Saul was a man who was the supervisor of Stephen's execution in Acts 7:54-60. In Acts 8:1-3, Saul continued making life hell for church members in Jerusalem. Saul was going into people's homes and committing men and women to prison. They were imprisoned simply for being members of the church. That is called being persecuted.
Now, we have seen that there are people who when they heard the word of God and they hear about Jesus they either chose to believe or not believe. It is their choice. In Acts 8:9-25 we have Simon the magician who had gained prominence by practicing magic and making people believe he was somebody great. As other Samaritans came to believe the gospel of Christ, Simon believed as well, but he did slip up. He saw that Peter and John were empowered by the Holy Spirit and lay hands on the people of Samaria that received the word of God. Simon saw this power and thought he could buy the ability from Peter and John. Peter said to Simon, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God." Simon repented and said "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me." Repentance is part of our reconnection with God.
We can give up when things seem hopeless. or we can stick to our old ways and pretend to be changed people, but when you have the Holy Spirit with you it can keep you grounded in order to do God's will.
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