Bible Studies

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The Scriptures
Acts 9:1-6 – Blinded by the Light

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 1: “Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” – “Meanwhile…” Luke’s accounting of the activity surrounding the development of the early church indicates that God is capable of working miracles in people’s lives in many places and in many ways. In the preceding verses, he described Philip’s involvement in the conversion of the Ethiopian official. Now we jump to the on-going saga of Saul, the religious fanatic and Christian persecutor who engineered the stoning of Stephen.
  
  
• 2: “…went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belong to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” – Saul was going out of his way to find believers. He perceived them as a threat to the traditions of the Jewish faith and he adamantly pursued them in order to eliminate their troubling influence.
  
  
• 3: “Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.” – In the midst of intently pursuing a goal and objective of his own design, Jesus steps in.
  
  
• 4: “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” – Christ became personally involved with the life of Saul. It was not an experience shared by a throng or gathering. Jesus called him by name.
  
  
• 5: “He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” – Saul’s question illustrates he was already aware of the truth that was dwelling in his heart.
  
  
• 6: “But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” – “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
  

Points to Contemplate:

• What is your story? Are you steadily progressing through life, pursuing the goals and objectives you have established? Is your zeal for your life’s pursuits so consuming and absolute that it blinds you to the plans that God has in store? “Meanwhile,” what is happening in the world around you? Can you see that God is actively involved in the lives of people all around the world? As you are focusing on the details of your life do you realize that He is leading, growing, and guiding His disciples in every circumstance and situation known to man? Take a moment to pause and reflect on the magnitude of the “rest of the story.”
  
  
• What is your blindness? Saul was blind to the will of God long before his journey down the road to Damascus. Jesus ironically used Saul’s blindness to grab his attention and to create a new vision. Are you allowing Jesus to create new vision in your life? Are you open to see what Jesus would have you see? Are you so absolute in what you understand as truth that you are unable to see the Truth of Christ? If you were to list and identify the “absolutes” in your life, would this process possibly become a road-to-Damascus-experience for you where Jesus could lead you to new and exciting opportunities to serve Him?
  
  
• Have you been converted? What does being converted mean to you? Is it a change of heart, belief system, or personality? In your conversion, has God created a new person as dramatically as he changed Saul into Paul? Were there things in your life that once defined your character that no longer hold power over you? Or has the change in your life been less dramatic? Perhaps your conversion resulted in a choice to simply follow a slightly different path. Do you see that the eventual outcome of this slight diversion can eventually take you to a dramatically different destination? Do you accept that no matter how slight the change in your life you perceive once you begin following Jesus, the outcome can always be as dramatic as Saul’s?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

We move through our lives with purpose and zeal. We have developed opinions and established truths. Very few things will sway us from our traditional views. And then, along comes Jesus. Bang! In the middle of our journey, scales of blindness are removed from our eyes and we see a different truth. It is not a truth of self-righteousness but a vision and understanding of God’s plan for the world and our role within His plan. Our encounter with Christ is personal. He calls us by name and touches our heart in ways uniquely designed to break through our own blindness. He then takes us along a pathway that leads to the glory of God and the building of His kingdom here on earth.

FUMC Devotionals

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