Daily Devotion with Billy Graham

1 Peter 2:4 (TLB)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who has chosen him above all others. -1 Peter 2:4 (TLB)

No personality in history stands above Jesus Christ. Agnostics and atheists have found fault with Christian ideas, but they can never find fault with the Person of Jesus Christ. They have found fault with Christians, but not with Christ. Jesus of Nazareth transcends methods, ideas, and followers. He stands at the turning point of time. Men everywhere must bow to His superiority. Since Christianity is Christ, those who wish to be a Christian must accept and follow Him as a Person. He and He alone is able to meet every need of the human race.

1 John 4:4

Monday, May 20, 2013

. . . greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. -1 John 4:4

Paul once wrote, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye can not do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). This is the battle or the tension that is present in us to a greater or lesser degree. So, you see, the spiritual lag that you feel is explained in the Bible. That does not mean that you accept it as the way it should be. You should make all necessary preparations for this battle which the Bible says “is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.”

In Ephesians 6 we read that the Bible tells what preparation you should make. In the meantime, always remember that “where sin abounds, grace did much more abound.” You can have complete victory! We are told to submit ourselves unto God, and the devil will flee from us. We are also promised that “sin shall not reign over us.”

Romans 12:11,12

Sunday, May 19, 2013

. . . serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope . . . -Romans 12:11,12

Each generation becomes more addicted to the sedatives of life, to dull the pain of living. Oppressed by a sense of triviality and thwarted purpose, men find no great goal or commitment to draw them, and no inner stimulation to give meaning to their existence. Christ can save you from the bane of boredom. He waits to give you a fresh sense of direction and to take dissatisfaction out of your life. I talked recently with a man in my own community who was converted to faith in Christ. “I hadn’t known what to do with my leisure time,” he told me, “but now I have a sense of commitment and purpose that I never knew before.”

1 John 3:18 (TLB)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

. . . let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. -1 John 3:18 (TLB)

The Bible declares that we who follow Christ should be just as much in love with each other as God was in love with us when He sent His Son to die on the cross. The moment we come to Christ, Scripture says, God gives us supernatural love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The greatest demonstration of the fact that we are Christians is that we love one another. Why not go out of our way to be a friend to someone whose skin is a different color from ours? Love does more to solve our problems than anything else does. Of all the gifts God offers His children, love is the greatest. Of all the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love is the first.

Ephesians 6:7

Friday, May 17, 2013

. . . doing service as to the Lord . . . -Ephesians 6:7

A true sacrament is not a mere creed, or ordinance, or form, but it is a life of service to God and to man. The most eloquent prayer is the prayer through hands that heal and bless. The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.

There must be a practical outworking of our faith here in this present world, or it will never endure the world to come. The Pharisees majored on show but minored on service. We need fewer words and more charitable works; less palaver and more pity; less repetition of creed and more compassion.

Galatians 3:24

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. -Galatians 3:24

When God gave the law, He knew that man was incapable of keeping it. Many persons are confused as to why God gave the law, if He knew man could not possibly keep it. The Bible teaches that the law was given as a mirror; I look into the law and see my spiritual condition. I see how far short I come, and this drives me to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. The Bible teaches that this is why Christ came—to redeem them that were under the law. Man could not keep the law, he was condemned by the law.

Isaiah 64:6

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

. . . all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . . -Isaiah 64:6

The Bible teaches that all our righteousness—falling short of the divine standard as it does—is as filthy rags in the sight of God. There is absolutely no possibility of our manufacturing a righteousness, holiness, or goodness that will satisfy God. Even the best of us is impure to God. I remember one day when my wife was doing the washing. The clothes looked white and clean in the house, but when she hung them on the line they appeared soiled and dirty, in contrast to the fresh-fallen snow.

Our own lives may seem at times to be morally good and decent; but in comparison to the holiness and the purity of God, we are defiled and filthy. In spite of our sins and moral uncleanness God loves us. He decided to provide a righteousness for us. That is the reason that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross.