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Things we need to do all the time

3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Graham’s Life
3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Graham’s Life
2/21/19, 1'06 PM
3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Graham’s Life
BGEA Photo
By Aaron Earls
We should not attempt to blindly copy Billy Graham or his methodology, but we can definitely learn from the principles that guided him and his heart that was shaped by His love for Christ and the lost.
Perhaps even more significantly, we can learn from what Graham said he regretted the most.
We don’t often associate regrets with Billy Graham and his ministry, but prior to his death he shared those things that brought him the most regret.
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We don’t often associate regrets with Billy Graham and his ministry, but prior to his death he shared those things that brought him the most regret.
Here, in his own words, are the three biggest regrets of Billy Graham’s life and ministry.
Although I have much to be grateful for as I look back over my life, I also have many regrets. I have failed many times, and I would do many things differently. For one thing, I would speak less and study more, and I would spend more time with my family.
When I look back over the schedule I kept thirty or forty years ago, I am staggered by all the things we did and the engagements we kept. Sometimes we flitted from one part of the country to another, even from one continent to another, in the course of only a few days. Were all those engagements necessary? Was I as discerning as I might have been about which ones to take and which to turn down? I doubt it. Every day I was absent from my family is gone forever. Although much of that travel was necessary, some of it was not.
I would also spend more time in spiritual nurture, seeking to grow closer to God so I could become more like Christ. I would spend more time in prayer, not just for myself but for others. I would spend more time studying the Bible and meditating on its truth, not only for sermon preparation but to apply its message to my life. It is far too easy for someone in my position to read the Bible only with an eye on a future sermon, overlooking the message God has for me through its pages.
And I would give more attention to fellowship with other Christians, who could teach me and encourage me (and even rebuke me when necessary).
About one thing I have absolutely no regrets, however, and that is my commitment many years ago to accept God’s calling to serve Him as an evangelist of the Gospel of Christ.
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3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Grahamʼs Life | Facts & Trends 2/21/19, 1'06 PM
commitment many years ago to accept God’s calling to serve Him as an evangelist of the Gospel of Christ.
How great a challenge is this for all Christians, regardless of where and how we minister?
Billy Graham, the man who was called the “pastor to America,” said if he could do it all over again, he would spend more time:
In God’s word With other believers in community
With his family
For many Christians, those are the areas we sacrifice the quickest, no matter where God has called us to serve Him. These are temptations common to us all.
We short change our devotional life because we spend our time on entertainment. We remove ourselves from the local church community because we have other things to do. We miss out on time with our family because we are pursuing career advancement.
Those were Billy Graham’s rejects, but they don’t have to be ours. We can all learn from the many things he did right, but we can also learn from his admitted regrets.
Value Bible study. Invest in the lives of other Christians. Nurture your family. AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor for Facts & Trends.
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Dig Deeper at LifeWay.com
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Luke 10:38–42 NKJV
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Praise the Lord
Psalm 34:1 NKJV
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Trust the Lord
Psalm 62:8 NKJV
Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Do righteousness
Practice righteousness
Do what is right
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Psalm
Psalm 106:3 NKJV
Blessed are those who keep justice, And he who does righteousness at all times!
Parable of the Good Samaritan
James 4:17 NKJV
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Love others
Proverbs
Proverbs 17:17 NKJV
A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.
Forgive others
Matthew 18:21
Matthew 18:21–22 NKJV
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Pray
1 Thessalonians 5:17
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
pray without ceasing,
Ephesians
Ephesians 5:15–20 NKJV
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 5:15–21 NKJV
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:15–22 NKJV
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
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