Good Words for Today
Lord Jesus, grant that we might not be discouraged even a little bit by the things that happen around us. We want to pray and to pray more than we do. We ask for “praying grace” so that we will keep on praying when it would be easier to give up. Amen.
"The wind blows wherever it pleases" (John 3:8). The symbol of the Holy Spirit as God’s wind ought to greatly encourage us. How we need the fresh wind of the Spirit today! He alone can wake us out of our spiritual lethargy. He alone can dispel the toxic fumes of unbelief and carnality. He alone can bring the sweet aroma of heaven back into our lives.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). When Jesus walked out of the tomb, all his people came out with him. Let the people of God rejoice. “He is risen! He is risen indeed.”
After 2000 years, when we think of Pilate, we remember one thing. When he had a chance, he gave the wrong answer to the world’s most important question. We all have to answer the same question sooner or later: What will you do with Jesus? May God give you grace to say, “Jesus, I give you my heart today!”
“Why did you strike me?” (John 18:23). Behold the enmity of sinners for the Son of God. In their anger, they attack the One who came to save them. In their rage, they mock the Savior of the world.
We don’t need to go looking for trouble. If we are faithful to Christ, sooner or later, trouble will find us.
Pilate tried to wash his hands, but the stain remained. To say, “I don’t want to decide,” means “I lack the courage to choose.” Not to decide is to decide. No one can remain neutral about Jesus. “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me,” Jesus said. Which side are you on today?
“Crown Him the Lord of love! Behold His hands and side— Rich wounds, yet visible above. In beauty glorified. No angel in the sky Can fully bear that sight, But downward bends His wond’ring eye At mysteries so bright.”
In the end we will discover that though we failed him a thousand times, he never failed us, not even once. You can trust him in the darkest hours of life because his Word has not failed. We may fail him, but he will not fail us. His Word will stand.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem marks the beginning of eight days that changed the world. For the moment, the crowd shouts, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” B ut those aren’t the only shouts Jesus will hear. Angry voices will soon drown out the praise. The King rides on in majesty, on his way to the cross.
When you pray for a loved one who seems hardened against the Lord, pray that the eyes of their heart might be opened so that the light of God can come flooding in. If that seems hopeless, at least it puts the hopeless case at God’s doorstep, which is where it belongs. On Saturday night there was a “hopeless case” in the Garden Tomb. On Sunday morning the whole world changed. You never know what God will do, so keep on believing and keep on praying. God specializes in impossible situations, and he loves to prove that hopeless cases aren’t hopeless after all.
Believing in Jesus means trusting in Him so much that if he can’t take you heaven, you aren’t going to go there.
Lord Jesus, thank you for being my Good Shepherd. Keep me close to your side today. When I wander, bring me home again. Amen.
“God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.” Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to China
Miracles always begin with desperation. If you could do it yourself, why would you need God?
“The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Sometimes people say that nothing is as certain as death and taxes. But I know one thing more sure than that: Some Christians will never die. One generation—the final one—will be living when Christ returns, and that generation of Christians will never taste death but will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Are you ready?
Be patient. Give God time to work. God works across the generations to accomplish his purposes; we’re worried about which dress to buy for the big party this weekend weekend.
Lord, when I am frazzled, help me to see beyond the moment to better things yet to come. Amen.
When the famine comes, remember that God has not abandoned you. He sends the famines of life in order to see if you will trust him even in the most difficult moments. We should say, “Here is another opportunity for me to trust God. I wonder what wonderful things he is going to do for me this time.” It’s not easy to say that. Sometimes it takes more grace to stay in the Promised Land than it does to get there in the first place.
What is our hope in the face of death? Our hope lies in the fact that God’s grace reaches us while we are sinners, saves us as sinners, keeps us even when we fail, and when we die, that same grace takes us all the way to heaven.
“All have sinned.” We're all in the same boat and the boat is going down. If you think you can save yourself by treading water through your good works, you’ll drown just as surely as the mass murderer who sinks like a rock to the bottom of the ocean. When it comes to going to heaven, no one has an advantage over anyone else.
“For his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22b). The best part of this little phrase is the word “compassions.” Note the plural. That’s very unusual in English. When I entered this verse in my word processor, the spellchecker didn’t like it and kicked the word out. So I added it to the dictionary. God’s compassion is plural. It rolls down in waves from heaven. How blessed we already are! If only we would open our eyes to see what God has done for us.
What should you do when you find yourself in the furnace? • Seek a quiet heart. • Listen for God's voice. • Look for God's fingerprints. • Stay faithful to God no matter what.
Sharing Christ isn't about how much you know; it's about taking the natural opportunities God gives you to tell someone else the Good News. All you need to do is start where you are and walk through the doors as God opens them one by one. There are hungry hearts all around, ready to listen if only someone would care enough to share Christ with them.
Whenever the gospel is boldly proclaimed, it will meet with stiff resistance from those who do not like its call to repentance and righteousness. And there will always be those who would rather trim our message to make it more acceptable for the powers that be. Go easy, they say. Speak softy. Don’t offend anyone. Don’t be negative. But the speak-softly crowd has been proven wrong over and over again. It is precisely those churches that have dared to speak the Word of God without compromise or apology that have prospered the most in the long run.
God often sends trouble following a period of prosperity in order that he may test our motives. Are we serving him just because things are going well? But what if we lose our job? Our marriage? Our friends? Our reputation? Our wealth? Our home? Our health? Will we still serve him then?
“No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will”(John 10:18). Never feel sorry for Jesus. He didn’t feel sorry for himself.
“My hope is built on nothing less, Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
Salvation begins when we understand that without God choosing us we would never choose him. He gets the first move, he makes the first choice, he pursues us before we pursue him.
We have the eternal promise of God that “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” That means you’ll never be sorry you gave your heart to Jesus. You may go through a thousand disappointments, but you’ll never regret your decision to say Yes to Jesus Christ.
You don't have to like someone in order to pray for them. Liking them has nothing to do with it. Just pray and let God sort out the rest.
As the saints of God go to heaven, we find ourselves thinking more about heaven and less about the earth until, if we live long enough, we have more friends in heaven than we do on earth. The best view of heaven comes when we have loved ones in the city of light.
If you want to go to heaven, you’ve got to deal with Jesus. You can’t avoid him. And you can’t use religion–even good religion–as a substitute for the Son of God.
“Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind, Yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
Lord, fill my heart with so much grace that the devil must flee when he sees me coming. Amen.
We ought to be the most thankful people on the face of the earth. Let's be thankful not only for the things we have but also for the things we no longer have to have. That, too, is a gift from God.
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” C. S. Lewis