True Power

Dear Readers,
 
My last blog post identified three men who claim to be the long awaited Messiah, and the false power they possess.

Tonight I watched a video about another three men who worked together to proclaim one man as the true Messiah and they changed the world with the true power of God.

I was brought to tears when watching a Bill Gaither documentary which highlighted Cliff Barrows’ life as the song leader for the Billy Graham Crusades. I attended the Billy Graham Crusade in 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, and was involved as a counselor at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1994. Mr. Barrows was getting older then, but he still showed vibrancy leading the songs.

Twenty years later in the 2014 documentary Mr. Barrows was full of the joy of the Lord. But at 83 years old he has a cane to walk and is obviously going blind, which I confirmed via the internet. He lamented the loss in 2013 of his long-time cohort, the famed bass soloist George Beverly Shea. They both had worked alongside Rev. Graham since the late 1940’s.

Lastly there is Billy Graham, the famed evangelist, who is in failing health at the age of 87. He was a dynamic speaker who never lost his zeal for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He teamed with Barrows and Shea to form a trio of what I would expect is the longest running evangelistic team ever to not break up in over 60 years. They developed a bond of friendship that could never be broken. A funny moment was when the three together sang “This Little Light of Mine”. Rev. Graham acted as the fall guy who could not sing a lick. He was the “no” guy when the other two sang “Won’t let Satan put it out”.

I marveled at the humble Mr. Barrows now with so many physical ailments, and then see videos when he was younger and leading stadiums of up to 100,000 people in glorious praise to God. I looked at the Billy Graham Crusade itineraries in cities all over the world and marveled that three men could have such an impact with literally millions coming to Christ.

These are three men that have true power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.

See you next time,
Arlen