Ambassadors For Christ
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20
What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a person, a friend of authority. He is a servant of his government in a foreign land. He is not free to set his own policies or develop his own message. In the same way we are called to live under the authority of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Scriptures. We are servants. We must live under the authority of the Word of God. We are called not to do our will, but Christ’s.
What does it mean to live under the authority of the Word of God? First, it means that we live under the authority of God in our personal lives. “Be ye holy as I am holy” (Leviticus 20:7), say the Scriptures. We are to be holy people of God; we are to live what we preach in our personal lives: a disciplined devotional life. The world today is looking for holy men and women who live under the authority of the Word of God. They’re not going to listen to what we say unless we back it up with the way we live in our personal relationships.
Second, we are under the authority of the Word of God in our social relationships as well. As Christians we’re not isolated persons; we are part of society with all of its difficulties and problems and hopes. The Bible has much to say about social justice and social actions. This is a difficult area. The Christian knows this. Human society is affected by sin, and we know that any effort we make to improve society will always be incomplete and imperfect. We are not going to build a Utopia on Earth. Why? Because of human nature. Sin keeps us from building a paradise on Earth.
But we are to work for social justice—that is our command in Scripture—we’re to do all we can so both we and others can live a peaceable and free life, and a life of human dignity. Only Christ can change hearts, but that does not mean that we neglect social and political relationships. Christ is concerned about the whole man, including the society in which he lives. Many of the great social reforms of the nineteenth century in Great Britain and America were inspired by evangelical Christians. But the time came when many forgot that the Gospel was both vertical and horizontal. This is rapidly changing now. Evangelicals are once again proclaiming a balanced Gospel of personal salvation on the one hand and social responsibility on the other.
Third, we are under authority in our service. It is God who has called us to serve. We are not free to choose the place or the manner in which we will serve Him. I am always amazed at the variety of gifts that God has given to the church. Every person has been given a gift from God. You may be a farmer, or a laborer, or a doctor, or a professor, but you have been given a gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, “Stir up the gift that is within you” (2 Timothy 1:6). What is your gift? Each of us is to put his gift into action for God.
Our Father and our God, use me as an ambassador for Your Kingdom to the lost and dying world. I submit myself to Your authority and will. Show me how to use the gift You have given me to spread Your Kingdom, for I want to be Your humble servant. I pray in the name of the One who is my example, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
The Old And The New
Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 RSV
I once heard a carpenter say that it is always better and usually more economical to construct a new house than to patch up an old one. This is even more true in the spiritual realm. There is nothing in our old nature worth salvaging. Our thoughts are full of deceit. Our mouths are filled with cursing and bitterness. The way of peace we have not known. The Bible says, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3; compare Romans 3:12).
The old nature with its deceitfulness, its depravity, and its wickedness must give way to a new nature. And this is exactly what God stands ready to do. God says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26).
What a challenge! It is much more difficult to change our dispositions than it is our apparel. As a matter of fact, it is utterly impossible for me to change my disposition in my own strength. Thus, the new birth is something that must be done for me by another; and God has promised to do that which I cannot do for myself. And He will do it for you too!
Our Father and our God, please give me a renewed heart and a renewed spirit, as You have promised to do. I repent and turn from my old ways; I adopt Your plans and dreams for my life. Guide me, direct me, teach me. I am Yours to keep forever. In Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The New Person
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Romans 6:1–2
The prophet Ezekiel said, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). In the book of Acts, Peter called it repenting and being converted. Paul speaks of it in Romans as being “alive from the dead” (Romans 6:13). In Colossians Paul calls it “[a putting off of] the old man with his deeds; and [putting] on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (3:9–10). In Titus he calls it “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (3:5). Peter said it was being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). John termed it passing “from death unto life” (John 5:24). In the Church of England catechism it is called “a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness.”
Thus the Bible teaches that man can undergo a radical spiritual and moral change that is brought about by God Himself. The word that Jesus used, and which is translated “again,” actually means “from above.” The context of the third chapter of John teaches that the new birth is something that God does for man when man is willing to yield to God. Man does not have within himself the seed of the new life; this must come from God Himself.
One day a caterpillar climbs up into a tree where nature throws a fiber robe about him. He goes to sleep, and in a few weeks he emerges a beautiful butterfly. So man—distressed, discouraged, unhappy, hounded by conscience, driven by passion, ruled by selfishness, belligerent, quarrelsome, confused, depressed, miserable, taking alcohol and barbiturates, looking for escapisms—can come to Christ by faith and emerge a new man. This sounds incredible, even impossible, and yet it is precisely what the Bible teaches.
Do you feel you are in a cocoon? Turn to Christ and ask Him to give you your beautiful wings so that you might soar above your problems and be victorious over them.
Our Father and our God, change my heart from rebellion to submission. Take away my evil passions and desires; replace them with commitment and joy. Give me my wings, Lord, so I can fly above my problems and temptations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
A Love Tap From Our Heavenly Father
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
2 Corinthians 4:17
Christ is the answer to suffering.
Sickness, sorrow, and sin all are the result of the fall of man in the Garden. Sickness is a by-product of transgression; but that does not mean that Christians—while forgiven—are never afflicted. The Bible says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).
Job was afflicted; Paul had an infirmity; Lazarus was sick; and good people throughout history have been promised no immunity from disease and infirmity. Scores of people write every month and ask me, “Why do Christians suffer?” Rest assured that there is a reason for Christian people being afflicted. One reason why God’s people suffer, according to the Bible, is that it is a disciplinary, chastening, and molding process.
The Bible says, “Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee” (Deuteronomy 8:5).
Again the Scripture says, “Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law” (Psalm 94:12).
Again the Bible says, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth” (Proverbs 3:12).
From these Scriptures we learn that the chastening of affliction is a step in the process of our full and complete development. It can sometimes be a love tap from our Heavenly Father to show us that we have wandered from the pathway of duty.
In the last essay he wrote before he died, great Christian apologist C. S. Lewis said, “We have no right to happiness; only an obligation to do our duty.” Of course it is in our duty that happiness comes. Try it.
Our Father and our God, I accept Your discipline and correction with gratitude. You are my eternal Father, and I am Your loving child. Help me to grow spiritually with wisdom and grace to be like Jesus, Your Son and my brother, in whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Positive Side Of Affliction
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:8–10 RSV
The apostle Paul could write, “With all our affliction, I am overjoyed” (2 Corinthians 7:4 RSV).
In all his sufferings and sorrows Paul experienced a deep, abiding joy. He writes of being “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10 RSV). With sincerity he declared that for Christ’s sake he was “content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (2 Corinthians 12:10 RSV).
I have found in my travels that those who keep heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day. If the glories of heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed by this present life.
In these days of darkness and upheaval and uncertainty, the trusting and forward-looking Christian remains optimistic and joyful, knowing that Christ someday must rule, and “if we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12 RSV). As someone has said, “Patience [hupomone] is that quality of endurance that can reach the breaking point and not break.”
At the same time I am equally certain that Christians who have spent years at hard labor or in exile have passed through periods of discouragement—even despair. Those who have seen loved ones die have felt deep loss and intense suffering. Victory for them has not come easily or quickly. But eventually the peace of God does come, and with it His joy.
Our Father and our God, penetrate my heart with Your eternal gladness and hope. Let me face suffering and discouragement with cheerfulness, knowing they are but pathways to Your glory. Fill me up with laughter and rejoicing, Father. Give me deep abiding faith and hope because of Christ, in whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
No Deposit, No Return
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21–22 NIV
When we purchase something of great value—a house, for example—we are usually required to put down a deposit to indicate our sincerity and to promise that our intentions are serious and that we intend to go through with the deal. It is a form of insurance, a guarantee that adds substance to our word.
In recent years we have seen the production of large quantities of “no deposit, no return” cans and bottles. The stores selling these items do not expect to get them back, and so we are not required to pay a deposit on them when we make our purchase. We simply discard them (or better yet recycle them) when the contents have been consumed.
God has made some incredible promises to us. He has promised that we might have a relationship with Him through His Son. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us and to be with us always. The Bible is full of promises from God to man.
Someone might ask, “What insurance do we have that God is serious? Let us see what kind of deposit He is prepared to put down.” God’s deposit is the most precious investment anyone could make: His wonderful Son. Not only is Jesus Christ a sufficient “down payment” on God’s promises, He is, in fact, payment in full! There are no more payments to be made. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.”
Because of God’s deposit on our lives, He is obligated to meet His promises. And so He has. And so He will.
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Our Father and our God, I have seen how You always keep Your promises to Your people. And I fully trust that You will always do so. I am in Your eternal care, O Lord, and I know You will never leave or forsake me. Please give me the courage and strength to never forsake You. In the Redeemer’s name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The God Of All Comfort
May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promises to your servant.
Psalm 119:76 NIV
How often as a child did you stub your toe, bruise a leg, or cut a hand, and, running to the arms of your mother, you sobbed out your pain? Lovingly caressing you and tenderly kissing the hurt, she gave to you her special “healing magic,” and you went your way half-healed and wholly comforted. Love and compassion contain a stronger medicine than all the salves and ointments made by man.
Yes, when a loved one dies it is natural for us to feel a sense of loss and even a deep loneliness. That will not necessarily vanish overnight. But even when we feel the pain of bereavement most intensely, we can also know the gracious and loving presence of Christ most closely. Christ—who suffered alone on the cross, and endured death and hell alone for our salvation—knows what it is to suffer and be lonely. And because He knows, He is able to comfort us by His presence. “May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant” (Psalm 119:76 NIV).
So there can be a blessedness in the midst of mourning. From suffering and bereavement God can work into us new measures of His strength and love.
Our Father and our God, I need Your strength and love to cover me like a comforter, I need to feel Your presence in my heart and mind to dispel my fear and stress. Be with me, Lord, and hold me ever close to You. Through Jesus my Lord. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Comforted By Christ
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV
A dear friend and trusted counselor once told me that sometimes the greatest test comes to us when we ask God the question, “Why?”
As Charles Hembree has pointed out, “In the full face of afflictions it is hard to see any sense to things that befall us, and we want to question the fairness of a faithful God. However, these moments can be the most meaningful of our lives.”
One of God’s great servants, Paul Little, was killed in an automobile accident in 1975. I immediately asked God, “Why?” Paul was one of God’s outstanding young strategists and Bible teachers. He was a theological professor, a leader of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and a former member of our team. I am sure his wife, Marie, must have asked in the agony of her heart, “Why?” And yet, a few months later when she came to our team retreat, she manifested a marvelous spirit as she shared her victory with the wives of our team members. Instead of our comforting her, she was comforting us.
Alexander Nowell once said, “God does not comfort us that we may be comforted but that we may be comforters.” We are to pass along the comfort with which God has comforted us.
Look around you. There are countless opportunities to comfort others, not only in the loss of a loved one, but also in the daily distress that so often creeps into our lives.
When we are a comfort and encouragement to others, we are sometimes surprised at how it comes back to us many times over.
Our Father and our God, comfort me and use me as an instrument of Your comfort to others. I want to be an encouragement and a support to people who need Your presence in times of distress and trial. Give me a tenderness and gentleness. Give me Your words to share with them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Victory In Jesus
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57 RSV
The victory is yours. Claim it! It is your birthright. Browning said, “The best is yet to be.” This doesn’t mean the Christian can never suffer defeat or experience low periods in life. But it does mean that the Savior goes with you no matter the problem. The peace comes in the midst of problems and in spite of them.
From the old Gospel Herald comes this appropriate story:
Haydn, the great musician, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful, and he replied, “When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen, and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit.”
The strength for our conquering and our victory is drawn continually from Christ. The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you. The strength and power of sin have been broken. The Christian now has resources available to live above and beyond this world. The Bible teaches that whosoever is born of God does not practice sin. It is like the little girl who said that when the devil came knocking with a temptation, she just sent Jesus to the door.
Our Father and our God, thank You for giving me victory through Jesus Christ my Lord. Thank You for the glorious peace I feel, even when times are tough. I have such amazing joy and calmness about life, and I know it comes only from You and through Your Son, Jesus, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Come Home
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
1 Corinthians 15:53–54 NIV
What this means is that once we have reached heaven, we will no longer be troubled or inhibited by physical or bodily limitations. Can you imagine that? The crippled, diseased, wasted bodies will be strong and beautiful and vigorous.
Once there was a widow and her son who lived in a miserable attic. Years before, she had married against her parents’ wishes and had gone with her husband to live in a foreign land.
He had proved irresponsible and unfaithful, and after a few years he died without having made any provision for her and the child. It was with the utmost difficulty that she managed to scrape together the bare necessities of life.
The happiest times in the child’s life were those when the mother took him in her arms and told him about her father’s house in the old country. She told him of the grassy lawn, the noble trees, the wild flowers, the lovely pictures and the delicious meals.
The child had never seen his grandfather’s home, but to him it was the most beautiful place in all the world. He longed for the time when he could go there to live.
One day the postman knocked at the attic door. The mother recognized the handwriting on the letter he brought and with trembling fingers broke the seal. There was a check and a slip of paper with just two words: “Come home.”
Someday a similar experience will be ours—an experience shared by all who know Christ. We do not know when the call will come. It may be when we are in the midst of our work. It may be after weeks or months of illness. But some day a loving hand will be laid upon our shoulder and this brief message will be given: “Come home.”
All of us who know Christ personally need not be afraid to die. Death to the Christian is “going home.”
Our Father and our God, I know I am often a prodigal child, going my own unruly way, ignoring Your wisdom and advice, falling into trouble. But please forgive me and welcome me back, Father. I look forward to coming home and being with You forever. In the name of Christ, my brother and friend. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Death: Not Just A Mystery
Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:51 RSV
Paul did not describe death as a mystery. He was quite open about death and the fact that Christ had defeated it, so that we would have nothing to fear. What Paul described as a mystery was the transformation of these mortal bodies we now inhabit into immortal bodies that will be precisely like Jesus Christ’s resurrected body. This transformation is a mystery because it transcends human thoughts, scientific inquiry, and even human understanding.
How can a miraculous process be reduced to mere language? It cannot and that is why Paul referred to it as a “mystery.”
Yes, the dead in Christ shall rise first (talk about a mystery!) and then those of us who remain (after witnessing this incredible event) will be changed in a moment, “in the twinkling of an eye.” We will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord, and so we shall be with the Lord forever. Talk about flying first class!
God wanted Christ to be first in everything, so He preceded us in death and into a resurrected life to show us what it would be like. As we trust Him to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death and eternal separation from God in a literal hell, we can also follow Him in newness of life, through the grave, without fear, comforted in the knowledge that He waits on the other side of a very short journey to take our hand and welcome us into His (and our) dwelling place where the mansion He has prepared for us stands in readiness.
Mystery? Yes, but God has given us enough facts so that we might trust Him for the rest.
Our Father and our God, thank You for Christ, who showed us the way through death to life everlasting. Give me spiritual confidence to follow Him all the way to heavenly rest. Even so, hold my hand, Lord, as that time comes. I face death as I face life, all in the name of Jesus, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Last Enemy
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:26
The Bible speaks of death as a departure. When Paul approached the valley of the shadow of death he did not shudder with fear; rather he announced with a note of triumph, “The time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
The word departure literally means to “pull up anchor and to set sail.” Everything which happens prior to death is a preparation for the journey. Death marks the beginning, not the end. It is a solemn, dramatic step in our journey to God.
Many times in my ministry I said farewell to my wife and children as I have departed for a distant destination. Separation always brought a tinge of sadness, but there was always the high hope that we would meet again. In the meantime the flame of love burned brightly in their hearts and in mine.
So is the hope of the believing Christian as he stands at the grave of a loved one who is with the Lord. He knows, as did Paul, that “He is able to keep that which [he has] committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). He says “Good-bye,” but only until the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
Our Father and our God, like a helpless lamb I follow my Shepherd wherever He leads me. Even through the valley of the shadow of death, I know I can follow Him safely to heavenly pastures on the other side. Help me always to hear His voice clearly and to follow willingly. Through Christ, my Lord, I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Paul Knew For Sure
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
1 Corinthians 13:9–10 NIV
Things didn’t always work out according to his own plans and ideas, but Paul did not murmur or question. His assurance was this: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:8 NIV).
When his tired, bruised body began to weaken under the load, he said in triumph, “We know that if the earthly tent [our bodies] we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV).
The world called him foolish for his belief that men could become partakers of eternal life through faith. But he realized exultantly, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 NIV).
Every one of these triumphant affirmations rings with the note of hope and the assurance of life immortal. Though the Christian has no immunity from death and no claim to perpetual life on this planet, death is to him a friend rather than a foe, the beginning rather than the end, another step on the pathway to heaven rather than a leap into a dark unknown.
For many people, the corrosive acids of materialistic science have eroded away their faith in everlasting life. But let’s face it—Einstein’s E=MC2 equation is no satisfactory substitute for Faith + Commitment = Hope.
Paul believed in Christ and committed his all to Christ. The result was that he knew Christ was able to keep him forever. Strong faith and living hope are the result of unconditional commitment to Jesus Christ.
Our Father and our God, I believe in You and Your Son. And I am convinced that You are able to guard and protect me against the evil one until Jesus comes again. Until then, increase my faith as I pledge my firm commitment to Him. And help me to live so that others will find Him too. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.)
Different Is Not Enough
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2
We Christians should stand out like a sparkling diamond against a rough and dark background. We should be more wholesome than anyone else. We should be poised, cultured, courteous, gracious, but firm in the things we do or do not do. We should laugh and be radiant; but we should refuse to allow the world to pull us down to its level.
The greatest need today in Christendom is a revival within the church of dedicated, separated, disciplined living. The people in our country’s military academies are living separated, dedicated, and disciplined lives in order to be officers in the armed forces. They are being trained for future leadership and service. Certainly we Christians can do no less in order to serve in the army of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1–2).
Christ meant that His followers are to be different. But merely being different is not enough. We are to be the cleanest, the holiest, the kindest, the most unselfish, the friendliest, the most courteous, the most industrious, the most thoughtful, the truest, and the most loving people on earth. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great missionary doctor and statesman, told Christians why we’re here: “To be glad instruments of God’s love in this imperfect world is the service to which man is called.” We’re called to serve.
In your life is there a time and place for serving God?
Our Father and our God, Captain of the heavenly hosts, enlist me in Your army to conquer the world in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Let me learn to conquer the lost with laughter, kindness, courtesy, gentleness, compassion, and the message of Your grace that came through Christ on the cross, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
A Goal For Goodness
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
Romans 15:14 NIV
Thoreau wrote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” As Christians we have no alternative but to march to the drumbeat of the Holy Spirit, following the measured steps of goodness, which pleases God.
We can do good deeds, and by practicing principles of goodness can witness to those around us that we have something “different” in our lives—perhaps something they themselves would like to possess. We may even be able to show others how to practice the principles of goodness in their own lives. But the Bible says, “Your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away” (Hosea 6:4). True goodness is a “fruit of the Spirit,” and our efforts to achieve it in our own strength alone can never succeed.
We should be careful that any goodness the world may see in us is the genuine fruit of the Spirit and not a counterfeit substitute, lest we unwittingly lead someone astray.
The immortal John Wesley gave us a goal for goodness that puts all this in perspective for me:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Our Father and our God, You have made each of us unique and special. Show me how You want me to use the special talents You have given me to glorify You, Lord. Help me to hear and march to the heavenly drumbeat of Your Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Joy In Believing
May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 TEV
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled . . . Believe . . . in me” (John 14:1). When faith is strong, troubles become trifles.
There can be comfort in sorrow because in the midst of mourning God gives a song. God says in Job 30:9, “I am their song.” In Job 35:10 Elihu asks, “Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night?” His presence in our lives changes our mourning into song, and that song is a song of comfort. Sometimes it must be night to have that song.
This kind of comfort is the kind which enabled a devout Englishman during World War II to look at a deep, dark hole in the ground where his home stood before the bombing and say, “I always did want a basement, I did. Now I can jolly well build another house like I always wanted.”
This kind of comfort is the kind which enabled a young minister’s wife in a church near us to teach her Sunday school class of girls on the very day of her husband’s funeral. Her mourning was not the kind which had no hope—it was a mourning of faith in the goodness and wisdom of God; it believed that our Heavenly Father makes no mistakes.
I often think of the two shortest verses in the Bible in this connection. “Jesus wept” is the shorter of the two. But in the original Greek I understand this “shortest” verse has three words whereas the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice evermore”) has only two. However, it is easy to see the lovely connection between the two verses. The Christian’s joy flows from the sympathy and grace of his Savior. Jesus wept—we rejoice evermore.
Our Father and our God, help me to hear Your songs in the dark night of my soul. Reach through the blackness and ignite a spark of hope and joy in my heart. Teach me to sing through my sadness, to laugh through my tears, and to feel Your compassion when I am covered over with concerns. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.)
A Beacon Of Hope
That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope . . . the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:4, 13
When I referred to the future that God is planning, a student at the University of Hawaii asked me, “Isn’t this a form of escapism?” I said, “In a sense, yes; and before the devil gets through with this world, we are all going to be looking for the exit signs.”
C. S. Lewis, in his remarkable little book Christian Behavior, said,
Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not, as some modern people think, a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. it does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. aim at earth and you will get neither.
In the midst of the pessimism, gloom, and frustration of this present hour, there is one bright beacon light of hope, and that is the promise of Jesus Christ: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again” (John 14:3).
During the years of the World War II, the words of General Douglas MacArthur echoed in the ears of the people of the Philippine Islands while they were under enemy occupation. He had promised, “I shall return,” and he kept the promise. Jesus Christ has also promised, “I shall return,” and He will keep that promise.
Our Father and our God, fill me with Your joy and peace through the Holy Spirit, who lives in me. Renew my confidence for living in this world. Let me be a positive influence on people, the environment, politics, and those I work with every day. Help me to shape my world in a positive way by applying the message of Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Is IT Wrong To Ask Why?
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Romans 14:7–8
Most of us know what it means to be stunned by the sudden passing of a dedicated friend, a godly pastor, a devout missionary, or a saintly mother. We have stood at the open grave with hot tears running down our cheeks and have asked in utter bewilderment, “Why, O God, why?”
The death of the righteous is no accident. Do you think that the God whose watchful vigil notes the sparrow’s fall and who knows the number of hairs on our heads would turn His back on one of His children in the hour of peril? With Him there are no accidents, no tragedies, and no catastrophes as far as His children are concerned.
Paul, who lived most of his Christian life on the brink of death, expressed triumphant certainty about life. He testified, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NIV). His strong, unshakable faith took trouble, persecution, pain, thwarted plans, and broken dreams in stride.
He never bristled in questioning cynicism and asked, “Why, Lord?” He knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that his life was being fashioned into the image and likeness of his Savior; and despite the discomfort, he never flinched in the process.
It was Sir Walter Scott who asked, “Is death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.”
Our Father and our God, sometimes my physical self cries out, “Why, O Lord?” But at the same time, my spiritual self shouts, “Yes, Lord!” I pray for spiritual peace, no matter what physical stress I may encounter. I know Jesus is with me all the time, just as He promised He would be. I pray in His name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Family Of Faith
Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Romans 13:14 NIV
Christ must be vitally real to us if we are to remain faithful to Him in the hour of crisis. And who knows how near that hour may be? The wheels of God’s judgment can be heard by discerning people in the assembly of the United Nations, in the conferences of political leaders, in the offices of the editors of great newspapers or television networks around the world—and among the people throughout the nations. Things are happening fast! The need for a turning to God has never been more urgent.
The words of Isaiah, whom God used to confound an ancient godless aggressor, are appropriate for us today: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (55:6–7 NIV).
In his encounter with Goliath, David proved that outward armor is not nearly so important as the man within the armor. Unless men of purpose, integrity, and faith stand together in unswerving loyalty to Jesus Christ, the future of the world is dark indeed.
To prepare ourselves for the suffering and persecution which seem so inevitable, we need also to foster and strengthen the small group movement, the concept of “Christian cells.” One obvious area where this process should take place is in the family. In the United States today, as well as in other parts of the world, we are witnessing the breakdown and erosion of the family unit. Divorce is rampant, and “living together” without the formality of a wedding ceremony is increasingly common. It is only the strong Christian family unit that can survive the coming world holocaust. And only as Jesus Christ is vitally real to us as family members can we build strong families!
Our Father and our God, have mercy on me, a sinner and unworthy servant. Pardon my offenses against You, Holy Father, and freely forgive my every sin. Draw me nearer to You in every area of my life. Never let me stray from You and Your Son Jesus, in whom I pray. Especially help me do all I can to strengthen my family, and to honor you in all my relationships.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Becoming A Disciple
So no one can become my disciple unless he first sits down and counts his blessings—and then renounces them all for me.
Luke 14:33 TLB
Do you know what it means to be a disciple? A disciple is, literally, a scholar, a learner, especially one who believes in the doctrine of his teacher and follows him. A disciple acknowledges there is one who knows more than he does. A disciple is a person who realizes he needs to learn more than he knows now—and the more he learns the more he realizes he needs to learn.
A disciple must spend time with his teacher in order to gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He knows he cannot get it by osmosis or any other way. It would be like trying to graduate from college without ever attending classes. It is impossible to do. One must interact with one’s professors, asking questions, receiving answers, and studying the assigned material.
All of us who belong to Christ are (or ought to be) His disciples. Unlike the original disciples, we cannot physically spend time with Jesus. But we can hear Him speak and learn from Him just the same by reading what He said when he was here, by speaking to Him through prayer, and by determining to be obedient to His teachings. This is the ultimate proof that one is a disciple: if he follows the commands of his teacher.
Jesus said that he who keeps God’s commandments is the one who truly loves God. Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus?
Our Father and our God, You sent Jesus to be the Master Teacher, and I want to be His disciple. I want to learn from Him, learn about Him, and learn about You and Your will for me. Give me insight, Father. Give me wisdom to use what I learn well. In the name of the Master. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).