Acts 8:9-25
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in
the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone
great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him
their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great
Power.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for
a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the
good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were
baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon
himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great signs and miracles he
saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to
them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that
they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon
any of them; they had simply been baptized into[a] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then
Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the
laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and
said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may
receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you,
because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in
this ministry, because your heart is not right before
God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps
he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For
I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so
that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word
of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many
Samaritan villages.
There are many things
that we can buy with money but one thing we cannot buy is our salvation or any
gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows upon us.
The gifts that are from God were bought with the blood of the Lamb, our
Lord Jesus Christ. This is maybe, once
again, why it is so hard for the person who is rich on this earth to have the
gift of eternal life. They have depended
on their wealth to get everything that they have. Yet we know that they are not exempt from this
gift. We may think that Peter was a little rough on
Simon. Why didn’t he just explain to him
about the gift of the Holy Spirit since, after all, he was a new believer. But Peter saw in Simon something that the
Words in the Bible cannot show us. He
saw Simon’s heart, he saw his intentions.
Simon had made all of
his money with illusions. He had tricked
people for years and he had made money doing so. Now, he realized that there were others that
could do even greater things than he himself could do and he wanted to be able
to do the same. It was not out of a
desire to serve the Lord, it was the desire to survive and to get recognition
for his great powers, that was just who he was.
If he could receive this gift, he would not have to lose his
identity. Our Father in Heaven wants us
to lose our identity when we receive Him.
He wants us to no longer be what the world has made us to be but rather
what He has made us to be. This for
Simon meant the end of the income that he had depended on for years. It also meant that he would no longer be the
center of attraction.
What about us today?
Do you know anyone who had to change their entire lifestyle and position
in order to bring glory to God rather to man?
There is hope for anyone who believes and calls upon the name of the
Lord. That hope is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. It becomes more and more difficult
for those who have depended on the world to supply their needs to come to the
realization that God can supply all of our needs. That is a concept that even those who have
known the Lord for years struggle with.
We tend to think that we need people, money, and human resources to
supply our needs when in actuality we only need the Lord.
As you seek Him today, think: Have I
fully trusted in the Lord to supply all my needs or do I tend to go back and
expect the world and its money to supply my needs? If we are depending on the world in any
possible way, we are showing a lack of faith for the Father will supply our
needs. If we want recognition from the world and our motives are
to build ourselves up rather than to build others up, we are falling into the
trap that Simon did. Evaluate yourself
today to make sure that your motives are to serve Him with all your heart,
soul, mind, and strength.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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