Posted on 11/06/2011 5:17:25 PM PST by NCjim
RALEIGH, North Carolina — For the Rev. Billy Graham, America's most famous evangelist across a career that lasted some six decades, the prospect of old age and death was for a long time something he tried not to think about, despite his convictions about the eternity that awaits human beings.
"I fought growing old in every way," Graham, who turns 93 on Monday, writes in the newly-published "Nearing Home," a book that ranges from Scripture quotations about the end of life to basic advice on financial planning. "I faithfully exercised and was careful to pace myself as I began to feel the grasp of Old Man Time. This was not a transition that I welcomed, and I began to dread what I knew would follow."
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
I though he died in the ‘90’s.
Read “Unbroken” by Laura Hellinbrand. He meant a lot to Louis Zamporini whose story needs to be heard.
What an amazing journey this man has had.
I have the utmost respect for Dr. Graham, but was somewhat surprised that someone with that amount of faith, and that at age would dread death that badly.
He preached basically the same sermon all his life. Ye people still came to hear him preach.
He may fear dying more than fearing death. Dying is scary to me but not being dead.
I had the same thought. I watched my dad go through brain cancer and he embraced Christ and died with the knowledge that he was forgiven.
We were never a church-going family, but were brought up with Christian principles and we pray to Him and try to follow his Commandments.
My father was at peace when he died.
He preached the same sermon because there is only one message: without Christ we are lost and dstined for hell. What other sermon is there??
Graham did a great deal by simply avoiding scandal, sticking to his primary work (evangelism),
and being accountable with money.
(would that others had followed this pattern...)
Happy Birthday Rev. Graham!
Here's one of the things Billy Graham chose to tell the world about Bill and Hillary Clinton, who he had sitting on-stage next to him as he preached about a Savior their lives show no hint of having embraced:"They're a great couple," he said. "I told an audience that I felt when he left the presidency he should be an evangelist because he has all the gifts and he'd leave his wife to run the country."
He has Parkinsen disease. It is not a pretty disease.
That’s a little vomit inducing. I hope, a little bit, that he had some sort of dementia when he said that.
That is a good thing. I remember my grandparents watching the Reverend Graham back in the 60’s. What a walk down memory lane. That and Lawrence Welk, gosh I’m old!
I can remember when people in Black Mountain N.C. said his Son Franklin was pretty wild.
Interestingly he turned out more conservative than his Father.
I was lucky to go to the same college that he did -
Wheaton College. I was there after he was a student, but he returned every so often, and I worked with his sister-in-law on the school magazine. I have the greatest for him. He was the same in person as people saw him on T V.
I missed a very important word in that last sentence. It should have said that I had the greatest respect for him.
I met him about 20 years ago. Great sense of humor.
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