"But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do."

Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

I asked, 'What shall I do, Lord?' and the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that God has determined for you to do.'

The Lord said to him, "Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel.

And I myself will show him all that he must suffer for my sake."

In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (who had been brought up with Governor Herod ), and Saul.

They fasted and prayed, placed their hands on them, and sent them off.

He said, 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see his righteous Servant, and to hear him speaking with his own voice.

For you will be a witness for him to tell everyone what you have seen and heard.

Judas was a member of our group, for he had been chosen to have a part in our work."

to serve as an apostle in the place of Judas, who left to go to the place where he belongs."

We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching."

But I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.

Paul greeted them and gave a complete report of everything that God had done among the Gentiles through his work.

Through him God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey.

of being a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles. I serve like a priest in preaching the Good News from God, in order that the Gentiles may be an offering acceptable to God, dedicated to him by the Holy Spirit.

God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged.

All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.

I was made a servant of the gospel by God's special gift, which he gave me through the working of his power.

I am less than the least of all God's people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ,

You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf.

You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant---this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.

And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message,

while we sent Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in preaching the Good News about Christ. We sent him to strengthen you and help your faith,

I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him,

If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed.

But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as a servant of God.

One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not give up,

for I am with you. No one will be able to harm you, for many in this city are my people."

"I went back to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the Temple, I had a vision,

'Lord,' I answered, 'they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you.

'Go,' the Lord said to me, 'for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "

That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, "Don't be afraid! You have given your witness for me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome."

For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship came to me

and said, 'Don't be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.'

I have to boast, even though it doesn't do any good. But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord.

I repeat, I know that this man was snatched to Paradise (again, I do not know whether this actually happened or whether it was a vision---only God knows), and there he heard things which cannot be put into words, things that human lips may not speak.

So I will boast about this man---but I will not boast about myself, except the things that show how weak I am.

But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.

I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me.

I went because God revealed to me that I should go. In a private meeting with the leaders I explained the gospel message that I preach to the Gentiles. I did not want my work in the past or in the present to be a failure.