New International
Version (NIV)
14 When the apostles in
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and
John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they
prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit
had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in 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 in the hope that he may 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 After they had further
proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John
returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Apparently
the laying on of hands by the Apostles was necessary to confirm the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans who were the first, outside the Jewish
people, to become followers of Christ.
Being told all their lives that they were the chosen people of God would
have left many Christian Jews, skeptical of others having the same privileges
as themselves; yet, Christ died for all.
He came to save all people and make them His chosen.
It
appears that one man had a hard time understanding this entire concept. Being a magician it was not uncommon for them
to buy secrets from one another. His
mistake, this was not something that was done for money. It is really unclear as to whether this man
became a true believer or not. Was he
asking for these men to pray for him so that he would understand and believe?
What
I drew from the passage today is the following:
Sometimes
people talk like they believe when really they don’t fully trust the Power of
the Holy Spirit.
Some
people are imposters, they go along for the ride but they are really not a part
of the team.
We
do need to pray for others and others need to pray for us that we may be found
faithful.
God
is not interested in money, He is interested in us and wants us to focus on
Him, not money. He will provide.
What
are our motives? Why do we live this Christian
life? Is it to get what we want or to
Glorify the One who has given us this opportunity?
As
we seek Him today, may we find His unfailing love and His everlasting
commitment, may He find the same in us?
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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