Acts 8:9-11
These verses tell us of a man who did whatever he could as a sorcerer to build himself up. He wanted to use the abilities that he had, the power that he had, completely for himself. He was a man who was there to build himself up completely. He was also very good at it. The people were very convinced and called him the Power of God! But he was nothing more than a boastful man. Praise the Lord, we see in verse 13 that he later finds redemption through Jesus! These verses, though, are a good reminder that it is not about us! We are here for the gospel of Jesus Christ! These verses do not even take the time to explain that Simon is a pagan or an unbeliever. It lets us pick up on that fact by telling us that he was boasting about how great he believed himself to be. All praise is to be given to God. In our jobs, in our families, in everything that we do, we are to give praise and glory to God. Simon, as an unbeliever, had no care about giving praise to God. His life was about him, and he was there to gain any wealth, power, and respect that he could get. He is easy for our Christians in this story to point out as an unbeliever. We are called as Christians not to be like the unbelievers! We are not here for us. This can sometimes be hard to remember. As people, we love to be busy! We love to be busy doing the kind of things we like to do, go after, and live for the things we want to live for. Simon lived because he loved to be adored by others! He was there to gain followers and used his sorcery to do it! We are here to live for Jesus. It is a good thing to have ambitions, but we have to remind ourselves why we are here as Christians! We are here and have decided to follow Jesus. Give him the praise! Give him the glory!
These verses tell us of a man who did whatever he could as a sorcerer to build himself up. He wanted to use the abilities that he had, the power that he had, completely for himself. He was a man who was there to build himself up completely. He was also very good at it. The people were very convinced and called him the Power of God! But he was nothing more than a boastful man. Praise the Lord, we see in verse 13 that he later finds redemption through Jesus! These verses, though, are a good reminder that it is not about us! We are here for the gospel of Jesus Christ! These verses do not even take the time to explain that Simon is a pagan or an unbeliever. It lets us pick up on that fact by telling us that he was boasting about how great he believed himself to be. All praise is to be given to God. In our jobs, in our families, in everything that we do, we are to give praise and glory to God. Simon, as an unbeliever, had no care about giving praise to God. His life was about him, and he was there to gain any wealth, power, and respect that he could get. He is easy for our Christians in this story to point out as an unbeliever. We are called as Christians not to be like the unbelievers! We are not here for us. This can sometimes be hard to remember. As people, we love to be busy! We love to be busy doing the kind of things we like to do, go after, and live for the things we want to live for. Simon lived because he loved to be adored by others! He was there to gain followers and used his sorcery to do it! We are here to live for Jesus. It is a good thing to have ambitions, but we have to remind ourselves why we are here as Christians! We are here and have decided to follow Jesus. Give him the praise! Give him the glory!
Posted in Devotional