DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: AUGUST 20 DANGER OF KEEPING BACK FROM GOD (1) SCRIPTURE: ACTS 5: 1 – 6
Amongst many traits of human beings, that which seems embedded in everyone is greed. Greed is manifested in many ways and in degrees. The seemingly frequent exhibited greed is “keeping back” what we have from people, especially when we are demanded to part with that which we have. Keeping back phenomenon features in marriages, churches and what have you. In the New Testament the story of Ananias and Sapphira who kept back the proceed they got, from the sales of their properties is typical example of Keeping back from God. To every human, keeping back what one has is not considered a bad thing. But for God, it is one of the great sins people commit. This devotional is set out to bring to the fore, the danger of keeping back from God. Our lead story informed us that Ananias and the wife died because of keeping back from what they got from the sales of their properties.
Christian preachers and teachers, most often, dwell on using the story of Ananias and Sapphira when there is need to raise money for church projects or special fund for whatever the General Overseer would want to use the money. This devotional tells the danger or the consequences of keeping back what God has blessed us with. Almost all Christians are still repeating the sin of Ananias and Sapphira as often as possible when asked to bring out money for projects, help the poor ones and for charitable projects. In offerings and tithings, Christians keep back substantial amounts and bring out so little just like Ananias and Sapphira.
Christians should know that Ananias and Sapphira acted on a simple decision “let us keep back part of this money in case poverty comes later.” The decision looks simple in the eyes of the humans. But God took it a very, very serious sin. This simple act contains in it, multiple sins by analysis. We will be seeing these sins in the subsequent discussions. We will see that it results into lying against the Holy Spirit, against God’s nature and can be regarded as hoarding which on its own is another serious sin, because whoever hoards denies others from enjoying the blessings given them by God.
PRAYER:
BLESSED FATHER, I discover that keeping back results into hypocritical life as Christian. Show me where I am guilty and grant me boldness to admit my sins for your forgiveness in Jesus name.
POSITIVE CONFESSION:
There is no how I can be clever than God my Maker. I hereby drop all earthly idea of hoarding to get rich later in life.
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