Week of February 1

Nothing stops quicker the bread of church life from rising than a lack of the Spirit. Acts chapter 5 presents us with evidence that the controlling presence in the daily life of the church must be the Holy Spirit. This permeating authority of the Spirit, in fact, gives rise to Christian moral influence, and must be guarded carefully. Many of our churches have bad dough, and they do not know why. Luke presents us with a case study where the Spirit life was challenged. Then Luke shows us how to live in the Spirit in our church communities.

The chapter opens with great force when “phoniness” is exposed on the part of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11). Ironically, their names, respectively, meant, “God is gracious,” and “beautiful.” They “pretended to give all” but they were only giving in part. In effect, they had lied to the Holy Spirit (5:8). Luke’s account shows us that they loved fame and the praise of men more than they loved the Lord. Sound familiar? Therefore, their sin was misrepresenting the truth before the Spirit, and the penalty was severe. 

Some may think the penalty of death was too extreme, but the church was in its infancy and integrity was essential to gain the acceptance of the populace (i.e. for an effective witness; cf. Acts 1:8; see consecration below). We think today that our churches are not influencing our communities because our branding is flawed. However, there is a much deeper reason. The truth is, our culture does not notice us because the Spirit-branding is absent from our lives. Sadly, many do not know He is missing, nor do they know how He is to be found. Luke presents us with several ways to both locate and live our community life fully in the Spirit.

Show genuine respect for the Lord. We have taken into our hands a snapshot of the early church and how it handled controversy. All the elements that Luke records in 2:43-47 surface regularly in the life of the healthy church—even in church trials like Acts 5. The Spirit created unity among the believers that was evident, despite the internal upset caused by two of its members. The core value was the principle of truth, trust, and truth-telling, which are always a characteristic of God. The church knew that loss of the Spirit’s impact was more costly than the loss of a donation. As a result, the whole congregation lived beneath the covering of “fear” (respect) for the Lord, rather than any fear that they might lose face (5:5, 11). 

Give as the Spirit guides. The Spirit prompted love that was exhibited in giving. Even though Ananias and Sapphira had misrepresented their giving, nevertheless they, and all the others, were giving freely “to each as any had need.” Brotherly harmony was obvious because the Spirit-motivated sale of homes and properties and donations toward the common good was palpable (cf. 4:34). The Spirit led the church to live consecrated lifestyles, where the people showed their spirituality in all the ways they conducted their business (5:9; “test the Spirit”).

Whenever we see events occur in the early church, we must also recognize that it was the Spirit who was kneading these elements of healthy ministry into the bread of life to feed a hungry world. This bears repeating: The Holy Spirit kneads the dough of every healthy church ministry into the bread of life to feed a hungry world!

The Spirit will not serve moldy bread! For some odd reason this analogy brings back memories of my single life, where I would buy a loaf of bread, fail to seal it well, and return later to find that it had grown moldy. I would twist my face, turn to the trash can, and throw it out. It was no longer fit for consumption. 

Here is the spiritual point. Bad bread makes for bad witness, but churches miss the true crisis if they are only concerned with the potential negative impact this will make on their communities. Luke reminds us that it’s all about the Bread-Starter! “No Spirit” means our witness lacks the right starter and our bread won’t rise. Got Spirit?

1. We told our daughter, when she was growing up in our home, that it is the inward adornment of the Spirit that made her beautiful (cf. 1 Peter 3:3). Many of you do the same for your own children. Sadly, we too often fail to apply the same truth to our corporate church life. Hypocrisy often grows like mold on the bread of our witness. Model the Spirit-led life. Write down ways that you may exhibit the Spirit-life personally, in your Bible Study group, and in the full life of your church.

2. For Families: Truth-telling is a foundational goal of child-rearing, isn’t it? Trust-building, instilling integrity, forming a character reflecting truth, honor and respect for God, His Word, and biblical values – all of these are what we long to do well as we train our children.

Our kids learn more from watching and listening to us live our lives than they do from our “preaching” or scolding them. This devotional is a challenge to us – parents most of all – to be vigilant in our devotion to Christ. Let us be persons without guile, so that our children may have a clear picture of how to live purely. Let us raise families who love the Lord with their whole hearts! 

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock