God loves you! Those life-changing words were preached by Dr. Billy Graham throughout the world for sixty years. This man of God was not perfect, but he served and preached a perfect, Holy God, One who loved the world (you and me) so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place on Calvary’s Cross for our sins.
My husband and I are two of the hundreds of thousands who responded to God’s call through Billy Graham’s life-changing message, and we trusted in Jesus as our Savior at his one-night crusade in the old St. Paul Civic Auditorium that night in June 1967 during Israel’s Six Day War.
I had been confirmed and baptized, but in the months before that life-changing night, I had thoughts like: “There must be more to the Christian life than what I have. What if my bad deeds outweigh my good deeds when I die? How can I be sure I am going to Heaven? Am I ready for Jesus’ return?” I had attended a Bible preaching church as a child. I knew Jesus was coming again someday. I had been taught about Heaven and I knew there is a Hell where those who have not trusted in Jesus will live for eternity.
That June night God’s Word spoke to my heart. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (in Heaven) thru Jesus Christ our Lord. For by grace are you saved thru faith (not by any good works, or baptism and confirmation) and that faith is not of yourself, it is a gift of God so no one can boast.” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus (repents of their sins and asks Jesus to come into their life) shall be saved.”
Praise God for never giving up on me. He began a Work in me, and is still doing that work to prepare me to meet Him face-to-face in all of His majestic glory.
What about you? God loves you! There is no sin Jesus’ blood cannot cleanse. If you have not trusted in Jesus, you can do it right now. Tell another Christian about your decision so they can pray for you. Get a Bible, the only Book that God wrote, and the Gospel of John is a good place to prayerfully start reading. It tells you about our Savior and how much God loves you!
Rae M. Piepho
Lutsen
Leave a Reply