Billy Graham

To Those Who Grieve

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“Look upon each of us now. There are so many families that have been bereaved, that we pray for all. You take away a mother here; you take away a husband there; you remove a child there; you are smiting on the right hand and on the left. We would kiss the rod and the hand that wields it, but we pray that the richest consolation may be given, especially to those who suffer much.
We pray that richer consolation than usual may be given where it is most required. Sanctify their bereavements. May the whole of the flock feel that when the Shepherd is taking away one after another, it is time for us to be ready for his coming.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

Right now, I’m thinking about Erika Kirk, the widow of recently assassinated Charlie Kirk, who spoke the words “I forgive him” about the person who pulled the trigger and prematurely ended Charlie’s life. That’s not a natural response to loss. That can only happen under the power of the Holy Spirit and in someone whose heart is ruled by the peace of Christ.

There’s something so unnatural about death. It wasn’t in the original design, but sin entered the world and brought death and decay with it. So now we live in a world where life is temporary and fleeting. But we have the hope and promise of the resurrection.

Because Jesus was dead and is alive forevermore, so can we. We can face death with the knowledge that it is a defeated foe and won’t have the final say. We can grieve the ones we love with hope because we know that they currently more alive than ever but have merely changed their address (as the late Billy Graham once said).

I love the illustration about a man told a famous doctor that he was afraid of dying. The doctor responded by pointing to the office door where they both could hear a scratching sound and a whining voice behind it. Once the doctor opened the door, his dog came joyfully rushing in to embrace his master. The doctor said that the dog knew nothing about the office before he entered — only that his master was there.

And so it is with heaven. We know snippets. We don’t know a lot of details. We may not know much about what happens when we die. We just know that our Master is there. And that is enough to give us joy in the midst of our fear. We can rest in the assurance that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. What we know see dimly through eyes of mustard seed faith we will see clearly by sight one day. And Jesus will be there. That’s enough.

Christmas with the King

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I ran across a Christmas poem that resonated with me deeply. This year, I have known people who have lost loved ones. I was blessed to be a part of a crew of deacons that went caroling Sunday at the homes of a couple of our widows.

This poem speaks to the Christmas experience of those who are no longer here with us. I think they’re probably having their best Christmas season ever. And the good news is that for them it never ends.

“Martha Bennett sent us this encouraging poem in a Christmas Card. Thanks Martha, Thanks for your encouragement.

I’m spending Christmas with Jesus this Year

I see the countless Christmas trees
Around the world below
With tiny lights like heavens stars
Reflecting on the snow

The sight is so spectacular,
Please wipe away that tear.
For I’m am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs,
That people hold so dear.
But the sound of music can’t compare,
With the Christmas Choir up here.

For I have no words to tell you,
The joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
To hear an angel sing.

I can’t tell you of the splendor,
Or the peace here in this place.
Can you just imagine Christmas,
With our Savior face to face?

Please let your hearts be joyful,
And let your spirit sing.
For I am spending Christmas in heaven,
And walking with the King!”

As Billy Graham said that when you hear he had died, it was not true. He had simply changed his address. That’s true for all those we love who aren’t here this year. They’ve simply changed their address, and their faith has been made sight.

Spoiler: God Wins

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“… just slipping a note to those in the thick of it who really need to know right now how this all works out, how today ends, how this week ends, how this whole shebang ends:

SPOILER: GOD WINS” (Ann Voskamp).

“No doubt about it! God is good—
    good to good people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly missed it,
    missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way,
    looking up to the people
At the top,
    envying the wicked who have it made,
Who have nothing to worry about,
    not a care in the whole wide world.

Pretentious with arrogance,
    they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed,
    decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill;
    they bully their way with words.
They’re full of hot air,
    loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
    Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
    Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
    they have it made, piling up riches.
I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
    what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
    a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

If I’d have given in and talked like this,
    I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out,
    all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
    Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you’ve put them on,
    with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster!
    A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing.
    There’s nothing to them. And there never was” (Psalm 73:1-20, The Message).

It’s easy to lose sight of the end when you’re stuck in the middle. When evil seems to rule the day, it’s hard to believe that God can ever set things right. It’s tempting to fall into a cynical view of “Well, that’s it. We’re done for. There’s no hope left.”

But just as Billy Graham said, I’ve read the last page of the Bible and I know it’s going to be fine in the end. Actually, more than just fine. It will be better than the happiest ending in the best book you’ve ever read. It will be like in the last book in the Narnia series where all that happened before was merely the title page and prologue, but heaven is where the real story starts and where each chapter is better than the one before.

The Bible says for those who are in Christ that whatever the worst that we can face is light and momentary compared to the joy that’s coming. Read that again. The absolute worst we can imagine ever facing is light and momentary compared to the joy that awaits.

Not that what we face isn’t very real and very scary and very awful. But the joy ahead is infinitely greater and longer and lasting. It will be like the joy of a new mother holding her child after the pain of delivery, knowing it was way more than worth it.

It will be way more than worth it when we get there.

The Birthdays Keep Coming

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At some point, I wish the birthdays would just stop.

I don’t mean I don’t want any more birthdays. I definitely don’t mean that I don’t want to live any longer.

What I do mean is that I wish that I could get to a comfortable age number and stop there. I think 35 would have been a good age to remain for a while. Maybe now I can stay 52 for a few years.

But then I remember people like my friend Nathan or my cousin Timothy who won’t get to see 52. They never got the opportunity to grow old because they left so young.

So I’m thankful for another birthday. It means I got to live. It means I got to experience God’s world and especially God in the world for another 365 days. I got to take for granted that I would wake up every morning.

As much as I enjoy opening birthday gifts, the biggest gift I get every single year is the gift of being alive and being loved. I’m reminded that I have a physical birthday on February 28, but I also have a spiritual birthday on which I prayed the sinner’s prayer and invited Jesus into my heart.

That was the day that I went from being lost to found, from being dead in sin to being alive to God. It was the day that I became a new creation and a follower of Jesus, not because I was especially deserving or good. It was because God is good and full of grace.

I think my friend Nathan or my cousin Timothy could have the chance to say some final words, they’d say that the most important gift anyone could ever receive is the gift of knowing Jesus and receiving what He did by taking our punishment on the cross, dying, and then being raised from the dead.

If anyone reading this wants to know more about following Jesus, I’ve included this link that shares the plan of salvation:

Have You Heard the Good News of Salvation?

A Good Biography

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I’ve been reading Billy Graham’s autobiography, Just As I Am, for the last few weeks. I’ve always admired him as a preacher and an evangelist, but I didn’t realize the scope of all that he did during his lifetime.

Billy presents himself as a simple servant of God who was faithful to preach the gospel and to proclaim the cross of Christ every time He preached. He attributed every bit of success and fame in his personal life and his ministry solely to the power of God.

I get blown away by the sheer magnitude of all his crusades. He literally preached to millions and saw countless numbers who came to faith in Christ. He was able to proclaim God’s message of salvation all over the world and go to places where others hadn’t been able to go.

The best part is that Billy Graham was as honest about his failings as he was about his successes. He was willing to admit when he used poor judgment and throughout his humility and dependence on God for everything was clear.

I wasn’t planning on reading biographies, but so far this year, I’ve listened to a two-part biography on Elisabeth Elliott and read a biography on Keith Green in addition to this one. It’s amazing how God is able to use those who are surrendered to His purposes and plans, who are willing to give up their own plans and do whatever God says. When you and I can come to the end of our finiteness and frailty and say, “Thy will be done,” then God steps in and does what only He can do, which is often the impossible.

A Fitting End

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“I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right” (Billy Graham).

I read today where Billy Graham will be buried in a simple pinewood casket made by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. I find that very fitting for a man who saw himself as a humble Southern Baptist preacher blessed to be able to present the Gospel to so many over a long and faithful life.

I think Billy Graham himself would say that it’s only his mortal shell that’s being put six feet deep in the ground. He is face to face with Jesus, hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” He is reunited with his wife Ruth. He is home.

I think he’s finding out how true those words he spoke so long ago are. If you’ve read the last page of the Bible, then you know that it’s truly going to be all right.

In case you haven’t gotten to the end of the Bible, spoiler alert– here’s how it ends.

“The Spirit and the Bride: Come.

And let everyone who hears these words say, ‘Come.’

And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life” (Revelation 22:17, The Voice).

I believe Billy Graham would want his funeral to be one more opportunity for people to be able to respond to a Gospel invitation. He would want his death to result in more people coming to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Maybe you can be one of those who will join Billy Graham in heaven.

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/salvation-through-christ-a-matter-of-faith.html

 

 

Thank You, Billy Graham

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“I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times. I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: ‘Lord, remember me'” (Billy Graham).

It felt like a blow directly to my heart when I saw where Billy Graham had passed away this morning at 99 years of age. He had been such an icon and presence in my formative years. I guess part of me thought he’d be like George Beverly Shea and live to at least 100.

But I believe God decided it was time to welcome his servant home.

I’m sure right now that millions of blog posts and Facebook posts and other social media outlets are heaping praise on Rev. Graham right about now. I’m also just as sure that Billy himself would have deflected such praise, saying that he was a sinner saved by grace and used by God in spite of himself. He would point to Jesus as the real hero of the faith.

He started his ministry 80 years ago, faithfully preaching the salvation of Jesus Christ as found in the Word of God. He never wavered and never faltered morally. He wasn’t perfect and would himself admit to many failings, but he persevered in presenting the gospel of the Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Right now, he’s free from every ache and pain. He’s free from the symptoms of Parkinson’s. He’s reunited with Ruth and all of his other friends and fellow Crusade co-workers.

Best of all, he’s seeing for the first time face to face the Jesus he preached about all those many years. He’s hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Thank you, Billy Graham. There are millions and millions of people (including me) who echo the words of the old song and say, “Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am so glad you gave” (Ray Boltz).

A New Year’s Day Prayer for 2018

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I’m sharing this prayer from one of my heroes, Billy Graham, at 12:51 am on January 1, 2018. Happy new year!

“Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: ‘Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end’ (Psalm 119:33).

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.

Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord’ (Psalm 33:12).

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.

Amen” (Billy Graham).

Happy 99th Birthday, Billy!

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“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith” (Billy Graham).

I can think of no better example of a legacy of character and faith than Billy Graham. His whole life has been devoted to the spread of the Gospel. His motto might as well be “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease,” because he has always deferred the credit to his fellow workers, and especially to Jesus.

I believe there are thousands of people going to heaven because of Billy Graham. I also believe that one day he will hear the words from his Lord and Savior, saying “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I’d love nothing more than to see him live to be 100, but I imagine he’s ready for heaven, to be reunited with Ruth, to meet again with family members gone before him, but best of all, to finally see Jesus face to face.

I echo the words of so many others whose lives have been touched by his faithful ministry and his servant’s heart when I say simply, “Thank you, Billy Graham.”

 

Easter Sunday 2015

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File Apr 05, 9 15 22 PM

“It is good for us to remember that this stone was rolled away from the entrance, not to permit Christ to come out but to enable the disciples to go in!” (Peter Marshall)

“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act” (Mahatma Gandhi).

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you'” (Billy Graham).

“But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross” (Bono).

For me, Easter is a bit harder to prepare for than Christmas. You don’t have nearly the commercialism of the season constantly reminding you that the day is coming. Also, Easter isn’t on a fixed day every year like Christmas.

Most of all, Easter isn’t quite the feel-good story that Christmas is. You don’t have the cute little infant being cradled by loving Mary as a doting Joseph watches on. You have the gory spectacle of the cross and the death of an innocent Man to deal with.

But you need both, I think. You can’t have the Greatest Story Ever Told without both the virgin birth and the death and resurrection. If Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin Mary, then He’s not qualified to die for anyone’s sins but His own. If He isn’t raised from the dead, then we are still stuck in our sins and just as hopeless as before.

So I love both seasons. More than that, I love how Advent comes before Christmas and Lent comes before Easter, giving us time to prepare our hearts and minds for what it all means.

This year, Easter means that no life is wasted. It means that every life matters and every single person ever born matters to God. It means that your and my identity doesn’t come from honor rolls or bank accounts or resumes, but from Calvary. At the core, who I am is the Beloved of God, who proved that He thought I was worth dying for on that cross.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, there are only 263 days left until Christmas.