Daily Text and Bible Reading: Saturday, November 23 [Press play below]

15.1 Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you get circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
15.2 But after quite a bit of dissension and disputing by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was arranged for Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem regarding this issue.
15.3 So after being escorted partway by the congregation, these men continued on through both Phoenicia and Samaria, relating in detail the conversion of people of the nations and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
15.4 On arriving in Jerusalem, they were kindly received by the congregation and the apostles and the elders, and they related the many things God had done by means of them.
15.5 But some of those of the sect of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up from their seats and said: “It is necessary to circumcise them and command them to observe the Law of Moses.”
15.6 So the apostles and the elders gathered together to look into this matter.
15.7 After much intense discussion had taken place, Peter rose and said to them: “Men, brothers, you well know that from early days God made the choice among you that through my mouth people of the nations should hear the word of the good news and believe.
15.8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving them the holy spirit, just as he did to us also.
15.9 And he made no distinction at all between us and them, but purified their hearts by faith.
15.10 So why are you now making a test of God by imposing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we were capable of bearing?
15.11 On the contrary, we have faith that we are saved through the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus in the same way that they are.”
15.12 At that the entire group became silent, and they began to listen to Barnabas and Paul relate the many signs and wonders that God had done through them among the nations.
15.13 After they finished speaking, James replied: “Men, brothers, hear me.
15.14 Symeon has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.
15.15 And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written:
15.16 ‘After these things I will return and raise up again the tent of David that is fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,
15.17 so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah, together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name, says Jehovah, who is doing these things,
15.18 known from of old.’
15.19 Therefore, my decision is not to trouble those from the nations who are turning to God,
15.20 but to write them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.
15.21 For from ancient times Moses has had those who preach him in city after city, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every sabbath.”
15.22 Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole congregation, decided to send chosen men from among them to Antioch, along with Paul and Barnabas; they sent Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, who were leading men among the brothers.
15.23 They wrote this and sent it through them: “The apostles and the elders, your brothers, to those brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the nations: Greetings!
15.24 Since we have heard that some went out from among us and caused you trouble with what they have said, trying to subvert you, although we did not give them any instructions,
15.25 we have come to a unanimous decision to choose men to send to you together with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
15.26 men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15.27 We are therefore sending Judas and Silas, so that they also may report the same things by word of mouth.
15.28 For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things:
15.29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!”
15.30 So when these men were dismissed, they went down to Antioch, and they gathered the whole group together and handed them the letter.
15.31 After reading it, they rejoiced over the encouragement.
15.32 And Judas and Silas, since they were also prophets, encouraged the brothers with many talks and strengthened them.
15.33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
15.34 ——
15.35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and declaring, along with many others, the good news of the word of Jehovah.
15.36 After some days, Paul said to Barnabas: “Let us now return and visit the brothers in every one of the cities where we proclaimed the word of Jehovah, to see how they are.”
15.37 Barnabas was determined to take along John, who was called Mark.
15.38 Paul, however, was not in favor of taking him along with them, seeing that he had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.
15.39 At this there was a sharp burst of anger, so that they separated from each other; and Barnabas took Mark along and sailed away to Cyprus.
15.40 Paul selected Silas and departed after he had been entrusted by the brothers to the undeserved kindness of Jehovah.
15.41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the congregations.
16.1 So he arrived at Derbe and also at Lystra. And a disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a believing Jewish woman but of a Greek father,
16.2 and he was well-reported-on by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.
16.3 Paul expressed the desire for Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
16.4 As they traveled on through the cities, they would deliver to them for observance the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and the elders who were in Jerusalem.
16.5 Then, indeed, the congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number day by day.
16.6 Moreover, they traveled through Phrygia and the country of Galatia, because they were forbidden by the holy spirit to speak the word in the province of Asia.
16.7 Further, when they came down to Mysia, they made efforts to go into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not permit them.
16.8 So they passed by Mysia and came down to Troas.
16.9 And during the night a vision appeared to Paul—a Macedonian man was standing there urging him and saying: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.”
16.10 As soon as he had seen the vision, we tried to go into Macedonia, drawing the conclusion that God had summoned us to declare the good news to them.
16.11 So we put out to sea from Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace, but on the following day to Neapolis;
16.12 and from there we went to Philippi, a colony, which is the principal city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in this city for some days.
16.13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate beside a river, where we thought there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
16.14 And a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira and a worshipper of God, was listening, and Jehovah opened her heart wide to pay attention to the things Paul was saying.
16.15 Now when she and her household got baptized, she urged us: “If you have considered me to be faithful to Jehovah, come and stay at my house.” And she just made us come.
16.16 Now it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a servant girl with a spirit, a demon of divination, met us. She supplied her masters with much profit by fortune-telling.
16.17 This girl kept following Paul and us and crying out with the words: “These men are slaves of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
16.18 She kept doing this for many days. Finally Paul got tired of it and turned and said to the spirit: “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
16.19 Well, when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the rulers.
16.20 Leading them up to the civil magistrates, they said: “These men are disturbing our city very much. They are Jews,
16.21 and they are proclaiming customs that it is not lawful for us to adopt or practice, seeing that we are Romans.”
16.22 And the crowd rose up together against them, and the civil magistrates, after tearing the garments off them, gave the command to beat them with rods.
16.23 After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
16.24 Because he got such an order, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
16.25 But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God with song, and the prisoners were listening to them.
16.26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the jail were shaken. Moreover, all the doors were instantly opened, and everyone’s bonds came loose.
16.27 When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped.
16.28 But Paul called out with a loud voice: “Do not hurt yourself, for we are all here!”
16.29 So he asked for lights and rushed in, and seized with trembling, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
16.30 He brought them outside and said: “Sirs, what must I do to get saved?”
16.31 They said: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will get saved, you and your household.”
16.32 Then they spoke the word of Jehovah to him together with all those in his house.
16.33 And he took them along in that hour of the night and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire household were baptized without delay.
16.34 He brought them into his house and set a table before them, and he rejoiced greatly with all his household now that he had believed in God.
16.35 When it became day, the civil magistrates sent the constables to say: “Release those men.”
16.36 The jailer reported their words to Paul: “The civil magistrates have sent men to have you two released. So come out now and go in peace.”
16.37 But Paul said to them: “They flogged us publicly, uncondemned, though we are Romans, and threw us into prison. Are they now throwing us out secretly? No, indeed! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
16.38 The constables reported these words to the civil magistrates. These grew fearful when they heard that the men were Romans.
16.39 So they came and pleaded with them, and after escorting them out, they requested them to depart from the city.
16.40 But they came out of the prison and went to the home of Lydia; and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.