This week, we mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the 20th century’s greatest Christian evangelist, Billy Graham. Born into humble circumstances on Nov. 7, 1918, as a child he wanted to be a baseball player. But he would follow a different calling that would change the hearts of countless millions of Americans.

Receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in 1996, Rev. Graham declared, “America has gone a long way down the wrong road. We must turn around and go back and change roads. If ever we needed God’s help, it is now…”

He continued: “What is the problem? The real problem is within ourselves … I believe the fundamental crisis of our time is a crisis of the spirit. We have lost sight of the moral and spiritual principles on which this nation was established — principles drawn largely from the Judeo-Christian tradition as found in the Bible. … What must be done? Let me briefly suggest three things. First, we must repent. In the depths of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called for special days of public repentance and prayer. Our need for repentance is no less today.”

He explained: “What does repentance mean? Repentance means to change our thinking and our way of living. It means to turn from our sins and to commit ourselves to God and His will. Over 2,700 years ago, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah declared, ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.’”

He continued: “Second, we must commit our lives to God, and to the moral and spiritual truths that have made this nation great. Think how different our nation would be if we sought to follow the simple and yet profound injunctions of the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. But we must respond to God, Who is offering us forgiveness, mercy, supernatural help, and the power to change.” In the years prior to his death in February, he often noted, “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

Rev. Graham concluded: “Third, our commitment must be translated into action — in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and in our society. Jesus taught there are only two roads in life. One is the broad road that is easy and well-traveled, but which leads to destruction. The other, He said, is the narrow road of truth and faith that at times is hard and lonely, but which leads to life and salvation. … What are YOU going to do? … If ever we needed spiritual renewal, it in now. And it can begin today in each one of our lives, as we repent before God and yield ourselves to Him and His Word.”

Speaking of his eventual death, Graham once said: “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.”