Malankara World Journal - Christian Spirituality from a Jacobite and Orthodox Perspective
Malankara World Journal
Theme: Great Lent Week 3, Billy Graham
Volume 8 No. 464 February 23, 2018
 
IV. Supplement: Rev. Billy Graham

Billy Graham, RIP
"Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead.
Don't you believe a word of it.
I shall be more alive than I am now.
I will just have changed my address.
I will have gone into the presence of God."
-Billy Graham

In Reverend Graham's last message in the 2013 video-recorded My Hope America, he shares his heart for our nation today, and this simple, yet powerful prayer, a final reminder, that if we're willing to come to Christ, he has the power to change our lives and future forever.

"Our country's in great need of a spiritual awakening. There have been times that I've wept as I've gone from city to city and I've seen how far people have wandered from God.

I want to tell people about the meaning of the cross. Not the cross that hangs on the wall or around someone's neck, but the real cross of Christ...With all my heart I want to leave you with the truth, that he loves you, and is willing to forgive you of all your sins.

Sin is a disease of the human heart....There is no other way of salvation except through the cross of Christ.

Today, I'm asking you to put your trust in Christ.

'Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I'm a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins, and rose from the dead. I turn from my sin, I repent of my sins, I invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.'"

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"
(John 3:16).

Just as I am.
All is grace.

Rev. Billy Graham, An America's Pastor For The Ages

by Dr. Jacob Mathew
Chief Editor, Malankara World

Rev. Billy Graham went to his eternal home on Wednesday, February 21, 2019. He was 99. He died at his home in Montreat, N.C. Although, we were all knew that Rev. Graham was suffering from illness at his advanced age, the word of his passing truly came as a shock. Within a short time, messages started pouring in.

"We mourn his passing, but I know with absolute certainty that today he heard those words, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,'" Pence said. "Thank you, Billy Graham. God bless."

Billy Graham's ministry for the gospel of Jesus Christ and his matchless voice changed the lives of millions. We mourn his passing but I know with absolute certainty that today he heard those words, "well done good and faithful servant." Thank you Billy Graham. God bless you.

- Vice President Mike Pence

Billy Graham was America's pastor. His faith in Christ and his totally honest evangelical spirit inspired people across the country and around the world. I think Billy touched the hearts of not only Christians, but people of all faiths, because he was such a good man. I was privileged to have him as a personal friend. He would come to Maine to visit with Barbara and me, and he was a great sport. He loved going really fast in my boat. I guess you could say we had that in common. Then we would come home and talk about life. He was a mentor to several of my children, including the former president of the United States. We will miss our good friend forever.

- Former President George H.W. Bush

The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.

- President Donald J. Trump

President Trump got it right. There is nobody like Rev. Billy Graham. He was one of a kind. He was endeared by Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and evangelicals. He was loved by people of all faiths and creed all over the world.

The first memory of my encounter with Billy Graham was when I was 6 years old. It was the first decade of Billy Graham's foreign Crusade. (He had his first crusade 2 years before I was born.) He came to India, specifically to my home state of Kerala, India in 1956.


Billy Graham Enjoying an elephant ride in Kerala


Billy Graham speaking to the audience in Kottayam

I believe he went to Maramon Convention at that time, the first foreign speaker to speak in the famous convention. Then there was a crusade in Kottayam. It was held at the CMS College grounds. My memory is not sharp about it. I remember going to Kottayam on buses packed with people, all going to hear him. They sung the songs while traveling on the buses. It left a lasting impression on me. We used to sing those songs everyday from that point on at our Evening and morning prayers at home. I still remember my dad (who has already left this world for his eternal home) leading the prayers with those songs.

Later, I came across several books written by Billy Graham and read them with much interest. They were simple to read and understand. No complex theology. Unlike other spiritual leaders, who want to make it complicated to impress people, Billy Graham made things very simple. Sin, salvation, what Jesus accomplished by shedding his precious blood at Calvary etc. Interestingly, after I came to US in 1971, I met Puthencavu Mathew Tharakan, an editor of Malayala Manorama, who was visiting Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He had translated several of Rev. Graham's books from English to Malayalam. This added my curiosity to learn more about Billy Graham. I wanted to attend a Billy Graham crusade. I used to watch the crusades on TV and the places he held them with fascination.

I didn't have an opportunity to attend a live crusade till 1979 when Rev. Graham held a crusade in Nashville, TN. At that time I was working in Chattanooga, TN. I planned to drive to Nashville with a good friend of mine, Thomas Johnson. It was about 240 miles round trip. We were joined by some other people from Chattanooga, too. I remember sitting at the middle row in the stadium with a very good sight of Rev. Graham (we arrived there with 2 hours to spare to get a good parking space as well as to get a good seat.) So, we had a first hand experience of how the whole crusade was set up, along with all the songs the choir was singing to the last call for action. It was a great experience. It is one thing to see him on TV; but entirely different when you see him in person.

I left Chattanooga in 1980 and relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1993, I heard that Rev. Graham is having a crusade in Cleveland! I tried learning more about how these are planned and behind the scenes preparations that go into organizing one. I found that before Rev. Graham will even schedule an event, a team constituting members from all churches in the area should meet together and pray. After praying and meditating and evaluating the feasibility of holding one, BGEA will evaluate the proposal and make a decision on the venue at least an year ahead of time. The crusade we experienced is the result of that 1.5 plus years of work with the participation of all churches. The event was held in 1994.

Another noteworthy fact. I had volunteered to help the organizers with driving people to the event from where I lived. It turned out that there was a surplus of volunteers and they didn't need me after all! Can you imagine an event where there is a surplus of volunteers! That is a Billy Graham Crusade!!

Anyone who attends Billy Graham's crusade or watch it on TV is drawn to the finish, when the choir sings the hymn penned by Charlotte Elliott in 1835, titled, "Just as I am." It reminds you of a repentant sinner, like the prodigal son returning to Jesus, specifically to the cross with the savior's bleeding body lying as a sacrifice.

"I am coming to you, Jesus Christ, just as I am. I know I am not worthy of it; but my hope is only you. I know that you have shed your precious blood for me. I am coming to you, a sinner."

The actual text of the hymn is given below in this Supplement.

Billy Graham, although himself a protestant, never told any attendee to go to a protestant church. He did not compare one church versus another. He advised the attendees that it is more important that they attend a church than any particular church. Where they go is their choice. He was friends with everyone - presidents, other political heads, dignitaries, religious heads like the Pope, educators, etc. He even visited prisoners in their cells.

What made Billy Graham truly great among the contemporary evangelical leaders is that no one can question his character and integrity. There is no stain or blemish on his record. Many of the tele-evangelists are accused of bad behavior or love for money, etc. Billy Graham has escaped all those. The truth he has preached for years transcended all barriers of denominational differences, age, nationality, and culture. It has stood the test of time and generations, pointing millions to Christ. He was known as a kind, non-judgmental, accepting, and humorous soul. He had a great married life with his wife Ruth Graham. Someone had asked her if she had ever considered divorcing him and she said instantly, "never." We talk about marriages made in heaven. Here was one that truly qualifies. Someone truly worth imitating.

An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal announcing Billy Graham's death tells about his greatness:

Billy Graham, counselor to presidents and the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history, has died at age 99.

The Rev. Graham had been treated in recent years for cancer, pneumonia and other ailments. His wife, Ruth, died in 2007. Mr. Graham reached more than 200 million through his appearances and millions more through his pioneering use of television and radio.

He preached a simplified Protestant message about sin and especially redemption. He did so without rancor and, especially in later years, without much emphasis on the prospect of hellfire.

His voice rang out, insistent and resonant in the drawl of his native North Carolina. He used the same artful persuasion that once had made him a top Fuller-brush salesman.

"I’m selling the greatest product in the world," Mr. Graham said in 1954. "Why shouldn’t it be promoted as well as soap?"

Billy Graham was named by Americans as "One of the Ten Most Admired Men in the World," a record-breaking 59 times with the Gallup poll. His message was timeless, powerful, and relevant for today. The phrase, "the Bible says," resounded throughout his sermons.

What made Rev. Billy Graham so great? John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, answered,

"Some of Graham's success can be attributed to extraordinary talent, oratorical skills, his strong team, and other things. But it can't explain how this self-described "farm boy" would become - well - Billy Graham.

So what was it? His "golden" voice? His calm demeanor? His ability to connect with the powerful? His humility? His innovative use of new technologies? His impeccable integrity? All of these things certainly contributed to his life and influence. But his answer, when he was asked by CNN's Larry King in 2005: "It's the message…"

God raised Billy Graham up at a specific time and specific place to exalt Jesus. And that's exactly what he did. This Christian hero came to Jesus "just as he was," and he dedicated his entire life to telling others that, really, that's the only way for any of us to come to Jesus: "Without one plea, but that His blood was shed for me."

I will end with a few of the remarkable quotes from Rev. Billy Graham:

"It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love."

"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world."

"God proved his love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'"

"There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men."

"If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life."

"We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding."

Before he died, a reporter asked Billy Graham," If you had a chance to change something in your life, what will it be?" He replied, "I would have had fewer crusades. It was taxing my health, and life."

Rev. Billy Graham has completed his mission. The race is over. He has earned his rest in heaven. Bon Voyage.

"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world."
Rev. Billy Graham
'Just As I am' ... going to see my savior.

Billy Graham - Character Matters

by Mel Lawrenz

[Billy Graham died on 2/21/2018 at the age of 99.]

This will be said many times in the days to come: few Christians have had a larger impact on the world than evangelist Billy Graham--in all of history. He will be remembered for his character, his accomplishments, and his amazing connections with global leaders over many decades.

We will also remember him for his words--and perhaps one phrase that he never tired of repeating: "The Bible says..."

In an age when people were suspicious of "Bible-thumpers," most people never thought of Billy Graham in that way because Billy Graham did not use the Bible as a weapon or a tool of domination. He did not proffer an exotic personal interpretation. His explanations of the Bible were not cliche or elitist.

When Billy Graham said "The Bible says" it was like watching an eagle catching an updraft with outstretched wings. He invited us to be borne up and carried along by the truth of Scripture. He also brought the truth of Scripture to us as a healing ointment and as a stinging antiseptic.

Most important, when Billy Graham said "The Bible says" he was letting the world know: This is not about me. I am nothing but a desperate sinner like everyone else. I would have no hope without God's promises.

This, of course, was what gave Billy Graham that rarest of qualities these days for leaders: trustworthiness. He was voted "most admired" man by many polls for many years because we are all looking so desperately for that person who really is without guile-who is genuinely humble, grateful, and reverent.

Though Billy Graham repeated "the Bible says" over and over, we always knew he did not worship the Book. People did not accuse him of "bibliolatry." What came through was his reverence for God the Father, submission to Jesus, and a wide-eyed expectancy of what the Holy Spirit would do next in a stadium, or through television waves, or within a youth movement.

"The Bible says" means "God says." Billy Graham knew there was nothing more important.

Source: The Brook Network 

Waving Goodbye to Billy Graham

by Dr. James Emery White

Soon after my appointment to the presidency of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I received a phone call inviting my wife, Susan, and me to a visit with Billy and Ruth Graham at their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Montreat, North Carolina.

Billy had been instrumental in the establishment of the school, along with Harold Ockenga and J. Howard Pew, and I was to be only the fourth president in the school's already storied history.

As Susan and I were escorted to their rustic mountain retreat, past the old moonshiner's cabin Ruth chose to keep intact from earlier owners, we discovered we were in store for more than an afternoon with a man and a woman who had been used by God to influence the wider evangelical world more than any other figures in the twentieth century.

We were in store for some living history.

Billy began reminiscing and storytelling. I asked him to describe the founding vision of the seminary and the many other institutions that he helped shape: Christianity Today magazine, Fuller Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Lausanne Movement and more.

The vision for each was the same.

As he began his world travels, Billy found that Christians around the world did not know one another, and he felt God impress upon his heart to try and bring them together. That, he said, was one of the principal reasons he wanted to see such institutions founded. There needed to be a place where evangelicals could get to know one another, be brought together, build relationships and form the alliances needed to affect the world for Christ. Fragmented, they would not have the synergy and strength needed to bring the gospel to bear on the world.

At the peak of Billy's influence, the great need was to coalesce a movement, networking likeminded Christians around the world for the Great Commission. In so many ways Billy's efforts succeeded - Christians were brought together and the world was deeply affected.

As we drove away that day, I couldn't help but think about Billy's vision for Christians around the world and how, at the end of his life, so much that he labored to achieve was in peril.

Once again, evangelical Christians are in need of a unifying vision and a common foundation to stand upon. The core issues remain the same. Now, though, it is less organizational than theological, less networking than soul-searching, less programmatic than strategic.

Billy brought the evangelical world together through four deep convictions:

He believed in truth and the truth of the Bible.

He was passionate about evangelism and doing everything possible to effectively reach out to a fallen world.

He modeled civility and love toward others.

He believed deeply in the centrality of the church.

Whether self-consciously or not, these were precisely the four pillars around which evangelical faith has been gathered throughout Christian history.

We need to coalesce around them again.

There is more that could be said of that day.

Billy, using his walker, showed us around the house that Ruth had almost single-handedly filled with odds and ends found at yard sales and auctions. Our time there ended with him taking us into his study, where he had written his sermons for the crusades that reached millions. Littered throughout were pictures of family and people who had influenced his life - all now gone to be with the God they had given their lives to serve.

I was touched, as so many have been before me, by his humility and genuine grace. But even more by his passionate love for Ruth, who sadly passed away just a few months after our visit.

Following an hour or so of conversation, he walked us back to the bedroom where Ruth was confined. She had gamely prepared to receive us and had been moved to a nearby chair, next to a low-lying bookshelf where notebooks containing books of the Bible had been prepared for her with oversized type so that she could read them despite her failing eyesight. Billy and Ruth talked of their nightly devotions together, how they prayed for their children, and how those who said there was no romance at their age were wrong.

"We have romance through our eyes," Billy explained.

He was right. They did.

He seemed far more honored to entertain us in his home than we were to be entertained. He insisted on walking us to the door, and stood waving at our car until we were out of sight down the steep mountain road.

This great man has now gone home to be with the God he served throughout his life. I suppose this is my small way of waving goodbye.

Sources

Adapted from James Emery White, Christ Among the Dragons (InterVarsity Press).

About the Author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World, is available on Amazon.

Source: Church and Culture

Spiritual Heart Disease

By Billy Graham

Now tonight I want you to turn with me to Proverbs, the 23rd chapter and the seventh verse: "For as [man] thinketh in his heart, so is he."

The word heart is used in different ways all the way through the Scriptures. I want you to see tonight the meaning of the word heart from the Biblical point of view.

The Bible says that "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). When God looks at a man, He doesn't look to see the color of his skin. He doesn't look to see the kind of clothes he wears. Nor does He consider his social position. The Bible says that God looks upon the heart to see what you are on the inside - the thoughts, motives and intents of the heart.

The question I want to ask every one of you tonight is this: Is your heart right with God? And if it's not right, before you leave here tonight I hope you'll allow God to make it right.

The Bible indicates a great deal about the condition of the average person's heart. In Proverbs 6:18, the Bible speaks of a "heart that deviseth wicked imaginations." In other words, the Bible says that your heart is full of evil imaginations. And the Bible says, in Jeremiah 17:9, that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Your heart is deceitful. You can't trust it, if you're outside of Jesus Christ.

"You have very little time in private for God. You spend far more time watching television than you do reading the Bible. You spend far more time reading the press and reading novels than you do in prayer. You don't have time for God. Your heart is a long way from God tonight." - Billy Graham

Jesus said, in Matthew 15:8, that our hearts are far from God: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Think of it now. There are many of you here tonight who go to church. You sing on Sunday morning. You go through the ritual of the liturgy of your church. With your mouth, you honor God. But your heart is far from Him. Your heart - your real self - is taken up with the things of this world.

You have very little time in private for God. You spend far more time watching television than you do reading the Bible. You spend far more time reading the press and reading novels than you do in prayer. You don't have time for God. Your heart is a long way from God tonight.

The Bible says that our hearts are dark. Romans 1:21, "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." The Bible teaches that your heart is dark because your spiritual eyes have been blinded by the god of this age. Let Him open the eyes of your heart.

And do you know the greatest stumbling block to the Kingdom of God? Murder? No. Drunkenness? No. Adultery? No, pride. More people stay out of the Kingdom of God because they're proud than any other reason. We don't like to humble ourselves and come to the cross of Christ, and say, "O God, I'm a sinner."

The Bible says that our hearts are rebellious. "But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone" (Jeremiah 5:23).

And the Bible teaches that your heart can be hardened. The same sun that shines on the clay hardens the clay, but it melts butter. And the same Gospel that is preached here tonight will soften some hearts until they will yield to Christ, but it will harden others. And it's possible for you to harden your heart by delaying to receive Christ until it is so hard that, when God speaks, you no longer hear Him.

Now, what is God's attitude toward our hearts? The Bible says He knows the heart: "Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21). He knows all your secrets. You don't hide anything from God. He knows every single thing that goes on there.

The Bible says that He searches the heart. Think of it. The great God of Heaven searching your heart. He's in there searching and probing. "I the Lord search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10).

Then the Bible says that God ponders the heart. "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2). You can rationalize that the way you're living and the way you're doing is all right. But the Bible says God doesn't take your evaluation and your judgment. The Bible says that God ponders your heart - meditating on it, evaluating it.

And the Bible says God weighs the heart. I want to ask: Do you weigh enough? He weighs your spiritual life in comparison to the Ten Commandments. And the Bible says that every one of us have broken those Ten Commandments. He weighs you by the law of conscience - the times your conscience spoke to you, and the times you rejected the voice of your conscience. He also weighs you by the life of Christ. And none of us weigh enough. We all come short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). We're all sinners in the sight of God tonight.

Now, there's something else in Scripture. The Bible talks about the heart of Jesus. The Bible talks about the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. And all the way through the New Testament, you have the expression the blood of Christ. What does that mean? That means that the heart of Christ, in its compassion and in its love, bled on the cross for our sinful hearts. His pure heart, His perfect heart, His glorious heart, His loving heart, His tender heart, His compassionate heart - bled on the cross.

And when they put spikes in His hands and a spike through His feet, and they put a spear in His side, near His heart, His heart bled literal drops of blood for us.

God says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin" (Cf. Hebrews 9:22). What did He mean? He meant that without the death of Christ, there could be no forgiveness of sin. Do you know why? Because you and I have broken the laws of God. We deserve death, judgment and hell. But Jesus Christ went to the cross and bled and died in our place.

And now God says, "I commend my love toward you, that, while you were yet sinners, Christ died for you' (Cf. Romans 5:8). And God says, "He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us" (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). It's a mystery, that death of Christ, the great atonement of Christ. None of us can understand its depths, its height or its breadth. But we do know this: that in some mysterious and glorious way, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself at the cross. He bled, and His heart was broken for us.

The Bible says that God also prepares your heart by the Holy Spirit. "The preparations of the heart in man … is from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:1).

And last of all, the Bible gives us this glorious promise - that God will give you a new heart. If you will come to Christ and surrender your heart to Him, God says, "I'll take out the old heart. I'll put in a new one." An old heart will not do. He must give you a completely new heart. God doesn't just patch you up when you come to Him. The Bible says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

And in Ezekiel 36, the Bible says, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

Would you like to have a new heart tonight? Change the whole direction of your living. Change your whole moral life. Change your affections. Surrender your life to Christ and have Him give you a new heart.

It's called regeneration. It means that God will give you a new life - a new direction to your life, new thoughts, new energies, new ambitions, new directions.

The Bible says that three things are necessary. First, you must be willing to turn from your sins. You must be willing to renounce sin. Second, you must commit and surrender your life to Christ. By that, I mean you give in to Christ as your only Savior. You're not saved by joining a church. You're not saved by living a good moral life. You're saved only because of the grace of God in Christ. And you must commit yourself to Christ as your only Savior. Are you willing to do that?

Then the third thing: You must be willing to follow Him, serve Him, confess Him and acknowledge Him. You must be willing to go back to the factory and the home, and stand up for Christ.

Are you willing to do that? Let Him change your life and forgive your sins.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

Surrender your heart to Christ now.

Editor's Note:

From a sermon preached by Billy Graham on May 23, 1957 during the historic New York Crusade.

Source: Decision Magazine, ©1957 BGEA Billy Graham Evangelical Association

The Extraordinary Friendship of Rev. Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II

by ChurchPOP Editor

Evangelical Protestant preacher the Rev. Billy Graham passed away today at the age of 99.

He preached Jesus Christ in-person to hundreds of millions of people in nearly every country in the world. He fought for Civil Rights and against Communism. He befriended every U.S. president from Eisenhower to Obama. And he was a friend of Catholics, especially Pope St. John Paul II.

When Graham started preaching his 'crusades' in 1947, relations between evangelical Protestants and Catholics were far different than they are today, filled with deep suspicion and distrust on both sides – which made his friendship with Catholics so important.

Already in 1966, one year of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council and it's calls for renewal and ecumenism in the Catholic Church, Graham said, "I find myself closer to Catholics than the radical Protestants. I think the Roman Catholic Church today is going through a second Reformation."

And after hearing John Paul II preach in Canada in 1980, Graham lauded the Pope's preaching: "I'll tell you, that was just about as straight an evangelical address as I've ever heard. … He gives moral guidance in a world that seems to have lost its way."

He first met Pope John Paul II in 1981, but didn't talk about it until 1990, due to ecumenical suspicions in the Christian community. They chatted like "long-lost friends," exchanged gifts, and John Paul II held Graham's hand as they talked.

Then, just before Graham left, there was a pause in the conversation. "Suddenly the pope's arm shot out and he grabbed the lapels of my coat," Graham later recalled. "He pulled me forward within inches of his own face. He fixed his eyes on me and said, 'Listen Graham, we are brothers.'"

When John Paul II died in 2005, Graham's statement read: "It was my privilege to meet with him at the Vatican on various occasions, and I will always remember his personal warmth to me and his deep interest in our ministry."

Let us pray for the repose of the soul of Rev. Billy Graham!

Source: Churchpop

Poem: Just as I Am

by Charlotte Elliott, 1835

[Editor's Note: This song was played at the end of Billy Graham's sermon in his crusades. The Malayalam equivalent of the song can be found below too. To me, when the choir sings, 'Just as I am', i have the mental imagery of the prodigal son returning to the father or a repentant sinner coming to the foot of the cross, 'O Lamb of God, I come, I come' singing, ' Njan varunnu krushinmel.']

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

The Malayalam equivalent of 'Just as I am'. The title of the song from the verse in the song, 'Thy blood was shed for me', viz. 'Enikkai Chindi Nin'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4UAyQz5Sqk&feature=youtu.be

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