Who are you following? What kind of benefits do you reap from following them?

By: Monique Smith

Hello friends! Today’s devo will be coming from Acts 8: 9-13.

⁹ A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great.^{(F) 10} They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God!”^{[b](G) 11} They were attentive to him because he had astounded them with his sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.^{(H) 13} Then even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he went around constantly with^[c] Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles^(I) that were being performed.

When I read the above passage, I immediately thought about the difference in following secular artists vs spiritual & saved artist.  Take a few moments and get your favorite (current or former) secular artist in your mind. Okay. In relation to this passage, whoever your secular person is, they will be Simon. Now get your favorite saved artist in mind. That person will be Philip.  My “Simon” is Young Jezzy. (haha, for those of you who don’t know, in my BC days, Jezzy was my FAVORITE rapper. I just loved his flow, punch lines, beats, etc etc).  My “Philip” will be Lecrae.

            In the world of music, I was a huge follower of Jezzy, he amazed me with every new song he produced. I was hooked on every ad lib, and his music made me feel good and hype while listening to it. Everyone I knew loved Jezzy as well. We were all fans. Everyone would have a Jezzy CD in his or her car and you would always hear him bumping in someone’s trunk. The benefits that Jezzy gave us were: Good music and a good time.

            Let’s fast forward to the present. My current favorite rapper is Lecrae. He is a saved artist who speaks about the Truth. Before Lecrae, I didn’t believe in “Gospel Rappers” because everything that I’ve heard in the past was straight WHACK. Lame word play, lame beats, just lame, lame, lame. But once the scales were removed from my ears (through surrendering my will to God), I believed in Lecrae and his music. I realized he was spittin’ the good news about the kingdom of God and I realized that after listening to his music, my spirit felt better, I was a tad more knowledgeable about the things of God, and I started growing in God.  The benefits that Lecrae gave me was: Truth about God in a form I was accustomed to and a filling of my spirit with fresh new “water” of the Word.

            In the passage in Acts, we see how people were following Simon who was keeping them very well entertained by his witchcraft and sorcery. Everyone thought he was great because they had never seen anything that amazing before. The benefits he gave them were simple: entertainment. BUT when the people started listening to Philip and believed him and his teachings about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, they were BAPTIZED. The benefit Philip gave them was extraordinary: salvation.  The passage goes on to say that Simon, who was once famous for his lifestyle, believed in the teachings, he was also baptized! Amazing right!? Then Simon started proclaiming the gospel! (Modern day example of that in the music world is Malice from the group Clipse, y’all remember Grindin’! Homeboy raps about the Truth now a days!)

            This devo was to get you all thinking about the people who you follow and let feed your spirit. What kind of benefits are you receiving in that “follow-ship”? Are these benefits temporal or eternal?  Think about it. SE’LAH! (boo-yow!)

Prayer: Lord! I love you! Thank you so much for allowing me to first follow you and second, for all the benefits I receive by simply abiding in your shadows! However, Lord, I need more help in realizing the impact of following others you have placed on this earth. I know you have given me free will to do many things, I just want to make sure my spirit is constantly being fed and that I do not grow stagnant. Protect me from things that are contrary of you. I want to be more like you, each and every day. Lord I love you! In Jesus name, amen.