The verse anchor
"Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus."
Acts 9:5 · King James Bible
The story
There was a man named Saul. He was a very smart, very serious young man. He studied the law of God. He wanted to serve God with all his heart.
But Saul thought the followers of Jesus were wrong. He thought Christians were enemies of God. So he hunted them down. He watched when Stephen was killed. He dragged Christian men and women to prison. He was on his way to Damascus — a city far to the north — to arrest even more of them.
As Saul was walking on the road to Damascus, close to the city, suddenly a great light shone around him — brighter than the noonday sun. Saul fell to the ground.
He heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
Saul was trembling. "Who art thou, Lord?"
The voice said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."
Saul was terrified. This was the Jesus he had been fighting against — and Jesus was alive!
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Saul asked.
Jesus told him: "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
Saul stood up. But something had changed — he could not see. The bright light had left him blind. His friends had to take his hand and lead him into Damascus like a little child.
For three days Saul was blind. He did not eat. He did not drink. He prayed and prayed.
God spoke to a Christian in Damascus named Ananias. God said, "Go to the street called Straight, and ask for a man named Saul, for he is praying." Ananias was scared — he knew what Saul had done. But he went. He laid his hands on Saul. He said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight."
Something like scales fell from Saul's eyes. He could see again. He was baptized. He ate. He was made strong.
Saul was never the same. He became Paul. He travelled everywhere, telling people about Jesus. He wrote many of the letters in our Bible — Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and more. The man who had hunted Christians became the greatest teacher the Church has ever had.
One thing we learn
Nobody is too far gone for Jesus. Nobody. If Jesus can turn Saul into Paul on the road to Damascus, he can change any heart. Yours. Mine. Anyone's.
Memory verse
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away."
2 Corinthians 5:17 · KJV
Say it three times before bed. In seven days you will know it forever.
A prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that you changed Saul.
Thank you that you can change me.
Make me new, like Paul.
Amen.
Beneath the story · for grown-ups
To walk further with the household: