Our ministry did not write this article, and it was not written recently. But the message is profound and more applicable today than ever before.
First, read the article. Then, we’ll tell you who wrote it and when it was written.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Cure for Chaos and Confusion
We have heard many times that history repeats itself. If that is true, we can be sure of one thing in the future, and that is this: We cannot be sure of anything that depends on the promises of mankind. The nations of the world have signed many peace treaties, but most treaties are eventually broken by one party or the other.
During the French and Indian War, the United States loved the British and hated the French. Less than one generation later, we were hating the British and loving the French.
In 1904, when Russia was fighting Japan, the Americans took sides with the Japanese. In 1941, Japan was an enemy that had to be destroyed. Now, Japan is our close ally in the Far East.
We live in a topsy-turvy world where there is so much confusion. The average person on the street is more bewildered today than at any time in history. The events of the past few years are a shining example of the utter depravity of the human heart. And the props have been knocked out from under the idealists who said that all people are brothers and sisters and the world is getting better and better. You don’t hear that kind of talk much these days.
Behind all the confusion in the world today is the plan and program of Satan. The Book of Revelation tells us that Satan is the great deceiver, and his main business in this age is to deceive the nations of the world.
There Is an Answer
As you read your newspapers, watch television, or listen to the radio, remember this one thing—the only reasonable explanation for the awful conditions that face us today is the answer given in the ancient book we call the Bible. In it, you will find the answer to the multitudes of problems you face every day.
This world is sick. It is filled with anger, brutality, crime, and doubt. Despair and death stalk every country. Suffering and sin abound. War and wickedness have made our generation wild. Tragedy and sorrow are on every hand.
I wish you could read some of the hundreds of letters that come to us from people who hear us on radio, television, or through our other ministries. Alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, gambling addicts, hundreds crushed by sorrow or broken homes—people of every walk of life burdened with a thousand problems—all asking for an answer to their particular situation.
Over and over again, I am asked the question, “What is the world coming to?”
The Bible teaches that this world is coming to a crisis, and just beyond that crisis is judgment.
Thankfully, our God has never faced a crisis! Nothing has ever taken God by surprise. God has never come to a time of panic. He has always followed a perfect program. Satan has never frustrated God’s plans nor hindered His cause in the course of all ages.
Our God is sovereign, and in Him is all sufficiency. This is our message. This is the hope that I offer you today.
Unsolved Problems
The troubles we face are not new. They may come upon us in a new way, but basically and fundamentally, we are facing the same temptations, the same troubles, the same trials that have always confronted mankind.
Since the Garden of Eden, men and women have been plagued with three problems. These problems deal with the past, the present, and the future of every individual.
The unsolved problems of the human race are…
Depravity, Disease, and Death
Depravity has filled our jails. Disease fills our hospitals. Death fills our cemeteries.
Because of our depraved, sinful nature, we are filled with hate, greed, and jealousy. The curse of sin is upon our bodies, and we are forever haunted by the fear of death. With all of our inventive genius, we have been able to change everything but ourselves.
We all know how the world has radically changed. Technology, fashions, languages, customs, morals, values, social conditions, and a thousand other changes have taken place in the last few years. But with all of our progress, mankind has not solved the basic problems of the human race. These problems have not changed. They have plagued humanity throughout its history and are continuing to do so at this very moment.
Unchanged Enemies
Sin has not changed.
Men and women endeavor to change its name. We’ve put new labels on the bottle of poison. We’ve tried to whitewash the old barn. And we’ve tried to clean up the depraved human nature, but sin has not changed. We have put new names on present-day evils and have sought to salve our conscience. But sin is the same.
We are still sinners and the results of sin are still disease, disappointment, despair, disillusionment, and hell.
Sorrow has not changed.
Sorrow is the universal language of the world today. The greatest tragedies are rarely those on the front pages of our newspapers. They are the personal, crushing sorrows that come to individuals. We all know something about tears, sorrow, and suffering. Job said, “Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7).
Death has not changed.
We have tried to change its appearance. We place bodies in “caskets” rather than “coffins.” And we try to dress up the funeral. But regardless of what we may call death or how we may dress it, death is real, hard, and cruel, and it has not changed.
Our past is filled with sin; our present is overrun with sorrow, and the certainty of death faces us in the future. It all seems rather hopeless when we begin to think about it. We have psychiatrists, philosophers, and new religions by the score, but there seems to be no answer.
Hope for Your Heart
However, let me put a rainbow of hope in your heart. Jesus Christ can meet and solve these basic problems of your life. Hebrews 13:8 reads, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
- Yesterday—the past, when Christ was on earth—He made atonement, He forgave and covered your sin.
- Today—now, in Heaven—He is an advocate, representing before God those who place their trust in Him. He is right now willing to solve your problems, lift your burdens, wipe your tears away, and bring joy, peace, and satisfaction such as you have never known.
- Tomorrow—in the future—He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Other things may change, but Christ will never change. We are living in an age of grace in which God promises that whosoever wills may come and receive His Son.
However, I warn you that God’s kindness to us will not continue much longer.
We are already living on borrowed time.
Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost, predicted the next event in God’s dealing with mankind would be the judgment of God. When this age of grace ends, the judgment of God will strike.
But today I can point you to an unchanging Christ who can forgive your past sin, lift your present burdens and give you hope for the future. He will take your sins and bury them in the depths of the sea.
Come to the Unchanging Christ!
You can cast all your care upon Christ, for He cares for you. Concerning the future, He promises:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
I beg you to commit your past, your present, and your future to Christ. What you have done in the past can be erased by the Lord Jesus Christ.
- As Savior, He can settle your sin problem.
- As the Shepherd, He can meet your every need, lift every burden, solve every problem.
- As the coming sovereign King, He can give you hope.
Let Him deliver you from the perils of the present trouble. Let Him deliver you from the fear of the future. Turn to Christ today!
[©1951 (renewed 1979), 1997 (revised 2000) BGEA]
***
The Words are from Billy Graham
First written in 1951, the message is even more relevant in the days in which we live. I suggest we live in days of chaos, confusion, and delusion!
The world is growing darker and more ungodly, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and living with self-serving, relative, compromised, selective, and varying morals, ethics, and values — and even worse, totally unbiblical thinking and reasoning.
We must be of sound mind and discerning of truth. And we can be when we renew our minds in the Word of God and let His truths guide our ways.
What would Billy Graham say if he were alive today?
I think he would say what he always said: seek the Lord in prayer, ask Him to forgive, read His Word, and believe — and tell everyone about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God has said, ” My spirit shall not always strive with man… (Gen 6:3),
We know the day will come when God justly judges all who remain on earth. In Noah’s day, his family was protected from the judgment of the flood waters. Will you be taken out before the wrath of God judges the earth? Or will you be left behind?
<*}}}><
If our resources have blessed you, please consider supporting our ministry work. Make a $60.00 (or more) donation, and you will receive our newest book, "MISINTERPRETED." The book explores misunderstood and misapplied Bible verses and passages. Thank you for any support you can give!
*******
Do You Know Jesus?
The Bible clearly states that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). It also emphasizes that while the wages of sin is death, God offers us the incredible gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know that today is the day of salvation (Acts 28). Turn away from your sinful past and turn to Jesus. Remember, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Don’t wait—find hope and redemption!
*******
***A Hidden Message in Psalm 23?***
Hidden in the six verses of Psalm 23 are 11 names for Jesus. When you subscribe to our newsletter, we’ll send you The Names of God in Psalm 23 PDF that reveals all 11 names and Scripture verses of comfort and hope (link will be sent in your confirmation email).
In Case You Missed It:
Top Ten "Got Questions" in 2024
- The Meaning of NUMBERS in the Bible?
- Was Jesus CRUCIFIED on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?
- How are the Shepherd’s ROD and STAFF Different?
- The Meaning of COLORS in the Bible?
- How long did JOB SUFFER?
- How was Jesus Like a Worm? What’s the CRIMSON (OR SCARLET) WORM in Psalm 22?
- Jesus’ Last Days TIMELINE: the Cross and the Resurrection
- What are the FOUR Different PRESENTATIONS of Jesus in the Gospels?
- Did The Wise Men Arrive 12 DAYS AFTER JESUS’ BIRTH? Or Was It Much Later?
- What is the Significance of the Wise Men's THREE GIFTS? And were they kings?
2024's Top Ten "Words of Wisdom from the Cloud of Witnesses"
There is much to be learned from those who have gone before us in the faith. Check out our Cloud of Witnesses category that features the words of departed saints who are now with the Lord in glory. Their words equip and encourage us even to this day. Take a few minutes to hear...
- ONLY ONE LIFE, Twill Soon Be Past – by C.T. Studd (1860 – 1931)
- THE COMING PRINCE, by Sir Robert Anderson, 1894
- What's the Story Behind "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood by William Cowper
- "Immanuel" -- A Poem by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
- Prayers from Billy Graham
- “The Love of God is Greater Far” by Frederick M. Lehman (1917)
- Who Was Robert Robinson? What’s the Story Behind “Come Thou Fount”
- 24 Reasons Why I Love America, by John Wayne (1907-1979)
- The Hound of Heaven, a poem by Francis Thompson (1859–1907)
- 40 Quotes from Frederick Buechner (1926-2022)
This remains one of our most popular pages viewed.
2024's TOP TEN Videos from Reasons for Hope* Jesus
- Memorial Day BAGPIPES TRIBUTE: Amazing Grace
- RISE AND SHINE and Give God the Glory, Glory!
- WERE YOU THERE When They Crucified My Lord?
- PAUL HARVEY: THE BIRDCAGE
- Hark! the Herald Angels Sing -- CHARLIE BROWN Christmas
- JOHN WAYNE ~ WHY I LOVE AMERICA
- Not by Might, Not by Power, But BY MY SPIRIT says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6)
- PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: A SOLDIER'S PLEDGE
- Jimmy Stewart - Nativity Scene Prayer: Mr. Krueger's Christmas
- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, performed by Casting Crowns
*****************