The Hymn That Invited Millions to Christ
“Just As I Am” was an integral part of nearly every Billy Graham Crusade from 1949 to 2005. It’s about coming to God with all your flaws, failings and fears—something millions of people did at Crusades around the world as God prompted their hearts.
For the final part in our summer hymn series, read why Billy Graham handpicked this particular one—and what happened when a Crusade choir stopped singing it for a month straight.
Maybe you, too, can be assured of God’s promises by opening your heart to the lyrics of “Just As I Am.”
O Lamb of God, I Come
Throughout the Bible, we see people who had an open invitation to follow God. Some of their journeys look different than ours: Moses kicked off his sandals as he encountered God through a burning bush, and Isaiah cried out from his uncleanliness during a vision of God’s throne. In both cases, we see the humility of sinful man before a holy God.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” - Isaiah 1:18
As Elliott penned “Just As I Am,” she recognized her flaws: illness, conflicts, doubts and fears. Even so, God loved and accepted her just as she was.
According to How Sweet the Sound, a book by Billy Graham’s longtime Crusade soloist George Beverly Shea, Mr. Graham once explained that “we have ‘no plea’—no claim on God’s love or forgiveness—except that Jesus shed His innocent blood to reconcile us to His Father.” There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation or freedom from sin; we simply must receive it through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
Ironically, we live in a world that screams for acceptance through careers, social media and peers, but we often have difficulty receiving acceptance from a Savior.
Like trying to stubbornly wipe a dirty stain off a favorite shirt, we attempt to fix our own problems, wanting to appear better than we actually are. We forget that God created us in His own image and doesn’t desire our good intentions, but the very hearts that He designed.
Indeed, as the song “Just As I Am” says, He let us be “poor, wretched, blind,” that He may become all we need, giving us “sight, riches, healing of the mind.”
Behind the Music
Ninety-nine years after Elliott wrote “Just As I Am,” a teenage farm boy heard the hymn while attending a revival. He then stepped forward in surrender to God while another hymn, “Almost Persuaded, Now to Believe,” was sung.
That man was Billy Graham, who would eventually select “Just As I Am” to play during his Gospel invitations. Chosen for its lyrics of response, “O Lamb of God, I come,” and strong Biblical basis, Graham believed the Crusade hymn reflected the choice to follow God. His autobiography would later be named Just As I Am.
NOTE:
{You may kindly see my playlist video messages. When you see at your right, above the picture - Login is mentioned above the picture. Kindly subscribe for it. Thank you.}
[Message No: 7723]
“Just As I Am” was an integral part of nearly every Billy Graham Crusade from 1949 to 2005. It’s about coming to God with all your flaws, failings and fears—something millions of people did at Crusades around the world as God prompted their hearts.
For the final part in our summer hymn series, read why Billy Graham handpicked this particular one—and what happened when a Crusade choir stopped singing it for a month straight.
Maybe you, too, can be assured of God’s promises by opening your heart to the lyrics of “Just As I Am.”
O Lamb of God, I Come
Throughout the Bible, we see people who had an open invitation to follow God. Some of their journeys look different than ours: Moses kicked off his sandals as he encountered God through a burning bush, and Isaiah cried out from his uncleanliness during a vision of God’s throne. In both cases, we see the humility of sinful man before a holy God.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” - Isaiah 1:18
As Elliott penned “Just As I Am,” she recognized her flaws: illness, conflicts, doubts and fears. Even so, God loved and accepted her just as she was.
According to How Sweet the Sound, a book by Billy Graham’s longtime Crusade soloist George Beverly Shea, Mr. Graham once explained that “we have ‘no plea’—no claim on God’s love or forgiveness—except that Jesus shed His innocent blood to reconcile us to His Father.” There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation or freedom from sin; we simply must receive it through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
Ironically, we live in a world that screams for acceptance through careers, social media and peers, but we often have difficulty receiving acceptance from a Savior.
Like trying to stubbornly wipe a dirty stain off a favorite shirt, we attempt to fix our own problems, wanting to appear better than we actually are. We forget that God created us in His own image and doesn’t desire our good intentions, but the very hearts that He designed.
Indeed, as the song “Just As I Am” says, He let us be “poor, wretched, blind,” that He may become all we need, giving us “sight, riches, healing of the mind.”
Behind the Music
Ninety-nine years after Elliott wrote “Just As I Am,” a teenage farm boy heard the hymn while attending a revival. He then stepped forward in surrender to God while another hymn, “Almost Persuaded, Now to Believe,” was sung.
That man was Billy Graham, who would eventually select “Just As I Am” to play during his Gospel invitations. Chosen for its lyrics of response, “O Lamb of God, I come,” and strong Biblical basis, Graham believed the Crusade hymn reflected the choice to follow God. His autobiography would later be named Just As I Am.
NOTE:
{You may kindly see my playlist video messages. When you see at your right, above the picture - Login is mentioned above the picture. Kindly subscribe for it. Thank you.}
[Message No: 7723]
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