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Tabitha Raised from the Dead

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(Acts 9:40)

" Peter sent them out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed, turning toward the dead woman, he said,' Tabitha, get up.'"

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There was a very beautiful port city named Joppa.
Believers of Jesus lived in that place.

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One day, a very sad thing happened.
There was a woman disciple named Tabitha and she died because of having a sickness. We don't know what the sickness was but we can only guess during that time, there was no cure for it.

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Many people were sad because of the death of Tabitha.
The gathered people did not want to believe that Tabitha was dead because they had loved her so much.

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When Tabitha was alive, with what she had, she had helped others so many times.When she saw the difficulties of others, she would help those people with what she had.

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And Tabitha had the talent of making clothes.
She used her talent to make clothes for the people who were in need.
Many people wore the clothes made by Tabitha.

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The gathered people really wanted to see Tabitha again.
At that time, Apostle Peter was staying near that place so they sent a man to bring him there. They had the faith that Apostle Peter could do anything since he had the power of God.

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In front of Apostle Peter, women showed their clothes that Tabitha had made when she was alive and they begged to Apostle Peter with very full and earnest hearts. Without God's help, it is impossible for the dead to rise again.

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Peter saw them asking so earnestly.
Peter said to them, "I know how your hearts feel. I will pray to God so please stay outside."

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By the request of Peter, the people went outside and Peter was left alone.
Then Peter got down on his knees and prayed.
"God the holder of our lives, here is Tabitha, one woman servant, who loved God so much. God, please allow Tabitha to live again."

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God fulfilled Peter's earnest prayer.
After Peter's prayer, Tabitha opened her eyes.
Then she got healthy and she rose up.

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The people from all around heard the news that Tabitha had rose again.
They were so happy and they glorified God.  God had allowed them to see a miracle. The news about Tabitha spread very fast.

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Through that news, people living in that area believed that God really was alive and more and more people believed in Jesus Christ.

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When Tabitha was alive, she always helped others.
She helped the people in need and she made clothes for them so people loved her so much. Just like Tabitha, we should be loved by our friends and others.

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To be loved by others we should have the kind of heart for helping our friends in difficult situations, just like how Tabitha did. And like Tabitha, if we have something we are good at, we should use that for helping others.

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If you can be loved by others like Tabitha, many friends will want to believe in Jesus. God is happy with those people who can lead other friends to Jesus.
I hope that in this year, you can become such great faithful friends.