“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” —Psalm 18:6

Morrow Graham was a woman of godly devotion. She regularly gathered the family together for scripture reading and prayer. Her son, Billy Graham, would grow up to faithfully proclaim the Gospel to more than 80 million people in his lifetime, leading millions of those souls out of spiritual bondage and into freedom in Christ. Billy once stated that of all the people he had ever known, his mother had the greatest influence on his life.

In 1 Samuel 1, we meet a woman of comparable spiritual muscle. She was a devout worshiper and a praying woman, but also a woman in deep distress. Childless and barren, Hannah was provoked to irritation by her rival, not for a few days or weeks, but year after year. Though her husband loved her greatly, he was still a bit insensitive to recognizing she had needs that he couldn’t fulfill (v8). Yet it is in the center of all this anguish that Hannah prays a prayer that will not only impact her circumstances, but the future of an entire nation.

While at the temple, “she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’” (1 Samuel 1:10-11)

Note that Hannah was in bitterness of soul and great anguish, yet she took her struggle honestly to God in prayer. She cried out to the “Lord of hosts,” a term used some 260 times in the Old Testament and has the idea “LORD of the Mighty Armies.” She made a vow to the God of angel armies, promising that if the Almighty granted her desire, she would dedicate the child back to the Lord’s service.

Hannah prayed so fervently from the heart, moving her lips in sync spiritually yet without any audible words. This appeared so strange to Eli, the priest, that he presumed her to be drunk! Yet what a vivid picture this is that prevailing prayer isn’t always vocal, but effectual prayer can also be silent and in the heart. The posture of our heart before God is more vital to prayer than the specific words we choose.

Hannah assured Eli that she wasn’t drunk, but “a woman troubled in spirit… pouring out my soul before the Lord… for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Eli told her to go in peace, confirming that the God of Israel was going to answer her petition.

I love what happens next: “They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord.” Hannah and her husband, Elkanah, didn’t wait to see the prayer answered in a manifested way before they worshiped. They could genuinely worship the Lord in faith before the promise was fulfilled because worship wasn’t conditional to their circumstances; it was a consistent characteristic of their family’s lifestyle (1 Samuel 1:3, 19, 28). Worship isn’t about us “tipping” God for serving our needs or answering our prayers; it is the only rightful response to being in the presence of a holy God—Who is worthy of all our praise.

In due time, Hannah conceived and bore a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” After the child had been weaned, she made good on her promise and brought the boy to the house of the Lord at Shiloh, declaring, “I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” What an act of surrender this was for Hannah, trusting that the boy would fair so much better as an instrument in God’s hand rather than a child under her control.

Anytime God hears our prayers or responds to our need, it is an opportunity to give back to Him in one form or another. What might that idea of worship, surrender, fulfilling a vow, or giving back look like in your life this week?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you that you always hear us, even in our most distressful times. You are acquainted with the anxiety of our heart and you listen to our plea for help. Help us to find refuge not in your gifts, but simply in WHO you are. And when you do answer our prayers, God help us to be ready to honor you with a rightful response. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for personal reflection, small group discussion, or dinner table conversations:

1. Why is it often easier to make a promise than to carry it through?
2. How did Hannah explain her vow and its fulfillment? (1 Samuel 1:25-28) What was the prevailing emotion of Hannah’s prayer? (1 Samuel 2:1)
3. What is one trait of God’s character, which particularly inspired Hannah’s praise? (1 Samuel 2:2) How do the poor and downtrodden of the earth ultimately fare with God? (2:8)
4. Which of Hannah’s praises foreshadowed the coming of Messiah (Jesus)? (2:10)
5. In what ways can you remind yourself that God is the source of all good gifts, and how can that fuel your worship this week? What vow or promise to God do you need to see through to completion?

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The post Anxiety, and The Prayer of The Distressed appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:21

This past week our world lost a faithful lamp. The Reverend Billy Graham, known as “America’s Pastor,” passed away in his Montreat, North Carolina, home. He was 99-years old.

The Gallup organization, which releases a yearly survey of the “Ten Most Admired Men in the World,” named Graham the dominant figure in that poll over the past half century—he was included 42 times, including 35 consecutive years. The famed evangelist appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek, Life, U.S. News and World Report, Parade. In his lifelong ministry, the son of a dairy farmer preached to more than 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. His book “Peace With God” reached millions in 38 different languages. He had personal audiences with many sitting US presidents from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama. The United States Postal Service has said that Graham was one of the few Americans who could have mail delivered that simply reads his name and the country: “Billy Graham, America.”

In 1996, Graham was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow on a private citizen. Even his adversaries and skeptics have recognized that this country-boy-turned-worldwide-gospel-ambassador lived his life in such a way to only hear the applause of One. An early contemporary and friend of Graham, Charles Templeton, after abandoning the Christian faith said: “There is no feigning in [Billy Graham]: he believes what he believes with an invincible innocence. He is the only mass evangelist I would trust.”

Graham seemed to live his entire life with a laser focus on one day hearing the words I’m sure became more than audible last Wednesday:

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

There is nothing else worth living for. Success, achievement, ambition, fame—even benevolence and altruism; apart from God’s pleasure is a chasing after the wind. Nothing in the entire world can compare with coming to the end of our days and hearing those words of our Master: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Living for those words gives us an inviolable peace in our hearts, an indomitable love for our enemies and skeptics, certainty in troubled times, and an unadulterated devotion to the ONE we live and breathe to worship.

Oftentimes when one lamp goes out, the world feels a little darker. But we need to remember that God is faithful in every generation. The Lord is never going to ask you: Were you as influential as Billy Graham? He’s not measuring your devotion next to that of anyone else—He’s measuring your devotion by the faithfulness you show in those small things right in front of you (Matthew 25:21). Though you and I may never be mass evangelists, our little lamps matter just as much as Billy’s did—in the way we parent, treat our spouses, love our neighbors, serve the less fortunate, or practice integrity in the workplace. May our labor of love be driven by the anticipation of one day hearing those words of eternal sustenance: Well done, good and faithful servant!

Jesus has some encouraging words for those who live from that center: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV) Or as one translation rendered it, “Well done… Let’s celebrate together!”

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we mourn the loss of a great hero of the faith. As it did in life, may Graham’s legacy in death also inspire many others to fight the good fight, love their enemies, pray for their critics, and live for the pleasure of One. Help us to see the small things in our daily walk as opportunities to practice great faithfulness. Help us to approach the little things with big love. In doing so, our lights will shine brighter than we could’ve ever imagined. Teach us how to live our lives in such a way as to one day hear those words: Well done, good and faithful servant. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. If you were to go away for a long time, who would you entrust to look after your things and why?
2. How would you define the word “faithfulness”?
3. In Matthew 25:14-30, why do you think the man in the story entrusted his servants different amounts? What were the master’s expectations of his servants while he was away?
4. Why was the master so hard on the servant who hid what was entrusted to him? Does this seem harsh to you? Why or why not?
5. In what way do you think you could better use something that God has given you to further the kingdom of heaven on earth?

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The post Billy Graham & the Question God Will Never Ask appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” —1 John 5:13 ESV

There is a peace that comes from knowing that our Christian faith runs much deeper than our shifting emotions—especially on our really bad days!

Billy Graham once lost his temper with another student in Bible college, and after that heated exchange, Graham went downstairs and questioned the authenticity of his relationship with God. “There is no way that I can be a Christian,” Graham vented due to the fact that he didn’t feel very “Christian” in that moment. As he wrestled with this, the Holy Spirit reminded young Graham that he wasn’t a Christian based on how good of a person he was or how spiritual or non-spiritual he felt; he was a Christian based on what Jesus had done for him on the cross—plus nothing. Then the Holy Spirit prompted him to go and make reconciliation with the person he had offended.

There are times we all need assurance that our relationship with God isn’t rooted in our erratic feelings, irregular temperaments, or how well we consistently behave with others. These are wobbly and unreliable human dispositions. We feel ugly sometimes. We feel dirty. Like the music artist who felt stuck somewhere between a failure and a fraud, shame can get the best of us—particularly in incidents when we’ve been noticeably un-Christlike. And though our walk with God should be characterized by the sanctification of growing in grace (2 Peter 3:18), maturing in bearing fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22), and conforming more to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 4:24), we sometimes make a mess of things. It’s in these vulnerable times we need to be reminded that our position in Christ never shifts with the tides of human performance.

Dr. Billy Graham once said:

“I believe one of the oldest tricks of the devil is to make Christians doubt their salvation. When we doubt our salvation, we doubt God’s Word, and when we doubt God’s Word, we are powerless and ineffective tools for Christ.”

In times when you need assurance of your identity in Christ and your position in His family, remember that scripture declares that God cannot lie. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV). In John’s first epistle, we are assured “that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11–13 ESV).

In Christ alone are we justified. This much-espoused theological word means: “pronounced or treated as righteous.” For the Christian, justification is completely the work of God, which not only forgives the believer’s sins but also imputes to him the righteousness of Jesus. Justification can never be earned by our good works, only received by faith (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8, Titus 3:5).

We didn’t deserve God’s gift of justification, yet it is mercifully offered to us. Jesus shed his blood on the cross and rose from the grave to reconcile us to God. On His merit alone do we find our identity and righteousness as a Christian—never in our vacillating emotions, performances, or religious deeds (2 Corinthians 5:21). Both the Old and New Testaments assure us, “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

The doctrine of justification by faith alone will cause you to be more secure in your Christian identity, it will spur you on to serve God more faithfully, and it will move you to love others more graciously. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I thank you that my justification doesn’t hinge upon my ability to be good enough. I thank you that my identity in Christ doesn’t change from day to day, or incident to incident—it is forever engraved in the completed works of Jesus Christ. His righteousness alone is what positions me in your family. Thank you for this unspeakable gift of grace, and this abiding assurance of salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. In what ways can the complexity of human emotions interfere with God’s truth in your life?
2. When have you ever felt stuck between a failure and a fraud?
3. What lies have you at times allowed to interfere with your identity in Christ?
4. Why is it sometimes easier to find our identity in things that we do, rather than in the finished work of Jesus?
5. How does the doctrine of “justification by faith alone” cause us to grow in the grace of God? What will that look like in your life this week?

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Billy Graham is the name mentioned most often in response to the unaided survey question (a measure often described as “top-of-mind” awareness). One out of five Americans names the nonagenarian evangelist, with 19% of adult residents identifying Mr. Graham as the nation’s most influential Christian leader.

Half as many adults (9%) believe “the Pope” or Pope Benedict to be the most significant Christian leader in the nation. Nearly the same proportion (8%) considers President Barack Obama to hold this prominent role.

One out of 20 U.S. adults (5%) think that Joel Osteen is the most significant Christian leader, more than double the proportion that name Charles Stanley (2%) or Joyce Meyer (2%). A variety of individuals – including pastors, ministry leaders, authors, politicians, and other public figures – are considered the highest ranking Christian leaders by 1% of U.S. adults each. These include: Franklin Graham, George W. Bush, T.D. Jakes, Oprah Winfrey, James Dobson, and Maya Angelou. All other individuals are named by less than 1% of Americans.

The research illustrates some challenges and opportunities for Christians in the U.S. Long-time leader Billy Graham has more than twice the top-of-mind awareness of any other individual mentioned – but he is most well-known among older Americans and barely mentioned by the youngest adults in this country. In terms of national Christian leadership, there may well be a gap to be filled. However, it is also likely that leadership may be perceived differently at this time in our society. If the role and relevance of national faith leadership is waning, it suggests an opportunity for more local and regional Christian leaders to emerge – whether in churches, ministries or a variety of other capacities.

Read the full report here.

So, who would you vote for as the most significant Christian leader in America?

The post Barna Group Study: U.S. Lacks Notable Christian Leaders appeared first on Jimmy Larche.