Tag: Ananias

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Acts Devotionals

Our Lord and his disciple

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

“Here I am, Lord,” he replied. (Acts 9:10)

One of the amazing things to me is that though Jesus has millions of disciples, he knows each one by name. We are not just nameless faces to him. He knows and calls us by name.

Ananias was far from a famous Christian. This is the only time we ever hear his name in the Bible, except for when Paul talks about him in his testimony in chapter 22.

But Jesus knew Ananias and called him by name.

But the other thing that strikes me is Ananias’ attitude toward his Lord.

Jesus called him, and he immediately answered, “Here I am.” He was always available to his Lord.

And though he didn’t always understand his Lord’s orders, he ultimately said, “Yes, Lord.”

That’s the kind of disciple I want to be, available to my Lord, and saying, “Yes, Lord” to whatever he asks of me.

How about you?

Categories
Acts Devotionals

The “normal Christian” life

Acts

You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain… (John 15:16)

But the Lord said to him, “Go…” (Acts 9:15)

In this passage, we see the lives of two ordinary disciples, Ananias and Tabitha.

As I’ve mentioned before, “disciples” and “Christians” are essentially the same thing. So I could say that we are looking at the lives of two ordinary Christians. 

And just as Jesus chose his 12 apostles and appointed them to go and bear fruit, so he chose Ananias and Tabitha to do the same. 

They were not to simply stay at home worshiping God every day. They were to go out into the world and bear fruit, fruit that would remain. 

And that’s what they did. 

Ananias went and touched a man named Saul. And through Saul, the Roman Empire was turned upside down for Christ. 

For Tabitha, she touched life after life, making a difference in the people around her. 

Ananias and Tabitha were not “super Christians.”

Aside from Paul’s testimony, we no longer hear Ananias’ name and Tabitha’s name never comes up again in the Bible. But they went out into the world, touching people, bearing fruit that lasted.

That’s the life each and every one of us are called to as Christians. To go. And bear fruit. 

That’s the “normal Christian” life. 

Is that the life you’re living? 

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Bible Original

Taking God lightly

Acts

This passage is not a comfortable one. But I don’t think we should be avoiding uncomfortable passages. God put them there for a reason.

Here you have God striking down Ananias and Sapphira for their sin. Why?

Not only did they sin, it was a deliberate sin. At their home, they discussed lying to Peter and to everyone else in the church. But in lying to Peter and the church, they lied to the One who was dwelling in them. They lied to the Holy Spirit. They lied to God. And that is a serious thing: it shows a total disrespect for God. Ananias and Sapphira took God lightly, and as a result took their sin lightly. The result? Death.

It was a harsh discipline. It was in fact the harshest discipline possible. Why so harsh? Because an attitude of taking God lightly and taking sin lightly can easily spread in the church like a cancer. And God pulled it out before it could spread in this young church he had just started.

You see this in 1 Corinthians 11 as well. Believers were getting sick and even dying because they were taking God and their sinful attitudes toward each other lightly at the communion table.

So Paul warns

If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged (I Corinthians 11:31).

In other words, search your heart. Don’t ever take God or sin lightly. If you don’t, discipline will come. And it may be harsh.

But even in the harshest discipline, there is hope. For Paul continues,

but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world. (11:32)

In short, we are not judged as the people of this world who reject God are. I believe Ananias and Sapphira went home to be with the Lord. They were harshly disciplined for the sake of the church. The church learned a valuable lesson from their actions. But God did not reject Ananias and Sapphira. There was forgiveness even for them. Why? Because Jesus took their ultimate punishment on the cross.

But let us never make the mistake that they made. Let us never take God lightly. Nor let us take our sin lightly.

How do we know if we’re taking God or our sin lightly? If our sin doesn’t bother us. If we can sin or plan to sin, and we think, “It’s no big deal. It’s not that big of a sin. And even if it is, God will forgive me.”

That kind of thinking spreads poison in our lives and in the church. And God loves us and his church too much to let that poison spread for too long.

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Acts

Chosen…to go

Acts

I said yesterday there were two stories in Acts that shows both the election of God, man’s choice, and our need to go and spread the gospel.

Looking at today’s story, I think I should make that three stories. (The third is that of Cornelius in chapter 10).

Here is Saul, a Pharisee, totally hardened to Christ, and determined to wipe all Christians off the face of the earth. And had God simply let him be, he would have gone straight to hell.

But then God intervened. Why? Because he chose to save him. We see this in God’s conversation with Ananias.

When God told Ananias to go and help Saul, Ananias basically said, “God, are you serious? Don’t you know this guy is trying to kill us?”

God’s answer?

Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

I alluded to this yesterday, but God’s answer here again blows up the argument of, “If God has determined that certain people be saved, then we don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to go and evangelize others. God’s already chosen those who will be saved.”

Can you imagine Ananias using that type of reasoning with God?

“Well God, if you’ve already chosen him, there’s no reason for me to go.”

How would that line of reasoning flown with God? Not very well I suspect.

Why? Because God commanded Ananias to go. And he has commanded us to go as well.

Certainly, God could save people without our help. But for the most part, he has chosen to effect his salvation through us. He has put the keys of the kingdom in our hands. And if we don’t go, those gates will remain locked to those who don’t know him.

Note that particularly in this story and in the story of Cornelius, while Jesus appeared directly to Saul, and an angel appeared directly to Cornelius, still God required that his people go and talk to them.

He requires the same of us.

Ananias was chosen by God and told to go.

Phillip in chapter 8 was also chosen and told to go.

And we see here in this chapter that God called Saul also that he might go and preach the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.

You were chosen to go as well.

I heard someone say something once that I’ve already remembered. He asked, “What are the first two letters of the word ‘God?'”

Then he asked, “What are the first three letters of the word ‘Satan?'”

What will you do?