Acts 9:1-19
Saul's Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and 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. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He 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."
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.
11The 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. 12In 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 saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
17Then 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." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Jesus teaches us much about faith...And one of those He taught faith to was the Apostle Paul...Jesus told us we will have troubles in this world...And Paul had troubles...He was arrested man times and taken into custody in other times...And as one reads through Paul's epistles and the Book of Acts, many are not recorded, because of the Great influence and focus Paul had on the LORD...Paul was so greatly influenced by Jesus...Of the twenty seven New Testament books , thirteen are written by Paul, and approximately half of another, Acts of the Apostles, deals with Paul’s life and works of Jesus after he met Him on the road to Damascus...Thus, about half of the New Testament were written by Paul and these writings have influenced millions and millions of people, because of the influence that the One Man named Jesus had on him -that he met on his way to Damascus...
Here are some of the things Jesus and Paul said about faith...
And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen...And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”...Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith...For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”...And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”...(Paul) fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"..."Who are you, LORD?" Saul asked..."I AM Jesus, whom you are persecuting," He replied..."Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."...
And Paul writes about his faith in Jesus: I have been crucified with Christ...It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me...And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me...For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned...I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith...So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love...Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified...In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one...