Whoa. Pretty intense. And here I thought God only got angry and "smote" people in the Old Testament. Didn't the whole Jesus coming to earth thing chill Him out a bit? Whew. Ananias and Saphira were basically owned by their wealth. It was an area of their life that they were unwilling to turn over to God's rule. I think most Christians these days are like this- and hey, I don't point the finger, I have knowingly held back before when God has asked for all of me. Truth is, discipleship costs everything. Christ being the Lord of your life means He has the last word on everything- He gets the all access, backstage pass to our lives. He can move furniture, clean out closets, throw stuff away, eat whatever is in the fridge, put His feet on the couch- He is welcome into every part of our lives. But instead, many approach serving God as sort of a pick and choose thing. They decide what areas are open to Him and what places are closed. "You can have all of me, Lord but I'm not gonna break up with my boyfriend." or "Jesus, take over- except don't bug me about what I spend my money on." or "Be Lord over my life but please don't expect me to forgive- you have no idea what was done to me." We sort of ignore and only hear what we want to (thanks Lisa Loeb- yes, that song is going through my head now). Relationship with Jesus gives Him the right to ask for every bit of us- and yep, that's what He wants. When we hold back we aren't just being deceptive, we're being rebellious- we're not giving Him everything. This couple went through the motions- they appeared to be doing right, but in their hearts, Jesus wasn't really Lord over all. Man, I don't want to hold back areas of my heart. I don't want my life to have closed off areas that I won't let Him touch. Turns out, I need to drop dead- not like this couple- but I need to die to myself and giv e p my rights so that Jesus can truly be King of me.

Acts 5:1-11