Patience And Perfection
The testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:3–4 NKJV
Writing to Christians who were suffering for their faith, James said, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You, too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:7–8 NIV; italics mine).
Patience is not simply a “teeth-clenched,” complacent endurance of a particular situation. It is an attitude of expectation. The farmer was able to stare at his seemingly barren ground with patience because he was assured that there would be results of his labors. He could have patience in his labors because there would be products of his labor.
And so it is in the spiritual realm. God can produce valuable qualities in our lives through the hurts and suffering we experience. We can suffer patiently, for our suffering will yield a spiritual harvest.
And we can suffer during this life patiently, for we know that in God’s perfect time His Son will return as the greatest reward for the waiting and working believer.
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
Our Father and our God, teach me the patience that Christ showed during His sufferings on earth. I want to endure the struggles of this life with joy and anticipation of things to come. Help me to continue in sweet fellowship with Jesus and to know His abiding peace and hope. Through Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Coronation Day
Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12 RSV
To the Christian, death is said in the Bible to be a coronation. The picture here is that of a regal prince who, after his struggles and conquests in an alien land, comes to his native country and court to be crowned and honored for his deeds.
The Bible says we are pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven. To him who is faithful, Christ will give a crown of life. Paul said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
When D. L. Moody was dying, he looked up to heaven and said, “Earth is receding; heaven is opening; this is my coronation day.” Yes, death is the Christian’s coronation, the end of conflict and the beginning of glory and triumph in heaven.
Our Father and our God, I am a simple servant in Your Kingdom, and I do my best to worship and serve You. I pledge myself to be faithful to You for life. I long for the end of my earthly conflict and the beginning of glory in heaven, but I live in joy and celebration until that time because of Christ. In Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Thanksgiving And The Path To Peace
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
James 1:2 NIV
God promises no easy life or days without troubles, trials, difficulties, and temptations. He never promises that life will be perfect. He does not call His children to a playground, but to a battleground.
Some people have a warped idea of living the Christian life. Seeing talented, brilliant Christians, they attempt to imitate them. For them, the grass on the other side of the fence is always greener. When they discover that their own contributions are more modest or perhaps invisible, they collapse in discouragement and overlook genuine opportunities that are open to them.
Be like the apostle Paul and say, “None of these things move me.” Few men suffered as Paul did, yet he learned how to abound and how to be abased. He learned to live above his circumstances—even in a prison cell. You can do the same. Refuse to permit circumstances to get you down. In the midst of your difficulties, there will be a deep joy. “For the joy of the Lord is your strength,” says the Bible.
Believe it or not, this is the path to peace. Paul said, “Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8). All these qualities are characteristic of true Christians. They can be yours, giving you the ultimate victory. They are part of your birthright. Claim them!
As a child of God, you need never suffer spiritual defeat. Your days of defeat are over. From now on, you will want to live every minute to its fullest. Certainly, you will welcome each day as another twenty-four hours to devote to Christ. Every new day will be filled with opportunities to serve others. You will spend many moments with God, and you will know that your sins are forgiven and that you are on the way to heaven.
Taking this “servant” attitude of thankfulness in all of life’s circumstances will help you react as old Matthew Henry did when he was mugged. He wrote in his diary, “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
I wonder if I could be that thankful. Could you?
Our Father and our God, I am so thankful for Your abiding joy and peace. In spite of my pains and problems, I am not depressed. In spite of sorrows, I am joyful. In spite of despair, I am hopeful. Your love and comfort well up inside me like an overwhelming fountain, and I praise the matchless name of Jesus, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
God Controls The Clock
There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8
Many people are asking, “Where is history heading?” A careful student of the Bible will be led to see that God controls the clock of destiny. Amid the world’s confusion, God’s omnipotent hand moved, working out His unchanging plan and purpose; and the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25).
The Communists say that time and history are on their side. But they ignore the fact that Jesus Christ is coming to earth again. He is in control, and He will determine the outcome. If the Bible is clear at any point, it is this: “Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time” (Hebrews 9:28).
What is to be the attitude of the Christian toward the fact of Christ’s coming? One man said to me recently, “Well, the Lord is coming soon; so what is there to do anything about?” Such a fatalistic attitude is not the one taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. When He told His disciples of His return to earth, He said, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13), and “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Matthew 24:46).
Dwight L. Moody once said, “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. Its ruin is getting nearer and nearer. God said to me, ‘Moody, here’s a lifeboat. Go out and rescue as many as you can before the ship sinks.’” If the end seemed about to come in Moody’s day, how much closer must we be to the climax of history?
If there was ever a time when we should man the lifeboats and go out and rescue as many as we can, it is now. That is why we are proclaiming the Gospel in the strategic centers of the world wherever we can.
We believe this is a day of glorious opportunity to proclaim the saving grace and power of Christ, and to declare the Gospel against the opposition of every false ideology.
George Whitefield, the great English evangelist, said, “I am daily waiting for the coming of the Son of God.” But he did not sit down and do nothing. He burned out his life in proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. Can we do less?
Our Father and our God, Your name is mighty to proclaim, and I am so inadequate to proclaim it. But use me, Lord, in some small way to further the good news to my dying world. Let the name of Christ be heard victoriously through me. In Him. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Dealing With Death
For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Hebrews 13:14 NIV
Death will ultimately be abolished. The power of death has been broken and death’s fear has been removed. Now we can say with the Psalmist, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
Paul looked forward to death with great anticipation as a result of the resurrection of Christ. He said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). As Velma Barfield, on death row in North Carolina, said: “I love Him so much I can hardly wait to see Him.”
Without the resurrection of Christ there could be no hope for the future. The Bible promises that someday we are going to stand face-to-face with the resurrected Christ, and we are going to have bodies like unto His own body.
Face to face with Christ my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be?
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory
I shall see Him by and by.
CARRIE E. BRECK
Our Father and our God, it’s a terrifying and thrilling thought that I shall see You face-to-face someday. Your glory will be overwhelming and frightening. But Your love will be so thrilling and engulfing. Thank You for salvation and my home in heaven with Jesus, my beautiful Savior. In Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Surrounded By Angels
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalm 34:7
Corrie Ten Boom wrote of a remarkable experience at the terrible Nazi Ravensbruck prison camp:
Together we entered the terrifying building. At a table were women who took away all our possessions. Everyone had to undress completely and then go to a room where her hair was checked.
I asked a woman who was busy checking the possessions of the new arrivals if i might use the toilet. She pointed to a door, and I discovered that the convenience was nothing more than a hole in the shower-room floor. Betsie stayed close beside me all the time. Suddenly i had an inspiration, “Quick, take off your woolen underwear,” I whispered to her. I rolled it up with mine and laid the bundle in a corner with my little Bible. The spot was alive with cockroaches, but i didn’t worry about that. I felt wonderfully relieved and happy. “The lord is busy answering our prayers, Betsie,” I Whispered. “We shall not have to make the sacrifice of all our clothes.”
We hurried back to the row of women waiting to be undressed. A little later, after we had had our showers and put on our shirts and shabby dresses, I hid the roll of underwear and my bible under my dress. It did bulge out obviously through my dress; but I prayed, “Lord, cause now Thine angels to surround me; and let them not be transparent today, for the guards must not see me.” I felt perfectly at ease. Calmly i passed the guards. Everyone was checked, from the front, the sides, the back. Not a bulge escaped the eyes of the guard. The woman just in front of me had hidden a woolen vest under her dress; it was taken from her. They let me pass, for they did not see me. Betsie, right behind me, was searched.
But outside awaited another danger. On each side of the door were women who looked everyone over for a second time. They felt over the body of each one who passed. I knew they would not see me, for the angels were still surrounding me. I was not even surprised when they passed me by; but within me rose the jubilant cry, “O Lord, if Thou dost so answer prayer, I can face even Ravensbruck unafraid.”
Every true believer in Christ should be encouraged and strengthened! Angels are watching; they mark our path. They superintend the events of our lives and protect the interest of the Lord God, always working to promote His plans and to bring about His highest will for us. Angels are interested spectators and mark all we do, “for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men” (1 Corinthians 4:9). God assigns angelic powers to watch over us.
Our Father and our God, You know how much trouble I can get into on my own. Please keep me from harm by sending Your angels to watch over me every day of my life. Shelter me under their glorious wings, and surround me with their protective hands. I need Your refuge, Lord. Thank You for saving me through the work of Christ on the cross. In His name I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Faith Of A Friend
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past his age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Hebrews 11:8–11 NIV
Abraham walked with God and was called a friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). Walk with God as Noah did; when the flood came, Noah was saved. Walk with God as Moses did in the solitude of the desert; when the hour of judgment fell upon Egypt, Moses was prepared to lead his people to victory. Walk with God as David did as a shepherd boy; when he was called to rule his people he was prepared for the task of kingship. Daniel and his three young friends walked with God in Babylon, and when trouble came, God was beside them—whether it was in the lions’ den or in the fiery furnace.
However, the Bible teaches that God does not always deliver His saints from adversity. A careful reading of Hebrews 11 shows that “others’” were just as faithful as Abraham, Moses, Daniel, or David; they, too, walked with God—but they perished. God has not promised to deliver us from trouble, but He has promised to go with us through the trouble.
Stephen was a young man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5 NIV). They stoned him to death, but his was a triumphal entry into heaven. If you are not strengthening the inner man now by daily walking with God, when a crisis comes you will quake with fear and give in, having no strength to stand up for Christ.
Our Father and our God, I will depend on You in times of trouble, because You have promised to go with me all the way. I will walk with You, talk with You, and depend on You. Please stay by my side and keep me strong in the battle against Satan and his demons. In the Conqueror’s great name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Ark Of Safety
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.
Hebrews 11:7 RSV
The Bible warned the people of Noah’s day, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3). You cannot come to Jesus Christ unless the Spirit of God brings you and unless you yield to the prompting and urging of the Holy Spirit. I beg of you to come to Christ while there is yet time.
Outside the ark men and women were struggling for their lives, clutching at pieces of driftwood, until the pitiless hand of death reached up and drew them down beneath those cruel and relentless waves. All were lost. Every soul outside the ark perished. They had had their chance but tossed it away. There were hundreds that day who were close to the ark, and yet lost.
This fearful scene from the Bible is a type and shadow of that Day of Judgment that lies before our world. The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
The ark is a type of Jesus Christ. In this day when the clouds of judgment are beginning to gather, Christ is the refuge. Each of us must cross the threshold and pass into the ark.
Are you in? You may be close, but are you inside? The universal and terrible storm is coming. The days of Noah may be soon upon us. Are you ready for the Day of Judgment?
Even if the world does not end in your lifetime in a cataclysmic judgment, the moment you die will be the end of the world for you. The world that you live in will die with you. Are you ready for death? Are you ready for the judgment that is to come the moment you step out into eternity?
History repeats itself. What happened thousands of years ago will happen again. There is a possibility it could happen in this century or even in this decade. However, while there is life, there is hope. The Spirit of God is knocking faithfully at the door. If we repent, mend our ways, throw off our sins, we can yet be used of God to bring healing and help to a dying civilization.
Our Father and our God, You are the righteous Judge, and I know that on the Day of Judgment You will honor each person’s choice of lifestyle, whether good or evil. Please judge me with mercy, grace, and unmerited forgiveness in the name of Christ. Otherwise, I will surely perish. In Jesus, in whom I find salvation, I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Serving In Heaven
They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple.
Revelation 7:15
The Father’s house will be a happy home because there will be work to do there. Certainly this is true in every well-ordered home on earth. Some people are so overworked that their greatest longing is for rest. The Bible verse that most appeals to them is, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
But the time will come when they will be rested and will become weary of doing nothing. I can think of no more terrible fate than to be condemned to sit forever and ever in idleness.
John wrote in Revelation 22:3, “His servants shall serve him.” Each one will be given exactly the task that suits his powers, his tastes, and his abilities. Perhaps God will give us new worlds to conquer. Perhaps He will send us to explore some distant planet or star, there to preach His message of everlasting love. Whatever we do, the Bible says we will serve Him.
And the Father’s house will be a happy home because friends will be there. Have you ever been to a strange place and had the joy of seeing a familiar face? Not one of us who enters the Father’s house will feel lonely or strange, for our friends will be there.
Alexander MacLaren described heaven in this way: “The joys of heaven are not the joys of passive contemplation, of dreamy remembrance, of perfect repose; but they are described thus, ‘They rest not night or day,’ and ‘His servants serve him and see his face.’”
Our Father and our God, I look forward to serving You endlessly in heaven. And I thrill at the thought of seeing Your glorious face. I know I will never tire of being in Your presence or working night and day for You, because You are the source of all energy and joy. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
A Home And A Hope
You yourselves had [in heaven] a better and lasting possession.
Hebrews 10:34 AB
Thanks be to unto God, we believers in Christ have the assurance that we are going to a home where all is happiness, joy, and peace. This blessed hope fortifies us to bear our hardships. We will not insist on our wants here and fight over our rights, but we will be willing to suffer the loss of all things for the sake of those things which are yet to come. Earthly possessions will not vitally concern us. The quality here may be poor, but the Bible teaches that the quality there is perfect. The possessions here will pass away; the possessions there are enduring.
No one can have real peace who does not have the assurance of a permanent and happy home which will not be subject to earthly casualty.
Some time ago two old friends were dying. The one was rich, and the other poor. The rich man was outside of Christ, and he was talking to another of his friends. “When I die,” he said, “I shall have to leave my riches. When he dies, he will go to his riches.”
Thus in a word he summed up the two radically different principles which govern the world and the Christian.
Peace is not arbitrary. It must be based upon definite facts. God has all the facts on his side; the world does not. Therefore God, and not the world, can give people peace. It is honorable, right, and praiseworthy that our leaders should seek and promote national and world peace; but they must recognize its limitations without Christ, the Prince of Peace.
The Bible teaches that the world will never come to this place of tranquillity and permanent peace until Christ, the Prince of Peace, comes back to this earth. When He comes to reign and rule, man shall know war no more.
Our Father and our God, You are our only source of true peace. Without You I know that lasting peace is impossible. I long for that peace, Lord, and I pray that You will establish it eternally in my heart and my life through Jesus Christ, the One who died to bring us peace. Through Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Watching Our Walk
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
Hebrews 10:32–33 RSV
As God’s angels have watched the drama of this age unfolding, they have seen the Christian church established and expanded around the world. They miss nothing as they watch the movements of time. “His intent is that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10 NIV). It has been pointed out that the word now actually covers the vast expanse of this church age. Angel hosts have witnessed the formation of the church of Christ Jesus, and have watched the walk of each believer as the Lord worked His grace, love, and power into each life. The angels were observing firsthand the building of the body of the true church in all places of His dominion this very hour.
But what are they thinking as we live in the world today? Do they observe us as we stand fast in the faith and walk in righteousness? Or may they be wondering at our lack of commitment? These two possibilities seem evident from Ephesians 3:10: “[The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities [principalities and powers] in the heavenly sphere” (AB).
Our certainty that angels right now witness how we are walking through life should mightily influence the decisions we make. God is watching, and His angels are interested spectators too. The Amplified Bible expresses 1 Corinthians 4:9 this way: “God has made an exhibit of us . . . a show in the world’s amphitheater—with both men and angels [as spectators].” We know they are watching, but in the heat of the battle, I have thought how wonderful it would be if we could hear them cheering.
What kind of exhibit are you?
Our Father and our God, it gives me great confidence and joy to know that Your angels are cheering me along in my personal spiritual battle. Help me, Father, to feel their presence, to see their works, and to hear their cheers. Make my life a splendid exhibit of holiness and grace. Through Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Faith Is A Fact
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
Hebrews 10:22
Disregard feelings. You’re not saved by feeling, and you may or may not feel the Spirit. Accept Him by faith as a fact. He lives within you right now to help you live the Christian life. He is living in you in order to magnify, glorify, and exalt Christ in you so that you can live a happy, victorious, radiant, Christ-honoring life.
The Bible commands, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). If you are filled with Spirit, then you are going to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22–23). To be filled with the Spirit is not optional. It is a command to be obeyed, a duty to be done.
How do you know that you are filled? And how can you be filled? Is it some emotional experience through which you must pass? Not necessarily. When you give all you know of yourself to all that you know of Him, then you can accept by faith that you are filled with the Spirit of God. That means that He can have all of you. Commitment actually is surrender—total, absolute, unconditional, irreversible surrender. “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” (Romans 12:1).
It is only the consecrated, Spirit-filled Christian who can have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is the Holy Spirit who will do the fighting for you. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness” (Ephesians 6:12). This is a spiritual warfare. You cannot fight against these three enemies with normal weapons. Only as we become channels and let the Holy Spirit do the fighting through us are we going to get complete victory. Don’t hold back anything from Christ. Let Him be completely the Lord and master of your life. He said, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13).
Our Father and our God, I bring You my overflowing heart—wholly, humbly, completely. Fill me with Your Spirit so I may be victorious over the enemy, Satan. You are my Master, my Ruler. I will try to do whatever You ask of me. And with the constant help of Jesus my Savior, I can, and through Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
An Endless Hope
We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.
Hebrews 6:19 NIV
An unbeliever only sees a hopeless end to life. But the Christian sees an endless hope. In a network television program, Malcolm Muggeridge reflected that a true Christian “is longing for the termination of life in time as one longs for the end of a long and arduous three-week sea voyage when one is in the last three days. I look forward to the time when my life will partake of eternity with near irrepressible eagerness.”
Perhaps these words of Malcolm Muggeridge do not describe your feelings about death. Perhaps you are afraid of death and don’t relate to the quiet confidence this famous British journalist and TV personality feels. The torturing, tormenting fear of death is a condition that is perfectly normal for any who have never come to Christ. Death is an experience from which people instinctively shrink. Yet for the Christian the fear is removed. He has the assurance that the sins for which he would be judged at death have been dealt with, whereas the non-Christian has no such assurance. I do not look forward to the prospect of dying—but I do look forward to death itself. It will be a glorious release. It will be the fulfillment of everything I have ever longed for. The Scripture says, “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Our Father and our God, thank You for Jesus, who anchors my soul in the troubling seas of this life. He is my Savior, my eternal life preserver, my rescuer. He is my joy, my peace, and my ever-present comfort in times of trial. I wait impatiently for His coming again to take me home. And in His name I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The One And Only Way
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
Hebrews 5:9
A man in a car stopped to ask a pedestrian the way to a certain street. When the man told him the way, the driver asked doubtfully, “Is that the best way?” The man replied, “That is the only way.”
There is only one way of salvation. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The last invitation of the Bible says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
This is still an age of grace. God’s offer of forgiveness and a new life still stands. However, the door will one day be closed. Someday it will be too late. That is why the Bible continually warns and challenges. “Now is the accepted time” (2 Corinthians 6:2). We’re proclaiming the Gospel, asking people to come to a knowledge of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is still a day of grace, and the door of salvation is still open. When the flood came, Noah was safe and secure in the ark. He trusted God and took Him at His word. You, too, can be safe and secure in the world in which we live by believing and accepting what the world calls “foolish”—the fact that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose for our justification. But to those of us who are saved, it is the power of God unto salvation.
This may make very little sense to this dying world. But to those of us who know Christ, it is a tremendous power and a great and glorious peace. Do you know this peace that only Christ can give? You can know it today by repenting of your sins and receiving Christ as your Lord, Master, and Savior. And you can do it right now wherever you are, anywhere in the world.
Our Father and our God, I want to follow Jesus with all my heart. I know that He is the only way to You and life everlasting. Please give me the gifts of endurance, faithfulness, and determination that I may not falter in the face of temptation and evil. Thank You for Jesus, who gives me peace, and through Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Power Of Prayer
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
We are not the masters of our fate either as individuals or as a nation. How can people boast that they control their own destinies, when they cannot control a virus, invisible even under powerful microscopes?
One such virus, causing hepatitis, can lay low thousands of people.
How can the people of this nation, in spite of our military might, our tremendous wealth, and our foreign alliances, insist that we are the masters of our own fate, when history testifies that God shaped this nation’s course?
Our nation was founded by people who believed in prayer. When our government was in the process of being formed, Benjamin Franklin addressed the chairman of the Constitutional Convention, meeting at Philadelphia in 1787, saying, “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, it is probable that an empire cannot rise without His aid.”
Today the world is being carried on a rushing torrent of history that is sweeping out of control. There is but one power available to redeem the course of events, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing, Christ-believing people.
Abraham Lincoln, beloved and legendary president during the tumultuous days of the Civil War, said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.” Would that our leadership were as humble today!
Our Father and our God, You are the One who puts governments into place and takes them down at Your holy will. Give our governmental leaders humility and dependence on You for wisdom. Help me to support them, Father, knowing that their election and authority are from You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
God Is Our Comfort
Because [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:18 NIV
Once, when I was in my latter teens, I was in love with a girl. It might have been puppy love, but it was real to me, the “puppy”! We became tentatively engaged to be married, even though we were both much too young. However, she was torn in her heart and felt that the Lord was leading her to another young man who was one of my best friends, and who was already an experienced young clergyman. I suffered a broken heart, and I remember going to a clergyman friend of mine to seek his help. He turned me to 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, 6:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God . . . if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
From those words of the apostle I gained comfort for myself in my personal trouble, just as many others have also done. But there is more to it than that. This passage from Paul suggests a new insight into suffering. Briefly put, it is this: not only are we comforted in our trials, but our trials can equip us to comfort others.
It is an undeniable fact that usually it is those who have suffered most who are best able to comfort others who are passing through suffering. I know of pastors whose ministries have been enriched by suffering. Through their trials they have learned to “live through” the difficulties of the people in their parish. They are able to empathize as well as sympathize with the afflictions of others because of what they have experienced in their own lives.
Our sufferings may be rough and hard to bear, but they teach us lessons which in turn equip and enable us to help others. Our attitude toward suffering should not be “Grit your teeth and bear it,” hoping it will pass as quickly as possible. Rather, our goal should be to learn all we can from what we are called upon to endure, so that we can fulfill a ministry of comfort—as Jesus did. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18 NIV). The sufferer becomes the comforter or helper in the service of the Lord.
By the way, by “enduring” suffering, God led me to my wonderful wife, Ruth, who was His intended one for me.
Our Father and our God, I turn to You in my pain and anguish. Give me strength to bear my affliction, and from my problems let me learn joy to share with others. Teach me to comfort hurting people with the comfort You so often show to me. Thank You for sending the Comforter. In Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Aware Of Angels
Are [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?
Hebrews 1:14 RSV
Angels are messengers of God who serve men as ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). So far as I know, no Scripture says that the Holy Spirit ever manifested Himself in human form to men, as Jesus did in His incarnation. The glorious Holy Spirit can be everywhere at the same time, but no angel can be in more than one place at any given moment. We know the Holy Spirit as spirit, not flesh, but we can know angels not as spirits alone but sometimes also in visible form.
At the same time, both angels and the Holy Spirit are at work in our world to accomplish God’s perfect will. Frankly, we may not always know the agent or means God is using—the Holy Spirit or the angels—when we discern God’s hand at work. We can be sure, however, that there is no contradiction or competition between the Holy Spirit and God’s command of the angelic hosts. God Himself is in control to accomplish His will—and in that we can rejoice!
God uses angels to work out the destinies of men and nations. He has altered the courses of the busy political and social arenas of our society and directed the destinies of men by angelic visitation many times over. We must be aware that angels keep in close and vital contact with all that is happening on the earth. Their knowledge of earthly matters exceeds that of men. We must attest to their invisible presence and unceasing labors. Let us believe that they are here among us. They may not laugh or cry with us, but we do know they delight with us over every victory in our lives.
Our Father and our God, Your magnificent angels attend to my every need. They protect me from the demons of Satan. They keep my feet on the right path to You. Thank You for their comfort and their care, Lord. Help me learn that angels are Your messengers—Your hands at work. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
The Grace Of God
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:7
His glorious appearing is more than an incident of the past; it is the hope of the Christian future. There beats in the heart of every child of God the glorious hope of Christ’s return.
This hope is a stimulant toward righteous living and conduct and makes Christ more than a figure of history. This hope gives Him the living breath of reality. The expectancy of His coming again makes Christ a vibrant living being who even now prepares Himself as the bridegroom to meet His bride, the church.
The motive of grace is the infinite, compassionate love of a merciful God, but the work of grace was the death of Christ on the cross.
Unless we view the grace of God through the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, we cannot comprehend its true meaning and significance. When I see Christ hanging there, the spikes in His hands, the crown of thorns on His brow, the blood being shed for our sins, I see the picture of God’s grace toward men. I know then that man cannot work his own way to heaven, and that nothing can equal God’s infinite love for sinful men.
Only as we bow in contrition, confession, and repentance at the foot of the cross, can we find forgiveness. There is the grace of God! We don’t deserve it! A man said some time ago, “When I get to the judgment of God, all that I will ask for is justice.”
My beloved friend, if you get justice, then you will go to hell. You don’t want justice. What you want is mercy—the mercy of God, the grace of God as it was in Christ Jesus who died for us and rose again.
Our Father and our God, thank You for the blessed work of grace in the cross of Christ. I deeply regret my sins, and I confess my failures to You. I beg for Your forgiveness and grace every day of my life. Redeem me, O Lord, for I know that my redemption can only come through the blood of Jesus, through whom I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Defeating Disocuragement
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
One of the best ways to get rid of discouragement is to remember that Christ is coming again. The most thrilling, glorious truth in all the world is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When we look about today and see pessimism on every side, we should remember the Bible is the only book in the world that predicts the future with complete accuracy. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. The Bible accurately foretells the future, and it says that the consummation of all things shall be the coming again of Jesus Christ to this earth.
In John 14 Christ says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
In Colossians 3:4 we read, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
And in 1 John 3:2 we have a great promise to all believers: “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
And finally, we trust in the promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The sunlight of His love can still shine into the darkest part of your life. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Are you watching and waiting for Christ’s return with eager anticipation? Or do you take Him for granted?
Our Father and our God, this world needs Your glorious Light to rescue and save it from the darkness and evil of the prince of this world. I pray that You will find me watching and waiting at Your return, Lord. Keep me ever attuned to Your coming. Help me to hold up the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to the lost, and through Him I pray. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
Angels Are Watching Us
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 NIV
The charge to live righteously in this present world sobers us when we realize that the walk and warfare of Christians is the primary concern of heaven and its angelic hosts. Paul said, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the chosen angels, that you guard and keep [these rules] . . .” (1 Timothy 5:21 AB). Paul was stirring up Timothy to remember that the elect angels were constantly watching how he served the Savior and lived the Christian life. What fact could provide a greater motivation to righteous living than that? I must say to myself, “Careful, angels are watching!”
It must give the angels great satisfaction to watch the church of Jesus Christ minister the unsearchable riches of Christ to lost men everywhere. If the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10), then the angelic hosts are numbered among the spectators in the heavenly grandstands. They are included among those who are referred to as “so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1); and they never miss any of the details of our earthly pilgrimage. Yet they do not jeer as did the Greek crowds of Paul’s day. Rather, as we declare the Gospel and see our friends saved, they rejoice with us.
In his book Though I Walk Through the Valley, Dr. Vance Havner tells of an old preacher who worked into the night on a sermon for his small congregation. His wife inquired why he spent so much time on a message that he would give to so few. To this the minister replied, “You forget, my dear, how large my audience will be!” Dr. Havner adds that “Nothing is trivial here if heaven looks on. We shall play a better game if, ‘seeing we are encompassed,’ we remember who is in the grandstand!”
Our valleys may be filled with foes and tears, but we can lift our eyes to the hills to see God and the angels, heaven’s spectators, who support us according to God’s infinite wisdom as they prepare our welcome home.
Our Father and our God, it thrills me to know that You and Your angels are cheering me along my pathway of life. I can run harder and longer with You by my side. Help me to hear Your encouragement daily, Lord. Help me to see Jesus, my brother and friend, running beside me. In His name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).