Acts 9:1-20

The Damascus Road
1) Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest
2) and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3) As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 3
4) Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5) “Who are You, Lord?” he said.
“I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting,” He replied.
6) “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7) The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.
8) Then Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.
9) He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

Saul’s Baptism
10) There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Here I am, Lord!” he said.

11) “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there.
12) In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so he can regain his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
14) And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
15) But the Lord said to him, “Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites.
16) I will show him how much he must suffer for My name!”
17) So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18) At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.
19) And after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul Proclaiming the Messiah

Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days.
20) Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
(HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 30
Joy in the Morning
A psalm; a dedication song for the house.
Davidic.

1.) I will exalt You, Lord,
because You have lifted me up
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.
2.) Lord my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
3.) Lord, You brought me up from Sheol;
You spared me from among those
going down to the Pit.

4.) Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones,
and praise His holy name.
5.) For His anger lasts only a moment,
but His favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night,
but there is joy in the morning.

6.) When I was secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7.) Lord, when You showed Your favor,
You made me stand like a strong mountain;
when You hid Your face, I was terrified.
8.) Lord, I called to You;
I sought favor from my Lord:
9.) “What gain is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your truth?
10.) Lord, listen and be gracious to me;
Lord, be my helper.”

11.) You turned my lament into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12.) so that I can sing to You and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise You forever.




Holman Christian Standard Bible
(HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 29
The Voice of the Lord
A Davidic psalm.


1.) Ascribe to Yahweh, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2.) Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due His name;
worship Yahweh
in the splendor of His holiness.

3.) The voice of the Lord is above the waters.
The God of glory thunders--
the Lord, above vast waters,
4.) the voice of the Lord in power,
the voice of the Lord in splendor.
5.) The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6.) He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion, like a young wild ox.
7.) The voice of the Lord flashes flames of fire.
8.) The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9.) The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the woodlands bare.

In His temple all cry, “Glory!”

10.) The Lord sat enthroned at the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned, King forever.
11.) The Lord gives His people strength;
the Lord blesses His people with peace.



Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 28
My Strength
Davidic.

1.) Lord, I call to You;
my rock, do not be deaf to me.
If You remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit.
2.) Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to You for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary.

3.) Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.
4.) Repay them according to what they have done--
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.
5.) Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

6.) May the Lord be praised,
for He has heard the sound of my pleading.
7.) The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and I praise Him with my song.

8.) The Lord is the strength of His people;
He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
9.) Save Your people, bless Your possession,
shepherd them, and carry them forever.



Holman Christian Standard Bible
(HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 27

My Stronghold
Davidic.

1.) The Lord is my light and my salvation--
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life--
of whom should I be afraid?
2.) When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
3.) Though an army deploys against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
still I am confident.

4.) I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking Him in His temple.
5.) For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.
6.) Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

7.) Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.
8.) My heart says this about You,
“You are to seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek Your face.
9.) Do not hide Your face from me;
do not turn Your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10.) Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.

11.) Because of my adversaries,
show me Your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path.
12.) Do not give me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing violence.

13.) I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
14.) Wait for the Lord;
be strong and courageous.
Wait for the Lord.