HALLEUYAH! HALLELUYAH!! HALLELUYAH!!!
RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2021
WEEK 31: (August 2 – August 8, 2021)
WEEKLY BIBLE READINGS:
Act 5: 1 – 11 (KJV)
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
INTERPRETATION
Many Christians try to outsmart God by applying their wisdom and knowledge to ‘editing’ God’s commandments, picking only what seems to be convenient. God’s instructions are designed to be obeyed in their entirety. Looking at the story of Ananias and Sapphira, they both agreed to sell a piece of property and bring the proceeds to the Apostle’s feet for use by the church. Selling one’s property and bringing the money to the church then was trendy. In the chapter before this chapter 5, it was recorded that Barnabas sold a field and gave the money to the apostles so that it could be used for distribution among the believers who were in need. Ananias and his wife were going to copy this man by selling a piece of their property and bring the money but in the process; they faltered, not entirely truthful and they lied to the Holy Spirit.
In the same vein, it’s evident that Ananias and his wife were operating in the realm of the flesh rather than the Spirit; it becomes even more obvious when their confidence is in what they could corner for themselves rather than what they will give to God. They could not stay true completely to what others (Barnabas) were doing – give their substance totally to God trust solely in His faithfulness to meet their needs. This is the reality for many Christians today; we have trusted our intellectual capacity to get the results, we no longer comply fully with God’s instructions and desires. We’ve allowed fleshliness, desire for praise and confidence in material things to becloud our perception of who God truly is. One of the sins of Ananias and Sapphira is that they cornered a certain percentage of the proceeds they got from selling their property. Not because they did not bring anything at all but they deployed deception in this process to fake it.
Our text serves as a warning for us today. We are not saying we should be perfect; we should strive to be perfect, adhering strictly to God’s commandment. We need to be on guard against the work of the unholy spirit. Submit yourself to total compliance to God’s instructions!
PRAYER
Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Holy Michael, thank you for your word, we pray that you grant us the spirit to obey you accordingly, help us to keep your commandments, guide our hearts to totally comply to your will. Align our minds to focus on you only and endow us with your Holy Spirit that will teach us all things. This and many more we ask for in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thank you and God bless. Shalom.
Footnote: “A life without Christ is full of crisis but life in Christ is a great life full of peace. Let that be your Guide & Guard”
Isaiah 59:1 – Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear”