DAY 310 Read Acts 4 and 5.
Today's reading: The embryo church ran into trouble almost immediately. Opposition and persecution from the religious establishment could be expected; but corruption among believers?
Memory gem: "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie the Holy Ghost?...Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:3, 4).
Thought for today:
I never hear of many boys being named Ananias, do you? The people were bringing money to forward the great gospel message, as people do today. God didn't tell them that they had to give it, but out of willing hearts they wanted to give. Of course, Ananias and Sapphira wanted to give something too, and they thought, "Here, we will sell our property. We will give part of it, because that will give us a high standing among the believers; and we will keep part of it, because that will give us a good bank account, something to fall back upon." And so this husband and wife agreed together to do this thing.
Ananias came in and laid the money down, and somehow he evidently directed the attention of the people and the apostles to it as though he and his wife had given all. The apostles asked, "Is this all?" He said, "Yes, it is."
Then the Holy Spirit revealed the whole thing to the apostles. You know the sad story. The man fell over dead. The Scripture says they "wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him." I like that expression "wound him up"--the burial cloth, I suppose--and that was the end of it. Then the wife came in later and told the same story, and the same thing happened to her.
As they breathed their last sighs, those around might have heard that whisper: "God means what He says. 'The way of transgressors is hard!' "
My friend, don't delay doing what God wants you to do.
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Difficult or obscure words:
Acts 5:5. "Gave up the ghost"--literally: expired.
Acts 5:24. "Doubted"--were perplexed.
Today's reading: The embryo church ran into trouble almost immediately. Opposition and persecution from the religious establishment could be expected; but corruption among believers?
Memory gem: "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie the Holy Ghost?...Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:3, 4).
Thought for today:
I never hear of many boys being named Ananias, do you? The people were bringing money to forward the great gospel message, as people do today. God didn't tell them that they had to give it, but out of willing hearts they wanted to give. Of course, Ananias and Sapphira wanted to give something too, and they thought, "Here, we will sell our property. We will give part of it, because that will give us a high standing among the believers; and we will keep part of it, because that will give us a good bank account, something to fall back upon." And so this husband and wife agreed together to do this thing.
Ananias came in and laid the money down, and somehow he evidently directed the attention of the people and the apostles to it as though he and his wife had given all. The apostles asked, "Is this all?" He said, "Yes, it is."
Then the Holy Spirit revealed the whole thing to the apostles. You know the sad story. The man fell over dead. The Scripture says they "wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him." I like that expression "wound him up"--the burial cloth, I suppose--and that was the end of it. Then the wife came in later and told the same story, and the same thing happened to her.
As they breathed their last sighs, those around might have heard that whisper: "God means what He says. 'The way of transgressors is hard!' "
My friend, don't delay doing what God wants you to do.
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Acts 5:5. "Gave up the ghost"--literally: expired.
Acts 5:24. "Doubted"--were perplexed.
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