Good Words for Today

God of Grace, turn our hearts away from all self-trust so that we will look to you alone. When we start thinking too highly of ourselves, remind us again that every breath we take is a gift from you. Amen.

The world behind me, the cross before me. The world behind me, the cross before me. The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back.

Thank God for his patience with sinners! He withholds his judgment to give us time to believe. If God had not waited, none of us would ever be saved.

We can make all the plans in the world, but if God doesn’t bless our efforts, it will come to nothing. We don’t need God on our side; we need to make sure we are on God’s side before the battle begins.

"And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin."

Don't ask God for guidance unless you intend to obey. He doesn't give opinions.

Father, teach me the joy of the present moment and the pleasure of living in the here and now. Amen.

We live in a world of shadows where the ultimate significance of a given day’s work may be hard to see. If we trust our feelings, we will soon give in to despair. Faith rises above feelings to declare that what we do for Christ will last forever.

You are not in a position to estimate your own effectiveness. When you think you have won, don't be so sure. When you think you have failed, let God render the final verdict. You and I are as likely as Elijah to estimate wrongly both our victories and our defeats. Better to do our best and leave the results with God. He knows better than we do the lives that have been changed by our service for Christ.

Eternal Father, teach me to let go of the things I can’t keep and to hold fast to that which lasts forever. Amen.

We cannot skip the “furnace times” of life. They are part of God’s purpose to make us ultimately useful. That may not seem like much consolation when you feel the heat blasting around you. But know this much. You will not be in the furnace a second longer than is necessary. When your trial has come to its appointed end—appointed by God himself—you will come forth stronger than before.

God places in your life every person you need for your spiritual growth. He’ll send a Saul, a David, an Esau, a Daniel, an Absalom, an Esther, a Judas, a Barnabas, and a Timothy. God uses each one to teach you something and to make you more like Jesus.

If this teaching of Jesus about loving our enemies is going to work, it must work first in the relationships closest to us. You have to learn to deal with the people closest to you before you can impact the world around you.

No life is wasted that is spent in the service of our Lord who promised to reward even a cup of cold water given in his name.

How do you handle criticism? I heard about a woman who took a “vow of silence.” She would not speak to her critics because nothing she said would satisfy them, and she would not speak of her critics for the good of her own soul. Perhaps some of us need to take a vow of silence so we can let go of bitterness and get on with life.

God knows what he is thinking even when we don’t. Many times I have said, “Lord, what are you doing? Why is this happening?” So much of life makes no sense. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad, it all gets jumbled together with apparently no rhyme or reason, and even if I say to myself, “God has a plan,” it’s rarely clear to me. But God knows what he is thinking even when his thoughts are hidden from me.

Nothing seems more natural than to hate those who have mistreated us. After I had preached on this topic, a man said to me, “Everything the world says about human relationships is wrong!” The world says, “Get even.” God says, “Seek the good of those who have harmed you.” The world says, “Get angry.” God says, “Pray for them.” The world says, “Don’t waste time loving bad people.” God says, “Love them anyway.”

Your enemies may have meant it for evil, but God still means it for good. Their malicious hatred cannot overcome God’s faithfulness to you.

Self-pity is the enemy of all spiritual growth. As long as you feel sorry for yourself, you'll make a thousand excuses for not facing your own problems, and you'll never get better.

Here's a profound truth. Sometimes we need to eat. Sometimes we need to sleep. Sometimes we need to eat and sleep even more than we need to pray. There's a time for everything. There is a time for crying out to God; and there is a time to roll over in bed, close your eyes, and get a good night's sleep. And there is a time when what you need is a Big Mac, French fries, and a chocolate milk shake. We all need a good night's sleep and a good meal. Sometimes we just need to let our hair down and have a blast. For some that means going waterskiing. For others it means hiking in the mountains. For some it means sitting in a comfortable chair and knitting with your friends. For me it means walking 10,000 steps each day. That's why God commanded man to work for six days and to rest on the seventh day. We need to work and work hard and serve the Lord, and we also need some downtime. We need some rest, and we need some relaxation. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to get up and have a good meal because you'll feel so much better.

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Here is the true goal of all ministry: To help others become like Christ. John Calvin remarked that “if ministers wish to do any good, let them labor to form Christ, not themselves, in their hearers.” We must labor to form Christ in our hearers, not an image of ourselves. It doesn’t matter if a pastor is known as a wonderful preacher, so long as the people go away knowing that Christ is a wonderful Savior.

The Bible predicts a time in the last days when God will shake the nations so that those things that cannot be shaken will remain (Heb. 12:26-27). When Eugene Peterson paraphrased the last part of verse 27 in The Message, he said that God will shake the earth, "getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered." Unshakable essentials. That says it all. God is shaking the earth so that we will figure out what matters most.

Three frogs are sitting on a log. Two decide to jump off. How many are left? The answer is three. You haven't jumped off the log because you decided to jump off. Deciding counts for nothing. You're still on the log until you jump off the log. You can say, "I have decided to follow Jesus." You can sing it. You can shout it. But until you're following him, you're not following him. It's not your decisions that matter; it's what you actually do.

We often mistake faith and our feelings. Faith isn't about my feelings, much less about my circumstances. Faith is a conscious choice I make, a moment-by-moment decision to believe that God is fully involved in my situation, regardless of my current circumstances. Faith chooses to believe when it would be easier to stop believing.

Of all the things that plague modern Christianity, nothing is more troublesome than spiritual indecision. We can't decide which team we're on. In the great battle between light and darkness, we live in the twilight. We say we're on Team Jesus, but we struggle about which uniform to wear. We can say it more succinctly. If you're going to be a Christian, be one!

"Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway." John Wayne

You will never make an impact on the world until you are willing to be disliked. As long as you make popularity your goal, you will never make waves or swim against the tide. But if you ever decide that faithfulness to God matters more than popularity with the world, you can be like Elijah, who defeated the prophets of Baal and saved his nation.

If we are willing to obey, God will take care of the details. He can send the ravens to feed us when the world has forgotten us.

Death cannot destroy the promises of God.

We all have a job to do, and we will be happier in it if we realize that most everyone else we know will be doing something different. Our challenge is to do what we do with grace, courage, zeal, and humility, and leave the judging of others to the Lord.

If God is for us . . . We have a Friend in high places. The angel of the Lord encamps around us. Christ will never leave us. The peace of God will fill our hearts. The Holy Spirit will lead us. The joy of the Lord will be our strength. The devil cannot defeat us. We will not give in to fear. If God is for us, who can be against us?

You can have the pleasures of sin or you can have the joy of the Lord, but you can't have both at the same time.

Don't gossip about the weakness of others. Pray about it, and keep moving. You've got more important things to do.

Sin does not cease to be sinful just because it has become fashionable.

Prince of Peace, show me what it means to be a peacemaker in a world filled with war. Amen.

Christ has won the victory. He is risen indeed! No one can put him back in the grave.

Love is a choice. You’ll find out what that means when you decide to love someone who hates you.

My God, you are the Lord of the changing seasons of life. Without you, I could hardly face tomorrow, but as long as you are with me, I will have no fear. Amen.

Over 100 times the Bible tells us to "fear not." That ought to be enough to carry us into the new year. How have you seen God's faithfulness this year? What prayers has God answered? When did God come through for you or your loved ones? Sleep well tonight. God's grace carried us through 2025; His promises will lead us into 2026.

“Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,     Far beyond the starry sky; I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,     I shall reign with Him on high.”