Reading Plan: 

Acts 5 

Bold & Compassionate 

Author: Mellanie Alexander 

Peter and Paul continue to preach the gospel of Jesus with boldness, so you can imagine what happens next. Yep, they get arrested. Again. The high priest questions them and tells them they strictly forbade them not to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter, the rock on which Jesus used to build His church, makes a bold statement. "We must obey God rather than men." (vs. 29) 

I feel like that was a mic drop moment for Peter. Like he could have walked away after that statement but instead of doing so, he preached to the Sadducees some more. And it cost him. He and John were beaten (vs. 40). The word beaten can also be translated as skinned. The beating they were given literally stripped the skin off their back. People were known to die from this. It was meant to be a serious lesson but Peter and John walked away rejoicing. REJOICING. Not because they suffered, but because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus' name.   

I cannot wrap my brain around this. How often do we stop the work of Jesus because of social rejection? And here are Peter and John over here, knowing they will pay a high price for their boldness and choosing to obey God rather than man. I wonder if the words Jesus spoke in Luke 14 were echoing in their mind about counting the cost of following Him. I think they understood this concept perfectly and decided Jesus was worth it.   

I think the time is ripe for the church to be bold. So many people in our world are confused, broken, and hurting. They need to hear the gospel. They need people to show them compassion. They need to see the love of Jesus lived out and I don't think it should be so hard for us to do so. As we wrap up this week, let's pray that the Holy Spirit moves in our lives and gives us boldness mixed with compassion. Let's pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and opportunities to love.  

Reflection: 

• How can you be bold as you live out your faith today? 
  

Family Application: Tell the Truth 

Author: Tina Bryant 

• This week we’ve been reading all kinds of amazing, crazy, and awesome stories, and today is no different! We know how important it is to tell the truth, but in today’s reading, we learn about Ananias and his wife Sapphira, and the lie they told. They thought that they could lie to the Holy Spirit, but it cost them their lives.  
  
• The truth is always better than a lie, and usually, if we tell the truth we get in way less trouble than if we lie. Have you ever told a lie about something really small, and then got in BIG trouble?! If Ananias and Sapphira had just told the truth, they wouldn’t have been in trouble! The land they sold belonged to them, so they could do whatever they wanted with it. (Acts 5:4)  
  
• Have you ever told the truth when you wanted to tell a lie? When we tell a lie it makes the Holy Spirit sad, and I don’t know about you but when I’ve told a lie in the past it made me feel gross! God doesn’t want us to feel this way. The good thing about God and His Son, Jesus, is that they forgive us when we tell them we are sorry.  
  
• Prayer: Jesus, help us to have the courage to tell the truth, even when it’s scary. We want to please You in all that we do, even with our words. Help us to be brave and tell the truth when we want to lie. Forgive us for when we have not told the truth in the past and help us to do better next time! Amen!