Aug 20

Acts 5:1-11
1 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.
2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.
4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.
6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”
“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
9 And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

Exodus 20:16
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.


Have you ever noticed the headlines of some of the newspapers in the racks beside the grocery store checkout lines? "Alien spaceship found in New Mexico!" (It was a four-seat plane from Mexico.) "Baby born with treasure map on its back!" (It was a birthmark.) "I gave birth to Elvis's two-headed alien love child!" (Yeah, right.) "Vince Foster's ghost haunts White House!" (The floor in the west wing creaks.) Do people really believe this stuff? They certainly buy it. Supermarket tabloids sell millions of newspapers every week, so somebody out there must be reading it, liking it, and maybe even believing it. Of course, those newspapers aren't the only ones to "embellish" the truth or even to stretch it to its breaking point. You and I do it all the time. We may not claim to have seen Elvis at the local Wal-Mart, but we do stretch the truth sometimes. After all, what's the harm of a "little white lie"? A lot. God has another word for "stretching the truth" or "embellishing the truth." He calls it lying. He says, "Do not testify falsely against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16), and "Do not lie" (Leviticus 19:11). But lying, whether it's a little white lie or a big fat one, is wrong not just because God says it is. The ninth commandment reveals God as a God who values truth because he himself is true. Another reason God tells us to avoid lying and to speak the truth is that lying is destructive. Ananias and Sapphira found that out in one deadly lesson! Lying separates us from God. It erodes our character and destroys our reputation. It makes us less like God. God wants to save us from all that by showing us, through his commandments, what he is like. When we reflect his nature, we also make things a lot easier on ourselves.

REFLECT: The ninth commandment tells us not to lie. What does that reveal about what God is like? Do you think God ever lies? Why or why not? Finish this statement: "I reflected God's nature this week when I... If you can't finish the statement, what could you do now to reflect God's nature?

ACT: Cut out letters from news headlines to form the words "Do not lie." Arrange them on a piece of paper. Then attach the paper to your mirror, bulletin board, or refrigerator as a reminder to always speak the truth.

PRAY: "I'm sorry, God, that it's hard for me to tell the truth when... Help me to be more like you."

Hi
I remember reading the story of Ananias and Sapphira when I was like 11 years old. Since, I was pretty young at that time, I got really freaked out. From then on I promised myself that I would not tell lies because I had an odd fear that I would drop dead like Ananias and Sapphira. Yea I know, I was a weird kid.That promise didn't last to long, because to this day I still lie.
I don't tell huge and ridiculous fibs but I admit I definitely tell "little white lies".
I never thought of them as bad or sinful, but after reading the stuff above I realize my wrongdoing.
See you all Thursday!
-Sarah

ha, reminded me of the movie: big fat liar

also, stoked for the retreat

anywho, when I first heard the story of ananias, I thought the apostles and God were kinda being a jerk. Ya know, Ananias sells his property and even though he exaggerated the amount, he was still giving to God, but hearing the story over and over while growing up, I realize how important it is to have a full heart in front of God. Reading it again, I also realize how stupid he was too. He could've easily given the amount he was giving with a full heart, instead, he lies about it and dies. heh
But what I learned from this devo is not to lie, even if it can be extremely difficult, and always to strive towards being more like God, one aspect at a time.

Everybody lies. Everyone has lied atleast once in their whole lives. Lying can come unintentionally or intentionally. Lying can get you through hard times. It makes your life easier sometimes. It is benficial to you But God knows when u lie. the passage was a little scary because it showed that when you lie to God, you will drop dead. God is the only being with Jesus who has never lied.

What i got from the passage was that God doesnt want us to lie because it may make our lives easier but it will God sad. It is pretty much impossible not to lie so we should atleast try to not lie in our everyday lives.
RETREAT IN 2 DAYZZZZ

Ever sice the beggining, humans have lied. It's in our nature to have this bad habit.
In the begining, Eve lied to Adam convincing him to eat the fruit of good and evil. I get what the message meant. When we lie, we distance ourselves from God even more. Later, God makes them leave the garden of Eden.
Eventhough we don't drop dead to the floor whenever we tell a lie, God still knows every right and wrong thing we do. Telling the truth isn't always easy. He does forgive though, but he appreciates those who tell the truth.

Proverbs 12:22
"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful."

aaaaaaaah! retreat in 2 days!!!!!
~Audrey~

lying is something that everyone does. whether it is huge or small like a "little white lie". i recall when i was younger, my parents and teachers always told me the stories of the consequences of lying. sometimes lying can come unintentionally which is something God doesn't like in his eyes. lying coming out unintentionally means that humans have adapted to this habit as sort of an every day thing.
i am not the type of person to lie...actually my friends say i'm brutally honest but there are definitely times when i get away with a small lie. i guess it is almost impossible for us not to lie entirely but not lying about small things too can make a huge difference to God.
whoohoo! retreat in 2 days! see you all thursday!

Thank God things like then aren't like it today
Holy smokes.
Sometimes we reconsider because we feel guilty lying to some of our peers
HOWEVER, that should not be the case. We should feel guilty only towards to whom it matters.
GOD.
Very straight forward as it is, do not lie.
Applicable to others, more importantly to God.

Retreat was fantastic! Now time for our OWN!

Essentially, we know that lying is basically the act of deceiving.
And just like Adam and Eve were deceived, that is basically Satan's work.
What strikes me the most is that we still lie to God, even though He certainly knows everything.
Lying right in His face, trying whatever possible to cover up our lies.
Although you may successfully "get away" with lying, God still acknowledges what actions you have done.
As our life is just a breath, God keeps track of how we turn away from him and how we glorify his kingdom.
I believe that lying brings the most humility.

Hmmm, interesting passage!
I haven't heard the whole "do not lie" business in a while!
Not that I don't like it, but it's hard to do. Even if they're white lies! It's hard not to lie at least once a day.
Pretty sad.
And really, it's so ignorant of us to even try to lie to God. Who do we think we are, trying to lie to the creator of all things?
Let's just try to wash off our hands of all the lies we tell and remember that no lie is really a good lie.

This is obvious. Lying mostly turns out for the worst. Although I have heard or stories where lying actually fixed situations for the best but most of the time, even lies that were only for good intentions turn out for the worst. I'm the type of person where people come to me and tell me their secrets which mostly drags me into a really bad situation which I shouldn't even be involved in. I've had many situations where I had to lie for a friend and it always turn out making me look like a douche and getting all the blame. Trust me, it is not a good position to be in. It damn right sucks actually. That's all I'm going to say. Rather than saying do not lie, I would just recommend not get in a situation where you have to decide to lie or not. Most of the time, you have to choose to lie or not

God is the truth and nothing but the truth....
I think that is why not everything is perfect... because if everything was good and perfect, there would be no sin...
But God keeps his word and does not lie. When we sin he punishes us... When we do good deeds, God rewards us. He is truthful and if God was always good to us, he would be a liar because he is rewarding us for the negative things we did.
Kinda weird but thats what i got lol..