If we are living now by the Holy Spirit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

—Galatians 5:25 (TLB)

When Bill Borden, son of the wealthy Bordens, went out to China as a missionary, many of his friends thought he was foolish to “waste his life,” as they put it, trying to convert a few heathens to Christianity. But Bill loved Christ and he loved men! He hadn’t been out there very long before he contracted an oriental disease and died. At his bedside they found a note that he had written while he was dying. It read, “No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets.” Bill had found more happiness in his few years of sacrificial service than most people find in a lifetime.

Prayer for the day

Help me not to count the cost of serving You, Lord Jesus, but let me be completely yielded to Your leading.

https://billygraham.org/

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

—Romans 3:24

Salvation is free! God puts no price tag on the Gift of gifts—it’s free! Preachers are not salesmen, for they have nothing to sell. They are bearers of Good News—the good tidings that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Money can’t buy it. Man’s righteousness can’t earn it. Social prestige can’t help you acquire it. Morality can’t purchase it. It is, as Isaiah said, “without money and without price.”

God is not a bargaining God. You cannot barter with Him. You must do business with Him on His own terms. He holds in His omnipotent hand the priceless, precious, eternal gift of salvation, and He bids you to take it without money and without price. The best things in life are free, are they not? The air we breathe is not sold by the cubic foot. The water which flows crystal clear from the mountain stream is free for the taking. Love is free, faith is free, hope is free.

Do you need to give or recommit your life to Christ? Do it today.

Prayer for the day

Even though my salvation was obtained only through the costliest sacrifice ever made, You freely gave it to me. Lord, I praise You for this gift so lovingly given.

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For in him we live and move and are!

—Acts 17:28 (TLB)

When I was seven years old, my father bought me my first bicycle. I had never ridden one. Patiently, my family and friends tried to teach me the art of cycling. I soon found out there was one thing I must do if I was to stay on the bicycle—keep moving forward. If I ceased to go forward, I would fall and hurt myself. So it is in the Christian life. We can never live this life on the highest plane unless we are continually growing and moving forward. You should be closer to God today in heart, soul, and body, than at any other time so far in your life.

Prayer for the day

Lord, I have progressed far too slowly in my pilgrim walk with You. Might I be drawn closer to the light of Your love and grace.

https://billygraham.org/

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above . . .

—James 1:17

God, in His mercy and goodness, has endowed every man with certain gifts, talents, and capabilities. These are not to be used selfishly for our own profit, but for the glory of God and for the building of His kingdom. Our personalities, our intelligence, and our capabilities are gifts from His own bountiful hand. If we divert their use for our own profit, we become guilty of selfishness.

It is good business for an employee or junior partner in the firm to work for the profit and interest and glory of the owner. When the owner profits, all members of the firm profit. So, as stewards of our talents, we should invest them for the glory, praise, and honor of God. If God is glorified, we as His partners will be blessed. Our voices, our service, and our abilities are to be employed, primarily, for the glory of God.

God wants you to put your talents to use. Find out more.

Prayer for the day

Everything I have, You have given me, Father. Now give me wisdom to use these gifts completely in Your will.

https://billygraham.org/

Follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

—Romans 14:19

The home is basically a sacred institution. The perfect marriage is the uniting of three persons—a man and a woman and God. This is what makes marriage holy. Faith in Christ is the most important of all principles in the building of a happy marriage and a successful home. The secret strength of a nation is found in the faith that abides in the hearts and homes of the country.

A strong marriage starts with God at the center.

Prayer for the day

May we so love one another, through You, Lord Jesus–that our homes will be reflections of the glory of Your inestimable love.

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. . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor . . .

—Matthew 22:37–39

Here is the answer to the world’s problems today—”Thou shalt love the Lord thy God” and “Thou shalt love thy fellowman.” That teaching is not out of date; it is absolutely relevant today. It is the only way in which the problems of the world today can be solved, whether the problems are those of individuals or of nations. If we love God with all our heart, we will have capacity to love our neighbors. True love will find an outlet in service—not merely in singing hymns, attending church, or even in praying—but in trying our utmost to prove our love, by obeying the will of our heavenly Father.

See what Billy Graham says about loving others.

Prayer for the day

True love demands everything I have. Take all the hidden things in my life that keep me from loving You and my neighbor as I should. Let me obey Your will unequivocally, dear Lord.

https://billygraham.org/

Our soul waiteth for the Lord . . .

—Psalm 33:20

I am a soul—and I have a body! The body is the house in which the soul lives. When Oliver Wendell Holmes was in his 80th year, a friend hailed him and asked, “How are you?” “I’m fine,” said Holmes, “the house I live in is tottering and crumbling, but Oliver Wendell Holmes is fine, thank you.” In this materialistic age we often forget that the real, the abiding part of us is invisible. Much time, money, and effort are expended to perpetuate the physical part of us, and too many are unconcerned about their spiritual health and nurture. Hence doctors’ offices are overcrowded, and many ministers’ counseling rooms are empty.

When God created man, He made him distinctive, different from the other animals. “He breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul.” He clothed him with intelligence, conscience, and a will. He made him like Himself—a companion, a friend of God. At the resurrection, this mortal shall put on immortality, and we shall be like Him, and be with Him forever.

Why did God create us? Read Billy Graham’s explanation.

Prayer for the day

What expectation is mine as I think of being with You forever, my beloved Lord Jesus!

https://billygraham.org/

. . . 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.

https://billygraham.org/

. . . serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope . . .

—Romans 12:11,12

Each generation becomes more addicted to the sedatives of life, to dull the pain of living. Oppressed by a sense of triviality and thwarted purpose, men find no great goal or commitment to draw them, and no inner stimulation to give meaning to their existence. Christ can save you from the bane of boredom. He waits to give you a fresh sense of direction and to take dissatisfaction out of your life. I talked recently with a man in my own community who was converted to faith in Christ. “I hadn’t known what to do with my leisure time,” he told me, “but now I have a sense of commitment and purpose that I never knew before.”

God loves you and created you for a purpose. Find out why.

Prayer for the day

Even the smallest job I do today is part of my service to You, Lord. Help my heart to be so filled with Your Spirit I will rejoice whatever task is set before me.

https://billygraham.org/

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

—Galatians 3:24

When God gave the law, He knew that man was incapable of keeping it. Many persons are confused as to why God gave the law, if He knew man could not possibly keep it. The Bible teaches that the law was given as a mirror; I look into the law and see my spiritual condition. I see how far short I come, and this drives me to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. The Bible teaches that this is why Christ came—to redeem them that were under the law. Man could not keep the law; he was condemned by the law.

Read Billy Graham’s answer on why we should obey God’s laws.

Prayer for the day

How I need Your guidelines, Lord. Teach me to be always mindful of Your leading.

https://billygraham.org/

. . . all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . .

—Isaiah 64:6

The Bible teaches that all our righteousness—falling short of the divine standard as it does—is as filthy rags in the sight of God. There is absolutely no possibility of our manufacturing a righteousness, holiness, or goodness that will satisfy God. Even the best of us is impure to God. I remember one day when my wife was doing the washing. The clothes looked white and clean in the house, but when she hung them on the line they appeared soiled and dirty, in contrast to the fresh-fallen snow.

Our own lives may seem at times to be morally good and decent; but in comparison to the holiness and the purity of God, we are defiled and filthy. In spite of our sins and moral uncleanness, God loves us. He decided to provide a righteousness for us. That is the reason that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross.

Prayer for the day

My life is like a gray pall beside the whiteness of Your purity, Lord Jesus. Cleanse me this day.

https://billygraham.org/

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love . . .

—Romans 12:10

Living creatively for Christ in the home is the acid test for any Christian man or woman. It is far easier to live an excellent life among your friends, when you are putting your best foot forward and are conscious of public opinion, than it is to live for Christ in your home. Your own family circle knows whether Christ lives in you and through you. If you are a true Christian, you will not give way at home to bad temper, impatience, fault-finding, sarcasm, unkindness, suspicion, selfishness, or laziness. Instead, you will reveal through your daily life the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, and all the other Christian virtues which round out a Christ-like personality.

Read Billy Graham’s answer on how to let people see Jesus through you.

Prayer for the day

My family, Lord, knows the real me—they deserve so much more. May I live so close to You that Your love will flow through me to them.

https://billygraham.org/

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

—John 13:13

He (the Spirit) will never lead you contrary to the Word of God. I hear people saying, “The Lord led me to do this. … The Lord told me thus and so …” I am always a little suspicious unless what the Lord has said is in keeping with His Word. God never directs us to do anything contrary to His Word. The prophet Samuel once said, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” The Scripture teaches, “He that willeth to do His will shall know the doctrine.” When you find yourself up a blind alley, not knowing which way to turn, if you are willing to do His will, He will reveal Himself. He conceals His will only from those who, before they consent to do His bidding, seek to know what He is going to say. Be an obedient Christian. Remember that “where God guides, He provides. Where He leads, He supplies all needs!”

Prayer for the day

Let me be acutely attuned to Your Word, so that each decision I have to make will be in Your will, almighty God.

https://billygraham.org/

. . . that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.

—Ephesians 6:19

The word “mystery” means beyond human knowledge or understanding. God’s mysteries baffle the unbelieving, but bless the believer. The mystery of righteousness, like some of the other great mysteries of God, we cannot comprehend, but we know it works. We stand amazed at this great mystery which enables God to change the human heart, its attitudes, its desires, and its nature.

God, a holy God, who loves righteousness and hates wickedness, through a process of redemption has refashioned us in the image of Himself. How marvelous! For generations He has been applying His righteousness to the hearts of men. Even in our time, with its complexities of living, God is in the business of changing men and women by the mystery of righteousness.

Read more about how God changes and forgives us.

Prayer for the day

Give me Your boldness to tell others the secret of eternal joy in Jesus Christ.

https://billygraham.org/

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!

https://billygraham.org/

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.

https://billygraham.org/

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.”

What is truth? Read more here.

Prayer for the day

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

https://billygraham.org/

Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves . . .

—Psalm 100:3

Whenever anyone asks me how I can be so certain about who and what God really is, I am reminded of the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. It was a fine day to go kite-flying, the wind was brisk, and large billowy clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds. “What are you doing?” a man asked the little boy. “I’m flying a kite,” he replied. “Flying a kite, are you?” the man said, “How can you be sure? You can’t see your kite.” “No,” said the little boy, “I can’t see it, but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it’s there!” Don’t take anyone else’s word for God. Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful, warm tug on your heartstring, that He is there, for sure.

We should seek God always. Billy Graham explains why.

Prayer for the day

Oh heavenly Father, as I reach out to You I feel the “tug” of Your Holy Spirit, which tells me of Your presence!

https://billygraham.org/

Keep yourselves in the love of God . . .

—Jude 1:21

A husband and wife visited an orphanage where they hoped to adopt a child. In an interview with the boy they wanted, they told him in glowing terms about the many things they could give him. To their amazement the little fellow said, “If you have nothing to offer except a good home, clothes, toys, and the other things that most kids have—why, I would just as soon stay here.” “What on earth could you want besides those things?” the woman asked. “I just want someone to love me,” replied the little boy. There you have it! Even a little boy knows that “man shall not live by bread alone.” Our deeper yearnings and longings can be met only by a renewed fellowship with the One in whose image we were created, God.

Prayer for the day

Thank You for loving me, God. This knowledge never ceases to amaze me. I praise and love You, my heavenly Father.

https://billygraham.org/

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).

Read more about how nature points to God.

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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