Since I last posted here, we’ve seen the horror of another mass school shooting and also seen the departure of a truly impactful person, the evangelist Billy Graham. Such events stop us all in our tracks to ponder the importance of life and what we value most.

Graham spent his life sharing the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. And the world witnessed God’s power described in His written Word, specifically Romans 1:16 where the apostle Paul writes:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (New KJV, Bible)

Yes, the world witnessed how multitudes of lives were saved and transformed by the gospel of Christ faithfully shared by Billy Graham. The Bible states the gospel in forthright manner in I Corinthians 15: 1-5 (NKJV),

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.”

Graham is with his Savior now and the gospel remains with us. As a follower of Christ, I love the gospel for its good news brought God’s salvation to me and He has transformed my life.

What happened in the Florida school massacre reveals the face of evil. My commentary today is not one about debating man’s ideas for trying to deal with such atrocities that we’ve all witnessed too many times. The debate is important I think we’d all agree. However, God has to be a part of the conversation. Laws don’t change lives. But God does all the time. God sent Jesus to not only deliver you and me from the consequences of our sin but to also deliver us from its power. Please consider for a moment with me some verses that describe God’s character.

I John 1:5 (2nd half): “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (NKJV, Bible)

James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.“(NKJV)

Psalm 18:30: “As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.“(NKJV)

Psalm 50:6: “And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    for he is a God of justice” (NIV Bible)

Psalm 116:5: “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.“(NKJV)

Psalm 68: 19-20: “19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
    who daily bears our burdens.
20 Our God is a God who saves;
    from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.” (NIV)

I John 4:8: “8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Billy Graham leaves a legacy that what God says to us in Romans 1:16 is altogether true; that the gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s power to bring eternal life and transform the heart.

We need to have candid conversations today and one of those is how much we need God. God is greater than the evil of a man’s heart and His gospel is His power to save.