What Jesus Wants for Christmas

by Billy Graham

This Christmas season you can be assured that Jesus Christ is here. He is here to give us hope, to forgive our sins, to give us a new song, to impart faith and to heal our spiritual wounds—if only we will let Him.

The Christmas message has not changed in more than 2,000 years. Christmas still reminds us that God is with us.

In spite of all the pessimism and cynicism, in spite of all the headlines about murders, assassinations, riots, demonstrations and war, Jesus Christ is alive. He is alive to conquer despair, to impart hope, to forgive sins and to take away our loneliness. He is alive to reconcile us to God.

This Christmas, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Give Him the gift that He wants—your heart, your soul, your life.

(Adapted from Billy Graham's article, "Christmas—a Time of Renewed Hope")

Why Does the World Hate Jesus?

by Franklin Graham

Why is there so much hatred for Christians? Why are followers of Christ who seek to serve the poor, care for the sick, feed the hungry, and emulate the Savior so denigrated and disparaged around the world?

Ultimately, it is because men hate the Name of Jesus Christ. They love darkness rather than light. They love their sin rather than the only One who can forgive their sin. They refuse to let go of their pride and self-sufficiency and admit there is only one way for sinful men to be reconciled to a holy God.

Jesus Himself said that “if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you … A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18, 20).

Jesus demands that we come to Him on His non-negotiable terms. He tells us that we are vile sinners in need of a Savior. To receive the gift of salvation, we must strip ourselves of any claim to merit before God, and come to Jesus in genuine repentance and faith. Only then can the bad news of our sinful state be washed away in the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life.

The Tragic Consequences of the Sexual Revolution

By Franklin Graham

The sexual revolution that began in earnest five decades ago with promises of new and liberating sexual freedoms has instead left behind a shattered moral landscape that has undermined the fabric and foundation of our nation. Casting off what was perceived as the puritanical restraints of previous generations, the ’60s and ’70s launched a new era of sexual experimentation. The revolution, publicly inaugurated by 1967’s “Summer of Love” in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, promised an enlightened age of sexual morality.

The new thinking said cohabitation wasn’t really a problem. Divorce wasn’t nearly as harmful as once thought. Promiscuity presented no clear and present danger to the family unit. Same-sex attraction was perfectly normal. Pornography was little cause for concern. Indeed, an entire industry developed around its spurious allure.

Fifty years later, we can see that the results have been catastrophic.

In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction.

In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.

Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. Some studies show that the proliferation of pornography available on the Internet has likely contributed to the declining marriage rate.

The freedoms promised by the sexual revolution have instead given way to ever increasing slavery and captivity to sin. The attempt to cast off moral restraint has only opened wide the devil’s destructive, deadly toolbox. “For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19).

The plague of immorality has so swept across the American landscape that there is virtually no place where its corrosive influence is not felt. The pervasive, immoral reach of popular media, which actively promotes every type of sexual misconduct imaginable, constantly agitates against the biblical norms of upright, godly behavior.

The Scripture is clear: “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. … For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous … has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:3, 5).

Today, what our society seems to value most is the freedom to do whatever we want, whatever makes us feel good. Anyone who would try to stop us from doing what we want—even when what we want is destructive to ourselves and to others—is mocked and vilified.

But God’s laws and commands are given for our good. Sexuality is a gift from God to be used within His wise restraints. Like the levees that hold back mighty rivers from destructive floods, God’s Word and ways are designed to keep our thoughts, passions and desires in godly bounds. They are for our good, not our harm.

“The body is not meant for sexual immorality,” wrote the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church, “but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body’” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Our bodies, which one day will be redeemed, glorified bodies, are made by God for God. To flaunt His design is, in essence, to commit idolatry by prizing and delighting in what God hates.

Our culture, like ancient cultures that ultimately were destroyed in large part due to their own moral depravity, has been severely weakened. A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule.

We know that as the end draws near, this world will be characterized by escalating violence and rampant sexual immorality. In Revelation 17 and 18, Babylon represents the “great prostitute” of the earth. It stands for the unbridled pursuit of sensual pleasures. The earth, about to be judged by the King of kings and Lord of lords, has become completely intoxicated by wanton pleasures. “For all the nations have drunk … of her [Babylon’s] sexual immorality” (Revelation 18:3).

As Christ is about to return, shouts of triumph break out as multitudes in the heavenlies declare: “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality” (Revelation 19:1-2).

The only answer I know for any society in any era is the strong word of the Lord to the church in Thyatira who, though faithful in some ways, apparently tolerated sexual permissiveness that spread through the church: “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:21).

There is still time to repent. That is why Jesus is delaying His return, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

My prayer is that we do not refuse that offer while there is still time. ©2015 BGEA

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.

Learn How to Live Content

By Anne Graham Lotz

Have you ever felt torn between what is and what should have been, could have been or would have been if such and such had not taken place?

Have you ever been plagued by the “if-onlys”? If only I had not done that … said that … gone there. If only I had said that … done that … gone there.

Have you ever been desperate to be in two places at the same time?

Have you ever been deeply disappointed that your life has turned out differently than you had dreamed?

Have you ever longed for deep peace and contentment, yet they both seem to be elusive?

The Apostle Paul testified that in spite of beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, robberies, pressures, fears, betrayals, hunger and suffering of every conceivable type, he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11).

How could Paul be content in every circumstance? He was content because he had abandoned his life to God. He knew ultimately God was in control. And while God’s will could possibly be delayed, it would never be thwarted. Paul expressed it this way: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21, NKJV). The secret to contentment is to be totally yielded to God. To climb up onto the lap of your heavenly Father by faith, let Him wrap His arms of love around you, and then just nestle down into His will.

Get to Know Him

By Ken Boa

The great prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3, Philippians 1, and Colossians 1 reveal that Paul’s deepest desire for his readers was that they grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The knowledge the apostle had in mind was not merely propositional, but personal. He prayed that the Lord would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened and that they would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 1:17-18; 3:19).

What does it take to know Him more clearly? The two essential ingredients are time and obedience. It takes time to cultivate a relationship, and unless we make the choice of setting aside consistent time for prayer and the reading of Scripture, we will never become intimate with our Lord. Obedience is the proper response to this communication, since it is our personal expression of trust in the promises of the Person we are coming to know.

Struggling with Patience?

Q: If I had to make a list of my faults, the first thing on the list would have to be “impatience.” I wish I was a more patient person, but I’m afraid it just isn’t in me to be that way. Does the Bible say anything about this?

By BEGA

A: Yes, the Bible certainly talks about impatience and the bad things it can bring into our lives — just as it talks about patience and its benefits. The Bible says, “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly” (Proverbs 14:29).

Why is impatience harmful? First of all, it harms us — physically, emotionally and spiritually. But it also harms our relationship with others. Impatience easily turns into anger or even violence, and these are the opposite of God’s plan for us. The Bible says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Have you ever asked yourself when you’re most likely to become impatient? It’s probably when something happens that delays you or changes your plans, and over which you have no control. But if you can’t do anything about it, why get upset? I know that’s easier said than done, but simply realizing that you can’t change the situation may help you relax and accept it. The Bible says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience” (Proverbs 19:11).

The key, however, is to realize that patience — true, lasting patience — isn’t something we can develop on our own. Instead, it’s a gift from God, given to us by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever confessed your impatient spirit to God, and asked Him to make you a more patient person? He will, as you yield your life and your emotions to Christ, and then seek to become more like Him.