Good Words for Today

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

Death is the narrow passageway between this life and the next. We toddle like little children down that frightening passageway with eyes full of fear. If only we could see that Jesus stands like a mother watching her children learn to walk. This is what death is like―just one more step and we’ll be there—safe in the arms of Jesus forever.

We will never get to the place where we don’t need the Lord. The moment we think, “I’ve got this, Lord,” we’re in big trouble and sinking fast.

Deliver me, Lord, from thinking too much of myself. When I am tempted to pride, help me to remember that without you, I can do nothing. Amen.

Lord Jesus, may the grace that forgave my sins fill my heart so that I may be quick to forgive others when they sin against me. Amen.

We need a warrior spirit today. We’ve got plenty of nice people–Christian people!–who go along to get along. They want to stand for Christ, but they are worried about what others will think. They intend to take a stand, but when the time comes, they are nowhere to be found. They are “summer soldiers” and “sunshine patriots” who disappear when the bullets start flying. If we are going to defeat the giants, someone will have to say, “We have the promise of God. Let’s get ready to rumble.”

The only thing that produces lasting growth is the Word of God. Preaching and programs without the Word may produce quick growth, but it won’t last. We need Word-centered ministry—and that must start from the pulpit on Sunday morning. Preachers who preach about everything under the sun except what God has actually said rob their congregations of the one thing they desperately need.

God promises to give you a hope and a future, but not without a trip to Babylon. The promises of God shine brightest when they are hardest to believe.

God can do a lot with a little. Goliath learned that the hard way.

Jesus never says, “Clean yourself up, and I will come in.” No, the invitation is always, “Believe in me, and I will give you a brand-new life.” The gospel gives you something much better than what it drives away.

You came to Christ because someone prayed for you. It might have been a godly mother or father or a friend who witnessed to you or a pastor or a Sunday School teacher or a youth pastor or a deacon or a missionary or a fellow student or a coworker. Don’t think you came to Christ on your own. Someone lifted you before the Throne of Grace, and God moved from heaven to draw you to the Savior. If someone prayed for you when you were lost, won’t you do the same for a friend who needs Jesus?

Lord Jesus, come and slay the enemy within. Come and crush the devil in my soul. Come and defeat the enemy who would destroy me. Come and fill my heart with your indwelling power. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Amen. 

We don’t pray to inform God of anything. He knows what we are thinking long before we voice our prayers to him. But if he knows all, why pray at all? The simple answer is one you have heard before: “He’s God and we’re not.” We pray to express our total dependence on him in every circumstance of life.

Our Father, we thank you that the gospel is truly the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Give us the desire to share the message with those we meet. Make us bold in the face of opposition. Grant us an eternal perspective so that we will not be discouraged when the results seem to be small. Help us to see that even one life saved is a miracle that will last forever. So let the gospel go forth with life-changing power to the ends of the earth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

It’s a good thing to review past blessings and to make a written record of God’s faithfulness. We need to say to our children, “Sweetheart, do you remember when you were so sick, we prayed to God, and you got better?” “Do you remember when Dad lost his job and we were afraid, so we prayed, and God gave him a new job?” “Do you remember when we prayed for Joe and Cheryl to be saved, and six months later they accepted Christ?” A good memory of God’s blessings is a bulwark against backsliding.

The world looks at production. The Lord inspects motive. The world says, “What did you do?” God says, “Why did you do it?” The world says, “What’s the bottom line?” God says, “Were you doing it for me?” The world says, “Show me your stuff.” God says, “Show me your heart.”

Pray for persistence. Pray for gritty determination to hang on to the Lord until one of three things happens: –God gives the answer. –God changes the circumstances. –God removes the burden altogether. God is greatly glorified when we do not give up in prayer. Not all our prayers have been answered—yet!!!

If you go to church long enough, you stand in great danger of believing you are better than you really are. You start to believe your own PR, and you go to church, hear a sermon, and say, “I wish so-and-so could hear this,” when in fact you need it more than they do.

Rebuke goes both ways. Are we as willing to hear the truth as to tell the truth? Lord, make us open to the wisdom of others even when it hurts. Amen.

Sometimes the best therapy is simply rising from your seat of despair and disappointment and tackling the job at hand.  So many people live in defeat because they can’t climb the steep mountain before them. Just remember this: You don’t have to climb the mountain. You just have to take the next step with God. He’ll take care of the rest.

The believer who arms himself with the Word of God will never lack for a weapon in the battle. It answers all our doubts and all our discouragement. This is all we have and this is all we need. The church marches triumphantly when it relies upon God’s Word.

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.