|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-12-27 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Acts 5:3-4 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In chapter 4, we were told about how unified the disciples and Christians were in living together and pooling their resources to create community, and dependencies on one another. Joseph, also called Barnabas, showed a huge example of this by giving to the disciples 100% of what he sold a piece of land for. Another couple, Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be just like Barnabas, so they also sold land, but they decided to hold back a portion, and give the remainder to the disciples, under the pretense that it was the full amount. God hates pretense, so we need to look at this closer… |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| When God knows right down to our innermost thoughts, what do you suppose that we prove by trying to hold out on Him, or anyone else? Personally, I remember in tithing where I gave a full 10% of my net pay, and often when finances were tight, old Satan would cause me to question the amount I was giving to God. However, at a revival service we were challenged on our giving. We were invited to take our wallets out, and in our prayer to God ask Him to take control of all that He gives to us and allows us to earn. That night I was challenged to begin giving on my gross salary, so that I would be giving to God the first fruits of my earnings. Friends that was probably 10 – 13 years ago, and I have been blessed with the necessary finances ever since. Now, I don’t believe that this lesson is holy and solely about money, but more about the heart. The Christian faith is not one where we preach about doing what we say and not as much on what we do, for it is about a relationship with the Master Creator of this universe, including you and I. I once wrote a fairly complex software program that would run a whole bank. Whenever I received a call about something not working the way it should, my mind would go to all the possible programming around that part of the program. Why then do we feel like we can get away with Satan’s tactics when God, the Creator, knows so much about His precious creation? Do we think for a moment that we are fooling God – the Maker of all things, or are we simply fooling ourselves by thinking that we could pull off our shenanigans without anyone knowing – even God? It just doesn’t work that way friends? Mom, dad, sisters, brothers, friends, coworkers, pastors and everyone else might not realize what we are up to, but the God who created us, and knows all things, always has His finger on the pulse of what is going on in our lives. So why not ‘fess up friends, and do it right the first time, and every time, by asking God to forgive you of all your past sin. Welcome His Son, Jesus, into your heart and life and create a personal relationship with Him, then through the power of the Holy Spirit, ask Him to show you how to live in accordance with His perfect will. Others will soon question you about what has happened in your life, because of the change evident in your walk and in your talk. God can do just that for you, my friend, if you’ll let Him. |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Savior, thank You for being a stable friend that we can depend on and place our faith in. A plumb-line by which we can measure right from wrong, and a loyal friend that we can depend on through all phases of life. I personally thank You for persuading me to surrender my life to You many years ago, but I am just as dependent on You today as I have always been, because I want to live life perfectly and in accordance with Your will, even in a broken and sinful world. For my readers and I that are serious about our relationship with You, please help us to live like You taught us to, and talk like You exampled for us while You were here on earth. For the curious and the lost, please soften their hearts once again today Lord, and may they be reminded about the truths of Your Word in several ways today – to the point that it may cause them to surrender wholly and solely to You oh Lord. AMEN! |
|
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 