Daily Dose of Hope

November 24, 2025

Scripture - Acts 5:1-16

Prayer: Almighty God, As we move into a new week, we pray that today will be a day that we see glimpses of your glory. We need you, we yearn for you. Lord, help us set aside our distractions and settle our scattered thoughts so we can focus on you and you alone. In the next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently walking through the book of Acts. Today, we are staring Acts 5, specifically the first sixteen verses.

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is kind of disturbing. But keep in mind that this is happening within the context of the new church community. This is a community in which people are selling all their possessions and living in unity, of the same mind and spirit. Then, Ananias and Sapphira, in contrast, tell everyone they are selling a piece of land and giving all the profit to the church. But they secretly keep a big chunk for themselves. This is the thing – if they had been honest and said they were splitting the proceeds and keeping some for themselves, it would not have been a big deal. Afterall, it was their property and their money. They could decide how to use it. The issue was in the deception. Rather than being filled with the Holy Spirit (as we see in the rest of the community), they were filled with a spirit of evil.

Here is an interesting question – were Ananias and Sapphira true believers? They probably were. Their story is told in the context of the actions of "all the believers" in Acts 4. They knew the Holy Spirit. It's possible that Ananias may have earlier promised to give the whole amount of the sale of the property to the church and then they changed their mind and decided to be deceptive rather than truthful. Maybe the best evidence that they were believers is that they were disciplined for their actions. They wanted attention and accolades but they lied to get it. They were even given a chance to fess up but they stuck to their lies. As a result, they died.

It shows us that believers can be led into bold, obvious sin. And really, don't we see this often in the church? A respected church leader falls from grace – the inappropriate relationship, embezzled funds, something is just not right. Satan is active and at work in our lives and we have to be on guard, prepared with the full armor of God. You guys, spiritual warfare is real.

If this story seems harsh, it is. You are totally right. I've thought about this. The church was young. They were really setting boundaries. The apostles were establishing their own leadership. This was a warning to the church as a whole. Deception and evil will not be tolerated. We are not to look like the culture at large. We belong to Jesus. We reflect Jesus.

Does New Hope reflect Jesus? What can we do better? What can you do better?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki