Well done Billy Graham

Matthew 25:23 (ESV)

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

This morning one of the greatest ministers of God’s word took his last trip to his final retirement home. As he arrived in the presence of His Savior I am sure he heard this words.  Tonight I wanted to share the words that Billy Graham’s son Franklin shared after the passing of his father.

My father Billy Graham was once asked, “Where is Heaven?” He replied, “Heaven is where Jesus is and I am going to Him soon!” This morning, at the age of 99, he departed this world into eternal life in Heaven, prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior of the world—whom he proclaimed for nearly 80 years. He will be missed by our family, his colleagues, faithful ministry partners, and, yes, many around the world. But what joy he has to be welcomed by God the Father, and be reunited with my mother in the presence of Jesus who speaks peace to eternal souls.

What about you? When you depart this world do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity? You can know this today. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The One who comforts weary souls has given us this promise, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me … I go to prepare a place for you … I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Dear Lord, we thank You for the ministry of Billy Graham. We thank You for the many lives that he touched for You. We pray for his family at this time of loss that You would comfort them and hold them in Your loving arms. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

I must become less

John 3:16 (ESV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John’s Gospel tightens the camera angle, closing in on a few individual faces—a woman at a well, a blind man, a member of the Jewish ruling council—to compose an intimate, in-depth portrait of Jesus’ impact on others.

Consider this conversation with Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus at night possibly in order to avoid detection. He risks his reputation and safety by meeting with Jesus, whom his fellow Pharisees have sworn to kill. But Nicodemus has some burning questions, the most important questions anyone could ask: Who are you, Jesus? Have you really come from God? Jesus responds with the image of a second birth, using words that have become some of the most familiar in the Bible.

One of Jesus’ statements has probably been memorized more than any other in the Bible. In a few words it tells the story of salvation: God’s love for the world, God’s gift of his Son and the opportunity for anyone who believes to be saved.

Evidently some of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus sink in, as his later behavior indicates.

John follows this conversation with a report from John the Baptist. People are questioning the radical prophet about the new teacher across the river who is drawing all the crowds. In words that echo Jesus’ own, John confirms that Jesus holds the keys to eternal life. Jesus is indeed the one John has come to herald. A great prophet still in his prime, John nonetheless bows to Jesus: “He must become greater; I must become less”.

Dear Lord, we thank You for Your Word and the lessons that we can learn from it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen

Don't look down on the young

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1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

After high school, Darrell Blizzard left the orphanage where he grew up to join the US Army Air Corps. World War II was in full swing, and soon he faced responsibilities usually given to older and more experienced men. He told a reporter years later that a four-mule plow team was the biggest thing he’d driven before he became the pilot of a four-engine B-17. Now in his late eighties, he said, “We were all just kids flying those things.”

In the Bible, we find accounts of many people who followed God courageously when they were young. In a situation of corrupt spiritual leadership, “Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child” (1 Sam. 2:18). David faced the giant Goliath in spite of being told, “You are not able to go against this Philistine . . . for you are a youth” (17:33). Mary, the mother of Jesus, was most likely very young when she was told she would bear the Son of God. She responded to the angel’s announcement by saying, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Paul told the young pastor Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers” (1 Tim. 4:12).

God values each one in His family. In His strength, the young can be bold in their faith, while those who are older can encourage those who are “just kids.”

This is a great reminder as we watch our youth take lead in different parts of our church life.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would be the encouragement to all those that serve you no matter their age. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

God is faithful

1 Samuel 15:29 (ESV)

And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.

The great thing about God is how faithful He is. He’s not a person that would change His mind. He doesn’t all of the sudden decide that He doesn’t like someone or something. He doesn’t change His mind based on trends or fashions. He’s steady, steadfast and unchanging.

Unlike people who will let you down, bail on you, or change their mind, God will always be there for you. And His love for you will always be constant. This should cause you to be really excited.

You can live a life of peace and comfort when you begin to realize how trustworthy God is. As you realize that He will always be there for you, that He’ll never let go or let you down, you can find comfort in even the worst situations. You can also know that God loves you in an amazing way and that will never change. God thinks you’re amazing. So take some time to think about the faithfulness of God and realize how awesome it is to serve such a great God.

Dear Lord, we thank You for being faithful. Help us to learn from You and be faithful to those around us. Help us to not let them down. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Our true value

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I recently read an article about an Apple computer that someone threw away. The crazy thing about the computer was that it was worth about $200,000. The computer the person threw away was one of the first Apple computers made and only about 50 of original computers exist still today.

The lady who threw the computer away didn’t realize the value of the computer. She thought it looked like junk and she discarded it. She had no idea she was getting rid of a $200,000 computer.

Lots of times this is a lot like how we view ourselves. We often get down on ourselves because of something dumb we said or did. We might not feel that we look the right way or have the right friends. This leads us to want to treat ourselves like junk, instead of realizing the true value we have.

See our value isn’t in what we do, what we wear or who we hang out with. Our true value comes when we realize what we’re worth. We find that worth in what the Bible says about us.

The Bible has lots of great things to say about your value. You’re important and created to do good things. So when the feelings come that say you’re not worth much or that you’re junk, remember that to God you have great value.

Dear Lord, help us to realize that we have great worth because if You. Help us to not get down on our self but instead be positive. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

He just loved us

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (ESV)

7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Charlotte Mortimer described her adult education, creative writing class. The teacher asked all the students to write “I love you” in 25 words or less, without using the words, “I love you.”

The class was given 15 minutes to complete the assignment. Charlotte wrote that one woman spent about 10 minutes looking at the ceiling and wiggling in her seat. Then the last five minutes, she wrote frantically. Later she read her composition to the class. It consisted of three loving statements:

“Why, I’ve seen lots worse hairdos than that, honey.”

“These cookies are hardly burned at all.”

“Cuddle up-I’ll get your feet warm.”

It tells us something about her husband. It also tells us something about the practical side of love.

I don’t know if anyone else spends much time wondering why God loves us, but sometimes His love is a mystery to me. I know my inadequacies and shortcomings. I also know that God loves me in spite of them. Moses’ words to Israel in Deuteronomy 7:7-8

Our might and importance have nothing to do with God’s affection for us. He just loves us. John 3:16 may be the most memorized verse in the Bible: “God so loved the world...”

In the book Love Beyond Reason, by John Ortberg he describes a doll, Pandy, that belonged to his sister, Barbie. By the time he knew Pandy he says, “She had lost a lot of hair, one arm was missing, and she’d had the stuffing knocked out of her.” Not impressed with Pandy’s beauty, he felt that she was too damaged to be even given away.

He remembers his family going to Canada from Illinois for vacation. On the return trip they realized that they had left the doll in Canada and had to drive all the way back to Canada to retrieve her. Pandy was that important to his sister.

When Barbie married and had a little girl of her own, Courtney, his sister had Pandy restored and kept her as Courtney’s doll. Ortberg’s reflection on Pandy’s story impacted me deeply. He wrote, “When Pandy was young, Barbie loved her. She celebrated her beauty. When Pandy was old and ragged, Barbie loved her still. Now she did not simply love Pandy because Pandy was beautiful, she loved her with the kind of love that made Pandy beautiful.”

That’s what God’s love has done for us. He doesn’t love us because we are beautiful, His love makes us attractive.

Sometimes it is hard for us to receive undeserved love, so we try to earn it.

Richard Bellinger, a young boy in South Carolina, was the son of a Baptist minister. One Saturday night, Richard decided to shine his father’s shoes. The following night his father put a silver dollar on the bureau of his son’s room with a note commending his son for what he had done, and telling him that the dollar was his reward. The next morning, when the father put on his shoes, he felt something hard and metallic in one of them. When he took the shoe off and reached inside, he found the silver dollar he had given to his son the night before. Along with the dollar was a note that simply read, “I did it for love!”

What God has done for us, He did for love. Instead of trying to understand it, or deserve it, or pay for it, He just wants us to receive it and say, “Thank you.” When we do that, His love begins to change us. And does His love ever have the power to change us!

God loves us. When we are about to step into heaven because we have believed in Him, if someone asks us why we made it, we can confidently say, “He just loved us.”

Dear Lord, we thank You for loving us. Help us to not question it but to just take Your love and show it to those around us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Faith is...

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

But we can’t really embrace the realities of faith until we get rid of some faulty notions:

Faith is not a head-in-the-sand position. It isn’t denying, ignoring, or hiding from the obvious or inevitable. It’s not pretending something is real when deep down you really don’t believe it. That’s fear, not faith.

Faith is not anti-intellectual. It’s not a warm feeling that requires you to check your intellect at the door. That’s feeling, not faith.

Faith is not a shallow, positive mental attitude. It’s not a platitude to “just follow your dreams.” Nor does faith ignore pain and embrace optimism, regardless of the evidence. That's foolishness, not faith.

Faith is active confidence in the God who has revealed Himself—not a vague uncertainty about an unknown someone. God has proven Himself real again and again, and if you’ve not yet experienced His reality, you can. Your faith comes alive as you believe the Word of God and act upon it.

Let’s say you ask God for guidance in prayer. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” So you focus on living that out—trusting and acknowledging God in “all your ways.” That’s faith—it’s your active confidence in Him, the thing you hold onto while you wait to see how the Lord is going to answer your request.

Faith is also the evidence that God is faithful. We are not the first people to trust God. Moses wrote, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations” (Psalm 90:1, ESV). The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of Moses, Ruth, David, Mary, John, Paul, Lois, Eunice, and Timothy. People have been trusting God for thousands of years. This is not a foolish thing to do. The faithfulness of God—not only in generations past but also in your own life—provides you with evidence. Can you recall specific times, places, and ways God has come through for you, showing Himself faithful? That’s the evidence of things not yet seen.

Faith is not believing in a vacuum; it’s belief based on the Scriptures. God wrote a Book—a trustworthy, proven, inspired, true Book. Our faith isn’t in the stock market or a news feed or another person’s advice, no matter how wise and well-meaning. Though everyone and everything else fails or fades, “The word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Peter 1:25).

Genuine faith always downloads into life. While we claim to believe all kinds of things, if they don’t influence the way we live, then we don’t really believe. When you’re willing to put yourself at risk, your faith in God becomes active. Only when you know God’s grace is your only option, when you’ve cut off all back-up plans and thrown yourself entirely upon God’s mercy—only then is your faith the substance and evidence God’s Word says it will be.

Dear Lord, just as You have never failed those who trust in You, we know You will not fail use. Help us to trust You, to believe in Your Word and act upon it, no matter how we feel, because You promise a good result. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.