Two important points in the Parable of the Wheat & Weeds should speak to us. First, remember where the weeds came from. Jesus clearly says the source of evil among us is Satan—the sower of the weed seeds.  Too  often in  our  misguided
efforts at purity we conclude that the source of evil is the people we think are weeds. Consequently we focus our energies and animosity on them, believing we can rid ourselves of evil if we just get rid of certain people.

A second important point is to note who the harvesters are and what their job is. Jesus says that the sorting out of weeds from wheat is a task for angels, not for servants. It seems to me the assumption of this task for ourselves is not only risky but is arrogant. In spite of how confident we are that we understand God’s will, if we are honest, we need to admit that we are not as perceptive as the angels of God. To say we know the mind of God to the extent that we can correctly judge another person’s relationship with God is to put God into a box of our construction—to use God to support our personal agenda.

Since pulling weeds is not our responsibility, is there anything we can do to keep the church pure? Yes. There is one area in which we have significant responsibility for the purity of the church, a place where all of us can contribute safely and effectively to church purity: our own lives. This is the only place where we are qualified to look for weeds and pull them out by the roots when we find them. When we open our lives to God, we are competent to recognize the evil within us that has been sown by the enemy while we were asleep or perhaps while we were busy trying to pull weeds elsewhere. Removing those weeds will, more than anything else, promote purity within the church.                                                  (DAVE MILLER)

We, as Christians, have a tremendous responsibility given to us when the Lord blesses us with a child. By doing so, He entrusts us with the responsibility of raising that child in the way of the Lord and establishing early in his life, a foundation built upon Jesus Christ. It is this tremendous responsibility that causes us to think of child consecrations as “family consecrations.” We feel that the whole family needs to be lifted up to the Lord so that each member will be able to keep his or her responsibilities.

But first, what exactly is involved in “consecrating” your child to the Lord? Children are a heritage from the Lord. He gives them to us to bless us, and because of this, we must be willing to give them back to Him. We too must be willing to totally submit our children to the will of our Father. We are to do the most we can to “set apart” our children to God until the day that they can make their own choice. By consecrating your children to the Lord, you are making a vow to raise them in His ways. The following is a list of some of the things parents do as part of keeping their vows.

1. KNOW GOD’S GIFT OF LOVE:   The greatest importance is to know the gift of God’s love in Jesus Christ personally as parents.

2. BE A LIVING EXAMPLE OF CHRIST TO YOUR CHILDREN:   It does not do your child any good to instruct him in the way of the Lord if you yourself do not walk what you talk. Therefore, it is good for you to always be examining yourself and your witness to your children.  In Proverbs 20:7 the Bible says “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed (happy) are his children after him.” The main reason for the blessed state of this man’s children is that they have someone to look up to and to use as an example to model their own behavior. We as parents are encouraged to strive to be that example to our children even as Christ is our example.

3. INSTRUCT YOUR CHILD IN THE WAY OF THE LORD:   We are taught in Ephesians 6:4 to “bring them (your children) up in training and instruction of the Lord”. And Proverbs 22:6 adds, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” If we, while our children are young, instruct them in His ways, our children will grow in the ways of God for a lifetime.

4. PRAY CONSTANTLY FOR YOUR CHILD:   A parent’s responsibility to pray for their child does not end at their consecration, but continues throughout the rest of their life.  We see an example of this in Job 1:5…“ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their heart.’ This was Job’s regular custom.” And in James 5:16…”The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” The prayer of Christ-centered parents powerfully covers their children in prayer that will produce effective change for a lifetime.                              (AGAPE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES)

The greatest sermon ever preached was delivered by angels on this historic night. It has always been interesting to me that this message was delivered at night. It wasn’t night because the sun had gone down. It was night because the world was surrounded in spiritual and moral gloom.
People were driven by greed, intolerance, and lust for power. Religion had become a device for the rich in the exploitation of the  poor. Men robbed and swindled and profiteered under the cloak of religion; they even fought wars in the name of religion. In every arena of life, it was night when Jesus came.

Things haven’t changed. Today, there seems to be a moral night that has settled over our world – sexual immorality, pleasure-mad people lusting for money and power – the same as it was in the days when Jesus came 2,000 years ago.

It is in the darkest hour that Christ often comes. He brings the joy, the thrill, the peace, and the glory such as you have never known – when you and your loved ones give your lives to Him.

How has Jesus shown Himself to you in your darkest hour?

(BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION)

On that first Christmas night, the angels appeared to shepherds on a hill near Bethlehem. Alfred Edersheim, the great 19th-century Jewish-Christian scholar, wrote in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah that the shepherds and the sheep to whom the angels appeared near Bethlehem were no ordinary shepherds and sheep.  The sheep were those bound for the
temple sacrifices. The shepherds were outcasts because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances. And their manner of life rendered legal observances unlikely, if not absolutely impossible.

How wonderful that in God’s wisdom and love the angels should appear to them – the doomed and the outcast – that night.

Today we can declare to the world that the Good Shepherd cares for all people and wants to give them peace. Christ came on that first Christmas for one great purpose – to die on the cross for our sins.

Now God offers forgiveness, inner peace, and eternal life to all who will repent and believe in His Son. This is the Christmas message!

Do you know people who need to hear about God’s love and forgiveness?
Will you share the true Christmas message with them this year?

(BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION)

We’re given just a little glimpse of Mary and Joseph before Jesus was born. They lived in the hill country of Galilee. Joseph was a religious man. Mary gives every evidence of having a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, even though she was a teenager. The Bible teaches that God was so pleased with her that He chose her to be the mother of Jesus. Mary and Joseph weren’t married, and yet Mary became pregnant.

I’ve often put myself in Joseph’s place – imagined his thoughts, his aspirations about the girl to whom he was engaged. But Joseph decided to break the engagement privately. While he was thinking about these things, God’s angel appeared to him in a dream to give Joseph an explanation of the situation. All Joseph’s suspicions were put away. He accepted what God had said through the angel, and he was immediately married to Mary.

Both Joseph and Mary followed the call and plan of God, and through their obedience, the way was prepared for Christ to come and bless us.

Are you seeking to follow God’s call on your life?
Are you actively responding to Him?

(BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION

In this Scripture we find the message and meaning of Christmas. Isaiah the prophet gave five awe-inspiring names of our Lord that encourage us, thrill us, and fill us with hope at this Christmas season.

1.  WONDERFUL: When Christ did His many miracles, the Scriptures says, “The people wondered” (Luke 11: 14, KJV).

2.  COUNSELOR: The people said, “No one ever spoke the way this Man does” (John 7:46. NIV).

3.  THE MIGHTY GOD: He is the God-Man. He said that He and the Father are one (John 10:30).

4.  THE EVERLASTING FATHER: It was by Him, the Living Word, that all things were created. He is the designer of the whole universe (John 1:3 & Hebrews 11:3).

5.  THE PRINCE OF PEACE:  There will never be lasting peace on earth until Christ comes again to reign in righteousness. But He is also the Prince of Peace in other ways. None can have peace with God apart from Him and the peace that He made through the blood of His cross (Colossians1:20).

How has Christ shown you recently that He is “Wonderful, Counselor … the Prince of Peace?

(BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION)