The Reason For my Hope by Billy Graham

The Reason For my Hope: Salvation, is the newest book by Billy Graham.  Although having reached the  old age of 95, with his white hair, wizened features, and faded eyes, he does not simply write for the old, infirm, depressed or terminally ill. He communicates across the generations- for the young and old alike and everyone in between.  His timeless writing style is not dated as with many contemporary writers or preachers who go to great lengths to draw in the younger generation integrating popculture into their works.  The Reason For My Hope is not simply a memoir or autobiography, nor is it a last attempt to produce one more book.  The fact that Graham's portrait is on the cover, personalizes his message in that he is not simply preaching to other but sharing his personal faith, strength and motivation.  You get the impression that the very faith and thought processes that helped Graham to persevere are being shared with the reader in a personal and intimate reader.  With this book he really connects to the audience. This  is a book that contains wise advise for every reader at any stage of belief- from the seasoned life long bible believing Christian, to even the young seeker. This book sums up in compact form, the gospel message and its relevance to Billy Graham's life as well as each individual life.  This books gives much needed dignity and credibility to a long forgotten- previous generation. Not only that, this book presents the gospel and serves as a much needed apologetic tool in today's worth of myth and misconception.   He dispels commonly held myths and misconceptions about hell, Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. He takes the time to actually communicate to the reader how bible truths are relevant, and how damaging it can be to ignore biblical truth.

It can not be overemphasized that Graham's writing has a broad appeal to all readers without alienating any socio-economic sector.  The words and even his anecdotes are timeless- not dated in contrast to an ever-growing number of devotional books whose audience is either women or younger readers.  The irritating modern pop culture and media references, which serve to alienate many older readers or less prosperous readers- are left out of this his writings altogether, thankfully. This book will not disappoint you when you are expecting spiritual  direction in times of distress or even everyday life. If you find you are bellyaching because you burned your husband's dinner, or the grass stain won't come out of the soccer uniform, or if missed an appointment for your pedicure, or your favorite coach bag sold out before you reached the mall, then this book might not hold your attention as this author does not commiserate with your trivial issues.  What you need is a fluffy, superficial, condescending, feel- good, women's devotional book with an image of an overpriced latte or a photo of a quaint Martha Stuart-esque vase of garden blooms. You won't find daily devotionals focused on spilled latte, long black Friday lines, or finding time to tote kids to soccer or cracked iphone screen related woes.

Billy Graham is a well known figure by religious and the secular world alike. His writing is like a spiritual compass, allowing the reader to focus on ultimate priorities with out becoming sidetracked by trivialities.  There is some comfort in knowing that he, as the author, takes time to ponder the truths of eternity and mortality and that he takes the time to meditate on the basic timeless truth of God. This is a book that goes back to the basics and foundations of faith.  Ironically this book is the perfect outreach to deliver the good news while at the same time, re-enforcing one's faith in biblical truths.   His words of strength give greater voice and credibility to the words of the bible in a world that worships the media, materialism, culture and greed. In sum- this book presents the complete gospel message- the Good News for salvation. As a blogger for booksneeze, I have received this book published by Thomas Nelson in exchange for writing this review. My opinions are my own.