So. I have a 36.6 degrees fever. Yes you got that right 36.6. Yes I know normal body temperature is 36.9. No my thermometer isnt spoilt. And its annoying ok.
These fevers arent major. They just really annoying. Like you get body aches and ur head feels abit weird, its basically the fever feeling but a very minor version of it. Its small enough to appear to be harmless and yet big enough to be noticed so you dont overwork yourself.
But no the 36.6 fever isnt the one thats annoying me. Ive got sore throat. And it wont go away. I drank like what 20 cups of water today went to the toilet 10 times ate half a packet of fisherman's friend and it still hurts like crap. And if you guys know me, sore throat is one of my biggest enemies because the effect is amplified on me. Ouch -.-.
And like the icing on the cake, my nose is blocked. Nose block doesnt bother me that much usually. Except you know, when I already have a minor fever and sore throat -.-.
Stuff always happens together huh.
Anyway badahbah, I still cant come up with a POD topic despite trying to in the afternoon. And i cant do the rest evidently. So im kinda in a stuck position.
So this afternoon instead of wasting time I decided to go read the entire book of Acts lol.
I dont know, Acts is like the book I know the least in the New Testament. In fact, I only vaguely know Acts 1 to 3 and generally what Acts is mainly about, the spreading of the gospel in the days after the ascension. So I actually learnt alot reading Acts today.
Like first off, I know like more than half, maybe more than 3/4s of the letters in the New Testament were written by Paul. But I didnt really know who the heck Paul was. I mean he didnt appear in the four gospels. So I always assumed that he was one of the lesser known disciples. Or another case of a double name. Trust me the double names in the bible are really confusing lol. The only one im actually really sure of is Simon Peter. I think there is one Mark John and im like uhhhhh...so...how many Johns and how many Marks are there and who wrote the book of John and the book of Mark lol.
So yea. I was quite suprised to find out who Paul was.
Acts 13:9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said
Uhm yea im not really interested in what he said now heh but I was like wait what? Saul = Paul?
Dont know who Saul is?
Introduced in Acts 7:54-60
The Stoning of Stephen
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
So. They mentioned him once. But who exactly is he? A clothes shop owner?
Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
And in case you still havnt figured out by now, Saul's a 'villain' or so to speak.
But guess what? The hand of God is amazing.
Acts 9:1-19
Saul's Conversion
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?""Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.
The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
It is interesting to note that Saul was perhaps one of the greatest enemies of 'The Way' as it was called (its a pretty cool name LOL), persecuting many who followed Christ, slaying them because he felt strongly compelled to do so. But God knows something amazing about this man. And he used him for his purpose. And perhaps one of the most dangerous threats to early Christianity became one of the most prominent evangelist in the world. If you dont know, Paul sailed to like dont know how many countries in Asia.So yes. Its pretty amazing.
Oh and something amusing about Pauls' trips. Ok maybe not that amusing to him but yea.
Wherever Paul went, he was persecuted for his faith and his beliefs. Often he got flogged and had close shaves with death. So he had alot of trouble everywhere. Then he went to Greece, Athens.
Acts 17:16-34
In Athens
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
I assure you, you dont usually laugh when reading the Bible. Wth? To an unknown God? Whats with these people. And its the first time you see people welcoming him lol.
Anyway the book of Acts got more exciting when he returned to Jerusalem. Like where all the priest would whack him for 'betraying' them. And then he kena whack. Then the roman governors intervene. And then you read yourself how he go and appeal to higher authority lol.
And at the end of the book of Acts I was like wait wth? What happened? Paul is now a prisoner (though evidently the guards dont treat him like one) and his court case is supposed to be presented before Caesar. Then never come out the book end. Oi. What happened to Paul. Someone tell me leh.
Wahliew. Haha.
Ah well.
The Bible is such a cool book.