SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/9/2017 10:49 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Spiritual Perception
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 5:3-4
Message of the verses: “3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."”
As one looks at this passage, and I have looked at it on many different occasions, and sometimes wondering a number of things about it, things like why the Holy Spirit of God allowed Peter to realize that Ananias was not being truthful to Peter. Wondering why that God would bring this up when there are many times in the lives of believers when they tell lies. Perhaps it is because the church was so new and the Lord wanted to show the people of the church that He was indeed in charge of it. Remember when the Law was given and the tabernacle was set up that two of Aarons son’s were not offering the sacrifice in the way that they had been taught and so God struck them down and they died. Then later on when Eli’s two sons were making a mockery of the sacrificial offerings, even using their position to receive sexual favors from the women of that time, and yet God did not immediately punish them like He had Aaron’s sons; however He certainly did punish them later on. I guess the conclusion to all of this is that God is in control and He will punish sinners in the way that He chooses and in the time when He chooses.
What we see at the end of chapter four is a Spirit filled Barnabas giving money to the apostles, and then in chapter five was a man who Satan filled his hear to lie to the Holy Spirit. We mentioned that Ananias had control over the land as to whether or not it should be sold to give the proceeds to the apostles, and then after it was sold he could have given all, some, or none of it to the apostles, so that was not the issue. This was a predetermined attempt to lie to God’s Holy Spirit that he and his wife planned out. We are just beginning to understand some of the things that the man had planned in order to kill many people in Las Vegas, and yet God knew all of his plans as He saw everything that goes on every place and at all times, so there are no surprises with the Lord.
John MacArthur concludes this section with the following comments: “This passage teaches two vitally important truths about the Holy Spirit. First, it affirms that He is a person, not an influence or impersonal force, since He can be lied to. Second, verse 3 says Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, while verse 4 says that he lied to God, a clear affirmation of the deity of the Holy Spirit.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I begin my prayer time with the Lord each morning I ask that the Spirit of God search my heart as directed in Psalm 139:23-24. I am sure that there are times when I sin that I don’t realize that I do and therefore are in need of the Spirit’s searching of my heart to make sure all is right in my life with the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that the Lord will show me anything in my life that He is not pleased with so that I can confess it to Him and be cleansed.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “185,000” (2 Kings 19:35).
Today’s Bible question: “According to Paul, what kind of times shall come in the last days?”
Answer in our next SD.
10/9/2017 11:11 AM
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