Good Words for Today
If persistence wins over an unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), think what it does with our Father in heaven who cares for us. Persistence works on earth. It works even more in heaven.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Word of Truth given to us many centuries ago. We have seen it fulfilled before our eyes, and we believe that what is not yet fulfilled will come to pass according to your good plan. Help us to see the Spirit of Antichrist that is already in the world. Strengthen our faith and make us bold for Jesus Christ. Give us a spirit of encouragement that comes from knowing that you are in control of all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The temptation to quit, to despair, to give in to bitterness, to flee the struggle, to yield to lust, to give in to greed, to indulge ourselves, to walk in pride, these things either destroy us or they make us stronger. Prayer and Bible reading alone cannot make us godly. We need the struggles of life to make us strong.
Lord, when I feel like giving up, remind me of your promises. Keep my eyes facing forward today. Amen.
"I have learned the secret of contentment" (Philippians 4:12). Contentment is your current circumstance minus expectations.
If you need a miracle today, take heart. Jesus can do what others call impossible. He is the "above and beyond" Savior.
"Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled." Julia Johnston, "Grace Greater Than Our Sin," 1910.
Our only duty is to follow Jesus. Everything else is details.
If you cannot do great things for the Lord, do little things in his name. You will soon discover that little things become great things when they are done in Jesus’ name.
When you feel overwhelmed by the troubles of life, remember these three truths: Your struggles are necessary – fight on! Your Father has not forgotten you – hang on! Your future is assured – walk on! Fight on! Hang on! Walk on! That's the Good Word for today.
“For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Do you ever worry that you might be asking too much from the Lord? It is not possible to do that.
Be kind. Everyone has a struggle you know nothing about.
When we ask God to make us like Jesus, we are really praying to be led to the Cross. There is no growth without pain and struggle, and no victory without dying to our selfish desires. In the end we will be filled with joy when we discover that our prayers were answered in an unexpected way.
Converted sinners make the best preachers because they know the truth of what they are saying. This is the heart of evangelism— telling others what Christ has done for us. Until we have personally experienced God's pardoning grace, the gospel is only a theoretical message to us.
A staff may not seem like much, but when you place it at God’s disposal, it can be part of a miracle. Everyone has “something” in their hands. Your “something” won’t necessarily be the same “something” your neighbor has. God has placed “something” in your hands. Use it for his glory!
Choose your friends wisely because you will become like your friends and your friends will become like you. The right friends make it easier for you to grow in the Lord, and the wrong friends make it much harder.
When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast; When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold Through life’s fearful path; For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.
Here’s one thing you learn whenever you start to do anything for the Lord: It won’t be as easy as you think. Why should it be so? Couldn’t the Lord set it up another way? Yes, he could—and sometimes he does. But often God lets us struggle and sweat so that we learn to trust Him at a deeper level than ever before. Sooner or later we all end up facing a wall of impossibility. The bad news is that it really is impossible. The good news is that God loves to start with an impossibility.
Slow me down, Lord, so I can hear your still, small voice again. Amen.
"A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live" (Proverbs 15:27). No shortcuts! That’s the message for today, Bribery is a fast train to destruction. Stay away from it. Don’t take bribes. Don’t offer bribes. Play by the rules. And let God take care of the results.
When God calls you, it will work out one way or the other. All your little “what ifs” are just so much wasted time. And that really is the issue, isn’t it? If you need a miracle, you’ll get one. If you need an answer to prayer, it’s on the way. You'll get whatever you need as long as you obey God.
May the joy of the Lord be my strength so that I may have a merry heart no matter what happens today. Amen.
Our missionaries are on the field because they didn’t try to “what if” God. They didn’t make any deals. They didn’t demand any assurances in advance. God called and they obeyed. And the miracles followed after them. Where does that leave us? We gaze silently, baffled and amazed by those who have chosen the path of obedience. They have blazed a trail for us to follow. Will we obey, or will we stall for time, making silly excuses while the world burns and God waits for his sleeping children to wake up?
Repentance starts when we say, "Lord, you were right all along, and I was wrong." But that should not be hard for us to say because when we sin, we are always wrong, and God is always right.
“I AM” has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14). That simple phrase contains the essential truth about who God is. He is the personal, eternal, self-existent God of the universe. He always was, he always is, he always will be. He is above all things, beneath all things, behind all things, and in front of all things. By him all things hold together. In him all things have their being. Without him, the universe does not exist. He's big enough for whatever problems you face today.
"Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul."
When we get to the end of all our excuses, God says to us what he said to Moses: “Trust me. I can do more through you than you can imagine. Make yourself available to me, and I will do amazing things in your life.”
Success isn’t final and failure isn’t fatal. Popularity is overrated and jealousy doesn’t satisfy. Pray every day to become the person God wants you to be.
Do the hard thing. Do the right thing. Do the next thing. Everything else is just details.
God's work in your life is chipping away at your weak points and slowly developing the character of Jesus Christ within. But that means there are tremendous grounds for optimism—even in the worst situations—because the hard times mean God is hard at work in you to make you more like his Son.
Lord Jesus, raise me above the smiles and frowns of this world so that my only concern will be your approval. Amen.
"Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening" (Psalm 104:23). How we work is as crucial as how we pray. What you do on Monday is as sacred as what you do on Sunday. The man who gets up in the morning, goes to his job, and works all day in the marketplace, and the woman who cheerfully pursues her daily tasks at home or in the workplace—these are the ones who make an impact for Christ in the world.
All of us are works-in-progress. We’re not finished, not glorified, not perfected, not completed. We’re all “under construction.” If you’ve ever visited a construction zone, you know that it is noisy and looks messy. While the hammering and sawing continues, it’s hard to imagine what the final result will be. But God never stops working on us because there is so much work that needs to be done.
God’s sovereignty is a soft pillow for the soul. It gives us comfort when we face unrelenting opposition and unexpected difficulty. God is sovereign! Never forget that.
What’s the First Rule of the Spiritual Life? He’s God and We’re Not. Until you get that, you are still in spiritual kindergarten.
Every important decision you make starts in your heart. It’s the “real you,” the place where life makes up its mind. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence because out of it flow the springs of life.” The heart must be “kept,” or else it will run away from us. If we do not “keep” the heart properly oriented, it will lead us in the wrong direction.
Truth demands a response. Every step leads to the light or the darkness. Your heart is like a flowing river. It goes in one direction or another. Light received leads to more light. Light rejected leads only to the darkness.
Only God sees the big picture. We get impatient. We want progress. We demand action. God says, “Check back with me in a hundred years.”
God is in the transformation business, and you can’t tell where you will end up or what plans God has for you and me tomorrow.