“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God” Acts 5:4.  Was Jesus a communist … or a socialist?  After all, detractors will state, members of the church are to have everything in common, and … leaders (or government) controls the collection and use of funds.  Leaders in Jerusalem, however, didn’t force Christians to sell homes and lay the money at the apostles’ feet.  They did this from their love of God because of what Christ had done for them and their focus on heaven being their eternal home.  We see a couple, though, who wanted to look good to the church and still retain the earthly benefit of their property.  So, pretending to give the full amount, they gave only a portion to the church, “lying,” as Peter rightly calls it, to God.  But, the insight into how the church conducted itself is found here: members sold as they themselves wanted to; the full amount was not required by the church; and the individual decided what to do with all or part of the money.  They just had to conduct themselves honestly.  How might you be lying to God?

“You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet” Hebrews 2:7-8.  Much of the hype at this time of year out in the world has to do with man being powerless in the face of spiritual forces and our frailty in the face of inevitable death.  And, while it is true that we are made lower than the angels, it is only for … a little while. You see, we are unique in creation that we are made in God’s image; we are loved so much that God gave His Son to redeem us; He is “mindful” of us and cares for us; and through Jesus’ work on the cross and tomb, we can have the promise of eternal life with Him.  This makes us a threat … and we are powerless in the face of spiritual forces.  So, while the world hails that and fears death, we instead look to the One who was made lower than the angels Himself but gave Himself as a sinless sacrifice for us.  Because He was crowned with glory and honor with everything put in subjection to Him, we who obey Him can share in His glory and honor one day.  Meanwhile, He’s our ever-present help in trouble, promising to never leave or forsake us. That’s power!

“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” Psalm 13:3.  No one likes to go through a hard time, but life can’t always drop rose petals upon an unrolling red carpet in front of your feet.  Stoned at Lystra for preaching the gospel, Paul (not dead) entered the city to preach once again and strengthen the disciples, saying, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” Acts 14.  Hounded by Saul and other enemies, David penned this classic lament, asking God first about the duration and intensity of his suffering through a series of questions.  Then, in the next two verses, he recognizes that only God’s intervention in his struggles will bring relief.  Here, he notes that death is the great-est affliction and worst harm that can come upon man in this life.  Having prayed, David then backs away to allow God to intervene, declaring that he will trust in God because of the grace that He has given him in the past.  But from an eternal, heavenly perspective, this life is a ‘mist’ and our struggles ‘light’ and ‘momentary.’  They sure don’t seem like it at the time though, and God cares about us now as well as in heaven one day.

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common” Acts 4:32.  Preaching from this passage before, I had a notorious ‘taker’ tell me that this was proof that individuals and the church as a whole wasn’t doing enough to take care of his needs and that we were being selfish for having homes, cars, food, clothing, and money in the bank that he didn’t have access to.  First, scripture is meant to be applied to the hearer, not on others.  In other words, even with what little he had in resources and gifts from God, how was he using it to benefit Christ’s kingdom?  Secondly, he missed the point.  The early church had great unity in Christ, their Savior; believers “were of one heart and soul.”  It’s from that unity that they internally decided to give to others as they had need rather than being externally enforced in their benevolence.  This was demonstrated recently when one member gave me a ride to church because my vehicle wouldn’t start and another diagnosed the trouble that afternoon and got me to an auto parts store.  How’s your unity affect your giving?

“Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man” Psalm 12:1.  A community lament, the first four verses of this Psalm are a prayer lifted to God as the faithful see so much wickedness prospering all around them.  Not just a problem in David’s time, the church to-day certainly utters this same prayer lamenting the evil that surrounds us and exalts itself loudly while we are left to wonder if the gentle whisper can still be heard through the chaos.  The prayer specifically asks God to cut off the flattering lips of those who lie—that the community claims is everyone.  It sounds a lot like Elijah running from Jezebel’s death threats who needed reassurance from God that He had reserved 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal and that the prophet was not alone.  God answers them (and so us) in the second half of the Psalm, reassuring those who lament about the evil in our time that He will arise and “guard us from this generation forever.”  He also assures us that the promises He has made us can be trusted as His words are pure like silver refined seven times.  Can you take God at His word while vileness is surely exalted around us?