Thursday, July 7, 2022
Theme : “ Stewardship in the Church ”
Text : Acts 5:1-5
1. But a man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a property, 2. and withheld part of the price, his wife knowing it; then he brought the rest, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. 3. Peter said to him, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, so that you lie to the Holy Spirit, and withhold part of the price of the field? 4. If it hadn't been sold, didn't you still have it? And, after it was sold, was the price not available to you? How could you put such a plan in your heart? It is not to men that you have lied, but to God. 5. Ananias, hearing these words, fell down, and expired. A great fear seizes all the listeners.
Let's remember:
God has placed at our disposal goods which constitute our patrimony. Through our possessions, we can bless God and his people. Through our possessions, we can serve God. By our possessions, we can also incur the wrath of God. It is important to know that everything comes from God. David says it best in 1 Chronicles 29:11b "for all that is in heaven and on earth is yours." He goes further in verse 12a “It is from you that wealth and glory come”. He does not stop, he adds in verse 14b: “Everything comes from you, and we receive from your hand what we offer you”. The idea behind this prayer of David is that we are only simple stewards appointed by God to maintain the goods that he places at our disposal. Our efforts would not be enough to have wealth; it is God who supplies us with various goods. Thus, all pettiness and other secretiveness that would arise from a clumsy management of goods are an abomination to God. The avarice of Ananias and Sapphira shows how Satan can fill a heart with concealment to the point of sending them to lie to the Holy Spirit. Now, God knows everything, He sees everything and punishes poor stewards. Excellent Thursday of truth. Amen Alain Louz.-
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