The world lost an amazing man of God last week when Billy Graham
was called Home. He will no doubt be
remembered as one of the most influential men in our history.
This past weekend, I watched once again Graham’s last message to
the world that he shared when he was 95 years old. What struck me was that in all his years of
sharing the gospel, his story never changed.
I never heard him waver on Biblical principles. He never softened his words to make sure that
he didn’t step on anyone’s toes. He
didn’t preach just to make people feel good. Rev. Graham loved those who heard his voice so much that he was willing
to say what they needed to hear so they would know how much God loved
them. He wanted to make sure that
everyone was told, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16). You see, he was more
concerned about where others would spend eternity, than tickling ears with his
message.
I don’t have to tell you that we are living in a crazy, mixed up
world. I find it sad that just listening
to the news can make a person feel sick to their stomach and want to hide under
the covers and not see the light of day. What I find even more disheartening is that as
Christians, many of us are hiding “under the covers” so to speak, and not
sharing the answer to the chaos all around us.
Friends, the answer is not in more guns or less guns…in more or less
legislation…or even in one political party…the answer is in Jesus Christ. Billy Graham knew that and spent his life
making sure that others knew it also.
We are dealing with a heart issue that only Christ can repair,
but the question is are we willing to pick up where Rev. Graham left off? Are we willing to stand firm on Biblical
principles even when it won’t make us popular in society? Are we willing to tell others about our Jesus
even if we might step on someone’s toes?
In other words, are we more concerned about where others will spend
eternity, than tickling ears with our words?
Time is of the essence and it is imperative that our focus is on
reaching those who need to know about our Jesus. If you need inspiration, I urge you to listen
to Graham’s last message. You can watch
it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4TMuee7Ir8.
If you are reading this and you aren’t sure if you will spend
eternity with Jesus, make sure you watch Rev. Graham’s last message today. Jesus Christ was willing to die on a cross for
you and He loves you more than you can even imagine. Today is the day for you to pray the prayer
that Billy shares at the end of his message.
Will all your problems disappear?
No they won’t. But you will have
a new beginning…a fresh start…and your past will be forgiven. I love how 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 is worded in
the Bible version, The Message, “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate
people by what they have or how they look. We
looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know.
We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh
start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life
burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then
called us to settle our relationships
with each other. God put the world
square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a
fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling
everyone what he is doing. We’re
Christ’s representatives. God uses us to
persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now. Become friends with God; he’s already a
friend with you.”
Today, we have a choice to make.
We can either pick up where Billy Graham left off or we can hide what we
know “under the covers”. I’m asking
Christ to help me be a bold representative for Him and love others enough to
tell them about my Jesus. How about
you? Will you join me?
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