City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

³¹ Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. ³² Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 29:31-35

“Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), owned a tract of land.  So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet”

Acts 4:36-37

Reflection

Leah – Hebrew: Bitterness

Often in the Bible people have names that refer to the life struggle they have.  For Leah, whose name meant bitterness, it was her challenge to overcome her struggle with bitterness.  For three sons she thought only of her plight.  But, for her forth she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.”  With this personal victory she learned to praise the Lord, and all people received this blessing of the line of Judah.

Barnabas – Hebrew: Son of encouragement

Ananias – Hebrew: God has been gracious

Sapphira – Hebrew: Beautiful or sapphire(the jewel)

Barnabas, struck by the problem before him and the fact that he could do something about it, perhaps turning to his man and saying, “let’s sell this one.  There’s something I have to do.”  Coins in hand, dropped into a sack, strings drawn, Barnabas heads over to the house.  Entering the house with an overwhelming joy, Barnabas lays the full price at the feet of the disciples.  As shock and awe spreads through the house, the crowd is truly encouraged by the great gift.

Ananias, seeing the joy of the crowd, turns to his wife, “I must do this too.  Perhaps one of the arid plots out west, near the sea.  It’s a nice piece of land, so I’ll get a pretty price.”  Sapphira asks, “are you going to give all of the money away?”

“Most of it, for sure.  Perhaps I’ll hold back a bit,” he ponders.

Every Christian should understand that, at this point Ananias has done nothing wrong.  He has seen an example of a good work, and he is trying to follow it.  This is a wonderful thing.  But this is also where corruption waits.  In the doorway of great works stand shattered remains of good intentions.  There is a way in which God intends us to live, and that way is holy, righteous, and completely accountable for our actions.  To some, this may sound like captivity, but I say, this is the doorway to true freedom.

Application

Consider your name.  Ask yourself three questions:

1. What is the struggle of my life?
2. How do I react when I am confronted with it?
3. What would allow me to say, “this time I will praise the Lord”?

Prayer

Dear Lord, I acknowledge you as the Lord of my life, so there is nothing that you cannot conquer or change about me.  I ask that you make clear to me my struggle, and that you give me the wisdom and the strength to overcome it, that in the end I might say, “this time I will praise the Lord!”  Amen.