Dave Dishman

April 15 is tax day in the United States, when payments are due the government. A few days past now, it was no holiday—more a day of stress and running around for those who waited until the last minute to get checks in the mail. I finished my taxes weeks ago, experiencing the pain but avoiding the rush.

A number of people lie about their financial situation in order to pay fewer taxes. Cheaters get caught every year, but I have a feeling a good chunk get off scot-free. It’s tempting to fudge the numbers.

A couple in Jerusalem fudged the numbers and got caught. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land and gave the proceeds to the growing church. Only they lied about the full amount. While they claimed to donate all the profits, they actually kept some back. They hoped for the accolades of the crowd while enjoying some jangle in their pockets.

Peter confronted Ananias, How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.

Then, in a twist no one saw coming, Ananias died on the spot. A few hours later Sapphira joined him. Church members took notice.

I’ve never seen such action in our era, a person falling dead because of lying to God. That moment in time and place marked a special movement of the Holy Spirit. His presence filled the atmosphere of the church, and to walk in and tell a brazen lie mocked the Lord. Satan actually entered the house of God, and the Holy Spirit acted accordingly.

When I posture and profess how good I am, I sometimes sense the Lord asking, are you telling the whole story? When that nudge comes, it’s best to answer honestly, even if the conversation is just between me and the Lord. Because one never knows how the Holy Spirit may respond to deception, but for sure it never gets ignored.

Acts 5 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Olga DeLawrence

As the young church in Jerusalem quickly grew to over 5,000 members, Peter and John healed a lame beggar in the temple gate. This miracle, along with their preaching, earned the ire of the religious establishment. The rulers seized John and Peter, threw them in jail and called them forward the next day to explain their actions.

If a night in jail was meant to intimidate these fired-up preachers, that plan failed. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, trumpeted the name of Jesus and spelled out to the assembled leaders:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

The courage and response of these disciples astonished the council, along with the presence of a formerly lame beggar now bouncing around the room. The judges blustered, threatened and cajoled, to which Peter replied:

Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

Indeed, Peter and John never did stop speaking about Jesus. They promoted the truth that salvation is found in no one else to their last breath. Those early church members spread around the ancient world, yielding generation after generation of believers from their witness.

Slowing down Peter and John was like trying to slow down a freight train barreling down the tracks. It ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Fortunately for us, that train’s still running, and we get to climb aboard.

Acts 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Laurent Jollet

Shopping for shoes a couple of weeks ago, I strolled around a store in Boulder. Along with hiking boots and trail runners, I looked over a wall of climbing shoes. These are small, tight, slip-on shoes with sticky rubber soles. They’re designed to give maximum grip as the climber ascends a rock face. Fun to look at, but I left with a pair of shoes made for level ground—no cliffs for me.

Climbers cannot afford slippery footwear. In a similar way, we all hope to avoid disastrous falls in life. David wrote of those who steer clear of calamity:

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.

The law of God—the Bible—acts like a pair of climbing shoes for those who read and study the text. Whether barely hanging on, or striding confidently down the sidewalk, the Scriptures bring stability. Wisdom and justice flow for those who know and apply God’s word.

If you’re a climber, a good pair of shoes is worth the investment. If you’re a human, spending time in the Good Book is worth the investment as well.

Psalm 37:30-31 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by lena Enz

Reliable people shine during difficult times. Interior qualities rest untested until hardship or crisis pull them to the surface.

The story of Ruth is a wonderful example. At a crossroads in life, Ruth chose to move to a foreign land in support of her mother-in-law. This after the deaths of Ruth’s husband and father-in-law. Two women, all alone, journeying into an uncertain future.

At first Ruth’s mother-in-law insisted that Ruth return to her parents. Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.

A beautiful statement of commitment, one I always love hearing at wedding ceremonies. Brides and grooms repeat these words on days of celebration, with the trials of life over the horizon. But Ruth spoke them in a grim situation. She knew every step forward would be difficult, yet she chose her path.

Of course, the story ends with a happily ever after moment. Years later Ruth’s great-grandson is crowned David the king. But Ruth guessed none of this when she pledged to follow her mother-in-law into an unknown and scary place.

I pray for the Lord to develop Ruth-like qualities in myself. When I find Ruth-like people in my life, I try to keep them close, because you can never have too many reliable people around you.

Ruth 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis