Good Words for Today
If we grasp even a tiny part of what God wants to do through the church, we will be cured forever of small vision and selfish churchianity. Sometimes I can get so tied up (or bogged down) in the details of church life that it can seem like my church is all that matters. But seen properly, it is but one tiny outpost in the grand army of God that stretches around the world.
"And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him." From "A Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther, 1529
The gospel of Jesus has the power to build a bridge over the chasms of race, education, age, social status, skin color, family background, language, culture, and all the other things that divide the human race. Sometimes we are tempted to soften the gospel in order to broaden our fellowship, but the reverse is closer to the truth. When we are firm on the gospel, we will have joyful fellowship with God’s people from many different backgrounds.
Lord Jesus, forgive us for misguided ambition, small dreams, and selfish plans. Grant us steady hands and stout hearts to follow you even though the road you take always leads to a cross. Amen.
Many people are open to Jesus as long as he keeps his distance. But when he comes too close, they get uncomfortable. They like the gentle Jesus of the picture books but not the powerful Christ of the gospels. They like a marble Jesus they can touch for good luck, but they recoil from a Christ who demands their total allegiance.
Our home is somewhere else. We will never be at home in this world because we are constantly saying goodbye to the people we love the most. They leave us, or we leave them. Our children grow up, they leave home, they come back for a visit, and all too soon they leave again. As the years pass, the visits grow more infrequent. If you are looking for a place where you won’t have to say goodbye, you won’t find it on Planet Earth. You’ll have to go somewhere else. The goodbyes of this life are meant to make us homesick for heaven.
Lord Jesus, we know that nothing is wasted in life, including the difficult people you send our way. When we are hurt by others, may we respond with blessing. When we are slandered, may we respond with grace. Lord Jesus, whatever it takes to make us like you. Do it, Lord, and in the end we will be glad that you answered our prayers. Amen.
Your will be done, O Lord. If it takes longer than I think, If I don't understand, Your will be done. When my heart is filled with fear, And I am tempted to doubt your plan, Your will be done. Forgive me for presuming to know better than you. Lord, whatever it costs, whatever it takes, Your will be done! Amen.
When the church is truly the church, it will be salt and light in the world. Remember that salt is both an irritant and a preservative. If the church never irritates the world, it isn’t doing its job. G. K. Chesterton put it this way: “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” God calls us to swim upstream every day, and then he gives us the strength to do it.
Jesus is coming again! That future event—the literal, visible, bodily return of Christ to the earth—will be more marvelous, more startling, and more spiritually dynamic than anything that has happened in the last two thousand years. No event may seem less likely to modern men and women, and yet no event is more certain in the light of inspired Scripture.
Jesus laid down his life (John 10:17-18). Were the Jewish leaders guilty? Yes. Were the Roman rulers complicit? Yes. Did the soldiers nail him to the cross? Yes. But if Jesus had not laid down his life, a thousand centurions could not take it from him. Pilate condemned him to die, but Pilate did not kill him. He died as a voluntary sacrifice, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ and following his call on your life means that from time to time, you will do things that seem to your loved ones as if you hate them. You don’t hate them at all, but your obedience to Christ may cause them to think that you hate them. Such is the price we all must pay to be a disciple of Christ.
Pray for your children and your grandchildren because your prayers have great power with God. Sometimes when our children rebel and walk away from the Lord, we feel so hopeless. But as long as we can pray, we have Almighty God at our disposal.
Do you admit you are a sinner in desperate need of God’s grace? If the answer is yes, then you can do business with God. As long as you hold on to the flimsy rags of your self-righteousness, you can never be saved.
Life is more than marriage and family, as good and sacred as that is. If I place my family above my loyalty to Jesus Christ, then I have created an idol out of something good, and I am not a true disciple of Christ.
Every temptation is a lie wrapped in a promise of freedom.
The best missionary work always begins at home. Everyone is either a missionary or a mission field. Which are you?
“If you want to be a leader, you’re going to end up frustrated in life, because very few people want to be led. But if you aim to be a servant, you’ll never be disappointed.” Frank Warren
Children love to play “Show and Tell.” In Mark 5, Jesus tells the man from whom he had cast out a legion of demons to "Go and tell." Go to the people you know best and tell the thing you know best—what God has done for you. That man would be a living reminder of God’s power. Jesus found a demoniac and left behind a missionary. Take this to heart today. Start where you are and tell what you know.
The road to heaven always goes by way of the cross. If you skip the cross, you’ll end up missing heaven too.
Don’t pity Jesus for having no place to rest his head. Pity the man so chained to his mortgage that he can’t respond to the call of Christ. Don’t pity Jesus for sleeping by the campfire. Pity the woman so sold to her career that she cannot follow Christ to a foreign land. Don’t pity the disciples who are called the “scum of the earth.” Pity those who are enslaved to the opinions of the world. Don’t pity the meek who are taken for granted. One day they will inherit the earth.
You are here because God wanted you here. It doesn’t matter if you were a surprise to your parents. You weren’t a surprise to God.
A minister once visited a famous china factory in England. While there, he saw artisans applying various colored paints to the china—yellowish-brown, bluish-black, and dirty-looking red. They circled the edge of the china with black paint. The end result of the painting was an unattractive mixture of dark colors. But when the china was placed in the furnace, the fire worked an amazing transformation. To the minister’s surprise, when the pieces were removed, they were exquisitely beautiful. The black had become bright gold. The blue and red had become lustrous and gleaming. In the unerring wisdom of God, some of his choicest saints are subjected to the fiery trials of life. What seems on this side to be all dark colors will one day come forth as the brightest colors of the rainbow. And those who amid suffering seem to be common earthenware will eventually be transformed into the very image of Jesus Christ.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same; And he must win the battle. From "A Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther.
We will enter heaven not with downcast eyes and somber faces, but singing and laughing and with shouts of eternal joy: “Hallelujah, by the grace of God, we made it.”
The world tells you to believe in yourself, but lasting confidence comes from believing in the Lord. If you want a firm foundation, you must put down deep roots in His Word. Trust Him fully, and you’ll stand strong no matter what storms may come.
Lord, save me from building my life around things that will one day disappear. Show me the things that will last forever. Amen.
Faith is not a feeling. It's a choice we make moment by moment. Faith rests on the truth that God is who he said he is and will do what he said he would.
It’s a grand thing to be a Christian when you die.
Life is too short to be grouchy today.
God intends that those who enroll in the School of Suffering should someday graduate Summa Cum Laude: With Highest Honor.
Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised, Promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, Pardon for you and for me. From "Softly and Tenderly" by Will Thompson.
Psalm 103:2 calls us to “bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits.” That’s important because most of us are better at complaining than praising. Sometimes we need to give ourselves a good talking-to. We’re good at telling the Lord what we want him to do for us. We need a good dose of Psalm 103 to wash out that complaining spirit and replace it with a heart of gratitude to the Lord.
Better to run away from temptation than to wish you had.
Forgive us, Father, because even those of us who know you have forgotten your son, Jesus Christ. We brag so much about what we have done. We speak too much of ourselves and too little of Jesus. We have forgotten that without him, we couldn’t live even one more day. Refocus our hearts and minds on who Jesus is and what He did. Help us to live for him 100%. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
“Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only he can see.” Corrie ten Boom
Every time we sin, we go in one of two directions. Either we turn to God in repentance, or we turn away from God in rebellion. There is no third choice.
God intends that all of us should pass through the School of Sorrow. But thank goodness, school doesn’t last forever. Those who stay in school and learn their lessons well will one day be greatly rewarded. In the end, no one will regret the sufferings of this life. The blackest moments will be transformed into eternal light, and we will shine like the sun forever.
Salvation always begins with God. He makes the first move, and if he didn’t make the first move, we would make no move at all.