ABOUT TURN
Opening Prayer
Light of the World, thank you for coming to shine in my heart and make me a new creation. Thank you for your Spirit who continues to work in me and make me more like you.
Read ACTS 9:1–19a
Saul’s Conversion
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 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. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 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. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 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. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 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.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Think about your journey of faith. Maybe you had a sudden life-changing experience of Jesus. Maybe it was a gradual process. Maybe you can’t remember a time when you didn’t know Jesus. Whatever form it took, thank him for it.These verses are referred to as ‘Paul’s conversion’ in many Bibles.But we need to be careful. Paul was not converted from something to something else. As he met the risen Lord Jesus, he came to realize that Jesus was the true fulfillment of all that he had believed up to this point, that all God’s plans, all the promises of the Old Testament and his Jewish convictions, were completed in Jesus.
His blinding and the subsequent restoration of his sight summed it up. He now saw things in a new way; the light had dawned. He could now see the truth. It involved a dramatic change. We meet Jesus in different ways but there will always be change. For some there may be a definite moment when the light dawns; for others it may be a series of small steps. There may be a real sense of turning from one set of beliefs to the truth we find in Jesus. The key thing is that we meet the risen Jesus. We will experience life in a new way. We will learn to live differently. We have a new Master and a new purpose. We are no longer the people we were.
Apply
Is there someone for whom God would have you be an Ananias?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, please show your light to my non-Christian relatives and friends. Help them to see you and come to faith in you.
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