Good Words for Today

The good news is, you can stand up to temptation. The bad news is, you may end up losing your popularity in the process. After all, the world crucified Jesus. Why should you and I expect to get off any easier?

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." Garth Brooks

The cross stands at the center of our faith. Take away the cross, and we have no message to share, no hope to offer, no Good News to proclaim to the world. Our message is exceedingly personal. Jesus did not die for a vast, unknown mass of humanity. He died for you! He died for me! Take away that truth, and you reduce Christianity to a set of moral instructions. The gospel becomes good advice, nothing more. Only the death of Christ can move us to the supreme sacrifice of life. He had to be the Son of God for his death to change us. He had to die to forgive us. He had to rise to save us. A dead Christ saves no one. Only the empty tomb can guarantee our salvation.

In heaven we will take all our gifts and talents and put them at the disposal of the Lord. For all eternity we will find ourselves growing and learning while celebrating the amazing grace of our Sovereign God. That’s why death for the believer becomes the Great Adventure, the doorway to glory, the entrance to an unending journey beyond our wildest imagination. Traveling to the stars pales by comparison.

Don't be friends with everyone. Some people aren't good for you. In fact, some people drag you down. Put those people out of your life as much as possible. That's why Paul said, "Evil company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33). One version says, "Bad friends will destroy you." Find some friends who lift you up. Let the others go. That's the good word for today.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked that church is where all illusions are shattered. We see each other up close and personal so we see all there is to see. It’s not always a pretty sight. But that is okay too. Through our pain and tears, in good times and in bad times, as we laugh and play and pray together, in our singing and in our serving, we discover each other, and somehow we see Jesus. When Paul says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), he uses the plural, not the singular. It’s not as if he’s talking about one person only (though Christ does indwell us individually), but it is also Christ in you and among you, in the whole congregation, in the whole messy glorious gathering we call the church.

We all tend to blame something else or someone else when we fall into sin. But it’s not the devil who made us do it, nor is it some titillating scene or some irritating person or some questionable relationship. We can’t blame our parents or our grandparents, and we can’t blame our DNA. Those things are factors in the equation, but the inner urge belongs to us. We can’t lay that off on people or circumstances. No one makes us sin.

Will we know our loved ones in heaven? The answer is yes. If in heaven I am still joined to my nation, my tribe, my own people, and if I still speak my own language, how could I be a stranger to my own loved ones? Such a thought is impossible Life in heaven will not be the same as life on earth, but we will not be strangers in heaven if we were friends on earth. We will know fully even as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

"Being a Christian isn't for sissies. It takes a real man to live for God — a lot more man than to live for the devil. If you really want to live right these days, you gotta be tough." Johnny Cash

Two thousand years ago Jesus came back from the dead never to die again. He was taken up to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. One day soon he will return to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And in that great day, the dead in Christ will rise first. Let's start the party now and dance and sing for our Lord has conquered the grave. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Keep the faith, brothers and sisters. Yesterday our Lord was crucified. Today his body lies in the tomb. Tomorrow he rises from the dead. Saturday can seem like a long day–and it is–but be of good cheer. The crucifixion is behind us, Saturday will not last forever. Keep believing, child of God. It's Saturday, but Sunday's coming!

"I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary, To view the cross where Jesus died for me How marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul He looked beyond my fault and saw my need." Dottie Rambo

If you do not want Jesus as your Savior, you will one day face him as your Judge.

Lord Jesus, in this shaky world you are the Cornerstone of the ages. Help us to build our lives upon the foundation that will never be moved. Amen.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners’ gain; Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve thy place; Look on me with thy favor, and grant to me thy grace. From "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, ca. 1150 A.D.

The church is not a gathering of perfect people. If it were, every church on earth would be empty. The church is a gathering of very imperfect people who come to worship a perfect Savior.

Perhaps you’ve heard it said this way: “Don’t pray for God to bless what you are doing. Find out what God is blessing and go be a part of it.” That strikes me as wise advice. God blesses those who get excited about his plan to bless the world through Jesus.

God’s will is more like a sunrise than a sunburst. Early in the morning, the sun begins to peek above the eastern horizon. At first the sky lightens, then the first rays streak across the sky, then the rim of the sun begins to rise slowly above the earth. Eventually, the whole sun is revealed, rising until it dominates the sky, giving light to the earth and driving away the darkness. God’s will is like that. At first, we see his plan dimly, and then the outline begins to emerge. Slowly, over time, the clouds vanish, the darkness disappears, and the brightness of his presence fills our lives. Do you get anxious at sunrise when all you can see is the tiny rim of the sun? If you wait long enough you will see the sun in all its brilliance. The same is true of God’s plan for your life. You never see everything in advance, but if you wait long enough, God always reveals his will.

God’s blessings are never meant to be hoarded. He means for us to be blessed, and then to give the blessing away. And in giving it away, we are blessed all over again. Whether it be joy or peace or hope, what we give away comes back to us a hundredfold. Thus does God bless those who give away his blessings.

Loving Father, teach us to trust you. We want clear direction, and you say, “Give me your heart.” We want precise answers, and you say, “Trust me to do right.” We want to know about tomorrow, and you say, “Follow me today.” Lord, make us willing to be made willing to do your will in everything.  We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Never let someone else determine God’s will for your life. No one else can understand God’s unique call on your life as clearly as you can.

We need two things when we listen to a sermon: a soft heart and a good memory. A soft heart helps us receive the truth and a good memory reminds us of the truth we have heard. God of Grace, I pray for a soft heart and a good memory as I listen to your Word today. Amen.

Peace does not cancel our problems, but it ought to cancel our worry. If God is with us, we can trust him even when we don’t understand.

The only thing you can take to heaven is someone else. Everything else will be left behind. Let’s get a big crowd and take them to heaven with us. Why leave anyone behind? Let’s tell everyone about Jesus!

Lord Jesus, show me how to cast my cares upon you, lest I collapse under the weight of my own problems. Amen

In a day of moral decline, building a Christian family will always be seen as a revolutionary act.

The road to heaven is paved with the blood of Christ. Only those who walk that road by faith in the crucified Lamb will ever enter the celestial city.

If you’re looking for Jesus on Easter Sunday, don’t look in the cemetery. He walked out of the grave 2000 years ago and never went back.

The edges of life will often be blurry, but the center is clear, and it points to the Cross.

"Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!

Lord Jesus, teach me to pray and give me a heart for prayer so that when I am gone, people will remember that I prayed for them. Amen. 

"No prayer never did nothing." I'm not sure who said that, but whoever did was right. The grammar is bad, but the message is good. There are no wasted prayers. Every word uttered in prayer to our Lord is heard in heaven. The tiniest whisper on earth is shouted in the courts of heaven. Your prayers matter. Pray on, saints of God!

Father, since You gave Your Son for me, how can I ever doubt Your love for me? I can’t, and I won’t. Amen.

We look at our loved ones dying and wonder if the resurrection can be true. But that's backward. God says, "Look what I did for my Son. Will I do any less for those who put their trust in him?"

Ask yourself a hard question: “Am I willing for God to change me?” It’s a lot easier to think that others need to change. “My kids are driving me nuts. Change them, Lord!” “My husband ignores me. Change him, Lord!” “My wife is getting on my nerves and my boss is a jerk. Change them both, Lord!” Perhaps we should all pray this simple prayer: “O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray Thee, with me.” As the old spiritual says, “It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” Before we ask God to change anyone else, we’d better look in the mirror.

Father, I give You the right to interfere with my plans if that is necessary so that Your will might be done in my life. Amen.

"I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

Lord, give me wisdom in my personal decisions, knowing others are influenced by my choices. Amen.