It took some doing to convert Saint Paul from a feared persecutor of Christians to a faithful apostle of Christ. The voice of Jesus asked why Paul persecuted Him. Blinded by a bright light, Paul then lost his sight for three days, until at last he stood ready for Baptism. The Lord has planted the seeds of His Word within us to take root and grow strong enough to weather any storm. Somehow, Jesus slept on a boat through a gale and crashing waves. The Disciples woke Him, afraid of perishing at sea and—worse yet—afraid that the Lord didn’t c

Some Pharisees objected when Jesus allowed His Disciples to pick and eat heads of grain as they walked along on a Sabbath day. He cured a man’s withered hand right in the synagogue, too, after Pharisees declined to answer whether rules about keeping the Sabbath prevented doing something good when the opportunity arose. Jesus’ conduct on a day of rest never went against the grain of God’s purpose. He and the Twelve sometimes got too busy in their ministry to eat at all, and He didn’t enforce fasting rules for the time being. Like new clo

Jesus invited Peter, Andrew, James, and John away from their fishing boats and nets to follow Him. After likewise calling the customs collector Matthew (Levi) away from his post, Jesus gladly ate at his house among tax collectors and sinners. Desperate to get close to Jesus, four men lowered a paralytic through the roof. Scribes regarded His forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins as blasphemy but could not dispute the Lord’s authority when He enabled the man to pick up his mat and walk. Teaching with incomparable wisdom, banishing an unclean s

When Jesus blessed and multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of thousands, even the Twelve didn’t grasp that He came to satisfy a deeper hunger. Jesus walked over water to join the Disciples in a boat as they struggled to row against the wind. They thought a ghost had appeared, but Jesus calmed their fears and the wind. After reading from the prophet Isaiah about One anointed to bring good news to the poor, the blind, and those longing for freedom, Jesus told people in Nazareth’s synagogue that they had just heard the fulfillm

Mary had much to ponder. Shepherds told of the glad tidings of angels who said they would find the newborn Savior lying in a manger. During the ritual presentation of a firstborn son in the Temple, a holy man named Simeon recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah, a Light for all people. Still, Mary and Joseph had parental worries. Magi had just departed when an angel sent the Holy family to Egypt before Herod could have Jesus slain. At age 12, Jesus decided to stay behind in Jerusalem after the Passover feast. For three days, Mary and Joseph

When two miraculously expectant mothers greeted each other, Elizabeth’s unborn child kicked joyfully in nearness to the coming Savior. Zechariah had doubted an angel’s message that he and Elizabeth would become parents. He lost the power of speech, regained it when he believed, and then prophesied that John would prepare the way for the Lord by teaching forgiveness of sins as the way of salvation. On the night of the Lord’s birth, shepherds saw from Earth’s landscape the rejoicing in heaven. An angel announced that they would find the n

Mary believed that God chose her to give birth to the Son, but others surely would doubt. Under Mosaic Law, if Joseph posed as a child’s father, God would punish the Israelite nation. Fear and misgivings weighed heavily, until an angel provided reassurance. Years later, John the Baptist offered practical advice on living righteously, such as giving away an extra cloak and refraining from false accusations. Jesus put religious leaders on the spot by asking whether baptism by John had heavenly or human origin. Even when they saw repentant sinne