JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
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And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts of the Apostles 9
Saul’s Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.* So he went to the high priest. 2He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! 8Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. 9He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
10Now there was a believer* in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers* in Jerusalem! 14And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17So 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.” 18Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul stayed with the believers* in Damascus for a few days.
Have you ever experienced a time when someone said something to you and you needed time to think about it? Maybe someone said something important. Or they said something you didn’t quite understand, and by taking a little time to think about it, you either understood it better or could decide a question to ask.
When Saul encountered Jesus, everything he thought he knew turned upside down. Remember, he was on his way to persecute believers. Now, he was one! For three days, Saul did not eat or drink. Instead, he prayed and he thought about what Jesus had said. This is a practice called fasting. Sometimes, when God shows us something important, the right response is to stop, listen, and seek him. When we fast, we decide to give up something so that we can spend more time seeking Jesus. The goal of fasting is not to give something up, just to give it up. It’s not discipline, or punishment. The goal is having a heart that wants to give up something to make more time and space for being with Jesus.
What does fasting look like? Well, for Saul, it looked like giving up eating so that he could pray. Some adults will also choose to give up eating a meal, and during that meal time pray and read their Bible. What could fasting look like for you?
Saul’s three-day pause reminds us that it is okay to stop and process with the Lord—that it’s good to pause and spend time with Jesus. He might be trying to pull you closer to him, or he might be trying to teach you something new. This week, practice fasting for 1 day. The thing you choose to give up doesn’t have to be food. It could be something else you spend a lot of time doing. Consider some options below:
Instead of doing those things, spend time with God instead praying and reading your Bible.
In those quiet times, ask God:
Sometimes, growing closer to Jesus begins when we slow down enough to hear him. Take a few quiet minutes today to thank Jesus for meeting with you personally and invite him to show you areas where you can draw closer to him.
Jesus, thank you for changing hearts. Thank you that we can slow down, pause, and hear from you. Show me where I need to trust you and obey you more. Amen.