And Saul approved of his murder. 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.

When you cross the Jordan River, the LORD will let you occupy the land and live there. He will keep you safe from all your enemies, and you will live in peace.

The LORD gave them peace throughout the land, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies had been able to stand against them, because the LORD gave the Israelites the victory over all their enemies.

That day the Israelites defeated Moab, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.

He did, however, make me a promise. He said, 'You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon, because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security.

He said, "The LORD your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the LORD.

You give them rest from days of trouble until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.

When you please the LORD, you can make your enemies into friends.

A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.

This is the LORD's message: He has decreed punishment for the land of Hadrach and for the city of Damascus. Not only the tribes of Israel but also the capital of Syria belong to the LORD.

As it is, however, there still remains for God's people a rest like God's resting on the seventh day.

So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another.

For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.

For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.

And the quality of each person's work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone's work; the fire will test it and show its real quality.

But if your work is burnt up, then you will lose it; but you yourself will be saved, as if you had escaped through the fire.

Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church.

I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues---unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped.

Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church.

This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.

For I am not ashamed, even if I have boasted somewhat too much about the authority that the Lord has given us---authority to build you up, not to tear you down.

Perhaps you think that all along we have been trying to defend ourselves before you. No! We speak as Christ would have us speak in the presence of God, and everything we do, dear friends, is done to help you.

That is why I write this while I am away from you; it is so that when I arrive I will not have to deal harshly with you in using the authority that the Lord has given me---authority to build you up, not to tear you down.

He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.

Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.

And so encourage one another and help one another, just as you are now doing.

Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God's plan, which is known by faith.

But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

Then I said, "What you are doing is wrong! You ought to obey God and do what's right. Then you would not give our enemies, the Gentiles, any reason to ridicule us.

Every governor who had been in office before me had been a burden to the people and had demanded forty silver coins a day for food and wine. Even their servants had oppressed the people. But I acted differently, because I honored God.

God said to us humans, "To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord. To understand, you must turn from evil."

Teach me, LORD, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

The way to become wise is to honor the LORD; he gives sound judgment to all who obey his commands. He is to be praised forever.

To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the LORD. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

To honor the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words.

Reverence for the LORD gives confidence and security to a man and his family.

Do you want to avoid death? Reverence for the LORD is a fountain of life.

Be loyal and faithful, and God will forgive your sin. Obey the LORD and nothing evil will happen to you.

Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the LORD be the concern of your life.

The spirit of the LORD will give him wisdom and the knowledge and skill to rule his people. He will know the LORD's will and honor him,

and find pleasure in obeying him. He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;

and give stability to the nation. He always protects his people and gives them wisdom and knowledge. Their greatest treasure is their reverence for the LORD.

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.

Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever.

"When I go, you will not be left all alone; I will come back to you.

This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.

For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.

May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.

And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.

The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!

Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people.

And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret.

Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope,

encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.

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.

Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow.

For the Jews there was joy and relief, happiness and a sense of victory.

In every city and province, wherever the king's proclamation was read, the Jews held a joyful holiday with feasting and happiness. In fact, many other people became Jews, because they were afraid of them now.

The LORD Almighty says, "The time is coming when people from many cities will come to Jerusalem.

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the LORD Almighty and to pray for his blessing.