Saul’s Conversion
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.
Acts 9:1-9
Points to Ponder
I’d like to introduce to you three great men in Christ this week – Paul, Ananias, and Barnabas. Through this week’s passages, you will see how they crossed paths and how God purposefully put each of them for each other.
While his name means “small” or “humble”(I guess that qualifies him for the “Everyone has a story” series), Paul is no small follower of Christ. Most of us would not have a problem identifying Paul as the most extraordinary Christian of all time. He has a fervent heart for serving God….. the wrong way as Saul…. And thank God the right way as Paul!
God intervened as Paul was ready to arrest or even murder more Christians. When we are faced with setbacks or feel blindfolded on what will happen next, there’s a good chance that God wants your attention or simply “Hey buddy, a change of plan here.” So we ought to pay attention to the call and listen carefully.
“Who are you, Lord,” Saul asked. Did you ask the same question? We said Lord a million times, but who is He? Who is He to you? From this passage, we know the Lord is sovereign. He chose his vessels. He controls everything. He even identified Himself with His people
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
So, today you ask, “Who are you, Lord?”.
God chose a few of Paul’s acquaintances to take him where he needed to be. God chose Paul and God chose the people to help Paul. These unknown people (I hope they are brothers, too) enabled the conversion of the greatest Christian of all time without knowing it at the moment. You never know what God can do through your helping hands, and we are all God’s chosen vessels as long as we are ready to serve.
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