Tag Archives: Ruth Graham

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Christian’s Life Purpose

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For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17

Years ago during a visit with Billy and Ruth Graham, I noticed while we were outside that their dog was continuously going around in circles.

“What’s wrong with this dog?” I asked them.

“He’s chasing his tail,” they told me.

I had heard about dogs chasing their tails, but I had never actually seen one do it before.

Like that dog, some people are effectively chasing their tails in life. They are chasing after happiness. But the best way to not be happy is by trying to be happy.

Our purpose in life as Christians is to know God and bring Him glory. If you will do that with your life, if you will get up every morning and say to yourself, “I want to know God, and I want to bring Him glory,” then you will find the happiness that has eluded you. You will find the satisfaction you have always wanted by having your priorities in order.

Anything short of this ultimately will disappoint, because true and lasting happiness never will be found in the things this world tells us to look for.

The Bible offers something better than happiness, and that is joy. Happiness largely depends on good things happening. When things are going reasonably well, we are happy. If things aren’t going so well, we are not happy. But we can have joy despite our circumstances.

The problem with happiness is that it’s generally derived from accomplishments, accumulation, and, to some degree, through escape. The trouble with that is we won’t always be able to accomplish something or escape somewhere. And the things we have accumulated will go out of style, break, get lost, or may be stolen.

If we live for happiness, we’ll never find it. We’ll be like that dog, constantly chasing his tail.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Our Motive in Giving

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I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. —2 Corinthians 9:5

The story is told of Billy and Ruth Graham and an experience they had in church one Sunday. As the offering was being taken, Billy Graham reached into his pocket and meant to pull out a five-dollar bill. Instead, he pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and didn’t discover it until he already had placed it in the offering plate. He was a little horrified by what he had done and turned to his wife, Ruth, and said, “Well, at least I will get a reward in heaven for giving fifty dollars.”

“No,” Ruth said, “you are going to get a reward for five dollars because that is all you meant to give.”

Motive is everything because God looks on the heart. The Bible tells us that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The word used for cheerful could be translated “hilarious.” This suggests a joy in giving that leaps over all restraints. Amazingly, as Paul urged the Corinthians to give, he cited the Macedonian believers who were relatively impoverished in comparison to the Corinthian believers. In speaking of them in 2 Corinthians 8:2, he said, “They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (NLT). How do the terms many troubles, very poor, and rich generosity fit together in one verse? They fit when people have discovered the joy of giving. Giving is not a luxury of the rich; it is a privilege of the poor and of everyone, not just people who have disposable incomes.

Giving is a responsibility. It is an opportunity. And it is a blessing for every follower of

Jesus Christ.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Weight of a Life

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Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. —1 Corinthians 3:12–13

If Billy Graham ever had anything close to a personal intercessor, it would have been Pearl Goode. She lived in Pasadena, California, and for many years, she prayed in secret for Billy Graham and his crusades. When the Graham team was finally made aware of this, they started bringing her with them to the crusades so that she could pray on site. She lived to the age of 90, and at her funeral, Ruth Graham said, “Here lie the mortal remains of much of the secret of Bill’s ministry.” While Billy Graham was doing his part, Pearl Goode was doing hers. While he was preaching, she was praying.

When awards are given out in heaven for faithfulness, we might expect them to go to the spiritual heavyweights. Names like Corrie ten Boom, Jim Elliot, and Billy Graham might come to mind. Maybe we would be surprised at the prospect of a woman named Pearl Goode sweeping the awards. After all, she wasn’t a bestselling author. She didn’t have a hit song on Christian radio.

This is what we need to remember: it isn’t about how famous we are; it is about being faithful with what God has called us to do.

Daniel said to the wicked King Belshazzar, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Daniel 5:27). A loose paraphrase would be: “Belshazzar, you’re a lightweight. You’re a spiritual bantam weight.”

On God’s scales, you don’t want to be a lightweight. On God’s scales, you want to be a heavyweight. You want to have substance and meaning in your life.

It isn’t about what God has called another Christian to do; it is all about what God has set before you to do. Have you been faithful? If you have, then you will be rewarded on that final day.