Devotion
Murder by Hate
“You must not murder” (Exodus 20:13 NLT). At first glance, this seems like the easiest
Jun 10, 2026
Devotion
Tares among the Wheat
by Greg Laurie on Aug 31, 2007
"Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.' "
Ananias and Sapphira had a choice: They could give a lot to the early church, or they could give a little. Nothing was required of them, but they decided to act as though they were giving a lot when they really were not. This was a sin of hypocrisy.
The Bible also says they lied to the Holy Spirit. This was a specific sin against the Spirit of God. Ananias and Sapphira found out that you can’t fool God. It is interesting that the name Ananias means “God is gracious,” but he found out that God is also holy. The name Sapphira means “beautiful,” but her heart was ugly with sin. It is easy for us to condemn Ananias and Sapphira for their dishonesty. But maybe we need to examine our own lives to see if our profession is backed up by our practice.
The devil loves to counterfeit the genuine. He appears to operate by the adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” He has his tares among the wheat. There are false Christians. There are false preachers. There are false teachers, false apostles, and false prophets. There are Ananiases and Sapphiras in our ranks. The Judas Iscariots are out there too. They go to the same churches as we do. They live in the same neighborhoods. They go to the same schools.
But one of these days God, who knows all hearts, will separate the wheat from the chaff and the true from the false. It is not for us to do, however. It is for Him to do.
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