Good Words for Today

“Cheer up, ye saints of God, there's nothing to worry about. Nothing to make you feel afraid, nothing to make you doubt. Remember, Jesus never fails, so why not trust him and shout, You'll be sorry you worried at all tomorrow morning.”

Too many people want . . . The outcome but not the obedience, The answers but not the agony, The crown but not the cross. It doesn’t work that way.        

It is good to be angry at what sin has done to the world. It is better to do what we can to change the situation. We don't always have to take a whip and turn over the tables, but it's worth remembering that Jesus did that--not once but twice.      

When one pastor leaves and another one comes, we learn again that God’s work depends on God, not on God’s messengers. Build your life on God’s Word, not on the man who delivers it.

"See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Matthew 6:28-29). Lilies don't worry about anything because God takes of them even though they are here today and gone tomorrow. But you are going to live forever somewhere. That makes you infinitely more valuable than the lilies of the field. If that's true—and it is—then you don't have to worry about what you are going to wear. God will pick out your wardrobe for you. He will make sure you have what you need.                    

“Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O Ruler of all”

C. S. Lewis remarked that God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain. It would be doubly tragic if our grief caused us to turn away from God. But it doesn't have to be that way. If we are willing to listen, Jesus will speak to us through our tears.                  

You aren't good enough to get right with God, you never were, and you never will be. If we knew our sin better, we would stop chattering about our supposed righteousness. The first step in salvation is admitting we don't deserve it. Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance

Lord Jesus, please strip away everything that keeps us from doing your will. Amen.

Spiritual growth can be very discouraging at times. It’s like climbing Mount Everest. The closer you get to the top, the farther away it seems. But God has a reason for all this. He wants us to depend on him for everything. He designed life so that it works only when he is in charge of everything. When we try to run the show—which we often do—things begin to fall apart. If the Christian life is left up to us, we will fail every time. Only God can give us what we need to be victorious. Today we don’t feel blameless because we aren’t blameless. We are, in fact, blameworthy, and we make things worse by what we do and say. Today we are all “unfinished people,” but when God is finally finished with us, we will stand blameless in his presence.

Grant me patience, O Lord, while I wait for your answers. Amen.      

Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

When we stand before the Lord, we may be surprised to know that our bottom line and his aren’t quite the same. He won’t ask how much money we made or lost or how many cars we owned or whether or not we climbed to the top of our profession. His question on that day will be much simpler: “Were you faithful in doing the task I gave you to do?” If we can answer yes, our time on earth will have been well-spent.

Will we believe the Bible, all of it, every word of it, from first to last, and everything in between? Our spiritual ancestors had no problem answering Yes to that question. But we struggle mightily with it. We live in days of spiritual anarchy where society has rejected the word of the Lord. Are we willing to be men and women “under authority” who do what we are told even when it isn’t popular? God help us to answer yes and show the world by how we live that we truly believe what the Bible says.

Let me offer a simple definition of sanctification: It’s everything God does in your life and mine to make sure we turn out right. Sanctification guarantees that God’s investment in us will not be wasted. It assures us that God finishes what he starts. We’re not finished yet—that’s why we pray and seek the Lord. Someday we’ll be finished—that’s what sanctification means.  

Fortify our hearts, Lord Jesus, to trust you more and more. Thank you for Big Promises           That can never be broken. Lord, with you there is           No unfinished business. Forgive us for doubting your plans. We look forward to the day when Our blemishes will be gone, Our weakness removed, Our sickness finally healed, Our defects disappeared, And we are finally made like Jesus! Help us to keep believing Until the day comes when Our faith is turned to sight. In that confidence we say, “Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.” Amen.  

Lord Jesus, lead me to someone who needs my help today. Amen.

Forgive us, Lord, for doubting your Word. We say we trust you, and then we try to manage our own affairs. We believe that you have the answers, but we forget to consult you. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Please, Lord, reach down and change the gears within us, that we may go forward with you. Amen.

God is the author and source of all spiritual progress. It’s easy to forget that truth. In our battle against sin, we crawl into a corner and try to get better. After a while we stand up and say, “See how nice I look, Lord? I did it all by myself.” But we are wrong to boast like that. Remember the words of Jesus in John 15:5, “Without me you can do nothing.”

Somewhere I read that God factors in our stupidity when he promises to bless us anyway. That sounds exactly right to me. Our stupidity is so great and our failures so frequent that were it not for God's grace, there would be no hope for any of us. We're sinners desperately in need of grace, and in Christ we have found all the grace we will ever need.    

Heavenly Father, deliver us from the fear of man. Give us courage to stand for the truth even if no one stands with us. Amen.

Never be ashamed of the blood of Christ. We can’t go to heaven without it.

The first step to salvation is admitting you can't save yourself. Grace is a gift to the undeserving, not a reward for good behavior.

J. I. Packer uses a wonderful image to speak of God’s love. It goes something like this: When we study God’s wisdom, we learn about his mind. When we study God’s power, we learn about his arm. When we study God’s knowledge, we learn about his eyes. When we study God’s Word, we learn about his mouth. When we study God’s love, we learn about his heart.

Mercy always seems foolish until you need some.

Wake up! Look up! Pray up! "It is time for you to wake up from your sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).      

Today is a great day to tell someone about Jesus.

Have a blast while you last. That's a good motto for 2024. No one knows what the future holds. You may die this year. Nothing you can do can change that fact in the least. The whole matter is in God's hands. You cannot by worrying add a single second to your life. That lifts a tremendous load off your shoulders, doesn't it? You're going to die someday. Maybe today or tomorrow. Maybe later this year, but maybe not for fifty years. Only God knows when it will happen. Therefore, you are free to relax, enjoy life, and live each day to the fullest. Let God worry about how things turn out. Have a blast while you last. Happy New Year!                        

Remember God’s faithfulness. You made it through the last year because God brought you through. He'll do the same for you in 2024. Give thanks, celebrate, and sleep well tonight.    

“Straight through all the apparently tangled course of human history runs the accomplishment of God’s eternal plan.” J. Gresham Machen

“I have concluded that the accumulation of wealth, even if I could achieve it, is an insufficient reason for living. When I reach the end of my days, a moment or two from now, I must look backward on something more meaningful than the pursuit of houses and lands and machines and stocks and bonds. Nor is fame of any lasting benefit. I will consider my earthly existence to have been wasted unless I can recall a loving family, a consistent investment in the lives of people, and an earnest attempt to serve the God who made me. Nothing else makes much sense.” James Dobson

With regard to death, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is that we’re all going to die someday. The good news is, if you know Jesus, when you die you go straight to heaven. Which means that if you know the Lord, you’re never really dead. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).

"In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by" (Habakkuk‬ ‭3:2‬). We may not see a great spiritual awakening even though we pray for one. We certainly won’t see one if we don't. Pray on.

“He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities”(Psalm 103:10). He’s not the God we think he is. He’s much better than that.

All the roads of life lead to Bethlehem, but you have to be willing to make the journey. The magi journeyed hundreds of miles to find Jesus. The scribes in Jerusalem wouldn’t travel six miles to Bethlehem. How far will you go to meet Jesus?

It doesn’t matter where you are on earth as long as your heart is in heaven. If you know who you are, you can serve Christ anywhere!

Who is this Lion who is a Lamb? He stands because he is alive from the dead. He bears on his body the marks of his suffering. He is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is a Lion in that he is the mighty King of All Kings. He is a Lamb because he was offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. A mighty Lion! A meek lamb! Christ the Lion is victorious because Christ the Lamb made the perfect sacrifice.