Good Words for Today

The scribes in Jerusalem knew so much but did so little. The Wise Men knew so little but did so much. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your knowledge will save you. It won't! God give us the faith of the Wise Men who came so far to meet Jesus. Wise men still worship Him!

We sometimes hear that Christmas proves how important we are to God. After all, he sent his Son to save us. That's true, but it's not the whole story. Christmas proves how messed up we are. Jesus didn't come for perfect people because perfect people don't need a Savior. If you don't see yourself as a sinner, then Christmas is just another holiday. But if you are willing to admit that you are lost, then you can be found. Christmas is for broken people who aren't ashamed to admit it. The self-righteous need not apply. They missed Jesus when he came the first time, and they still miss him today.

(more…)

Joseph had to give up his own ideas about how things should be done. It’s the same with us. We have to let go of our ideas and let God work his plan. Then the miracles happen.

Promises made. Promises kept. That’s not just a slogan. That’s Christmas in four words.

Here's a good word for every pastor who stands in the pulpit. Don't forget the people who come to hear you week after week. Many are struggling, some are just barely hanging on. They need to hear from God, so tell them the truth with clarity, compassion, and conviction. Preach so that God's weary children will find the courage to believe all over again.

Christmas reminds us God is God and we're not. He can arrange for a virgin to become pregnant. He can cause a Roman emperor to order a census at precisely the right moment in history. He can ensure the baby will be born at exactly the place prophesied 700 years earlier. He can bring together angels, shepherds and Wise Men to celebrate that miraculous birth. And he can take a tiny baby born in a stable and make that baby the Savior of the world. Now if God can do all that, what are you so worried about?

Too many people worry that their faith is not strong enough to save them. But that's the wrong place to start. If you begin by looking at yourself, you will end up in doubt and despair. My faith isn't good enough or strong enough, and neither is yours. We aren't saved by trying hard to believe in Jesus. It is Christ who saves us by faith. Do you see the difference? When we come to Jesus, we have nothing to bring, nothing to offer, nothing to give him. Even our faith feels too small. But Christ saves us because we have come to him with our faltering faith, filled as it is with imperfection and shot through with doubt. Do not look to your faith to save you. Look to Christ! When you do that, he will save you, and you will realize that all you did was reach out like a drowning man reaches for a life ring. That wasn't much, but it was enough because it is Christ who saves us by faith.  

When God wants to save the world, he starts in a manger.

The world had no room for Jesus 2000 years ago, but he came anyway. He still comes to every heart that makes room for him.

In times of trouble, remember this: There is no crisis in heaven.

No church is perfect. We have our good days and we have our bad moments. We doubt and worry and fret and fuss and question. We rejoice and we glorify God together. Christ is there in all of it. Sometimes that’s where you see Him best.

You can make all the speeches you want and announce your long-range plans, your ten-year goals, and your personal objectives, but just remember this: When you are finished, God always gets the last word. What a relief to realize that God is God and you're not. Now you can rip that big G off your sweatshirt.

Quick fixes don’t work in the spiritual life. You can’t rush the river of God’s purpose. Give God time to do his work in your life If you want to grow, so slow.

To-do list: Love God, love people. Everything else is details.

There are at least seven reasons why worry is counterproductive: It wastes time that could be spent in better ways. It focuses on the problem, not the solution. It causes us to assume responsibility that belongs only to God. It paralyzes us with fear. It saps our joy. It drains our energy. It keeps us sidetracked when we could be doing God’s will.

Spirit of God, I pray for the grace not to be overly surprised by anything that happens to me today. Amen.

Repentance is a gift, not a burden. When we repent, we are simply saying, "Lord, you were right all along." That shouldn't be hard for a Christian to say because repentance opens the door to all of God's blessings. Be quick to repent! If we delay, we hurt ourselves and those around us. Martin Luther remarked that the Christian life is a life of continual repentance. He's right. O Lord, make us eager to repent and quick to turn from our foolish ways. Amen.

God's silence does not always mean God's refusal. His "no" doesn't always mean "no." It often means "not this, not now, not yet."

Following Christ is more than going forward at a campfire service. It’s more than walking an aisle. It’s more than praying with your friends at a youth rally. Those things are just a starting point. It’s what happens later that really matters.

No evil habit is beyond the power of Jesus. No sin is beyond his forgiveness. No human situation is beyond his healing touch.

The grateful heart always has enough, so every day is Thanksgiving.

 "Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!  Wounded and weary, help me I pray!  Power, all power, surely is thine!  Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!"

Thanks be to God for the empty tomb. As much as I marvel at the Virgin Birth of Jesus, as much as I wonder at his sinless life, as much as I glory in the cross of Jesus, it is the resurrection of Jesus that makes Christianity unique among all of the world's religions. Doubt if you will, but the tomb is still empty because he is not there. He is risen, just as he said.  

Today we may want a teacher or a leader or a pastor to guide us. But when we stand at death’s door, only a Savior can lead us safely through to the other side.

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.