As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul. Why are you persecuting Me? Acts 8:3-5 HCSB
I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was 10 years old while living in the West end of Louisville, Kentucky. It was a Wednesday night and I was at church. I told my father, who was the pastor, that I needed Jesus in my life. We went home from church and after talking to my parents about what it meant to accept Jesus as Lord, I knelt at the living couch with my mother on one side and my father on the other and we all three prayed. When I prayed to receive Jesus into my life, I had a very emotional experience and began to cry. Every conversion experience is different and many people do not have an emotional experience. Some people have a very quiet experience.
Saul, later to be called Paul, had a very unique conversion experience. He was brought face to face with the risen Christ. Sometimes God uses spectacular events to capture the attention of those who need to know Christ as Lord. Some people say that you must experience conversion in a particular way, but the right way is whatever way God uses to bring a person to an understanding of his need for Jesus Christ. Later, Paul refers to his conversion experience as the start of his new life in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 9:1 and 15:8).
Challenge: Have you had a conversion experience? If not, talk with your pastor about how you can be saved and have eternal life. If you are a believer, share your conversion experience with someone today, preferably with someone who needs to know Christ as Lord.