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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus

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Speaker 1: Christ maketh thee whole arise and make thy bed, and

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Speaker 1: he arose immediately Acts nine thirty four. I want to

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Speaker 1: thank you, Lord for all the years that you've loved

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Speaker 1: me and guided me to get me to where I

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Speaker 1: am now. As I stand before others, May my testimony

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Speaker 1: serve as a badge of honor to your goodness and

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Speaker 1: faithfulness to those who love and serve you. Don't let

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Speaker 1: any one for one moment doubt your faithfulness and goodness

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Speaker 1: when they look at all that you've done in my life.

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Speaker 1: Like Tabitha and Aeneas in today's reading, I acknowledge that

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Speaker 1: you have given me the power to speak life into

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Speaker 1: people who have been bedridden and sidelined in life. When

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Speaker 1: I come face to face with these situations, I will

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Speaker 1: activate the same faith that Peter used to heal all

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Speaker 1: those he came in contact with. I will not doubt

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Speaker 1: whether or not it will happen. Instead, I will put

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Speaker 1: my faith in you and watch as your spirit fills

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Speaker 1: them so that you can get the glory in Jesus name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with me to day continue listening

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Speaker 1: for an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year dot com bedridden.

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Speaker 2: In our last story, the evil intentions of Saul the

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Speaker 2: Persecutor were thwarted by the presence of Jesus himself. As

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Speaker 2: Saul was on the road to drag Christians out of

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Speaker 2: their homes and imprisoned them, Jesus threw him off his

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Speaker 2: horse and blinded him for three days. Saul wept in darkness,

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Speaker 2: but his sight was restored and he could see the

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Speaker 2: true light of Christ. Now we follow Peter on his

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Speaker 2: journey to Lydda and Joppa. There he visits the bedsides

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Speaker 2: of two specific people, people who would walk again to

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Speaker 2: experience joy everlasting. Inspired by the Book of Acts.

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Speaker 3: Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with another episode of the

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Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Thanks for joining us. In

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Speaker 3: our previous episode, we heard of Saul's amazing conversion experience

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Speaker 3: on the Damascus Road. He was on his way to

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Speaker 3: persecute Christians to take Christian's lives, but Jesus arrested him

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Speaker 3: and took him himself as a brand new believer and

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Speaker 3: follower of the Savior. When Saul king faced a face

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Speaker 3: with Jesus, the very one that he was persecuting. Jesus

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Speaker 3: changed his life forever, and this man then embraced his

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Speaker 3: calling to take the Gospel to the world. He was

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Speaker 3: a chosen vessel. Today we'll hear how the apostle Peter

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Speaker 3: then journeys to take the good news of the risen

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Speaker 3: Savior around the world. Filled with God's power, he will

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Speaker 3: bring physical and spiritual healing to the sick and the hurting,

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Speaker 3: and the lame and the broken, even restoring one life

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Speaker 3: that had died. In all of it, God's name, the

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Speaker 3: name of Jesus, will be glorified as more and more

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Speaker 3: people multitudes are embracing the message of Jesus Christ. So

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Speaker 3: once again let's hear our reading from the Book of Acts.

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Speaker 2: Peter walked the streets of Lita with purpose. The small

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Speaker 2: city was filled with people who were not close to

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Speaker 2: the ministry of Jesus on earth, therefore in need of

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Speaker 2: hearing his gospel. There was a small community of believers there.

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Speaker 2: They ministered among the people, feeding the poor and preaching

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Speaker 2: liberty from the shame of Yet there was a specific

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Speaker 2: need that drew Peter there. A man named Eneus was

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Speaker 2: in the city. He was a man in need of

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Speaker 2: a miracle. Eneus sat up in his bed, looking out

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Speaker 2: the window. The sun peered in through the small space,

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Speaker 2: causing rays of afternoon sunshine to fill his bedroom. It

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Speaker 2: was the greatest part of his day. For eight years

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Speaker 2: he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Eneus

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Speaker 2: would relive the same nightmare of pain and purposelessness. That

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Speaker 2: was until a stranger peeked in through the door. The

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Speaker 2: man was tall and broad. He held the holy and

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Speaker 2: quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the

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Speaker 2: tattered clothes of a fisherman. Eneus, he asked. Eneus gave

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Speaker 2: a curious nod, I am Peter, sent by Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 2: It is him who heals you at this moment, Rise

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Speaker 2: up and make your bed. And immediately Eneus dangled his

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Speaker 2: legs over the side of the bed. With a small

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Speaker 2: leap of faith, he stood to his He leapt for

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Speaker 2: joy and ran outside, and all the citizens of Lyddah

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Speaker 2: rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in the sinny

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Speaker 2: of Joppa, there was a disciple by the name of Tabitha.

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Speaker 2: Her devotion to the character and ministry of Jesus was staggering,

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Speaker 2: and the whole city was blessed because of her. She

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Speaker 2: cared for the sick and lonely. She ministered to the

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Speaker 2: broken hearted, and she did so with joy. She reflected

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Speaker 2: Christ in her city and set an example for what

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Speaker 2: it meant to follow Christ. However, even the pure can

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Speaker 2: be sick, even the strong can become weak. In the

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Speaker 2: prime of her ministry, Tabitha became ill to the point

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Speaker 2: of death. Her friends washed her lifeless body. Tears filled

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Speaker 2: the upper room where she lay. They could not believe

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Speaker 2: that this beautiful soul would be taken from them. So

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Speaker 2: quickly they closed the door to the upper room where

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Speaker 2: Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They wept all night.

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Speaker 3: There was no.

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Speaker 2: Ceasing to the heartache of death. Even though she Jesus

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Speaker 2: had ridden the final sting of death, they were still

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Speaker 2: filled with sorrow over their loss. That wasn'tuntil a stranger

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Speaker 2: peeked in through the door. The man was tall and broad.

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Speaker 2: He held the wholly and quiet demeanor of a caring priest,

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Speaker 2: but he wore the tattered clothes of a fisherman. As

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Speaker 2: this where Tabitha lays. The man asks the friends nodded,

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Speaker 2: skeptical of the man's intentions. I am Peter, and I

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Speaker 2: have come to see Tabitha. So they led Peter into

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Speaker 2: the upper room. They had heard of Peter the apostle

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Speaker 2: of Jesus. They knew that God was active in his life.

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Speaker 2: They knew that a miracle was not only possible, but probable.

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Speaker 2: Peter closed the door to the upper room. The room

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Speaker 2: was filled with incense to mask the smell of death.

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Speaker 2: Its musk made Peter's lungs feel heavy. Under the dimly

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Speaker 2: lit candlelight, Tabitha could be seen lying on a bed.

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Speaker 2: Peter took a few steps forward and knelt down slowly

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Speaker 2: at her side. He held her hand. It was cold

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Speaker 2: and callous, no doubt, she was a woman well acquainted

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Speaker 2: with hard work. From what Peter had heard, her hands

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Speaker 2: were used to the glory of God. Peter squeezed her

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Speaker 2: lifeless hand tightly and whispered, Tabitha, arise. The hand Peter

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Speaker 2: held began to squeeze back, and color was restored to

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Speaker 2: Tabitha's face and limbs. Her eyes slowly opened to see

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Speaker 2: Peter's smiling face looking back at her. Peter laughed, and

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Speaker 2: Tabitha wept with tears of joy. The two exchanged a

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Speaker 2: few words, but it was brief since an excited mob

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Speaker 2: of widows and believers stormed the room. They hugged and

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Speaker 2: kissed her. Words of her healing spread, and Tabitha wore

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Speaker 2: her testimony like a banner of God's faithfulness.

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Speaker 3: We began today's reading in the city of Lida, many

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Speaker 3: miles to the north of Jerusalem. Despite increased persecution and

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Speaker 3: danger for the believers, Peter had not ceased to go

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Speaker 3: from place to place with the gospel message. In Lida,

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Speaker 3: he found a man Aneas, who had been confined to

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Speaker 3: his bed for eight years, eight years of pain and suffering.

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Speaker 3: He was stuck in his home with little hope of

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Speaker 3: being made well, but the Lord guided Peter to his house.

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Speaker 3: Peter entered the house and spoke to Aeneas, saying, Jesus

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Speaker 3: heals you, and told him to get up and make

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Speaker 3: his bed. If you've ever lived in a small town,

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Speaker 3: you know how fast word spreads, And that's exactly what happened.

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Speaker 3: In this little town. Everyone knew Aneas was paralyzed and

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Speaker 3: confined to his bed, so when they saw him walking

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Speaker 3: around completely healed, they were amazed and glorified God through

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Speaker 3: one physical healing. God then opened the door for spiritual

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Speaker 3: healing salvation for many people listened to what Acts nine

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Speaker 3: thirty five says, and all the residents of Lydda and

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Speaker 3: Charon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Not

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Speaker 3: just one city, but two, All who lived there turned

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Speaker 3: to the Lord. We then heard of a woman in

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Speaker 3: the nearby town out of Joppa named Tabitha. Tabitha was

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Speaker 3: a believer who was busy going about the work of Christ.

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Speaker 3: We're told that she was full of good deeds and

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Speaker 3: charity generosity. In other words, she cared for the needs

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Speaker 3: of people around her. Tabitha lived out the Lord's command

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Speaker 3: to love her neighbor, and yet she became sick and died.

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Speaker 3: Following Jesus does not automatically mean that the will of

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Speaker 3: God is easy with life and health and prosperity, or

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Speaker 3: even a long life, And so this woman dies. Her

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Speaker 3: friends were not ready to say goodbye to Tabitha, however,

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Speaker 3: so they cleaned her body and laid her in an

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Speaker 3: upper room, and then sent word to Peter, who came

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Speaker 3: right away. When he arrived, he went into the home

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Speaker 3: to the upper room, where Tabitha lay, just as Jesus

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Speaker 3: had done when he went to the home of Jyris

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Speaker 3: to raise his daughter from the dead. Peter spoke to Tabitha,

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Speaker 3: telling her to arise. Peter was carrying on the healing

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Speaker 3: ministry of j Jesus, even raising the dead to life.

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Speaker 3: Peter then presented Tabitha to her friends and family, and

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Speaker 3: many turned to the Lord as a result of her resurrection.

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Speaker 3: Today we are reminded that God's miracle working power has

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Speaker 3: the ability of drawing people to himself. God still cares

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Speaker 3: for those who are hurting. We saw the compassionate heart

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Speaker 3: of Christ going about doing good and helping those who

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Speaker 3: were hurting, and healing the sick, and even raising the dead.

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Speaker 3: And in the same way, there is a desire in

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Speaker 3: the heart of those of us who follow Jesus to

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Speaker 3: help hurting people, to bless those who need the blessing

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Speaker 3: of God, and especially those who need to hear the

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Speaker 3: witness of the Gospel and to turn to Christ. Our

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Speaker 3: mission as the followers of Jesus is to preach the

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Speaker 3: Gospel and to help people know and follow our Lord. We,

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Speaker 3: like the apostle Peter in this case, need to be

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Speaker 3: attentive and alert to opportunities all around us to share

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Speaker 3: the good news of Jesus. Let us always be available

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Speaker 3: to help people discover the power of God in their lives.

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Speaker 3: Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we know that you have come

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Speaker 3: to bring healing and wholeness to the world. May your

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Speaker 3: message of hope and salvation go to the ends of

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Speaker 3: the earth through your witnesses. May we, as your followers,

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Speaker 3: keep our eyes open for the opportunities to obey you

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Speaker 3: in sharing this good news. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download thepray

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Speaker 3: dot Com app and make prayer a priority in your life,

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Speaker 3: just like over twenty million people have done to this date.

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Speaker 3: If you enjoy this podcast, share it with someone you

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Speaker 3: know and love, because by sharing this message of the

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Speaker 3: Word of God, you can make an eternal difference in

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Speaker 3: someone's life. And I want to encourage you to go

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Speaker 3: to Jack Graham dot org. That's me at Jack Graham.

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Speaker 3: We have resources available to you. God bless you, and

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Speaker 3: we look forward to joining you again the next time