Tag Archives: Billy Graham

Billy Graham – Jesus Is Transcendent

 

Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who has chosen him above all others.
—1 Peter 2:4 (TLB)

No personality in history stands above Jesus Christ. Agnostics and atheists have found fault with Christian ideas, but they can never find fault with the Person of Jesus Christ. They have found fault with Christians, but not with Christ. Jesus of Nazareth transcends methods, ideas, and followers. He stands at the turning point of time. Men everywhere must bow to His superiority. Since Christianity is Christ, those who wish to be a Christian must accept and follow Him as a Person. He and He alone is able to meet every need of the human race.

Prayer for the day

Only You, Lord Jesus, meet all the needs in the hearts of men. You have met me in all the loneliest and all the happiest moments of my life.

 

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Billy Graham – Complete Victory

 

. . . greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
—1 John 4:4

Paul once wrote, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye can not do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). This is the battle or the tension that is present in us to a greater or lesser degree. So, you see, the spiritual lag that you feel is explained in the Bible. That does not mean that you accept it as the way it should be. You should make all necessary preparations for this battle which the Bible says “is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.”

In Ephesians 6 we read that the Bible tells what preparation you should make. In the meantime, always remember that “where sin abounds, grace did much more abound.” You can have complete victory! We are told to submit ourselves unto God, and the devil will flee from us. We are also promised that “sin shall not reign over us.”

Prayer for the day

Lord, like Paul I battle daily with Satan. I submit everything in my life to You, knowing that already the fight has been won.

 

 

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Billy Graham – New Heaven, New Earth

Billy Graham – New Heaven, New Earth

The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
—Revelation 11:15

Christianity is a Gospel of crisis. It proclaims unmistakably that this world’s days are numbered. Every graveyard and every cemetery testify that the Bible is true. Our days on this planet are numbered. The Apostle James says that life is only a vapor that appears for a moment and then vanishes (James 4:14). The prophet Isaiah says that our life is like the grass that withers and the flower that fades (Isaiah 40:6,7).

There is no doubt that nations also come to an end when they have ceased to fulfill the function that God meant for them. The end will come with the return of Jesus Christ. He will set up a kingdom of righteousness and social justice where hatred, greed, jealousy, and death will no longer be known. That is why a Christian can be an optimist. That is why a Christian can smile in the midst of all that is happening. We know what will come. We know what the end will be: the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Prayer for the day

While the world around me is in such turmoil, Your peace lives in my heart, as I look for Your triumphant return!

 

 

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Billy Graham – The Influence of a Mother

 

Her children arise up, and call her blessed…
— Proverbs 31:28

Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children. Someone has said, “Like mother, like children.” Most of the noble characters and fine leaders of history have had good, God-fearing mothers. We are told that George Washington’s mother was pious, and that Sir Walter Scott’s mother was a lover of poetry and music. On the other hand, we are told that Nero’s mother was a murderess and that the dissolute Lord Byron’s mother was a proud and violent woman. The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.

Prayer for the day

Thank You, Lord, for mothers who love You. Their influence is felt around the world.

 

 

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Billy Graham – Truth Brings Freedom

 

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
—John 8:36

The mark of a true Christian is found in his personal relationship to the Person of Jesus Christ. Christianity is Christ. Christ is Christianity. I speak reverently when I say that Jesus is more than His ideas. All that He said was true, but without Him even the truth would have been powerless. Men know the power of truth, and truth is that which sets men free. Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

Prayer for the day

Thank You, Jesus, for the shackles that have been broken in my life!

 

 

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Billy Graham – Seeing Our Need

 

Only a fool would say to himself, ‘There is no God.’ And why does he say it? Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.
—Psalm 53:1 (TLB)

We live like a little ant on this little speck of dust out in space. We get a Ph.D. degree and we strut across the stage and say, “Well, I don’t know whether or not there is a God.” And we can’t even control ourselves. We can’t even keep from blowing ourselves apart. We can’t even keep from manufacturing nuclear weapons that could destroy the world. We can’t even keep from hating each other, and fighting with each other, and killing each other. We can’t even keep from stealing from each other. We can’t even keep from dying, because all of us are going to die. No wonder the Bible says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” because a man that would deny the existence of God is a fool.

Prayer for the day

Almighty God, help me to live in such a way, that when I tell others of Your existence, they will be drawn to acknowledge and receive You.

 

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Billy Graham – God Is in Nature

 

When I consider thy heavens . . .
—Psalm 8:3

To look into a microscope is to see another universe so small that only the electronic microscope can even find it. For instance, it is revealed that one single snowflake in a snowstorm with millions of other snowflakes is the equivalent of twenty billion electrons. Scientists are learning that the miniature world of a single living cell is as astonishing as man himself. God says that we can learn a great deal about Him just by observing nature. Because He has spoken through His universe, all men are without excuse for not believing in Him. This is why the Psalmist said, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

Prayer for the day

The infinitesimal beauty of Your creation speaks to my heart of the certainty of Your presence, almighty and everlasting God.

 

 

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Billy Graham – Always Be Vigilant

 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
—1 Peter 5:8

When I was in the hospital in Hawaii, I read again of the shocking events which led up to the destruction of the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor. On that fateful day of December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked. We know now that that attack was invited by our failure to be always vigilant. The result was the destruction of our fleet-the cause was tragic indifference. When comfort and ease and pleasure are put ahead of duty and conviction, progress is always set back.

What makes us Christians shrug our shoulders when we ought to be flexing our muscles? What makes us apathetic in a day when there are loads to lift, a world to be won, and captives to be set free? Why are so many bored, when the times demand action? Christ told us that in the last days there would be an insipid attitude toward life.

Prayer for the day

Take away the apathy, Father, that so often blinds my vision.

 

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Billy Graham – Questioning

 

Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
—Psalm 51:12 (TLB)

It is not unusual for persons in their early twenties to defect from their early teaching. The reasons are many. Perhaps their exposure to unbelief “took” better than their exposure to belief. This is often the case, for the Bible says, “The heart of man is deceitful above all things.”

The human heart is as prepared by sin to accept unbelief as faith. Some person they regard highly has undoubtedly influenced their thinking; and for the time being they look on their early training as “bunk.” As someone has said, “A little learning may take a man away from God, but full understanding will bring him back.”

Some of the staunchest Christians I know are people who had periods in their life when they questioned the Bible, Christ, and God. But as they continued to examine the matter, there was overwhelming evidence that only “the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”

Prayer for the day

I pray for all the questioning people today, Lord, remembering times in my own life when unbelief reigned.

 

 

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Billy Graham – Joy in Sharing

 

We . . . offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.
—Hebrews 13:15 (TLB)

Jesus knew that one of the real tests of our yieldedness to God is our willingness to share with others. If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God’s mercy. Emerson must have been reading the gauge of human mercy when he said, “What you are speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Satan does not care how much you theorize about Christianity, or how much you profess to know Christ. What he opposes vigorously is the way you live Christ.

Some time ago a lady wrote and said, “I am 65 years old. My children are all married, my husband is dead, and I am one of the loneliest people in all the world.” It was suggested to her that she find a way of sharing her religious faith and her material goods with those around her. She wrote a few weeks later and said, “I am the happiest woman in town. I have found a new joy and happiness in sharing with others.” That’s exactly what Jesus promised!

https://billygraham.org/Prayer for the day

There is no greater joy, Father, than sharing Your love. Help me to convey this in all my dealings with others.

 

Billy Graham – He Is Alive!

 

Because I live, ye shall live also.
—John 14:19

For personal Christianity, the resurrection is all-important. There is a vital interrelation to the existence of Christianity itself, as well as to the individual believer, in the message of the Gospel. The Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, said, “Do you want to believe in the living Christ? We may believe in Him only if we believe in His corporeal resurrection. This is the content of the New Testament. We are always free to reject it, but not to modify it, nor to pretend that the New Testament tells something else. We may accept or refuse the message, but we may not change it.” Christianity as a system of truth collapses if the resurrection is rejected. That Jesus rose from the dead is one of the foundation stones of our faith.

Listen to Billy Graham explain the resurrection in 60 seconds.

Prayer for the day

Lord, let me live today with the constant thought that You are alive!

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – Continuing the Call

 

Billy Graham is likely the most well-known evangelist in the world. He began his career as an ordained minister in 1939. His estimated lifetime audience is more than 2.2 billion, and more than 3.2 million people have responded to his invitation to “accept Christ as their personal Savior.” Graham retired in 2005, but his son Franklin took over the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Graham’s ministry to share the gospel didn’t stop with him; he passed it on.

Go therefore…baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

In today’s verse, Jesus has risen from the dead and met His disciples in Galilee, where He instructs them to go make disciples of all nations. Most Bible scholars say Christ’s earthly ministry lasted about three years; however, His ministry didn’t stop with His crucifixion. His call continues, not just through the Holy Spirit, but through His disciples.

He called the apostles then – and He calls you today to continue His work by witnessing about Him. As you pray today, ask for opportunities to share Christ with others. Pray also for the nation’s leaders and citizens who haven’t accepted Jesus to come to know Him.

Recommended Reading: Romans 10:8-17

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Outcry

 

“If God doesn’t judge America, He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” This quote is most commonly attributed to Ruth or Billy Graham. Some people argue the logic of it, saying God need not apologize to anyone. The statement is not to be taken literally, but to point out how sinful America has become.

For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great.

Genesis 19:13

Today’s verse shows that God heard the outcry of the victims of Sodom and Gomorrah’s evil and injustice. God is just and will not let the wicked go unpunished. Aborted babies, beheaded Christians, and all of those who have been treated unfairly will see justice one day. In Revelation 6:10, those who were martyred for His name cry out, “How long!” If you have been wronged or have hurt someone, forgive and receive forgiveness, but know that everyone will give an account to God in Heaven of what they have done here on Earth.

Pray for the people of the United States to turn to God, stand for righteousness, and renounce evil. Intercede, too, for the nation’s leaders to intervene on behalf of all those who suffer injustice.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 5:1-10

Our Daily Bread — Now Go!

 

 

Read: Exodus 4:10-17
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17:20-37

Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. —Exodus 4:12 (niv)

More than 10,000 evangelists and Christian leaders sat in a giant auditorium in Amsterdam in 1986 listening to world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham. I sat among them, listening as he narrated some of his experiences. Then, to my surprise, he said, “Let me tell you: every time I stand before the congregation of God’s people to preach, I tremble and my knees wobble!”

What! I wondered. How can such a great preacher who has enthralled millions with his powerful sermons exhibit trembling and wobbling knees? Then he went on to describe not fear and stage fright, but intense humility and meekness as he felt inadequate for the daunting task to which God had called him. He relied on God for strength, not on his own eloquence.

Moses felt inadequate when God sent him to deliver the enslaved Israelites from their 400-year captivity in Egypt. Moses pleaded with the Lord to send someone else, with the excuse that he had never been a good speaker (see Ex. 4:10,13).

We may have similar fears when God calls us to do something for Him. But His encouragement to Moses can also spur us on: “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (v.12 niv).

As Billy Graham said that day, “When God calls you, do not be afraid of trembling and wobbling knees, for He will be with you!” —Lawrence Darmani

What task does God have for you to do today? Depend on Him by asking for His help.

Wherever God sends us, He comes alongside us.

INSIGHT: When God called Moses to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, Moses was reluctant to obey, giving various reasons why he was not qualified. He questioned his own identity and worthiness (3:11), his lack of authority (3:13), his credibility and acceptability (4:1), and his incapacities (v.10). Although God answered each of Moses’s excuses, God was angry with Moses for resisting what He had asked him to do (v. 14).

 

 

Greg Laurie – Be a Friend

 

So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. —Colossians 1:28

Somewhere along the line, we have separated evangelism from discipleship. We preach the gospel, but we don’t disciple. We don’t get people on their feet spiritually. But the two go together.

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, one of the most notorious nonbelievers ever, was so unexpected that a lot of people didn’t think it was true. So God spoke to a Christian named Ananias and told him to visit Saul. After some initial resistance, Ananias obeyed and found Saul (who later changed his name to Paul), prayed for him, and took the time to encourage him. Then God brought another man into Paul’s life, and his name was Barnabas. He introduced Paul to the apostles and vouched for his conversion.

A lot of people want to be an apostle Paul, but would someone please be an Ananias or a Barnabas—a person who works behind the scenes? You may not be the next Billy Graham, but you may the best person who helps to nurture the next Billy Graham.

You can show that person what a Christian family, a Christian man, or a Christian woman looks like. You can befriend that individual who has no friends and bring him or her into your group. You don’t know what God can do in the life of that person.

Discipling someone is not just talking to that person about Jesus; it is also being a friend. And that is what a lot of people need: a friend. That is what I needed as a brand-new believer. Thankfully, someone named Mark saw that I came to Christ and very persistently said, “You’re going to church with me.” I was resistant at first. But he won me over and ended up helping me get grounded in the faith. That is what discipling is.

Joyce Meyer – Doing vs. Being

 

O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You . . . – Psalm 63:1

For decades, Billy Graham led crusades all over the world, and his ministry was the vehicle through which countless thousands of people came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. But at age ninety-two, when asked what he would do differently if he could live his life over again, he said, “I would spend more time in meditation and prayer and just telling the Lord how much I love Him and adore Him…”

If anyone can claim great “spiritual accomplishments,” Billy Graham could do so, but he knows the secret each of us must learn: What we do for God is not nearly as important as the time we spend simply being with God. Certainly, serving God is important and God blesses us when we do things in His name. But we cannot allow ourselves to become unbalanced in Christian service and neglect our personal, one-on-one time with Him nor can we let ourselves believe that serving God takes the place of intimate relationship with Him.

When we have been in God’s presence, people notice. We are more joyful and more pleasant; we are more peaceful; we’re easier to get along with and more gracious toward others. As with any friend, the more time we spend with God, the more like Him we become.

The more we become like God, the better we are able to love— because He is love—and the more sensitive we become to the love He wants to pour out to us and to others through us.

Love God Today: “Dear Lord, help me to remember that the time I spend being with You is more important than the things I do for You.”

 

Our Daily Bread – God Is Listening

 

 

 

 

Read: Psalm 5
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 26-27; Mark 14:27-53

 

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up. —Psalm 5:3

The day before Billy Graham’s interview in 1982 on The Today Show, his director of public relations, Larry Ross, requested a private room for Graham to pray in before the interview. But when Mr. Graham arrived at the studio, his assistant informed Ross that Mr. Graham didn’t need the room. He said, “Mr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning, he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on the way over in the car, and he’ll probably be praying all the way through the interview.” Ross later said, “That was a great lesson for me to learn as a young man.”

Prayerfulness is not an event; it is a way of being in relationship with God. This kind of intimate relationship is developed when God’s people view prayerfulness as a way of life. The Psalms encourage us to begin each day by lifting our voice to the Lord (Ps. 5:3); to fill our day with conversations with God (55:17); and in the face of accusations and slander, to give ourselves totally to prayer (109:4). We develop prayer as a way of life because we desire to be with God (42:1-4; 84:1-2; 130:5-6).

Prayer is our way of connecting with God in all life’s circumstances. God is always listening. We can talk to Him any time throughout the day. —Marvin Williams

Thinking It Over
What is one major obstacle to developing your prayer life? What changes do you sense God wants to make in your heart so that you see prayer as a way of life?

In prayer, God hears more than your words— He listens to your heart.

INSIGHT: We are not told about the events that precipitated the writing of this psalm. Some scholars speculate that the enemies David speaks of may have been Doeg the Edomite (1 Sam. 22) or Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15–17). David brought his concerns to God because he knew God would deal with his enemies and care for him.

Greg Laurie – So Far to Go

 

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:13–14

When my friend John Collins, who is one of our pastors at Harvest Christian Fellowship, met Billy Graham for the first time, he thanked him for his faithfulness to the Lord.

Billy Graham replied, “I wish I could have done more.”

John thought, If Billy Graham says that, what about me?

Billy Graham wasn’t saying that to be humble. He really meant it. And that shows he is a real man of God, because he realizes he has so far to go.

The apostle Paul felt the same way. He said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). Here was one of the greatest Christians in human history saying that he had not arrived spiritually. He was saying he had so far to go.

Talk about bragging rights. Can you imagine a bunch of guys getting together and hanging out with Paul?

One guy might say, “Hey, you know what? The Lord spoke through me today.”

Another might say, “Well, the Lord led me to share my faith.”

Paul could say, “Well, God gave me inspired letters, called the Epistles, which basically take up half of the Bible.” Okay. Who can top that? But in actuality, Paul never said things like that, although it was the reality of his life. He was so close to God. And if anyone could rest on his laurels, it would have been Paul.

Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare themselves with other Christians. But that isn’t what they ought to be doing. If the apostle Paul could say of his life, “Not that I have already attained,” then certainly we all have a long way to go.

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M.- Wonder of Prayer

 

Eighty years ago, some businessmen gathered at W. Frank Graham’s dairy farm for a prayer meeting. They had met several times at different locations around Charlotte, North Carolina to pray for revival in their city, across their state and to the ends of the Earth. That particular day, one man suggested they pray that God would raise up someone from Charlotte to spread the gospel to the world.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.

I Timothy 2:1

At that moment, 15-year-old Billy Graham was in the barn doing his chores. None of the men who prayed were thinking of young Billy, who had not yet even given his heart to Jesus Christ. Of course, God answered that prayer in an unimaginable way. Graham later said, “A mystery and wonder of prayer is that God often waits until someone asks.”

Commit to boldly pray for those in your city and this nation to discover a relationship with the Lord this year. Then ask God for a fresh anointing of His Spirit upon all Christian leaders in America. Your prayers will make a powerful difference!

Recommended Reading: Mark 11:15-24

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Holy Spirit Promised

 

“But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about Me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection” (Acts 1:8).

Evangelists were gathered in Amsterdam, Holland, from more than 130 countries around the world to attend the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. On the third night of this historic event I was asked to bring the address on “How to be Filled With the Holy Spirit.” Just before I was to speak, a note from Billy Graham was handed to me. It said, “I consider this one of the most important addresses of the entire conference.”

According to the hundreds of thousands of surveys which our ministry has taken all over the world, 95 percent of the professing believers do not understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This includes a majority of pastors, evangelists and missionaries. In fact, if I had only one message to give to the Christian world, it would be how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and how to walk moment by moment in the fullness of His power. Indeed if I had to choose between introducing a non-believer to Christ or helping a defeated, fruitless, impotent Christian to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit and share his faith in Christ with others, I would choose the latter because inevitably the end result would be far greater in terms of the number of people who would be introduced to Christ. The one great need of the Body of Christ today that transcends all other needs is to be awakened to the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit, to be empowered and controlled by Him, to allow Him to exalt and honor our Lord Jesus Christ in and through us, for that is the purpose of His coming. “He (the Holy Spirit) shall praise Me and bring Me great honor by showing you My glory” (John 16:14).

On hundreds of occasions throughout the world I have spoken on this subject and always, when the invitation is given, a good percentage indicate their desire to be filled with the Spirit. The Scripture promises, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? If so, you are a candidate for the fullness of God’s Spirit. You can by faith appropriate His fullness right now by claiming His promise that God will release His power through you in order that you may be an effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible Reading: Romans 15:15-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will claim by faith the fullness of God’s Spirit in order to live the supernatural life and to be a more fruitful witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that it is the Holy Spirit who will enable me to live that exciting, supernatural life.