You Can’t Outsmart God!

Well, I find this hard to believe! Ananias, the fella who lived down the street, dropped dead yesterday. That’s right. And, are you sitting down? His wife, within three hours of his death, fell over dead on the floor. Both of them gone.

Ananias made a big mistake. He tried to outsmart God!

Apparently, they both lied about the use of money gained from selling a piece of property. They kept some for themselves instead of handing it all over to a religious group they belonged to. Yes, that’s the one: the Jesus people. Isn’t that the group you belong to? A man named Peter exposed their little deception when he interrogated Ananias and heard him lie again. Thud! There he went.

Ananias made a big mistake. He tried to outsmart God!

It does sound harsh, doesn’t it. Wait until word gets around the marketplace. You can slap your camel to get his attention. You can yell at your wife. You can pick a fig off of somebody’s tree. But you’d better not lie to God. What do you think about that? Hey, where are you going? What’s you rush?

Ananias made a big mistake. He tried to outsmart God!

And that’s the last time I saw my friend. I heard he caught the next camel out of town, moved everything: his wife and his kids, his sheep, everything gone. I think I know why. He told me last week that he got a message from Peter requesting a visit, a personal matter, the note said. Do you think…?

Ananias made a big mistake. He tried to outsmart God!

I thought my friend had better sense than that. But, it’s a good lesson. You can’t outsmart God! But some people think they can. You still own that property over by the lake?