Appearances alone will not tell the true story, as we can see by photographs of these two men who were born 40 years apart but more importantly there was a chasm of difference that was earth shattering between their souls! Billy Graham led a life serving Jesus Christ doing so much good for other human souls leading multitudes of people to Christ the Savior while Joseph Stalin with his brutal rule butchered and put many human beings to death; but he also got many others to do his bidding so he in turn led many souls to perdition and hell.
In my reaching out to a fellow Christian who had noticed a striking decline in the number of parishioners attending her local parish church apparently brought on by what seemed to be some internal conflict of the local church hierarchy, causing the church to lose its former inspirational appeal so she was greatly troubled. But more shocking yet was the fact that at the same time came the news of the startling revelation regarding the shake-up around author and former pastor Joshua Harris’ retreat away from the teachings of Christ; and that Harris announced his total departure from Christianity. So, then she and her family began a quest to find a new church to attend weekly which I commended her on for not losing hope or faith and being vigilant to seek God’s guidance; all of which I tried to sum up in the following outlook I share here for anyone who might feel they are in a similar situation. As you read on here please bear in mind the contrast of these two men; one who led people to the path of righteousness, love and freedom; the other to wickedness, hate, and enslavement! These polar opposite men!
This was indeed some sad news to hear about, though not unlike the turmoil throughout the world which is so prevalent, and I believe we now live in the unprecedented time that Scripture spoke to regarding the time period before the final conflict and Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For many years I’ve felt like I don’t belong and in fact the system as well as many people around me seemed to be much less connected or interested in each other as community and more apathetic! The lack of compassion and indifference is appalling these days with so many giving lip service to one thing or another but inside not caring at all about their neighbor; this is so different than how it was when I grew up which isn’t ancient history! Here is something Billy Graham had said that I believe speaks volumes about this current time and he referred to a particular scripture that came to my mind immediately upon reading your Blog Post; which is Isaiah 5:20.
“Many of our news magazines carry stories of immorality. Theologians and pastors are quoted as condoning sexual immorality under certain circumstances. The Bible says through Isaiah the prophet:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
“Humanity has always been dexterous at confusing evil with good. That was Adam and Eve’s problem, and it is our problem today. If evil were not made to appear good, there would be no such thing as temptation. It is in their close similarity that the danger lies.
Modern social righteousness often differs from the righteousness of the Bible. Someone has said: “A wrong deed is right if the majority of people declare it not to be wrong.” By this principle we can see our standards shifting from year to year according to the popular vote! Divorce was once frowned upon by society, and laws against fornication and adultery were strictly enforced. But now divorce is accepted by society, and fornication is glorified in our literature and films.
The Bible says: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” God has not changed. His standards have not been lowered. God still calls immorality a sin, and the Bible says God is going to judge it.
Honesty was once the hallmark of character. But it has been set aside with an “It’s all right if you don’t get caught” philosophy. Only when we are in court are we required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/june-2012/confusing-evil-with-good/
I hope you are helped by my thinking about this and looking into this source of wisdom and insight that I came upon which quotes the late Mr. Graham. I do know and have faith that our Lord is fully aware of your difficulties and you are on the right path, so keep trusting in Him, your salvation waits just as I know mine does, if we remain vigilant and faithful in Him alone and not to be fooled by the ways of this world which is falling away!
God Bless You and Yours.
Brother in Christ,
Lawrence Morra
Zero Lift-Off 