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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture,

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Speaker 1: a calming Scripture Center devotional podcast designed to help you

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Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and

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Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after this short word from sponsors, will.

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Speaker 2: Reflect on Tonight's scripture, Acts chapter nine.

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Speaker 1: Tonight's Scripture reflection is written by Lynette Kittle and read

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Speaker 1: by Kirie Eichberger. Acts chapter nine. Meanwhile, Saul was still

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Speaker 1: breathing out in murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He

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Speaker 1: went to the high Priest and asked him for letters

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Speaker 1: to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found

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Speaker 1: any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women,

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Speaker 1: he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he

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Speaker 1: neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly alight from heaven flashed

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Speaker 1: around him. He fell to the ground and heard a

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Speaker 1: voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

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Speaker 1: Who are you?

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Speaker 3: Lord?

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Speaker 1: Saul asked, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. He replied,

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Speaker 1: Now get up and go into the city, and you

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Speaker 1: will be told what you must do. The men traveling

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Speaker 1: with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound but

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Speaker 1: did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground,

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Speaker 1: but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.

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Speaker 1: So they led him buy the hand into Damascus. For

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Speaker 1: three days he was blind and did not eat or

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Speaker 1: drink anything. And Damascus there was a disciple named Annonias.

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Speaker 1: The Lord called to him in a vision. Anonius, yes, Lord,

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Speaker 1: he answered. The Lord told him go to the house

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Speaker 1: of Judas on Street Street and ask for a man

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Speaker 1: from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In the

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Speaker 1: vision he has seen a man named Anonius come and

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Speaker 1: place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord

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Speaker 1: Anonius answered, I have heard many reports about this man

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Speaker 1: and all the harm he has done to your holy

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Speaker 1: people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority

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Speaker 1: from the Chief Priest to arrest all who call on

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Speaker 1: your name. But the Lord said to Anonius, go, this

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Speaker 1: man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to

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Speaker 1: the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

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Speaker 1: I will show him how much he must suffer for

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Speaker 1: my name. Then Anonius went to the house and entered it,

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Speaker 1: placing his hands on Saul. He said, brother, Saul. The

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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as

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Speaker 1: you were coming here, has sent me so that you

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Speaker 1: may see it again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately,

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Speaker 1: something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could

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Speaker 1: see again. He got up and was baptized, and after

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Speaker 1: taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several

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Speaker 1: days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began

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Speaker 1: to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son

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Speaker 1: of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked,

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Speaker 1: is it he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem

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Speaker 1: among those who call in his name? And has it

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Speaker 1: he come here to take them as prisoners to the

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Speaker 1: chief priests. Yet Sau grew more and more powerful and

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Speaker 1: baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus

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Speaker 1: is the Messiah. After many days had gone by, there

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Speaker 1: was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but

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Speaker 1: Saul learned of their plan. Day and night. They kept

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Speaker 1: close watch on the city gates in order to kill him,

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Speaker 1: but his followers took him by night and lowered him

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Speaker 1: in a basket through an opening in the wall. When

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Speaker 1: he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples,

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Speaker 1: but they were all afraid of him, not believing that

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Speaker 1: he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and

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Speaker 1: brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul,

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Speaker 1: on his journey, had seen the Lord, and that the

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Speaker 1: Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he

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Speaker 1: had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul

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Speaker 1: stayed with them and moved about freely. In Jerusalem, speaking

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Speaker 1: boldly in the name of the Lord, he talked and

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Speaker 1: debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.

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Speaker 1: When the Believers learned of this, they took him down

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Speaker 1: to Sisyria and sent him off the Tarsus. Then the

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Speaker 1: church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of

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Speaker 1: peace and was strengthened, living in the fear of the

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Speaker 1: Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. It increased in

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Speaker 1: numbers as Peter traveled about the country. He went to

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Speaker 1: visit the Lord's people who lived in Lyda. There he

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Speaker 1: found a man named Anus who was paralyzed, that had

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Speaker 1: been bedridden for eight years and Nias. Peter said to him,

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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ heals you get up and roll up here

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Speaker 1: mat Immediately, Aneas got up. All those who lived in

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Speaker 1: Lyda and Charon saw him and turned to the Lord

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Speaker 1: and Joppa. There was a disciple named Tabitha in Greek,

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Speaker 1: her name is Dorcas. She was also doing good and

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Speaker 1: helping the poor. About that time, she became sick and died,

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Speaker 1: and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

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Speaker 1: Lida was near Joppa, so when the disciples heard that

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Speaker 1: Peter was in Lida, they sent two men to him

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Speaker 1: and urged him please come at once. Peter wept with them,

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Speaker 1: and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room.

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Speaker 1: All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him

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Speaker 1: the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while

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Speaker 1: she was still with them. Peter sent them all out

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Speaker 1: of the room. Then he got down on his knees

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Speaker 1: and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha,

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Speaker 1: get up. She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she

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Speaker 1: sat up. He took her by the hand and helped

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Speaker 1: her to her feet. Then he called for the believers,

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Speaker 1: especially the widows, and he presented her to them alive.

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Speaker 1: This became known all over Jaba, and many people believed

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Speaker 1: in the Lord. Peter stayed in Japa for some time

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Speaker 1: with a tanner named Simon. Have we ever experienced an

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Speaker 1: Aha moment where in an instant we seemed to suddenly

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Speaker 1: understand something that had been completely hidden from us before.

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Speaker 1: Maybe Jesus has it come to us in a flash

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Speaker 1: of light from heaven, but he has reached out in

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Speaker 1: ways that have changed our lives. A changed life is

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Speaker 1: the fruit of salvation in Jesus Christ. Like Paul, it

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Speaker 1: doesn't matter if we have the most frightening our worshi

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Speaker 1: reputation around. When Jesus calls us by name, drawing us

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Speaker 1: into his presence, our hearts and minds are transformed in

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Speaker 1: a moment, transformed not just on the inside, but a

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Speaker 1: transformation that flows out through our words, actions, and attitudes.

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Speaker 1: True renovation of our hearts bring us both inward and outward,

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Speaker 1: change where we no longer speak or live as we

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Speaker 1: did before, and our actions reveal the transformation that has

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Speaker 1: occurred deep within us. As Peter's reaching out to others

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Speaker 1: through many people to believe in God, so can our

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Speaker 1: transformed lives do the same in the lives of those

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Speaker 1: we meet on life's journey. Once our lives are transformed

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Speaker 1: by God's grace, as with Paul and Peter, our faith

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Speaker 1: begins to overflow, reaching out to and spreading the good

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Speaker 1: news of salvation to everyone we meet. Maybe not in

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Speaker 1: the miraculous, dramatic public ways God moved through their lives,

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Speaker 1: but invisible, noticeable, tangible ways that those around us take notice. God, here,

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Speaker 1: I am by your grace. Change me. I ask, transform

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Speaker 1: my heart and mind so that others will see that

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Speaker 1: you are real in my life. Like Paul, remove the

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Speaker 1: scales of spiritual blindness from my eyes so that I

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Speaker 1: might see you clearly. Strengthen and empower me, Oh Lord,

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Speaker 1: to boldly share who you are and how you have

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Speaker 1: transformed my life. Let your life flow through me, reaching

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Speaker 1: out and drawing those around me who need you to

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Speaker 1: the transformational life you give. Amen. How did Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 1: speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Your Nightly

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Speaker 1: Scripture Forum discussion.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 3: was read from the New International Version by Biblica. All

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Speaker 3: Scripture is ready when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is

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Speaker 3: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you

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Speaker 3: and we'll see you tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Night