Acts
8:18-24
And when Simon saw that through laying on of
the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also
this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20 But Peter said unto
him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God
may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither
part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of
this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be
forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that
thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
24 Then answered Simon,
and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have
spoken come upon me.
KJV
The Simon referred to here in our text was a sorcerer who
was now a follower of Christianity. He was now a member of the church at Samaria
but He was not yet truly converted. He was still bound by the love for money
and power. Even though Simon was in the church, he was still bound by iniquity.
Unfortunately, there are people in the church today that
are still bound by iniquity; their reality is still centered around sin because
they have not fully come to an understanding of the kingdom of God.
Peter referred to this man’s malady as wickedness and
this only reminds me of the verse of scripture that says the love of money is
the root of all evil. My question for you today is ‘do you love God more; is
your love for money stronger than your love for God?’
The kind of love we are to have for God in order to
inherit His kingdom is such that we love Him with all our heart and mind. This
means that He is the only one you love; every other person or thing you love is
through Him, thankfully, He is love, He now tells you to love your neighbor as
yourself. Contained in this instruction is that you first love yourself. So you
are to love God, love yourself and love people. This love for God is what is
strong enough to diffuse the toxic love for money that ultimately hinders the
kingdom life in believers. You cannot love God and mammon.
Go into today knowing that you are God’s responsibility.
He does not want you to have to love money; instead He wants you to use money
as a tool to show your love for Him and your neighbor.
YEARLY BIBLE READING= READ: Genesis 16-19 OR LISTEN
No comments:
Post a Comment