Memorise :
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
Read : Acts 5:1-11
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Message
In our Bible reading, we find a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who were gravely judged and punished because they lied. Just like this couple, there are some Christians who give God 5% of their income and label it as tithe. Galatians 6:7 says,
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Anyone who changes the word of God is a son of perdition, and the end of such is not to be desired. Jesus Christ said that of all the people given to Him by God, He did not lose anyone except the son of perdition ( John 17:12 ). At the time He made this statement, Judas Iscariot was still going around as a disciple. However, as far as Jesus was concerned, he was already lost. Although judas cast out demons and also went on evangelism with other disciples, his final place was perdition. He had no lot in the Kingdom of God. Something very frightening is that some people even steal what others have given to God. When all has been said and done, some very devoted people in church will miss it because of the impure motives behind their service.
Do you know that some people assist the tempter? You may wonder how this can be. After they have fed their eyes with lust including items and activities during the day, they recline to ponder over them later. Before long, they may find themselves practicing such ungodly acts. This was the undoing of Samson. Everywhere he went he had issues with women. He was supposed to be God's answer to the enemies of Isreal, and the power of God was mighty upon his life. He moved from killing a ferocious lion with his bare hands, to killing one thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. Nevertheless, after he failed to heed God's several warnings, he received the reward of unrighteousness, and judgment was unleashed on him. He experienced an unpleasant turning point: the man who was once unconquerable became the conquered, and the victor became the victim. Bound and blinded, he was taken into captivity and became a slave who was forced to grind corn in the enemy's prison. In Jesus' Name, your case will not be like that of Samson. God has been warning a lot of people, saying ' get away from the side of the world and follow the path of righteousness ', but such people often think they can outsmart God. They think that because everything seems to be alright, they are still safe, not knowing the wrath of God is awaiting them. It is a dangerous thing to continue to resist the Almighty.
Action Point :
In any area you have erred, open your ears and your heart to yield to God in repentance.'
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JOSHUA 10:16-12:6 and MATHEW 20:1-28
AUTHOR : Pastor E.A. ADEBOYE
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