The Path to Christian Character by Billy Graham: It is time to start rebuilding the character of the American people. A famous newspaperman said some time ago, “The world is in its present mess because of the absence of character.” The glue that holds society together has been allowed to dry out. We have come unstuck, and we shall certainly fall apart unless somehow we can put moral virtues back into fashion. Man measures material wealth. God measures character. Man measures values by the degree of his own strivings and accomplishments. God measures true values by the degree to which His power is permitted to flow through a person. In the sight of God, permanence and stability and character are related to conversion to Christ. Outward circumstances change, and as a result people change, but Christ is unchanging. Jesus remains the same in the storm or in the calm. Jesus said the only way that you can establish a permanent Christian character, the only way that you can be rid of the sin in your soul, the only way you can have a new life, the only way that you can begin to build a new and better world, is to be born anew. There are just two conditions to the new birth: the first is repentance; the second is faith. At the moment we are born again, God will give us supernatural power. Lying, cheating, hate, lust and all such things will disappear if we let the Spirit of God have his way in our lives. Prayer Dear Father, for those of us who have been born again, help us live wholeheartedly devoted to You so that Your love and character will flow through us. Give us a heart for the lost so that they may discover and receive the love, forgiveness and atonement of Jesus, thus being born into an entirely new life in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. From “The Need for Strong Christian Leaders,” by Billy Graham, Decision magazine, October 2013 ©2013 BGEA
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:28:24 +0000