The Heavenly Vision

By Bill Bowles

14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 26:14-18 English Standard Version (ESV)

Key Ideas

• Encounter with the living Christ
• Appointment to adventure
• Conversion is for the whole world

Action step

Make an inquiry of several long-time Christians and ask them, “What are the greatest blessings and rewards you have experiences with and in service to Jesus Christ?”

Prayer

Lord, I am present today, listening to Your voice, reporting for duty.

PHOTO: The conversion of St. Paul by S. G. Rudl (1896) in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, in the Karlín district of Prague, Czech Republic

This devotion is from a book of devotions written by Bill Bowles, resident of Arkansas City Presbyterian Manor.

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