God was also at work in Judah and united the people in their determination to obey his will by following the commands of the king and his officials.

(SEE 7:8)

Through God's grace they sent us Sherebiah, an able man, a Levite from the clan of Mahli; and eighteen of his sons and brothers came with him.

I asked also for a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal forests, instructing him to supply me with timber for the gates of the fort that guards the Temple, for the city walls, and for the house I was to live in. The emperor gave me all I asked for, because God was with me.

And I told them how God had been with me and helped me, and what the emperor had said to me. They responded, "Let's start rebuilding!" And they got ready to start the work.

The people reply, "Who would have believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD's hand in this?

Don't think that the LORD is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help!

Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, "What is this child going to be?" For it was plain that the Lord's power was upon him.

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and many people were brought to the Lord.

praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

But many who heard the message believed; and the number grew to about five thousand.

But more and more people were added to the group---a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord.

And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.

The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow.

For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good.

All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

"It is my opinion," James went on, "that we should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.

You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.'

First in Damascus and in Jerusalem and then in the whole country of Israel and among the Gentiles, I preached that they must repent of their sins and turn to God and do the things that would show they had repented.

All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God

and to wait for his Son to come from heaven---his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death and who rescues us from God's anger that is coming.