Greetings everyone,

Please read Acts 9: 10-19.

From our reading, we learned that there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision and told him to go to the Straight Street. The Lord also told him to go to the house of Judas and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. During the same time, Saul was having a vision of Ananias laying hands on him so that he could receive his sight back.

God works in mysterious ways; Ananias knew about Saul and his history of persecuting the church. He addressed his concerns to God in verses 13-14. But the Lord said in verse, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” We learned from verses 15-16 that God will use anyone to do his will, just like how he used Rahab to protect Joshua and his men in Joshua 2. God will use you for His purpose, and that is to direct the unsaved to Him. Even Jesus said in John 7:17, “Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.”

God’s purpose for Saul was not going to change Saul’s life but the lives of others. So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Saul not only regains his vision in the natural but also in the spiritual. Paul was baptized and received fellowship with the believers in Damascus, the same people he was sent to destroy.

God is patient and kind, giving us grace and mercy. He does all this to prepare us to serve Him. Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The truth is to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. Paul realized that it had to take him to lose his eyesight to see the truth, Jesus.

Our Bible Study Assignment: Please read Acts 9:10-19 and answer the following questions.

• Using the SOAP format; Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer; what can we learn from these scriptures?

• When did you realize that you were blinded to the proper knowledge of Christ?

• What is stopping you from serving God?

• Please respond to at least two posts and encourage one another. Again, thank you for studying God’s Word with us.

Please respect one another in the comment section. Your comment is important to us and others. We are here to learn and grow together while embracing God’s Word and Wisdom.