Acts 9:1-22 (BBE)
1 But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
2 And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him;
4 And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?
5 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
6 But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do.
7 And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
8 And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus.
9 And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink.
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord.
11 And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer;
12 And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see.
13 But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name.
15 But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:
16 For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me.
17 And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit.
18 And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;
19 And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus.
20 And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God.
21 And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests.
22 But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.

Encounter! How much we all want a “Damascus Road” experience but are too sceptical, too scared, or too timid to allow the Lord in. Encounter!
Have you experienced a special, physical shaking, opinion changing, attitude adjustment and life-transforming encounter? A spiritual episode that realigned your destiny and life with the plan and purposes of God?
We are all on a journey going somewhere: maybe like Paul, misguided, good intentions but a wrong motive journey for the Lord only to discover the absence of the very One whose journey we are on like Paul did on his way to Damascus.
There are so many Christians today who aren’t “born again” or “converted” yet like Paul, they are very eager, loyal, and fierce in the pursuit of their perceived beliefs. God does not need us to fight His battles and as He said to Paul, it’s persecution when we go after fellow “Christians” because of denominational classification.
Encounter! The collision between the Holy Spirit and our ego. When we encounter God in a naturally supernatural way, we realise how tiny we are with the bigger picture of eternity. We strut around with the mentality and ego that we are tongue-speaking, scripture quoting believers and lovers of God but if God weights us will He find us wanting? Daniel 5:27.
Paul went around against the disciples of the Lord; not against wicked men, murderers, and thieves, and other evildoers, but against the harmless and innocent followers of Jesus, he persecuted the early followers of Jesus because they claimed he was the long-expected messiah.
Encounter! Paul saw a light and, within the light, Jesus Himself, in His risen and glorified body.1 Corinthians 9:1. Have you seen the light? Have you encountered the Lord? Although Paul’s encounter is the most dramatic and transforming, there are a few others who encountered the Lord such as:
In Genesis 18 the patriarch Abraham had a dramatic personal encounter with God. His meeting with God provides us with a wealth of insights into who God is and how He relates to us humans.
In Exodus 3 God called Moses to do what he’d run away from; he met the Lord in the burning bush. Judges 6 records the encounter of the Lord with Gideon – the man through whom God would save Israel from the Midianites oppression.
In Genesis 28 Jacob sets out for Harran, but instead of a comfortable warm bed or inn, he spent his night sleeping on the cold, hard ground without any physical shelter and only stones for a pillow and this is where he encountered the Lord at where he called El Bethel (house of God).
Luke 23:32-43 says the thief pleaded with Jesus to “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This desperate and humble cry for mercy is all that God needed to welcome him into the family of God. What an incredible story! A man who presumably led his entire life in opposition to God, by the great mercies of God, was saved in his dying moments.
There is no other name by which we can be saved. Acts 4:12. We all need an encounter, I ask the Lord for a daily encounter, a new encounter, a fresh encounter for myself and my household, that’s what keeps our faith life adventurous. If you haven’t met the Lord yet, ask God to come into your heart and life or the Lord might just meet you on your way to Damascus.
Shalom