Utter conviction...

Some of you may have caught on that I'm a rebel and didn't start reading in Matthew.  I heard that was okay so I decided to mix it up.  I am struggling to get through Acts... well, more just utterly convicted.  Here is the documentation of the first movement of the Christian Church after Jesus ascended into heaven and how it moved amongst Jerusalem... and I can't find much that we do similarly in the Church today... Or  that I do as a follower of Christ.

So this is where my mind has been completely blown and I have been utterly convicted this week:  Acts 5. If you have never read the account of Ananias and Sapphira, I challenge you to "cheat" in your NT Challenge and read it before you continue reading my blog post...

...go...read Acts 5:1-11...

...seriously...

Terrifying, isn't it?  Some of the youth didn't want to read it last night in Bible study because it was too scary to even think about if they believed it really happened.  And if it did (which I believe it did happen...), what does that say to us as followers of Christ?

Ananias fell over dead when Peter told him, in essence, that he is holding back from God.  That he wasn't fully invested in following Christ... but he wanted people to think he was... which is why he lied about the amount of the proceeds he was giving to the apostles to help those who had need.  He was half-hearted, and for the sake of his "good-image" with the other followers of Christ, put on a whole-hearted show.

Dang.

Eh, I can't relate to that... YEAH RIGHT!

Utter conviction.

But I think what makes my heart weep and terrifies me the most is that because of this... he fell over dead.  What killed him?  Was it God? (It never says God struck him dead because he lied) Was it the realization that he messed up big time?  Was it the consequence of his actions?

If you notice right before this story, it tells about the people of the first church who are making a huge impact in spreading the gospel of Christ... The whole-hearted, devoted followers.  Theeeen you read the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

How did this story speak to me?

That if I live my life as "a follower of Christ" with a half-hearted devotion and try to deceive people... My testimony for Christ is as good as dead.  That I would do more harm than good and that I need to just go be with Christ now instead of keep living on this earth and tainting the gospel of Christ.

Baaah!  I am a broken human.  I need Jesus.  I need to read the Scriptures so that I know where my heart lies.  I want to be a whole-hearted, devoted follower.  I hope and pray you see the importance of what reading Scriptures does for you, too.

Pam