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Billy Graham Quotes

William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr. KBE is an American evangelical Christian minister, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949 reaching a core constituency of middle-class, moderately conservative Protestants. He is widely regarded as the most influential preacher of the 20th century. He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast into the 21st century. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005, at the time of his retirement. He also hosted the popular radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. He repudiated segregation and, in addition to his religious aims, helped shape the worldview of fundamentalists and evangelicals, leading them to appreciate the relationship between the Bible and contemporary secular viewpoints. Graham has preached to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings, including BMS World Mission and Global Mission. He has also reached hundreds of millions more through television, video, film, and webcasts.

Graham was a spiritual adviser to American presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller, whom Graham talked into doing his own television ministry. He was also the founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, where the Hour of Power program was later broadcast.

Graham operates a variety of media and publishing outlets. According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior". As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. Because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.

Graham has repeatedly been on Gallup's list of most admired men and women. He has appeared on the list 60 times since 1955, more than any other individual in the world. Grant Wacker reports that by the mid-1960s, he had become the "Great Legitimator":



By then his presence conferred status on presidents, acceptability on wars, shame on racial prejudice, desirability on decency, dishonor on indecency, and prestige on civic events.

✵ 7. November 1918 – 21. February 2018
Billy Graham photo
Billy Graham: 32   quotes 23   likes

Famous Billy Graham Quotes

“God has given us two hands--one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing.”

Billy Graham

“By a simple prayer of faith, you can give your life to Him today.”

Billy Graham

Source: The Heaven Answer Book

“Temptation requires definite, decisive action.”

Billy Graham

Billy Graham in Quotes

Billy Graham Quotes about God

“your faith and hope are in god.”

Billy Graham

Source: Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith

“Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). … Life is short, and every day is a gift from God.”

Billy Graham

Just As I Am : The Autobiography of Billy Graham (1997) co-written with Cliff Barrows
Context: "What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?” a university student asked me several years ago.
"Its brevity" I replied without hesitation. … Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). … Life is short, and every day is a gift from God.

Billy Graham Quotes

“I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”

Billy Graham

Parade (1 February 1981); cited in Thy Kingdom Come : How the Religious Right Distorts Faith and Threatens America (2007)

Religion , Wedding

“In my travels, I have found that those who keep heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day.”

Billy Graham

Hope for the Troubled Heart: Finding God in the Midst of Pain (1991); the last statement of this anecdote has often become quoted as if it originated with Graham: "My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world."
Context: In my travels, I have found that those who keep heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day. If the glories of Heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed by this present life.
A friend told me about stopping on a street corner in London and listening to a man play the bagpipes. He was playing "Amazing Grace" and smiling from ear to ear. My friend asked him if he was from Scotland, and he answered, “No sir, my home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.”

Travel

“Moral courage has rewards that timidity can never imagine.”

Billy Graham

"A Time for Moral Courage", Reader’s Digest (July 1964)<!-- Reprinted in The Virgin Island Daily News (29 October 1964) http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=757&dat=19641029&id=rIcwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lEQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6379,1764784 with the permission of Reader's Digest -->
Context: I feel sorry for the man who has never known the bracing thrill of taking a stand and sticking to it fearlessly. Moral courage has rewards that timidity can never imagine. Like a shot of adrenaline, it floods the spirit with vitality.

Imagination , Courage

“I don’t know the future, but I do know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us, and that will be far, far more glorious than anything we can ever imagine.”

Billy Graham

Just As I Am : The Autobiography of Billy Graham (1997) co-written with Cliff Barrows
Context: I don’t know the future, but I do know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us, and that will be far, far more glorious than anything we can ever imagine. I know that soon my life will be over. I thank God for it, and for all He has given me in this life. But I look forward to Heaven. I look forward to the reunion with friends and loved ones who have gone on before. I look forward to Heaven’s freedom from sorrow and pain. I also look forward to serving God in ways we can’t begin to imagine, for the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is not a place of idleness. And most of all, I look forward to seeing Christ and bowing before Him in praise and gratitude for all He has done for us, and for using me on this earth by His grace — just as I am.

Imagination , Future

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

Billy Graham

"A Time for Moral Courage", Reader’s Digest (July 1964)
Variant: Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

Courageous

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion; it is like a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”

Billy Graham
Christ

“We are the Bibles the world is reading; We are the creeds the world is needing; We are the sermons the world is heeding.”

Billy Graham
World , Reading

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”

Billy Graham
Health , Wealth

“therefore i live for today-
certain of finding at sunrise
guidance and strength for the way.
power for each moment of weakness,
hope for each moment of pain,
comfort for every sorrow,
sunshine and joy after rain!”

Billy Graham

Source: Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith

Pain , Hope , Way , Joy

“End of Construction. Thank you 'for your patience. " Inscription on Ruth Bell Graham's grave -- inspired hy a road sign she saw.”

Billy Graham

Source: Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well

Patience

“Many invest wisely in business matters, but fail to invest time and interest in their most valued possessions: their spouses and children.”

Billy Graham

Source: Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well

Children , Business , Time

“Remember: He WANTS your fellowship, and He has done everything possible to make it a reality. He has forgiven your sins, at the cost of His own dear Son. He has given you His Word, and the priceless privilege of prayer and worship.”

Billy Graham

Source: Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith

Reality

“Either communism must die or Christianity must die because it's actually a battle between Christ and anti-Christ.”

Billy Graham

"Satan's Religion" in American Mercury (August 1954), p. 41

Communication , Christ

“I have come out in favor of birth control but sterilization is a crippling of a vital body function.”

Billy Graham

Statement prior to 1963, as quoted in Fit to Be Tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America, 1950-1980, (2011), Rebecca M. Kluchin, p. 44 https://books.google.com/books?id=fbXeTqBPiP8C&pg=PA44&dq=%22i+have+come+out+in+favor+of+birth+control%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgn5DY277MAhUEJiYKHQ6CBUoQ6AEINTAA#v=onepage&q=%22i%20have%20come%20out%20in%20favor%20of%20birth%20control%22&f=false

Birth

“Commitment to great causes makes great men.”

Billy Graham

"A Time for Moral Courage", Reader’s Digest (July 1964)

Men

“What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?”

Billy Graham

a university student asked me several years ago.
"Its brevity" I replied without hesitation. … Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). … Life is short, and every day is a gift from God.

Just As I Am : The Autobiography of Billy Graham (1997), co-written with Cliff Barrows

Life

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