Day #134 - Do not Lie

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by 青 晨 on Unsplash

Have you ever experienced the power of the conviction of the Lord?

I remember when I was first getting asked to preach at other churches in my early twenty’s and I was talking to a friend about how God was using me. I then went on to invite myself to preach at his church. Shortly thereafter, I was overwhelmed with such a disturbing feeling that I could feel the conviction physically. I then realized what I did was in my own pride and I resolved to not operate in that spirit any longer. I thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

If you think you’ve had a tough go of Holy Spirit conviction read Acts 5. In the middle of the early church experiencing a radical outpouring of the Holy Spirit, two members of the church were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Ananias and Sapphira were two land owners who sold property to benefit the church but lied about holding back some of the funds for themselves.

Peter was the first leader of the early church and he asked why they allowed Satan to fill their heart and why they lied to the Holy Spirit. So even being Christians of the presence we can allow Satan to fill our heart, which is a sober warning for believers. They allowed Satan to operate in their lives by lying to the Holy Spirit. Conviction came upon the church and the great miracles continued through the purified church.

We often pray for revival and for more of the Holy Spirit, but it seems the stakes are raised in these outpourings. When there is more glory, miracles, influence and ministry success, the conviction and consequences of how we relate to the Holy Spirit seems to increase as well. Maybe we are seeing in Acts 5 that we can’t have greater blessings without great responsibility. We should be careful how we pray.

I know most of my writing sounds encouraging and rightly so I believe. But we need to be sober about lying to the Holy Spirit. He is not to be grieved or quenched. Lying to Him is devastating. He knows everything but as He examines our lives, He desires for us to be open and honest before Him.

Thankfully most liars don’t drop dead in church services. But this serves as an awakening call to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirt and not hold back the truth in our lives. He is the “Holy” Spirit after all and He desires holiness from us. May we not resist the Holy Spirit but be honest and truthful no matter what, that we may enjoy His presence and power.

Holy Spirit, search me and know me. May their be no lying found in me. I never want to lie to You. I repent for any and all dishonesty in my life. I welcome Your conviction in my life for I know it is for my good. I long to know Your presence and Your power. May I reverence You and not become casual with Your glory. Deliver me from selfish motives. May I glorify You God. In Jesus name, amen.