Soon after I attended the memorial service for a woman in our church named Dula. She had a physical challenge which had inhibited her physically in many ways and which was the cause of her physical death at a rather young age. Yet her focus was not on her physical challenges, and she was a kind and caring woman. I really liked her.
I learned at the memorial service that Dula had come to believe in Jesus after hearing Billy Graham preach at a stadium. I was grateful for his ministry which had resulted in her life being changed!
Then in Virginia a few years before my call into ministry work, there was a blessed evening when I sat with my dad in his living room watching Billy Graham preach with such conviction. It was beautiful father and son time.
Years later I would learn that my friend, Dr. David Beckman, was a freshman at Wheaton College the same time Billy Graham was a senior there, and they were friends. During a challenging time in my life, I read the autobiography by Billy Graham, Just As I Am, which was a tremendous encouragement to me and an influence on me. His honesty in that book was fantastic, and he showed times of struggling in his life, during which he turned to God with a sincere desire to trust Him. Blessings resulted.
Billy Graham had guts for God. Willing to rely on the Holy Spirit, he preached with conviction, never neglecting the topic of sin. Yet the aim of his sermons was the love of God and the opportunity to turn to Jesus for salvation.
Billy Graham loves Jesus, and the result was the saving of many. Billy Graham was an evangelist, an evangelist who desired to preach Christ in whatever country he could. What an incredible journey with Jesus he traversed in this world. He is now home. And I say, “Thank you Billy.”
This past Sunday, I was honored to preach at my church. On the pulpit at my church are the words, “We preach Christ crucified, and risen.” At the core, this is what Billy Graham preached. And he preached that all people have a decision to make of whether to receive Christ or not.
If you are not in a personal relationship with Jesus, you can know Him as your Savior and Lord even today. Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone. Jesus was the atonement for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death. If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life in heaven with the Holy God.
Hunter Irvine
