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What’s the Deal?

May 30, 2026 By Annette1 8 Comments

It’s time for our weekly Five minute Friday prompt. The word prompt from our host Miss Kate prompted the question What’s the deal? So many ways of considering this question you know? But ultimately, there is a best deal to make… Do you know what it is?

What’s the deal?

Oh what’s the deal the
question asked. A response made
on a day when quietness reigns.
What’s the deal Annette?
Are you okay today?
A caring heart seeking
after potential hurt, a
desire to lift another before
the Lord.

What’s the deal, can we
barter a bit? A child asking
“will you take $6 instead of
the $10 asked?” A man suggesting
$250 instead of the $350 quoted.
Yard sales and private sales
what kind of deal can be made?

The deal? Is it texas hold’em,
poker, horse, or something else?
What card game is your choice,
whether it’s uno, skipbo, or wild aces.
Can you win even if the cards seem
against you or do you graciously
own your defeat?

What’s the deal with knowing
God who can raise folk from
the dead, and yet punishes dead
those that lie to his face?
A God who gently calls the lost
back to him, yet metes consequences
to those who say no?
Jonah, David, Noah,
me, and sometimes you?

Let us set the deal straight.
Without God we are literally,
and forever lost. With no hope.
With him, we have the chance to be
made right. Needing to see clearly
the potential for permanent
consequences if we forget the holiness
and justice of the one who created us.
The one who chooses daily to forgive
us through the death of his beloved boy.
Resultant life matters.

Let us live a life that matters.
Let that be the deal that
solidifies our lives.
Make the deal. Choose life.
Avoid the hopelessness of
having no fear of awesomeness
in your life. What’s the deal?
Life changing action.

Ananias and Sapphira

May 29, 2026 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Do you remember the last time we met? The focus was on the community spirit and togetherness of the church? Well, you know how sometimes our baser desires get the better of us? We want to fit in and yet we want to hold on to our own stuff? How we want to do what is right but at the same time we truly struggle with it? Lies come easily because you want one thing and do another and don’t want to be caught out. This was NOT just something I (or you) struggle with but something that Ananias and Sapphira struggled with too. Let’s learn more from these first eleven verses of Acts 5.

Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira

Ananias

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ²and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” ⁵When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

Sapphira

⁷After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Bad Decision Made

So there was this guy named Ananias who had a wife Sapphira, and they had property. Remember how church members who had property would sell it and bring the money to be distributed to those in need? Well these folks saw that and said “hey, we have some property we can sell it.” Good decision eh? But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

Then came the bad decision.

and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

He was challenged on this by Peter, and Peter explained what he was really doing. Lying to God.

³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

Do you realize that right? When we do bad things we aren’t doing them just to be people around us, or to ourselves, but we are doing them to God! I know that I have failed many times to realize the gravity of sin. What it truly is. A violation directly against the goodness of who God is

Ananias suffered the direct consequences of that.

⁵When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.

And the community heard about it and were afraid Rather makes sense right? You hear of someone lying to God and then dropping dead when confronted about it. I’d be scared Does that mean that every time you lie you risk dying? I don’t think, particularly when you consider church history. People have lied for ages and ages and not everyone is dropping dead. So why did Ananias drop dead? Was God just trying to make a point?

Links to help

Got answers tells me this

God’s reasons for bringing about the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira involve His abhorrence of sin, the hypocrisy of the couple, and the lesson for the rest of the church, both then and now. It can be easy today to gloss over the holiness of God, to forget that He is righteous and pure and that He hates sin wholeheartedly. This particular sin of hypocrisy in the church was dealt with swiftly and decisively.

And BibleHub goes on to say that we have the ability to resist when sin enters our hearts. We can’t say “the devil made me do it” since God gives us the ability to fight against him. We need to be the people that God calls us to be, and deliberately lying to him isn’t part of his plan for our lives.

God decisive action always comes with a purpose, this day that purpose was to root out evil creeping into this close knit group of believers.

Great Fear

And great fear came upon all who heard of it.

Scared people. People aware of just WHO they are offending when they sin against God. Would have made seriously consider their next steps eh? Kept people aware of the larger picture and whom they represented in their actions eh?

They dragged out his body after wrapping him up and buried him. This would have taken some time. It wasn’t a five minute situation.

⁶The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

dark artistic portrait with dramatic shadows — Photo by David Rojas Villalobos on Pexels.com

Sapphira’s Turn

We know it took some time to bury Ananias. And we know that it was at least three hours before Saphira came onto the scene. She had no clue what had happened.

⁷After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

Peter took the opportunity to see what her role was in all of this. Did she acknowledge the amount claimed for the selling of the land?

⁸And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.”

She agreed.

And she said, “Yes, for so much.”

And Peter called her on that. Calling it for what it was… testing the Spirit of the Lord. What else is sin eh? It’s testing God’s limits, patience, holiness, justice etc. It’s not an idle game we play because “God will forgive us.” God does forgive us if we are truly repentant of our actions against us. But if we aren’t….

⁹But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?

Peter lets her know the consequences of this willful action against God.

Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Once again, the whole church saw the result and were greatly afraid.

¹¹And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Thinking it Through

This makes me wonder if the church was getting too complacent in their community togetherness. Everything was going so well, and then suddenly they are faced with just who God is.

Isn’t that the way it is though? Life is going well, and so we start to slip and start to cruise, not considering the gravity of how we are living. And then something happened, like a bolt of lightening. Bringing into the foreground the fear of the Lord. Fully aware of the God that we say we serve.

Not that I want people to die in front of me right? I don’t want that. But at the same time I think having more awareness of the one we are offending and what that truly means is important for us as believers. So I am not wishing for death.. I am not. For then I should be one of the first to be taken down by God. Seriously…. I see and yet don’t see my offenses before him. But I also want to know that true fear (as much as I know that true love and care). But it’s too easy to NOT see that God is beyond awesome and wonderful and we will never truly understand what it means to fear the Lord God.

So how do we cultivate that awareness? We can’t be asking for fellow believers, as frail as they are, to die because they were too confident in their lying. I shall be pondering this during the week, because I don’t have the answers.

What Benefit?

May 22, 2026 By Annette1 6 Comments

Kate has given us a word prompt this Friday that has me asking the question…. What Benefit? Pondering this word kept me fairly quiet at work today. “Hey, Annette, you okay?” They are used to me singing, or chatting with customers, or saying “hey, do you know the joke of the day?” and then following it up with the joke. Sometimes they get it, and sometimes it’s like “that’s a horrible dad joke!!!! GROAN.” It adds fun to the day you know?

All that said, today’s post didn’t take very long to write once I started since I had it all mostly worked out in my head. Come along, let’s consider together What the benefit is!

What Benefit

What benefit?
It’s a question to ask,
when applying for a job,
What is the benefit package like?
The wage I’ll be making, and what is
the PTO like (not the power take off,
but you know…the other).
If the benefit isn’t there, are
there intangibles I need to
discover about this position?
Asking what benefit this job is
to me can make or break the position.

What benefit is there
to helping the guy on the street?
The gal standing on the corner
looking forlorn? The shaggy head
middle-ager sitting on the stoop?
The child crying on the playground,
or the teen looking for dressy clothes
with a job interview around the bend?
Do unto others as you’d have them to
unto you … so we are told.
Some would help for the social media
likes, or the “feel goods” generated, but
what is the true benefit?
The help given to someone who
might not know how to ask, help
given in the name of another.

What benefit?
The question asked when
looking to purchase.
Do I want the cheapest price?
Should I consider the value
long-term or the quality of the
product itself? How does one
do a cost comparison of the
intangibles of things? Cuz you
know not ALL things are considered
equal when comparing.

What benefit is there
for God to fix things up with
humanity? To offer us a way
back to him after we messed it
all up so very very badly.
Is showcasing his glory and his
holiness and his love for mankind
enough of a benefit?
Apparently it is.
Because he did it for that
very reason. His holiness, glory,
mercy, and love.
Showcased for the entire
world to see.
Helping more people to catch
a glimpse of him and ask
questions about who he is.

The benefit we have
if we showcase who Christ is
to us… more people to
showcase God’s glory, holiness,
mercy and love evident in
our lives. Shall we get on

with it then?

They Had Everything in Common

May 20, 2026 By Annette1 2 Comments

Five verses remaining in this chapter of Acts. All week I’ve been thinking about how the people gathered when Peter and John returned prayed for boldness. And I don’t feel bold. I don’t feel bold enough to pray even though I know how big and caring God is. That makes me feel rather small inside. And so I come to this section entitled They had everything in common. I find myself intrigued. Let’s dig in shall we?

text they had everything in common Image of underside of mushroom

Acts 4:32-37

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Of one heart and soul

I was talking with a friend tonight and she mentioned how much she likes her new pastor. He’s young and preaches sermons that are biblical. BUT she struggles with some decisions being made. And we talked a bit about how sometimes young pastors need to let things go in order to keep the peace in a congregation. Making decisions without helping the congregation understand can be detrimental to the body of believers. I come to this passage with that conversation in mind.

These people, this small congregation (I’m assuming small since they were all gathered together in a time when Christianity was frowned upon), were gathered together. The full membership of this group of believers and we read: those who believed were of one heart and soul.

Can you imagine that? Being such a unit as a group of believers? I have a hard time conceiving of it. I’ve never really been part of a body of believers like that.

It sounds great though eh?

Not only were they are one heart and soul but no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. GAH, that almost sounds like a cult eh? Like the hippy groups that all stayed together? BUT this was a group of believers genuinely caring and loving each other. No one was superior. Equality and sharing everything. This is where cults and hippy groups and communes fall apart eh? Eventually someone wants to rise up, be the leader, or wants to take stuff from others or decides that something they have is theirs’ alone. They forget the God is the one who brings them altogether… .that held belief in God. I forget it too you, you know? Even though I am not part of a community like this… where we share everything in common… I sometimes forget that the person wearing perfume ahead of me is part of the family of God. The mom with the screaming child is part of the family of God. And so on. It’s hard sometimes to remember. to hold it close that God is more than.

And yet, these people did that. They held it close this knowledge they were all in it together. And so they shared it all and held all their stuff in common. A close knit group.

Apostles Free to Share

This community was so close knit that the apostles were free to exercise the great power God gave them to share their testimony and to speak to the resurrection of Jesus. And God’s grace… it’s actually says GREAT GRACE was upon them all. Think on that. If you are a believer you’ve already experienced grace upon grace, but would you call it great grace?

33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

What a special time you know? Having the boldness to speak out. Being able to freely share the truth about God with others? And being part of a close knit community. How fantastic!

No needy among them

Have you ever been part of a group of believers where if there is a known need, it stops being a need? A co-worker goes to a smaller local church. Having major car issues. A couple in his church paid for his car to be operational… covered all costs. That’s the kind of thing happening here. People selling land, houses and what not so the needy among them could stop being needy.

34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Nice group to be part of right? The freedom they had. To ask and receive, to give and have it be useful. The immediacy would be so affirming.

Could I handle it?

I have to admit, I hold on to “my stuff” fairly hard. It’s been good to this to take a hard look at some of the stuff I have and choose to get rid of some of it. But still, it’s hard though. The thought of getting rid of my stuff. I’ll happily share a meal or stuff from my cupboards, give a kid a rabbit, or share produce from my garden, but it’s HARD to give up my stuff. Stuff I worked hard to pay for. ERGO… as much as a community that is so tightly knit sounds really cool…. I’m fairly sure I’d struggle with it. Selling land or homes or stuff to meet the needs of others…. OUCH.

BUT at the same time, if you are part of a tightly knit bunch you’d love each other. And for someone I love I’d give them the shirt off my back if they needed it. So that is probably the key right? God’s love for them brings them all together, Christ’s resurrection binds them together. God’s great grace brings them into love and fellowship with each other. Just totally together. So then it wouldn’t be a struggle. It would family doing for family. And that’s important.

woman and man hands reaching each other — Photo by Sachu Zayn on Pexels.com

Follow Along

If you are interested in the rest of the series you will find them here eh?

Sustain a Theme found in books

May 15, 2026 By Annette1 6 Comments

I will freely admit that this post took a bit longer than five minutes to write. It took me time to prepare and then find links to books. Sustain is such a power theme right? Can characters find the courage and determination to find their way through. It takes a lot to fight against an enemy, or to see a course of action through, especially when everything is against you. So let’s look at how sustain is a theme found in books. I happen to love fantasy, and I’ve read lots of book as a reviewer, and I love God. It all ties together in a way. Maybe you’ll find some reads to enjoy (or share with others).

Sustain, a theme found in books

The Society of the Sword a
novel where the main character is
seeking to maintain a hold over a
mysterious power that gives him extraordinary
speed and coordination, but is fleeting
and leaves him exhausted once battle is over.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I read it while back.
Not an easy read, but a good one.
Featuring the horrors of slavery,
and showing the benefits of held
faith in God. We even did a tour of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Shattered Pulse series. My niece
the author. Dragons, a quest to save
the world, a broken hero who needs to
discover his strength despite his weakness,
and friends/comrades willing to help
in one way or the other. Interesting characters,
scary situations, dangerous enemies, and
somehow, the good guys always pull through.

Teeth… as in Greenteeth. I had a hard
time finding a T book that fit the them
of being sustained. In Greenteeth the
characters had to go through a series of
difficult challenges in order to gain
needed skills to beat a very bad character.
It took courage and determination to see
their way clear.

Arrow’s Flight, Arrow’s Fall and
Arrows of the Queen. All part of the
Heralds of Valdemar written by Mercedes Lackey.
A novelist with some real life concerns that
make many shy of reading her work. These books
gave me much relief from life in days
gone by, the stories predictable and easy. Giving
the mental needed to sustain during a hard time.

If I were a Fish is a book I reviewed a
while back. A book that helps to fight
against bullying. It’s also a kids song
the is sorta catchy to help children
realize that bullying isn’t okay and
we need to work harder at understanding
the people around us.

Nehemiah a book in the bible.
It tells the story of the efforts of Nehemiah
who, with the support of the king, sought to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It took a
lot of effort. Listened to a bible study of this
book back in my 20’s when I needed encouragement
to stay the course. God is good.

Praying for Boldness

May 13, 2026 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

So on biblegateway, Acts 4:23-31 is given the title of Praying for Boldness. After having reviewed the previous passage I’m wondering why? The men, Peter and John, had already been bold in how they spoke to the council and answered them. So let’s give this passage a look see and discern why huh?

Acts 4:23-31

²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers were gathered together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

mottled shades of light blue and green. Text Praying for Boldness Acts 4:23-31

So Peter and John were told not to say anything and were released by the council. Their first action was to simply return to their friends. Can’t blame them. They’d have known that their friends would be worried about them and would need an update. They told their companions what was done and said.

²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

The response to this report was praise! God was good. No harm happened to Peter and John. They were questioned but not beaten. They were threatened but not imprisoned, they were released. You can’t expect much better eh?

²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God

Praise for who God is, the futility of those who would work against him, and here we have it. A prayer for continued boldness on their part!

Breaking down their Prayer

Recognition of who God is

sovereign Lord
Creator of heaven and earth and everything in the world
one who knows the future

and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

Cause you see, those quoted verses came from Psalm 2 and were spoken by David. What was true in David’s time remains relevant to the time at hand. The Holy Spirit was David’s guide then. I love how the friends of Peter and John could see the futility of folks plotting against God. It didn’t work in the past (in David’s time) and it won’t work now. They have FULL confidence in God in this.

After all they saw how the city was aligned against Jesus, the leadership as well as the Jews and Gentiles. And despite all that God’s preordained plans still came to fruition.

They come to their ask Praying for Boldness

So now we come to their request of God. God, you see their threats. They are real. We know your plans will out in the end, but it’s scary. So let us, your servants, continue to speak your truth boldly. That as you act and move that we are able to tell folks what is what.

²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

God heard them. He made the place they were in shake. He filled them with the Holy Spirit. They were emboldened, speaking the truth of God’s word.

³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

You know what!?!?! I need to see God more clearly again. To have that strong confidence in him that I know that regardless of what happens it’s going to be okay. That confidence will let me speak his truth to those around me. Sometimes I wonder what happened to me over the years. Got to complacent in some ways, wasn’t challenged enough to really live out my faith maybe?

But I live in the now, not the past. God is working at rebuilding me and that’s a good thing. I can hold to what I know and let him build the rest.

What about YOU?

Do you have a strong confidence in God? Are you able to be bold in sharing his word? Can you see clearly how God has worked in the past fulfilling his plans? Does that help you see the future with him more clearly?

Follow Along

If you are interested in the rest of the series you will find them here eh?

a Beginning or an end?

May 8, 2026 By Annette1 8 Comments

It’s a beginning that’s for sure. Of just perhaps it’s not quite the beginning that we thought it was. Every beginning means something right? So is it a beginning or an end, or both? Let’s be a bit philosophical tonight eh? 🙂 A word prompt needs to be like that sometimes eh?

a beginning or an end?

It’s a beginning that’s for sure
A beginning of a new year,
the beginning of the end.
A beginning to gardening season,
and end to a season of rest.

In the beginning God created the world
it was a time when the universe,
so to speak, was nothing but a void.
But God spoke and gradually, the more
he spoke, the more was created.
A beginning of creation, was also
the ending of nothingness.

A new job starts, a beginning with
hope and promise. Bills paid, food to
buy, mad spending money.
A ending to quietness in a day, of depending
on others for help, a lack of freedom to
help others. It’s all balance.

In the beginning every thing was perfect.
God and man talked and walked together,
harmony was real. But then a deceiver came
along and this harmony was ended. A beginning
of sorrow and hardship came into being.
But even in the hardship, a new beginning
was promised to us, we the children of God.

Vacation time away, a beginning
of rest and relaxation. Time away
from all that is normal and steady.
An brief ending to routine, a necessary
stability for mental health. A worry about
things left undone, or needing to trust
others to pick up the slack.

For to us a son is born
to us a son is given.
The governance of the world
will rest upon his shoulders.

a promise of a new start.
So we don’t need to fear the
future, because the future is
a promised new beginning, one that
promises an end to pain and suffering.

Before I forget, I put up a contest on my blog the other day! A chance, if you are Canadian, to win a colouring book! Go check it out eh?

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What’s the Deal?

What’s the deal?

Ananias and Sapphira