Why
Have
You Let
Satan
Fill Your Heart?
Scripture
Acts
5
But
there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira,
sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the
apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent,
he kept the rest.
3 Then
Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You
lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for
yourself.
4 The
property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after
selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a
thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
5 As
soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died.
Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6 Then
some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and
buried him.
7 About
three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had
happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price
you and your husband received for your land?”
“Yes,”
she replied, “that was the price.”
9 And
Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to
test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your
husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly,
she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw
that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her
husband.
Observation
Liar!
Liar! Pants On Fire! Ananias
and his wife Sapphira paid dearly for lying against the Holy Spirit.
In
Acts 4, the church was doing so well, but in Acts 5 it got all messed
up because of the dishonesty of these two people.
It
is a reminder to me that I need to be a man of integrity. When I say
something it needs to be the truth. People need to be able to trust
what I say.
It
is a reminder to me that a fib, even what is called a little white
lie, is still a lie! Ananias and his wife Sapphira never thought what
they did would cost them their life, but it did!
Application
I
will watch what I say and make sure that what I say is true.
How
about you?
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, this story is a powerful reminder to me that I need to be
honest. I need to be a man of integrity. Help me to be trustworthy.
Help me to always be honest and truthful. I know from this story that
there are consequences, some very severe, for not being honest.
Daily
Bible Reading: Malachi 3,4; Psalms 148; Acts 5
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