I Corinthians 1:22-25
On November 7th Billy Graham celebrated his 95th birthday which included a television special where he once again preached Christ crucified. Even though it came on much after our normal bed time, we stayed up to watch the entire telecast which included Billy Graham preaching and the testimonies of a rapper and a singer. The entire presentation was very moving as the cross was preached and the two testimonies included how the cross changed their lives.
Billy Graham Crusades have been held all around the world from the late forties until Billy Graham's health would not allow him to preach and he retired to his home in North Carolina in 2005. Many of his crusades were scheduled for one or two weeks, but the great number of people who turned out to hear him preach caused him to extend the length of his crusade to eight or more weeks. Paul can remember that several of his friends took a train to New York the summer of 1957 to attend his crusade. When they returned, that was all they could talk about. They could not believe the number of people who turned out to hear Billy Graham preach.
Billy Graham
Several thoughts about Billy Graham and his message come to mind. He never strayed from preaching the gospel of Christ and the cross. That has been his message from beginning to the end. His life totally reflected what he believed. During the telecast on his birthday, Sean Hannity asked Billy Graham's grandson how his grandfather's preaching impacted him. His grandson said that the way his grandfather lived his life impacted him much more than his preaching. Throughout his ministry he always kept himself above reproach. He would never allow himself to be caught in a compromising position with the opposite sex or in financial matters. He took a salary from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association rather than take a percent of the giving to the organization.
Our prayer is that God will do something to wake America up and turn us around from the slippery slope we are on, (if we aren't already over the cliff). He might raise up another Billy Graham or create a situation such that people will have no other recourse but to turn back to God and claim Jesus Christ as Savior.
As a side note, we kept four young ladies over night this past Saturday from God's Bible School in Cincinnati, OH. It was so refreshing to be with young people who were respectful, talented and loved the Lord. Both of us were so encouraged by being with young people who want to serve the Lord and have high moral and personal standards. They were part of an 60 piece orchestra that performed at our church on Sunday morning. Their performance was outstanding.
Paul is writing this so he wants to wish Gail a very happy birthday today on 11/12/13!!!!
Blessings and encouragement,
Paul, Gail, Pasty and Penny
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