Tags
I have a very simple thought today (well, at least more than usual) about Ananias and Sapphira. Their sin was not about stinginess or holding back what is already God’s. It was their choice whether they should give the money to God, but they chose to lie about it. We do the exact same thing when we make ourselves look greater than we are by giving a little and acting as though we’ve given half our possessions. When I give my tithe it may seem like a big number, but the reality is it is only 10% of a very large number. God is not impressed with the actual number, He is impressed with the obedience; let’s not forget that!
Daily Devotion 
Gamaliel was a very wise man. I must’ve always stopped reading after the first part of the chapter, because I don’t remember this part!:) But the argument he makes is the one I use constantly with skeptical friends. Other people have claimed to be “the one”, have performed miracles, have made the same claims that Jesus made, yet all of them have died and their campaigns with them. That is not the case with Jesus. The fact that 2000 years later, he is still a central figure in much of the world, both loved and hated, should cause each person presented with his story to take him into serious consideration. I would love to know what Gamalliel’s belief was at the end of his life, after he had seen what continued to happen among the disciples. Did he ever believe? Did he secretly believe when he made this statement? I guess we’ll find out one of these days.