Devotional Verses From The Acts Of The Apostles
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ... But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priest?
Acts 9:1,2,21
     Imagine a maniacal persecutor, so set on punishing those who disagree with his view of religion that the very breath he exhales seems to express his fury, rage, and hatred. He is a man who is feared and truly dangerous. At the very least, his victims will be deported and then jailed. This terror of a man is known to the world as Saul of Tarsus, and the evil he had perpetrated on followers of Jesus had them running for cover. If it had been up to Saul, he would have dug them out until no Christians were left. Then he has an encounter with Christ, and he, himself, becomes a Christian, and for a time the church has rest. It is an absolutely amazing turnabout, so dramatic that the Christians were hardly able to conceive it. What God did was "beyond belief," until God did it. And Saul's conversion to Jesus was one of the greatest things God ever did for His church.
     Can God do something like this again? Of course! There is no question about it. Evil heads of state, terrorists, warlords, gang leaders, none are beyond God's reach. Pray for those you know of to have a saving experience with Jesus the way Saul did. Pray for rest for God's church wherever her enemies are breathing out threatenings and slaughter. Pray for the conversion of wicked persecutors of the church     wherever there is persecution. Wouldn't it be wonderful if persecutors woke up one morning suddenly believing in Jesus, and loving the very people they had been pursuing to persecute?
     It could happen. God please do it again!