He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!

—Isaiah 26:3 (TLB)

You have an ego-a consciousness of being an individual. Of course, you do. But that doesn’t mean that you are to worship yourself, to think constantly of yourself, and to live entirely for yourself. Common sense tells you that your life would be miserable if you followed that course. God is infinitely more concerned about your happiness than you could possibly be. He says, “Deny yourself, and follow me.” There is many a person in the insane asylum today who thought excessively about himself, to the exclusion of God and others. Hypochondriacs who have a fanciful anxiety about their health will never be well, regardless of their physical condition.

Find peace with God today.

Prayer for the day

Keep my mind on You, Lord, and help me to discipline the thoughts of self which crowd out Your peace.

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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.

Listen to Billy Graham’s message on living boldly for Christ.

Prayer for the day

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

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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.”

Share this answer with someone who may be questioning 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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Who gave himself for our sins . . .

—Galatians 1:4

Years ago King Charles V was loaned a large sum of money by a merchant in Antwerp. The note came due, but the king was bankrupt and unable to pay. The merchant gave a great banquet for the King. When all the guests were seated and before the food was brought in, the merchant had a large platter placed on the table and a fire lighted on it. Then, taking the note out of his pocket, he held it in the flames until it was burned to ashes. The king threw his arms around his benefactor and wept. Just so, we have been mortgaged to God. The debt was due, but we were unable to pay. Two thousand years ago God invited the world to the Gospel feast, and in the agonies of the cross, God held your sins and mine until every last vestige of our guilt was consumed.

It’s never too late to confess past sins. Read more in Billy Graham’s answer.

Prayer for the day

In gratitude I kneel before You, Lord Jesus Christ.

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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!

Read and share these four simple steps to sharing your faith.

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.

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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.

Prayer for the day

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

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But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

—Romans 5:8

As we stand at the cross of Christ we see a glorious exhibition of God’s love. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “While we were powerless to help ourselves . . . Christ died for sinful men.” In human experience, it is a rare thing for one man to give his life for another, even if the latter be a good man, though there have been a few who have had the courage to do it. Yet the proof of God’s amazing love is this: that it was “while we were sinners Christ died for us.”

A beautiful young society leader came to visit my wife and me. She had been converted to Christ in one of our Crusades, and she was absolutely radiant in her transformation. Already she had learned scores of Scripture verses by heart and was so full of Christ that we sat for two hours listening to her give her moving testimony. Over and over she said, “I cannot understand how God could forgive me. I have been such a wicked sinner. I just cannot understand the love of God.”

Read more about how the cross of Christ covers your sins.

Prayer for the day

It is beyond comprehension the love that took You to the cross for me. Humbly I praise and thank You, my Savior and my Lord.

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Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.

—Philippians 4:6 (TLB)

Historians will probably call our era “the age of anxiety.” Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us. When we make anything else our goal, frustration and defeat are inevitable. Though we have less to worry about than previous generations, we have more worry. Though we have it easier than our forefathers, we have more uneasiness. Though we have less real cause for anxiety than our predecessors, we are inwardly more anxious. Calloused hands were the badge of the pioneer, but a furrowed brow is the insignia of modern man.

God has never promised to remove all our troubles, problems, and difficulties. In fact, sometimes I think the truly committed Christian is in conflict with the society around him more than any other person. Society is going in one direction, and the Christian is going in the opposite direction. This brings about friction and conflict. But God has promised, in the midst of trouble and conflict, a genuine peace, a sense of assurance and security, that the worldly person never knows.

Read and share these Bible verses on anxiety and fear.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, teach me to keep my eyes centered on You rather than on myself and my anxieties. Help me to allow You to give me peace of heart and mind today.

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Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ . . .

—Ephesians 5:2 (TLB)

There is no doubt that we need social reform. If success is ever to be realized, our generations must work together and listen to each other, which is one of the first requirements of cooperation. At this point, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is relevant as the great reconciler. The Apostle John, in his first epistle, declared, “To you, young men, I have written,” and, “To you, fathers, I have written.” This is to the young activists and to the old guard, “It is by this that we know what love is: that Christ laid down His life for us. And we in our turn are bound to lay down our lives for our brothers. But if a man has enough to live on, and yet when he sees his brother in need shuts up his heart against him, how can it be said that the divine love dwells in him? My children, love must not be a matter of words or talk; it must be genuine, and show itself in action. This is how we may know that we belong to the realm of truth” (1 John 3:16-19, NEB).

Prayer for the day

Father, when someone disagrees with my opinions, may my love not be determined by rhetoric, but by the all–encompassing love of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

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. . . realize that your heavenly Father will . . . give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for him.

—Luke 11:13 (TLB)

Before He left His disciples, Christ promised that He would send a Comforter to help them in the trials, cares, and temptations of life. This word comforter means “one that helps alongside.” He is the Holy Spirit, the powerful Third Person of the Trinity. The moment you are born again, He takes up residence in your heart. You may not emotionally feel Him there, but you must exercise faith. Believe it! Accept it as a fact of faith! He is in your heart to help you. We are told that He sheds the love of God abroad in our hearts. He produces the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” We cannot possibly manufacture this fruit in our own strength. It is supernaturally manufactured by the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts!

Prayer for the day

Lord God Almighty, I praise You for Your Holy Spirit who guides and keeps me in all my ways.

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He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus . . .

—2 Corinthians 4:14

The resurrection of Christ brings hope. The late Emil Brunner once said, “What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life.” As the human organism is dependent on a supply of oxygen, so humanity is dependent on its supply of hope. Yet today hopelessness and despair are everywhere. Peter, who himself was given to despair during the episode of Calvary, writes in a triumphant note, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

There is hope that mistakes and sins can be forgiven. There is hope that we can have joy, peace, assurance, and security in the midst of the despair of this age. There is hope that Christ is coming soon—this is what is called in Scripture “the blessed hope.” There is hope that there will come some day a new heaven and a new earth, and that the Kingdom of God will reign and triumph. Our hope is not in our own ability, or in our goodness, or in our physical strength. Our hope is instilled in us by the resurrection of Christ.

Prayer for the day

My hope is in You, my resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! May I never despair, as I remember Your triumph and love.

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Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.

—Genesis 28:15

When Jesus uttered His words of comfort in the first few verses of the fourteenth chapter of John’s gospel, concluding with, “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14:4), Thomas said unto Him, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Jesus answered him with a statement which has in it the ring of eternity. It was sublimely simple and yet profoundly deep. Its surface meaning was clear to all, and yet the great theologians have never completely sounded its mighty depths. This is that statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

In one majestic sweep, these words silenced Thomas’ questioning tongue and brought reassurance and peace to the hearts of the other disciples. Within the marvel of that authoritative sentence from the lips of the Son of God, there was enough comfort to assuage the sufferings of the tormented, enough wisdom to satisfy those who yearned for understanding, and enough power to set the great Christian movement in motion.

Prayer for the day

Knowing You are with me is all the comfort I need, Lord.

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I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore . . .

—Revelation 1:18

Certain laws of evidence hold in the establishment of any historic event. Documentation of the event in question must be made by reliable contemporary witnesses. There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived, or that Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians will accept thousands of facts for which they can produce only shreds of evidence. But in the face of the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts. The trouble with many people is that they do not want to believe. They are so completely prejudiced that they cannot accept the glorious fact of the resurrection of Christ on Bible testimony alone.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, I know You are alive—for You live in the hearts of all those who love You!

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Our homeland is in heaven, where our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ is; and we are looking forward to his return . . .

—Philippians 3:20 (TLB)

The Scriptures indicate that we are living in man’s day. But there is coming a day that will be called the Day of the Lord. In the midst of hopelessness, there is hope! And that hope is centered in the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the will of man runs riot in the earth. Then the will of the Lord will alone be done. Until that time, we are under orders from the King of kings to proclaim His message. When we engage in evangelism, we are obeying His great command to “go and proclaim.” In doing so, we are hastening the day of His return.

Prayer for the day

As I live in the hope of Your return, give me the wisdom and love to reach those around me.

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He hath made him to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God . . .

—2 Corinthians 5:21

Augustine was one of the greatest theologians of all time. He was a wild, intemperate, immoral youth. In spite of his mother’s pleadings and prayers, he grew worse instead of better. But one day he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ that transformed his life. His restlessness and the practice of sin disappeared. He became one of the great saints of all time. John Newton was a slave trader on the west coast of Africa. One day in a storm at sea he met Jesus Christ. He went back to England and became an Anglican clergyman. He wrote scores of hymns, one of which has become the modern popular song, “Amazing Grace.” This is what Christ can do for anyone who puts his trust in Him.

Prayer for the day

Your amazing grace transformed even my unworthy life—I love You, Lord Jesus!

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For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ must still be dead. And if he is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless. . . . The fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead . . .

—1 Corinthians 15:13,14,20 (TLB)

I was invited to have coffee one morning with Konrad Adenauer before he retired as the Chancellor of Germany. When I walked in, I expected to meet a tall, stiff, formal man who might even be embarrassed if I brought up the subject of religion. After the greeting, the Chancellor suddenly turned to me and said, “Mr. Graham, what is the most important thing in the world?” Before I could answer, he had answered his own question. He said, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is alive, then there is hope for the world. If Jesus Christ is in the grave, then I don’t see the slightest glimmer of hope on the horizon.” Then he amazed me by saying that he believed that the resurrection of Christ was one of the best-attested facts of history. He said, “When I leave office, I intend to spend the rest of my life gathering scientific proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” It was the fact of the resurrection of Christ that called the disciples to go out as burning young revolutionaries to change the world of their day. They preached that Christ is alive. This should be our message every day of the year.

Prayer for the day

Father, let my message to others be that of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His ability to change the lives of those who believe in Him.

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Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin.

—John 1:29 (TLB)

At the cross of Christ, sin reached its climax. Its most terrible display took place at Calvary. It was never blacker or more hideous. We see the human heart laid bare and its corruption fully exposed. Some people have said that man has improved since that day, that if Christ came back today, He would not be crucified but would be given a glorious reception. Christ does come to us every day in the form of Bibles that we do not read, in the form of churches that we do not attend, in the form of human need that we pass by. I am convinced that if Christ came back today, He would be crucified more quickly than He was two thousand years ago. Sin never improves. Human nature has not changed.

Prayer for the day

Father, take away my thoughts and deeds that crucify Jesus afresh.

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He is not here, but is risen.

—Luke 24:6

Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world. Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again. Only the Christian faith claims that its Leader died and rose again and is alive at this moment. Many gravestones carry the inscription, “Here lies . . . ,” but on Christ’s tomb are emblazoned the words, “He is not here.” Christianity has no shrines to visit, no dusty remains to venerate, no tombs at which to worship. Many good men have lived, and still live, in the memory of those who knew them, but there is only one Man who conquered death—Jesus Christ—and He will live forever.

Prayer for the day

The account of Your resurrection never ceases to bring me joy, Lord Jesus.

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And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind . . .

—Mark 12:30

Christ touches every area of our lives. He touches our minds and we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. God invites people to use their minds, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18). We are told in Scripture not to be like the horse or mule, “which have no understanding” (Psalm 32:9). Christ declared that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We are told to fear God, to love Christ, and to hate sin. Fear, love, and hate are emotions. Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, preaching at the City Temple in London, said, “What is wrong with emotion? Christianity is falling in love with Christ. Has anyone ever fallen in love without emotion?”

Read Billy Graham’s answer on keeping bad thoughts from taking over your mind.

Prayer for the day

May my love for You embrace my whole being, Lord Jesus. Teach me true love.

Apr

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As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Galatians 6:14 (TLB)

What glory is there in the cross? It was an instrument of torture and shame. Why did Paul glory in it? He gloried in it because the most selfless act ever performed by men or angels took place upon it. He saw-emanating from that rough, unartistic beam upon which the Son of God had been crucified—the radiant hope of the world, the end of the believer’s bondage to sin, and the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of men. A lone man dying on a cross did more to restore man’s lost harmony with God, his fellowman, and himself, than the combined genius and power of earth’s mighty. With my finite limitations, I cannot fully comprehend the mystery of Christ’s atonement. I only know that all who come to the cross in simple, trusting faith lose all their guilty stains and find peace with God.

Discover Jesus and the power of the cross for yourself.

Prayer for the day

Like the Apostle Paul, Father, help me to glory in the cross of Jesus and more fully understand the tremendous meaning it has for me as a believer and for all who would come to its foot and kneel.

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