Good Words for Today

Look to the cross, my doubting friend. Gaze on the Son of God. Ponder the meaning of Golgotha. Who is that crucified on Calvary’s tree? His name is Jesus. Study His face. See the wounds in His hands, His feet, His side. Was it not for you that He died? Do you still doubt that God loves you?

A hundred years ago, our evangelical ancestors gave us the proper formula. They said we are to be “in the world but not of the world.” That means we are to live among the lost, loving them, befriending them, caring for them, and at the same time we are to live by an entirely different value system. That powerful combination of truth backed up by love is an irresistible force in the world. We can’t reach people by lowering our standards or compromising our values. It’s a good thing when the boat is in the water; it’s a bad thing when the water is in the boat.

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

"The fool vents all his feelings, but the wise person keeps them to himself" (Proverbs 29:11). You don't have to say everything you're thinking, and most of the time you shouldn't.

If Jesus is the only way to heaven, the kindest thing we can do is to let the world know.

"The devil is easy to identify. He appears when you're terribly tired and makes a very reasonable request which you know you shouldn't grant." Fiorello La Guardia

Choose your heroes wisely. Admire them but do not worship them. The best man you know is still just a man.

How wonderful to have your whole family gathered around the table. On earth it doesn’t happen very often. But there is coming a day when all of God’s children will be together at his table forever. Do you get tired of saying goodbye to your loved ones? I have some good news. When we finally get to heaven, we'll never say goodbye again.

God intends to save some who today are in rebellion against him. God intends to save some who at this moment deny his existence. God intends to save some who will soon commit horrible crimes. God intends to save some who right now refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. If you ask, “Why would God save people like that?” I answer, “Who else does he have to work with?” Sinners constitute the only available population for heaven, and since sinners are all God has to work with, that’s who he showers his grace upon.

"The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine, But God who called me here below Shall be forever mine!" From "Amazing Grace" by John Newton

We desperately need to be . . . Shaken out of our complacency, Moved out of our materialism, Awakened from our slumber, Convicted of our indifference, Shocked out of our lethargy, That we might become what God wants us to be

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” G. K. Chesterton

Good work, righteous work, even holy work, can become a distraction if we are not centered upon the Lord. Knowing Christ must come before serving Christ or else our service will be barren and our hearts will be frustrated.

It’s a good thing when Christians get interested in prayer. It means harvest time is coming! It means God is getting ready to move his people. Therefore, if your heart is stirred up, that’s a sign that God is at work in your life. He’s getting ready to do something!

God doesn't play by your rules. That's why things happen in your life that appear to be unfair. God is never unfair in the absolute sense. But in order to accomplish his purposes, he allows things in your life that may appear to you to be unfair. God's answer is always, "My child, I love you more than you know, but I'm not playing by your rules."

A person who says no to Jesus today might say yes tomorrow. There are no hopeless cases with God. There are no people who are so bad that they are beyond the reach of the grace of Almighty God. Don’t look at how bad things are around you and say, “Well, God has lost the battle.” He hasn’t lost the battle. Don’t give up praying for your friends and loved ones. Don’t judge God by what you see around you.

When the ungodly grow bold, it is time for the godly to be even bolder. When they jump headlong into sin, it is time for us to jump headlong into righteousness.

Until you see, you will not feel. Until you feel, you will not know. Until you know, you will not care. Until you care, you will not pray. Until you pray, you will not go.

When God wants to show us his will, he gives us a flashlight, not a road map. We are given just enough light to peer into the darkness and take the next step.

Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is to tell the truth even when people don't want to hear it.

Plan for today:  Less grumbling, more gratitude. Less worry, more prayer. Less fear, more faith.

Father, you are the God who turns defeat into victory. You can take the wounds of this life and transform them by your grace. Do it, Lord! Touch us with your transforming power. Help us to embrace the cross of Christ, to pick it up and to follow after our Lord, limping as we go. Amen.

“But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up” (Jonah‬ ‭1:4‬). Though the voyage into sin may start with a celebration, it always ends with a raging storm. God makes sure of that.

There are miracles all around us if only we had eyes to see them. Our problem is that we look for outward, spectacular results when God’s work—like the tiny mustard seed—begins in a hidden place, inside the human heart. I know of no greater miracle than the transformation of a sinner into a saint by the grace of God.

Sometimes God’s no is the surest sign of his love for us.

‌“I send you forth as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). If Jesus goes with us, we’re safer among the wolves than if we stayed in the pen.

Father, I pray for grace to smile more than I frown. Put someone in my path who needs a good word from me today. Amen.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Note that Jesus doesn’t say, “I have overcome your trouble,” but rather, “I have overcome the world.” Our Lord is telling us, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

You will never regret serving the Lord.

Jesus doesn’t invite us to a church or a meeting or an online seminar. He invites us to come to him. If you feel tired and frustrated and overwhelmed right now, here is some good news. Jesus wants you to come to him. When you do, he will give you rest.

Lord, help me to pick my fights wisely so that I won't be embroiled in arguments all day long. Amen.

"Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears" (Proverbs 26:17). Ignore this at your own risk. Sometimes it's better not to get involved. Leave that dog alone!

Deep doubt is often the prelude to an even deeper faith. I love the way Frederick Buechner expresses it: “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving” (from the book Wishful Thinking). The greatest doubters often become the strongest believers. Honest doubts — once resolved — often become the bedrock of an unshakeable faith. No truth is so strongly believed as that which you once doubted.

Many times we view prayer as the last resort when it ought to be the first resort. Prayer sometimes seems futile because we think we need to “do something.” Praying is fine, but how about if we bake a cake? Well, that’s fine too. But don’t fall into the trap of separating life into the “spiritual” and the “practical,” as if baking a cake is “real help” while prayer is just something spiritual we do when we can’t do anything else. Very nearly the opposite is true. Through prayer we unleash the power of heaven for the problems we face on earth. We ought to pray more, not less, in times of trouble.

Lord God, teach me to trust you while I trek through the wilderness. Thank you for providing for me even when I doubt that you will. Amen.

No one who has the slightest desire for a new life is ever beyond the grace of God.

Philippians 3 ends with a ringing declaration that one day God is going to “re-schematic” our earthly bodies. They will be raised from the dead and “re-engineered” to be like his glorious body. In the words of one commentator, we will be “raised and beautified.” I like the sound of that. I want to be raised, and I definitely need to be beautified.

An astounding miracle lies at the heart of our faith. We believe something incredible—that a man who was dead came back to life on the third day. We believe God raised him from the dead. Now if God would do that for his Son, indeed if God has the power to raise the dead, who are we to question God’s power to change the hardest hearts? After all, if you go to the cemetery and stay there waiting for a resurrection, you’ll wait a long time. You will see plenty of funerals but no resurrections. What are the chances that a man who had been tortured and then crucified and then buried in a tomb would be raised from the dead? The odds would seem to be against it. You can’t start with what your eyes see or what you can figure out. You can’t trust your feelings because your emotions can play tricks on you. We must therefore start with God who can raise the dead, not with the person who is spiritually dead. If it is God alone who can raise the dead, then our focus must be on God alone.