Dave’s Monday Blast – November 26, 2018
Dr. Billy Graham spent his first birthday in heaven this week. The man who preached to more people than anyone in Christian history would have turned 100 last week. He celebrated his first century of life with the One who gave him eternal life.
Speaking of her father, Anne Graham Lotz remembered his love for “old blue jeans, comfortable sweaters, and a baseball cap.” She noted: “I can’t help but also think of his message because he was immersed in it. Saturated in it. He was the message…a simple man who responded to God’s love by placing his faith in Jesus, receiving the assurance that his sins were forgiven, that he would not perish, but would have everlasting life. Simple faith. Faith now matters more than anything else.”
Graham was an advisor to twelve U.S. Presidents and perhaps the most influential evangelist of the twentieth century. But his daughter is exactly right: Her father’s influence lay in the fact that he was what he preached. His integrity was the currency of his ministry. His servant heart was captured by his Savior and reflected his Father’s love to a broken world.
In his book Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You, Pastor and Author John Ortberg writes, “The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you will take into eternity. You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”
Graham lived the embodiment of this statement. As Anne noted, her father WAS the message. As a result, his life was his most powerful sermon. And now, “he being dead yet speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).
Pastor Jim Denison comments, “I am certain you would agree that our culture is desperate for genuine Christians. Not religious rules and institutions. Not surface spirituality. People whose lives are being changed by the living Lord Jesus and whose example offers others a path to the peace and joy they know. To that end Dr. Graham commented: “The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart filled with love and peace and joy, and that is why Jesus came into the world. He died on the cross to make peace between us and God and to change us from within by His Spirit. He can change you, if you will turn to Him in repentance and faith.”
Millions of people believed his words because they witnessed his life. Remember this my friends…a changed life can change the world. I INTENTIONALLY remind myself of this passage in Acts 4:13 “when the authorities saw the boldness of Peter and John they were astonished…they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” The secret to Graham’s success was his intimate, time sensitive relationship with our Heavenly Father.
It begs the question… would the people you know say the same of you and me?
