Ananias and his wife lied not only to the church, but to God Himself. God is good, wise and just, so His punishments are always right. He cares about injustice. He cares about protecting His Church. The Church in Acts 5 rightly reacted in “great fear” about this, but we need to remember that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). This incident is an encouragement to us: We can see God’s care for His people and the advancement of His kingdom, and it helps us understand how important it is to avoid selfishness, and instead to live sacrificially and generously.

How can you live sacrificially this week?