To the Household of God, Israel, and all those who go with, may you all have peace!
You know that I am often directed to post to something given me by our dear Lord, so as to share with and upbuild the Body (that is here). Sometimes the... mmmmm... "information"... is... difficult to receive. Sometimes... it is difficult to share. Most often, it isn't either one. In all instances, I think it would be truthful to say... and you would agree... that the information is thought-provoking. Either way, those who
grasp it, whether difficult or not so much, tend to rejoice over it. This could be one of those difficult instances, but not necessarily. I truly hope not. It is not intended to be so, but to wake up any who might need it. It is another discussion our Lord and I had. It was early yesterday, but I didn't post it... because of my own "fear." Not that something would happen to me but... well, as I'm sure some of you understand... the reactions of some sometimes can make doing so... well, fatiguing, is the word that comes to mind. And I just didn't feel like feeling like that yesterday (LOL!).
Today is a new day, though, so...
The matter was with regard to those who say they love him (and/or God/JAH)... yet, don't do what he tells them (to do)... or what THEY say they're going to do (for him/JAH). And that I must "warn" those of such who are my brothers (in him) as to this... because it is a form of deceit. Not outright lying, per se... but deceiving ONESELF, first. It can also be an attempt to deceive others... including, and here's why I have to post this... attempting to deceive him/holy spirit/JAH.
To help me help those who might need it "see" this, he gave me the account of Ananias and Sapphira... which account should be of importance to us... but not for the reasons we may have been taught (by, say, the WTBTS). To give you some background, here is that account:
"Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet."Okay, so what? It was their property, to do with what they wished, yes? Yes. BUT...
"Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to holy pirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?"Wait. How did Ananias LIE to Christ/holy spirit? Again, it was HIS land... to do with what HE wished, yes? Yes. BUT...
"Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”Translation: it was yours, Ananias. You didn't HAVE to pledge it... but you DID. And... why? To give to ME... by giving to others? OR... so as to APPEAR righteous... "before men"? Because when it came time to pay up on your VOW...
you reneged. You made a
FREEWILL OFFERING (
https://www.google.com/#q=freewill+offering+definition)... one that you did not HAVE to make but CHOSE to... and did so according to your union of HOLY SPIRIT. And now... you have reneged (
https://www.google.com/#q=reneged+definition) on that offering.
BUT... what did the Law say?
"When a man makes a vow to JaHVeH or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said." Numbers 30:2What did Ananias pledge? ALL of the money from his field. What did he GIVE? SOME of the money.
But wait. That was under the OLD Covenant, right? And so, Ananias had no obligation under that "law." He could change his mind... right? No. The "law" is the same under the NEW Covenant where our dear Lord said:
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to JaHVeH the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Matthew 5:33-37Now, if this is with regard to agreements with fellow humans, how much so with JAH and Christ?
But Ananias didn't stop at just reneging on the his pledge, did he? No. He followed THAT... with a LIE: he told Peter that he had brought ALL of the money he received for the sale of his land. BUT... did he? So, now, not only are we looking at a man who reneged on an agreement with Christ... which very well COULD have been forgiven, by means of MERCY... BUT... made the matter WORSE... by LYING about it! So, what?
So... he didn't HAVE to sell his field at ALL, let alone not give all of the value of it... let alone LIE about not giving the value! By why WOULD he? Perhaps it was because he loved HIMSELF... MORE... than he loved JAH/Christ? Maybe?
Regardless, it was all for nought. Because having Peter reveal what all of this MEANT... was apparently too much for Ananias to bear (or, perhaps, for Peter to bear but that's another thread -
John 20:22, 23)... because:
"When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died."Wow. Pretty drastic reaction/turn of events... just for reneging on an agreement. But it WAS an agreement with JAH/Christ. Did JAH/Christ STRIKE him down, though, as many believe/teach? Of course, not. It is possible that PETER "judged" him and "called down evil" upon him. Or, it could be that, realizing what he had DONE... was more than Ananias' organism could handle. The shock... and fear... was just too much. And so, not only does he no longer have a field... nor the money he kept... he no longer had his life. All... due to HIS choices: to make a vow that he didn't
have to make, then choose not to
keep it, then choose... to lie about it.
BUT... he wasn't alone in making such unintelligent choices:
"About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”Reasonable enough question. And very easy to answer... TRUTHFULLY... yes? "No, Peter, it's only part of it, but my husband and I changed our minds. We are giving what we think we can at this time." Fair enough, yes? BUT...
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”Sigh. Why, dear ones, would Ananias' wife answer so?? Here, Peter was GIVING her the opportunity to do what her husband didn't... and state the TRUTH. Why would she NOT do so?? Although she didn't know what had resulted with HIM, SHE knew that it was not the price but only part of it! Why would SHE lie... ALSO??
Maybe... it was because she loved her HUSBAND... or perhaps even HERSELF... MORE... than she loved JAH/Christ?
Well, the account goes on the state that her fate was the same as her husband's.
But... did it HAVE to be? Did it HAVE to be so... for EITHER of them, let alone BOTH of them?
It didn't. Not only did they not have to give ANYTHING, but...
when asked, they COULD have just
admitted, "This is NOT the FULL price, no, sorry - we had a change of heart." But, instead, they not only tried to fool Christ and holy spirit once... by not keeping the vow... but TWICE by lying about it!
It was THEIR land, dear ones. To give... OR to keep. No one MADE them make the pledge. Indeed,
NO ONE EVEN ASKED them to make the pledge. THEY CHOSE to make it! But then, they not only chose to cause "injury" by reneging on the vow/pledge...
but added insult to the injury: not only did they not give the FULL price pledged... but they LIED
as to what they were offering.
Why did they do it, though? Why even offer the sell the land and give ANY of the money? Because... and this is the message I am to share here... because they wanted to APPEAR righteous... before MEN... so as to be glorified... by MEN. They wanted Peter et al., to say of them "Ooh, look how
generous YOU folks are! Look what YOU have given! SURELY, you are good and righteous people, kind and loving, else why would you sell your land just to give the money away to help others?! SURELY, you must be God's people!" The truth, however, is that they WEREN'T generous, at all, but deceitful. If they were TRULY generous... they would have kept to their pledge and gave ALL that they had promised... or at least have been HONEST when asked about it.
Or, alternatively, had they not wanted to be seen as generous "before men"... wouldn't have made the pledge in the first place. They would have simply followed the admonitions of our dear Lord to not "let your right hand KNOW what your left hand is doing," and not go "blowing a horn" ahead of giving a gift of mercy... and just helped out those they could, when they could... in view of and in pursuit of glory from JAH and Christ, alone. Not from men.
Even more of note, though, is Sapphira's SUPPORT of Ananias in his scheme to deceive. She could, at ANY time, have either said to HIM, "No, Ananias, I will NOT go along with you in this!" OR been truthful when answering Peter. She chose, however, not only to protect... but to GO ALONG with her husband in his deceit... and as a result, received his end, as well. Much like Ahab and Jezebel, even Adham and Eve, as some tell of the account.
So, their MOTIVE and INTENT... were not right to begin with! And so the matter could have NEVER worked out right!
And so, it must be asked: can we TRULY say we love JAH... or Christ... if we try to deceive them? Can we TRULY say we love a spouse... child... parent... friend... if we ask them to take PART in our deceit? Can we TRULY say we love such ones... if we go ALONG with their deceit? Who will be left to plead for THEM, if we go down the same path? Wouldn't love PROMPT us to stand FIRM and perhaps say, "While I love you... wife, husband, child, mother, father... friend... brother... I CAN'T GO WITH YOU down that path!"?
TRUE love would say that, wouldn't it? It would prompt us to be HONEST with JAH and Christ... AND with those we love... AND to NOT put others at risk
for our OWN desires, intents, and motives. Yes?
We live in a world, dear ones, where
sight is the major "thermometer" used to "gauge" folks' "righteousness" and "spirituality." Whether folks "LOOK" like... or say/make pledges that make them APPEAR that they're righteous/spiritual. And because people judge by the OUTWARD appearance, we may sometimes get caught up in such thinking... and presentations, too. We WANT people to know... and accept us... as members of the Body of Christ. BUT... it really doesn't work like that.
Right now, the entire creation is waiting for us to be revealed.
Romans 8:19 Until that revealing (by Christ), however, we are revealed to others... those who "have eyes to see"... in a few ways. It can be:
1. Directly by JAH or by Christ -
Matthew 17:5; Acts 9:16or pursuant to things like:
2. Manifestation of the fruit of JAH's spirit that is love -
John 13:35; Galatians 5:22; ALONG WITH
3. Manifestation of one or more of the
gifts of holy spirit -
1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Acts 3:1-6The latter two are means by which we let our "light"... SHINE... before men.
Matthew 5:14-16It is not by our trying to impress others by APPEARING to be righteous, generous, loving, spiritual, etc. We might be able to fool some people with these attempts, but as the account of Ananias and Sapphira (should) show us, we cannot fool God and Christ with them.
Truth is important, dear ones. I know that there are some who believe it's not "really THAT important," that love is "more" important... but the lack of TRUTH almost always equates to a LACK... of love. As Christ said to some, they did the things the did... "because the TRUTH... is not IN you."
So, when one says they love God... or love Christ... the question I am directed to post is: are you SURE? Because:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their stauros and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."That addresses parents and children. What, though, of... say... spouses? True, such ones should cleave to one another... but to what extent? To denying God/Christ... or helping each other try and deceive them? I am not so sure. Paul did address how difficult such a relationship might be:
"An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband." 1 Corinthians 7:32-33He wasn't trying to tell husbands/wives to disregard each other... nor am I directed to say such. Not at ALL. Rather, I am to admonish those who NEED such admonishment... to take care. Because if YOU are not strong, how can you help a spouse when THEY are not strong? And if YOU will compromise YOUR vow and devotion to JAH/Christ... how will you plead for them if they compromise THEIRS? True, you cannot act as priest for them, but JAH is merciful! How, though, can you ask FOR mercy for your spouse... if YOU are in the same weakened position?
Our relationship with JAH through Christ is an individual one, dear ones. In that "3-cord" scenario ALL cords are strong: husband, wife, AND JAH. If one cord has become weakened, though, and the other cords also becomes so, not in trying to strengthen the other... but by following the other INTO such weakness... what does JAH have to work WITH?
You don't stop walking because a loved one does. And you don't lay down because a love one does. And you don't deceive... because a loved one does. IF they stop walking... IF they lay down... IF they deceive... YOU... keep moving. Ahead. TOWARD the Light. YOU... keep walking with... and in... (the) Truth. Because MAYBE you can gain enough strength to go back and get that one... or get to the end where you can ask that someone may be sent back for that one... plead for such one along the way. But if YOU stop, YOU lay down... YOU deceive, TOO... what of your children?
I hope this helps. I hope it is taken solely as it is intended, as a sharing that can be used for self-examination/scrutiny, if there is the need to do so. I, SA, received it for that purpose and so have shared it as I received it from our dear Lord, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah). It is NOT for just one. It is for us
ALL, who might find us facing such a situation.
Again, peace to you ALL!
YOUR servant, as I am servant to ALL those of the Household of God, Israel, and those who go with... and a slave of Christ,
Shellamar