Acts 5:1-11 Ananias & Sapphira

When we read the verses of Acts 5:1-11 it is easy to do distance ourselves from this scenario, especially if we have never gifted the proceeds of land to the church, as Ananias & Sapphira lied directly to  the apostles and to the Holy Spirit.

After seeing the outcome of these verses, namely the bodies of this husband and wife being carried away for burial, no one in their right mind would directly lie to the Holy Spirit. Yet I have no doubt that everyone of us have made promises to the Lord which we have not kept.

As a Christian man of more than thirty years now, I couldn't count on both my hands and feet the number of times I have come to the Lord in prayer promising to do things which usually within a short time I have had to come back to the Lord in repentance because of my unfaithfulness.

Though the story of Acts 5 is an extreme one, it brings to home the need of each of us to consider the power we have in the tongue. The book of James (see 3:1-12) describes the tongue "as a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body."

James goes on to say that with the tongue we both praise our Lord and Father, and with it curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Just over the page in chapter 5:12, James says to "let your yes be yes and your no be no". In other words don't make promises you can't keep and certainly not the ones that you are not meant to keep.

These verses in Acts however have important undertones that all of us must consider when approaching the Throne of Grace. Our God is a Holy God who in turn has called each of us to lives of Holiness. As their is only one who is Holy, namely the Lord Jesus, we must and can only compare our lives to Him who was without sin. Put simply, we must be in Him and he is us for us to be made holy.

As a result, our lives should be a reflection of Him. I remember the first time I entered the auditorium of the church building where I gave my life to Christ some thirty years ago. It seemed as though everyone in that building shone with the presence of God. The result therefore of being in Him, is that He will be seen and heard in all that we do and say. As Philippians' says, we are to shine like the stars which we are when we are in Christ.

I pray that each of us could truly reflect Christ in our lives and let His love in us for each other be seen around the world.

God Bless