Three years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Franklin Graham at a dinner held on behalf of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and his famous international charity, Samaritan’s Purse.
Ten years ago, in an email of 2010 to friends I mentioned a couple of instances where he’d fallen foul of Obama’s policies in his first presidential term, including the Pentagon withdrawing their invitation to Franklin to attend a prayer breakfast. And Muslim activists wanted him banned from attending America’s National Prayer Day!!!
The previous two ‘reprise’ posts cover Franklin’s strong warning about the dangers of the ‘deep-state swamp’ as well as his talking about President Trump as a man of prayer.
In digging out data for writing about Trump’s Heart for God’s Kingdom I blogged this:
‘Inauguration 20 Jan 2017 – Unprecedented Prayer On Display
‘Prayer played a major role in the inauguration of Donald Trump. The ceremony featured six religious leaders, more than any other inauguration in history. The list included Paula White, one of his spiritual advisors, Rev. Franklin Graham, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Rabbi Marvin Hier, and Bishop Wayne T. Jackson.
‘Read Trump’s Inaugural Speech, Mentions of Faith Compared to Past Presidents‘
Now, however, he’s been taken task for apparently accepting the election result and praying for Biden. But look carefully at his Facebook commentaries on this, noting his explanations and especially the latest (emphases mine):
1st [4 days ago] ‘As we approach a transition in the leadership of our government in Washington, it is critically important for followers of Jesus Christ to pray for those who will be making decisions that impact the future of our nation. Just because we might not have voted for someone doesn’t mean that we get a pass to not pray for them. The Bible instructs us to pray for all of our leaders—“all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:2-3). We must not give up or waver.
‘Pray for President-elect Joe Biden, that he would not be swayed by the voices of self-interest, but that he would listen to the still small voice of Almighty God. I met then-Senator Joe Biden many years ago through Senator Jesse Helms when I went to meet with him in the capital. Senator Helms paid him a compliment and said Senator Biden was a Democrat that Republicans could work with. I pray that this will hold true for the future. Pray for President-elect Biden every day—that God would direct His decision.’
2nd [4 days ago] ‘Many of you have commented with concerns about my Facebook post yesterday urging Christians to pray for Joe Biden. Some thought this meant I am not supporting President Trump or have given up. That’s just not correct. President Donald J. Trump is still our president, and he still has my full support and prayers. After the electoral college voted, with that development I simply felt that it was important to remind everyone that Joe Biden needs to be high on our prayer list.’
3rd [3 days ago] ‘As Joe Biden announces his cabinet choices, we are seeing a big difference from President Donald J. Trump’s appointments. President Trump searched for the best of the best to run the various levels of government. Being a businessman, he brought in people who were the top in their field to use their expertise to benefit the nation; and if they didn’t measure up, he showed them the door. With Joe Biden, competence doesn’t seem to be as important as diversity. Diversity is certainly important, but competence matters even more. We don’t need people running areas of government who don’t have a clue. Thank God that President Trump brought the sharpest minds to the table to solve problems, and in some cases, even people who disagreed with him. Continue to pray for our nation.’
NOW the FULL follow-on:
4th [ 2days ago] ‘In 2016 Donald J. Trump told the American people that the government was spying on him. The media said that he was paranoid. The Obama administration and the Democrats said that this was an absolute lie and that Donald Trump was not fit to be president, only for us to find out later that the U.S. government did spy on Donald Trump and what he had said was in fact true.
‘Then we spent the next two years with the President under investigation for collusion with the Russians. The President said there was no collusion, but night after night, the media and the Democrats said there was collusion. After an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, it turned out to be false—there was no collusion. President Trump was right again.
‘Then the Democrats impeached him over a phone call. The President has been maligned, falsely accused, and attacked on every front since before the election in 2016. When President Trump says that this election has been rigged or stolen, I tend to believe him. He has a track record of being right.
‘Pray for President Trump, pray for Joe Biden, and pray for our nation—that we will get through this, and for God’s will be done.’
AMEN!
To my mind, the facts in Franklin’s final comments must surely be grounds for bringing charges of treason against those plotting to remove a sitting head of state!
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