Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to Acts 5 Today

This morning I heard my husband begin to read the chapter aloud, as he likes to do. I overheard Ananias and Sapphira, then he read a bit and was quiet.
I was thinking, “not today, that one isn’t today, is it? Is it that soon in Acts that the people of God begin to offend the Holy Spirit? It couldn’t be, aren’t we only on chapter 5, it must be he’s quiet because he turned to the wrong page and that was like ch 11 or something, not 5, not Ananias and Sapphira already!” As I thought about it, I knew it wasn’t chapter 11 and the Lord began to speak to me from what Lance had read aloud.
I thought I recalled him reading something like this,
“He’d promised to bring the whole thing, but he brought only part.” Or did I hear,
“He’d said he was one of the disciples who were in one accord and had said, “hey. let’s bring our all and combine it all together, like we were in one accord in the spirit, so let us be in the natural provisions also.”” Or I heard,
“He’d said to the disciples face to face, Oh yes,” I’m a Christian, I’m all in, a 100%-er. A believer in Christ All the way”, but in action, he only did part when it came to living it out and proving it so, for his own life, personally.”
I heard a lot of things and it sank my heart.
So many times we take ourselves out of the scriptures, when we should put ourselves right back in them. Is this us at all?
Ananias means: One to who Jehovah has so graciously given.
Sapphira means: precious, costly, valuable, jewel.
This salvation we have was given us by God so freely, so graciously. Do we understand the magnitude of this free gift? It is so precious. God’s only Son was given us as a living sacrifice. A man’s physical body was tortured, shredded, because God loves us enough to take all of our eternal pain in punishment for the separation our sin made between us and our Creator Father.
It is very serious business- discipleship. It is not pretty when a man makes a promise he does not keep, especially a promise to God! Wow.
Do we realize God gives and takes life away? He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts? How could we ever lie to Him, saying one thing while doing another? He knows us from the inside out!
We may lie to men, who serve God, we may think it’s no biggy to say one thing before men, yet do other things, but God sets men up as representatives of Him, “face to facers” I call them. They make us accountable to God.
If we go into our prayer closets and pray between us and God we can say or do anything, there, it’s when we sit face to face with a man that we hesitate on what to say, and that should be. Ananias most likely hesitated before he lied.
If you’re not in with face to facers, you otta be.
Can anyone you know father you? Can anyone ask you what you are doing, where you are going, and correct you to help save your soul? If they cannot you are not a disciple! If that offends you, you may believe in Him, but you’re not all His yet.
I know it’s a journey, but we decide how long it takes by how soon we yield to His will and ways or not.
So what Jehovah had so graciously given died.
Is your born again faith in Christ Jesus still alive, or did you become a believer and never grow into a disciple? If a child does not grow they die. We as believers MUST grow into disciples.
It is serious when someone does not grow, there should be alarms going off. People should be horrified, really. It is not normal to stay a baby for life, it is not normal for a believer to not become a disciple who gives all to follow Jesus.
If we do not force ourselves to be disciplined and grow, we do not value what God freely gave us. When you value something you tend to it, nurture its growth. If we do not tend to it properly, it becomes worthless to us and in us.
Sapphira died also, She ignored the conviction of the Lord. Deception does that and devalues us, tells us the walk with Christ is of no value, it lies to us. Maybe in the here and now it does not seem to bring us a whole lot of personal increase, so what! We’re talking serious eternal value here. We cannot afford to listen to any other voice, but God’s voice!
So Ananias, Sapphira, what was the price? What exactly does it cost to be a disciple? I know you had no idea when you “signed up”, but now that you’ve come to find out the true value of relationship, with God and His Son and Spirit; now that you know the value of right relationship and understand that our God is a Covenant God, are you willing to pay?
Well, we can’t afford to pay.
Well, yeah, that is true, the thing is it is way too expensive, but guess what?
God gave you a ticket to have it for free.
Well I thought it cost us. It does, but it’s free.
I don’t get it.
I know you didn’t get it, but we can through your example.
The example of a Life laid down.
That’s the valuable price, life. A life for a life! It’s always been that way.
Yet the life is not taken, it is given.
That is a freewill sacrifice.
It is due Him.
It is a very appropriate response, due God from all humans.
How are signs and wonder wrought by the hands of human men? The laying down of on’s life and the picking up of another. The disciples were the ones the power flowed through. Those who willingly gave up their own agendas, plans goals, etc. THAT is the laying down of the life!
They were glad to suffer for His name. that person wiling to do so knows Him. No one can feel that way and not know Him, eternally.
Those who willingly lay down their lives will find it, life eternal. These see into another realm right here and now, but another realm, the eternal realm.