Power Source

Money is power.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness." Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me." Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans. - Acts 8:14-25

I think Simon gets a bad rap here.

He used to perform magic for money, and then he becomes a witness to the awesome nature of God working through the apostles, so he changes his ways.

But then, when he sees they have the power to lay hands on people and give them the Holy Spirit, he offers all he has to obtain the same power, money.

And what happens?

Peter puts him down.

To Simon, money was power.  If you have money, you can buy influence, protection, position.  It is the way of the world.

And that's the point Peter is making.  

It is not the way of God.

God's way is the way of love, and it is going to take some doing for Simon to see why his approach isn't sufficient to qualify him for the power he seeks.

He wants power to be someone, rather than to help someone.

If we set out to be a force of good for those in need, the power we need will be granted, when we need it.

The Holy Spirit is always with us when we live the way of love.  

We can't control it.  It is not ours to give.  It is our power source.

More to come...