Immediately after Stephen's death, the church in Jerusalem began to suffer terrible persecution. A well-educated Jew, named Saul, was the leader in the persecution of the church. He was trying to destroy the church. He went from house to house, and dragged out the believers. He put them in prison and even threatened to kill them. He believed that by doing this he was serving God.

Saul decided to go to Damascus. He asked a few men to go with him. He said to them, "We'll go to Damascus to look for the followers of Jesus. If we find them, we'll bring them back to Jerusalem."

When Saul was near Damascus - a bright light from the sky suddenly flashed around him, and he fell to the ground. He heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" asked Saul. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," said the voice. "Get up and go into the city. You'll be told what you must do."

Saul got up from the ground. When he opened his eyes, he could not see anything. He was blind. The men who were there helped him. They held his hand and led him into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

A believer, named Ananias, lived in Damascus. In a vision, the Lord called to him, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," answered Ananias. The Lord said to him, "Go to Straight Street. Look for the house of a man called Judas. Ask for a man named Saul. He is in there praying, and in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come in. He has seen Ananias put his hands on him so that he might see again."

"Lord," said Ananias, "I've heard that this man has done terrible things to your people in Jerusalem. He has come here to arrest all those who worship you." The Lord said, "Go. I have chosen this man to serve me. He is to tell the Gentiles and their kings, and the people of Israel about me. I myself will show him what he must suffer for my name."

Ananias went to the house in Straight Street. He found Saul. He put his hands on him and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me to you. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

At once something fell from Saul's eyes. He was able to see again. He stood up. He was baptised. After having some food, he felt stronger. He stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. The people in Damascus were amazed. Saul was no longer an enemy of Jesus - persecuting his followers. Instead, he was going around preaching to the people, and telling them that Jesus was the Son of God!

Saul's preaching became more and more powerful. He taught the people that Jesus was the Messiah. This made the Jews very angry. They decided to kill Saul. Every day these Jews waited at the city gates for Saul. Someone told him about this, and so one night, he escaped from Damascus by another way.

Saul returned to Jerusalem. He went to see the believers. He wanted to join them, but they were all afraid of him. Saul had been watching, when Stephen was stoned to death. They could not believe that he had become a disciple of Jesus.

However, one of the disciples, called Barnabas, knew Saul. He believed that Saul had become a disciple of Jesus. One evening, he took Saul to see the Apostles. "This is Brother Saul," he said. "On his way to Damascus, Jesus spoke to him. At Damascus, he preached boldly in the name of Jesus."

The Apostles believed Saul. They asked him to stay with them. Saul went all over Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of Jesus. Again some of the Jews planned to kill him. The believers heard about this. They helped Saul to escape from Jerusalem.

In an important city called Antioch, many people had become believers. The Apostles in Jerusalem heard about this. They sent Barnabas to them.

Barnabas was a good man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. When he arrived at Antioch, he found that the believers had been blessed by God. He taught them to be faithful to the Lord. This group of believers became known as the church in Antioch. It was here that the believers were first called Christians. Every day, more and more people became Christians - and so the church became bigger.

Barnabas needed someone to help him, so he went to look for Saul. He found Saul. He said, "Brother Saul, the Lord has blessed the church at Antioch. Many people have become believers. Come back with me. We want you to teach them the word of God." Saul went to Antioch with Barnabas, and for a whole year, they taught the Christians at Antioch.

One day, when the church leaders were praying, the Holy Spirit said, "I want Barnabas and Saul to go and do some work for me." They prayed for Barnabas and Saul, and sent them off - to do the Lord's work.

The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul on their way. They travelled through many countries. When they arrived at a place, they looked for a Jewish temple. Then they went in and preached the word of God to the people.

One day, they crossed the sea by ship. They came to a beautiful island called Cyprus. The ruler of Cyprus wanted to hear the word of God. He called for Barnabas and Saul, but a man there tried to stop him hearing the word of God.

Then Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked at the man and said, "You are always trying to change the Lord's truth into lies. The Lord will punish you now. You will be blind for some time." At once the man became blind. The ruler saw this, and he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord. He became a believer.

After this, Paul and Barnabas left Cyprus. They went on to other places, preaching to both the Jews and the Gentiles.

In one city, Paul preached in a Jewish temple with great power. He said, "People of Israel, and all Gentiles who worship God, listen. God wants you to hear this. The people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn't understand the word of God. They didn't believe that God had sent Jesus to them to be their Saviour. They had him killed on the cross, but God made him alive again. We're here to bring the Good News to you, so that anyone who believes in Jesus will have his sins forgiven."

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the temple, the people said to them, "Come back again next Sabbath. We want you to tell us more about these things." On the next Sabbath, almost everyone in the city came together to hear Paul and Barnabas preach the word of God.

Some of the Jews saw the crowds listening to Paul. They did not like it. They shouted angrily at Paul. They told him that what he was saying was wrong. Paul and Barnabas spoke even more boldly. They said, "People of Israel, God wants you to be the first to hear his word, but you don't want to hear it, so we'll speak to the Gentiles instead." The Gentiles heard this and they praised God. They listened carefully to Paul, and many of them became believers.

The Good News travelled everywhere. More and more people became believers and joined the church. This made some of the Jews very angry. One day, they suddenly rushed at Paul and Barnabas and dragged them out of the city. They shouted angrily, "Go away. We'll kill you if you come back again."

Paul and Barnabas went on to other countries. Wherever they went, they preached the word of God. The Lord gave them the power to perform miracles and wonders, and many people believed and became Christians.

One day, Paul and Barnabas came to a town called Lystra. They stopped there and preached to the people. A man who was lame listened to Paul when he preached the word of God. Paul saw that this man believed and could be healed. So he looked at him and said in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet." At once, the man jumped up and started walking about.

When the people saw this, they shouted in their own language, "These two men are gods." The crowd wanted to treat Paul and Barnabas like gods. Paul and Barnabas tried to stop them. They shouted, "We're only human beings like yourselves. We've come to tell you to turn to the living God."

There were a few Jews who had just come into Lystra. They spoke to the crowd and got them to stone Paul. Then they dragged him out of the town, thinking he was dead. Later, when the believers gathered around him, he got up. He returned to the town.

Paul and Barnabas had finished their work for the Lord, so they set off to return to Antioch. On the way back, they stopped at the places they had preached. At these places, churches had been started. So Paul and Barnabas stopped at each church and chose leaders. Then they prayed for the church. They asked the believers to keep faithful to the Lord.

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch, they told the church about what they had done. There was great rejoicing, and together they praised God for the work done amongst the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch for a long time. They taught and preached the word of God there.

Paul left Antioch to go and do more work for God. One of the believers who went with him was called Silas. The Holy Spirit showed them which way to go. They travelled through many countries, and came to a city called Philippi.

They stopped at Philippi for a few days. On the Sabbath, they went to the river-side. A few women were gathered there. Paul spoke to the women. He told them the Good News about Jesus. One of the women, named Lydia, listened carefully to Paul. She believed, and so did the other people in her house. They were baptised.

At Philippi there was a slave-girl. She had an evil spirit. She was able to tell people their fortunes, so she earned a lot of money for her owners.

For many days, this slave-girl followed Paul. She kept on calling out, "These men belong to the Most High God. They are telling you how you can be saved." One day, this slave-girl was again following Paul. He turned round and looked at her. He said to the evil spirit, "In Jesus' name, come out of her." Immediately the evil spirit left her.

The slave-girl's owners were very angry. She was now unable to earn lots of money for them. They dragged Paul and Silas before the city officials and said, "These men are Jews. They are causing trouble in our city. They are teaching the people many wrong customs." The officials took Paul and Silas away. They had them whipped and put in prison.

Paul and Silas were chained in prison, but they were not sad. They were praying and singing to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, at about mid-night, the prison shook. All the doors opened. The chains fell off the prisoners.

The prison guard woke up and saw all the doors open. He thought that all the prisoners had escaped. He was about to kill himself. Paul shouted, "Stop! Don't harm yourself. We're all here."

The prison guard led Paul and Silas out of the prison. He fell down at their feet and asked them, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul and Silas answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved."

Paul and Silas preached the word of God to him and to all the others in his house. He and all his family believed. And immediately they were baptised. They were all filled with joy, because they now believed in God.

The next morning, the city officials decided that they should let Paul and Silas go, because they had not done anything wrong. So they told the prison guard to set Paul and Silas free. But Paul and Silas said, "We've done nothing wrong, and yet they've whipped us and put us in this prison. They must come here and let us out."

The officials came and said to Paul and Silas, "We're sorry that we had whipped you and put you in prison." Then they led them out of the prison and said to them, "You must leave this city at once." Paul and Silas left Philippi. They travelled through many countries, teaching and preaching the word of God. Many people believed. They were baptised and they joined the church.

Jesus had said to Ananias, "He (Paul) is to serve me. He is to make my name known to the Gentiles and their kings, and to the people of Israel." Paul, who used to persecute Jesus' followers, had become Jesus' Apostle. He had made Jesus' name known to many Gentiles and to the people of Israel. But how was he to make Jesus' name known to kings?

Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He stopped at Philip's house and stayed for a few days. Many believers came to the house to see him.

One afternoon, a prophet came to the house. He tied up his own hands and feet with Paul's belt. He told the believers, "This is what the Holy Spirit says - 'The owner of this belt will be tied up like this by the Jews in Jerusalem. Then the Jews will hand him over to the Gentiles.' "

Jesus had said to Ananias, "I myself will show him (Paul), how much he must suffer for my name." Paul had been persecuted by the Jews, whenever he preached in Jesus' name. Now he was to suffer even more.

The believers realised the belt belonged to Paul. They were very sad, and a few of them were even crying. "Don't go to Jerusalem, Paul," they begged him. "We might never see you again." However Paul answered, "I'm ready to be tied up in Jerusalem. I'm ready to even die for Jesus' name."

When Paul arrived at Jerusalem, the believers there were very happy to see him. He told them all about his work amongst the Gentiles, and they all rejoiced and praised God together.

One day, when Paul was at the Temple, some Jews held on to him and shouted, "Help! This man is going everywhere teaching bad things about the people of Israel. He also speaks against the Law of Moses and this Temple. He has even brought Gentiles into this Temple." They dragged Paul outside. The crowd shouted angrily and tried to kill him. An officer and his men quickly ran into the crowd and arrested Paul. They put him in chains and took him away. The crowd was still shouting, "Kill him! Kill him!"

Some of the Jews planned to kill Paul. They said to the Jewish leaders, "Send for Paul to bring him before the Council, and we'll kill him before he gets there." The officer was told about this plan to kill Paul. He quickly told his men to take Paul away to a city called Caesarea. Later that night, they took him there, and handed him over to the ruler, called Felix.

Five days later, the Jews from Jerusalem came to Caesarea. They were brought before Felix. Paul was also brought in. The Jewish leaders said to Felix, "Ruler of the people, we've found that this man is terrible. He causes trouble amongst Jews everywhere. He is the leader of Jesus' followers. He has also tried to do bad things in our Temple, so we have arrested him."

Then Felix asked Paul to speak. Paul said, "I haven't caused any trouble. I'm a follower of Jesus, and so I believe that the dead will be made alive again. The Jews are against this teaching. That's why I've been brought before you to-day." After listening to him, Felix said, "You may leave now. I'll call for you another day."

Paul was taken back to the prison. From time to time, Felix sent for Paul, and Paul told him the Good News about Jesus.

Two years later, there was a new ruler in Caesarea, named Festus. Paul was still in prison because Felix wanted to please the Jews.

The Jewish leaders from Jerusalem came before Festus. Then Paul was brought in. After the Jewish leaders had spoken, Paul was asked to speak.

Paul said, "I've done nothing wrong against the Jews, or the Temple or the Emperor." Festus said to Paul, "Will you go to Jerusalem and come before me there?" Paul answered, "I haven't done anything wrong to the Jews. What they say about me is not true. I appeal to the Emperor." Festus agreed to this, and Paul was taken back to the prison.

One day, King Agrippa came to Caesarea. Festus said to him, "Felix has left a man in prison. His name is Paul. Both he and the Jewish leaders have come before me, but I don't think he has done anything wrong. Paul says that Jesus, who has died, is alive. The Jewish leaders are against Paul's teaching - that the dead can come alive again. They could not say anything else against him. Now Paul wants to appeal to the Emperor."

King Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself." The next day, Paul came before King Agrippa and Festus. Paul was asked to speak. He said, "King Agrippa, I was on my way to Damascus to persecute the Christians. Suddenly a light flashed from the sky. I fell to the ground. A voice said to me, 'I'm Jesus whom you persecute. You are to tell the people of Israel and the Gentiles about me. Tell them to believe in me, and they will have their sins forgiven. They will also have a place among God's chosen people.'

And so, King Agrippa, I've been going around preaching among the Jews and the Gentiles. I said to them, 'It was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die and come alive again. If you are sorry for your sins, he'll forgive you and save you.' "

King Agrippa said to Festus, "I, too, find that Paul hasn't done anything wrong. He should not be killed. If he had not appealed to the Emperor, we could set him free. Now we have to send him to Rome, to come before the Emperor."

The Bible does not tell us whether Paul had come before the Emperor in Rome. But what is important is this - Paul, through his suffering in prison, had already made Jesus' name known to two rulers and a king.

Jesus had said to Ananias, "He (Paul) is my chosen instrument - to make my name known to the Gentiles and their kings, and to the people of Israel." Paul had done all this.

Jesus' words had come true for all his faithful followers - for Peter, Philip, Barnabas, Paul, the women who went to Jesus' tomb and for many others. Even to-day, Jesus' words are true for millions of his faithful followers all over the world.