Tithe or Die? Acts 5:1-5, Bible in 90 days

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Scripture: Acts 5:1-5 MSG But a man named Ananias-his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him-sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.

Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”

Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it.

Observation: Whoa! I bet Ananias didn’t think for a second that he’d drop dead because of his scheme. (I bet his wife didn’t either!) But he did, right there in front of everyone. Did he really think he wouldn’t get caught? Did he really think God didn’t see what really happened?

Application: This is certainly an extreme case in the Bible, but an important one nonetheless: if you sin, try to get over on God, he will take you out! This is not the first time God brought his wrath down, but I have to say, the visual of this story just blows my mind. We’ve all been there! Its time to tithe and suddenly you just HAVE to have that new pair of shoes or tickets to that show. ‘God won’t really miss it, right?’ Right. He won’t ‘miss it’ but he will see what you are doing and he won’t like it!

Prayer: Thank you Father for keeping me honest, especially when it comes to tithing. And thank you for showing me other ways to tithe, that may not include money at all. I thank you for your word and your constant presence in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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