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

Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch.

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.

This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.

In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer. Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a day? Zion will not have to suffer long, before the nation is born.

They lived in the territory of Bashan and Gilead, in the towns there and all over the pasture lands of Sharon.

The news about this spread all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

The Lord's power was with them, and a great number of people believed and 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.

When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the LORD and obey him.

All nations will remember the LORD. From every part of the world they will turn to him; all races will worship him.

God said, "People of Israel, you have sinned against me and opposed me. But now, come back to me!

Let us examine our ways and turn back to the LORD.

So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act.

Return to the LORD, and let this prayer be your offering to him: "Forgive all our sins and accept our prayer, and we will praise you as we have promised.

Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough." Come back to the LORD your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.

and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord's people ready for him."

But it can be removed, as the scripture says about Moses: "His veil was removed when he turned to the Lord."

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.