔𝕥𝕤 8 1-24

1 - And Saul (later Paul) approved of the murder of Stephen. That very day the church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel persecution. All the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the provinces of Judea and Samaria. 2 Some God-fearing men came and buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul kept working to destroy the church, going from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail. 4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

    9 For some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great. 10 Everyone, rich and poor, listened to him. They said, "This man is the power of God called 'The Great Power.'" 11 They listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word/message [logos - reasoning expressed by words] of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For the Holy Spirit(/Presence of God) had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Peter and John then placed their hands on everyone who had faith in the Lord, and they were given the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 “Give me this power too!” he said. “So that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive this Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter replied, “Your silver is ruin to you! Because you think to obtain God's free gift with money. 21 You can have no part in this work, for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent, therefore, and pray to God for forgiveness of this wickedness. 23 For I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and trapped in evil ways." 24 Simon said to Peter and John, "Please pray to the Lord for me, so that none of these things you spoke of will happen to me."

                         ~*~

     Very Brief Outline of Acts:

Jesus returns to where he was with the Father before his advent/visit (his brief first one).

The Holy Spirit/Presence of God is poured out on the believers who were in Jerusalem on the late Spring holy day of Pentecost. Peter speaks, there are 3000 new believers that day.

The good news message spreads, Peter is invited and goes to a Roman’s house and all believe. The first record of non Hebrew believers (besides likely some on Pentecost).

     Persecution breaks out.. jail. stoning. Pharisee Saul leads the persecution, but on his way to Damascus with papers for arrests, Jesus makes himself seen but is so bright Paul falls to the ground and is blinded. After two days he is healed and is a believer, and soon is called Paul. He wrote many (to most) of the New Testament letters, but spent a few years (it seems to me) exclusively listening to the Lord. He established many ‘churches’ in what’s called three missionary journeys, and met and worked with Mark and Luke, and quite a few others. (Luke wrote this Book of Acts.) His fourth journey is to Rome to trial as a prisoner. There’s a shipwreck on the way.. He wrote many of his letters while in prison and under ‘house’ arrest.

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