Good Words for Today
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.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
Our Father, we do not pray for more faith. We pray for courage to exercise the faith we already have. Make us like Mary, willing to believe in spite of our doubts. Amen.
When the very worst happens, we may ask, “Where is the Lord?” But he is where he has always been, on the throne of the universe, watching over every detail of life. Nothing escapes his gaze. While the world seems to be falling apart, he holds the scroll. While the nations rise up against one another, he holds the scroll. While armies march toward Armageddon, he holds the scroll. In the midst of perplexing circumstances, let this thought bring you hope. The Lamb holds the scroll in his hand. Trust him!
Lord Jesus, help us to do our best today, and to do it with joy because we love you. Amen.
The Father is God, and the Son is God. Jesus is the blazing, magnificent revelation of God himself. When Jesus speaks, God speaks. May we have ears to hear what he is saying.
The glory of heaven is Jesus. As the long ages roll on, we will never tire of singing his praise. We will see him still bearing the marks of his suffering on our behalf. On that day, the redeemed saints of God will sing with one united voice, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name, let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.” Let the song begin in your heart this very day.
”Come, thou long expected Jesus, Born to set your people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in thee.“ -Charles Wesley
My Lord, am I so busy this year that I have no time for you? Slow me down so that my gift to you may be an undivided heart. Amen.
Your arms are too short to box with God. That’s a good point to consider the next time you feel like duking it out with the Almighty. "Then Job replied to the LORD: ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted'" (Job 42:1-2).
Do not worry if you mumble when you pray or if you get your words mixed up. Don’t stop praying because you think you aren’t doing it right. Just pray. Jesus knows what you need before you say anything. Your stammering words don’t bother him. There are no “style points” for fancy prayers. Just pray. Jesus knows your heart, and that’s all that matters.
God said, "Should I not have concern for Nineveh?" (Jonah 4:11). Jonah had given up on the city, God had not! Jonah wanted it destroyed, God wanted it redeemed. When Jonah saw their repentance, he got angry. When God saw their repentance, he rejoiced. Jonah hated the city because it was full of sin. God loved the city because it was full of sinners.
Love more. Fight less. Avoid useless quarrels. No one goes to their grave thinking, "I wish I had been angrier."
Forgive and you will be forgiven. Forgive because you have been forgiven. Forgive even when others won't. Forgive because bitterness is a burden. Forgive the big stuff. Forgive the small stuff. Forgive so you can be set free. Forgiven people forgive people. Forgive! "Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:13).
As long as you demand that you be right all the time, you will never get better. Once you learn to say, “I was wrong,” then your life will change. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’— and you forgave the guilt of my sin" (Psalm 32:5).
Anyone, Anywhere, Any time, Can be saved by Trusting in Christ. That’s the Good News of the Gospel.
It’s okay not to have all the answers. “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chronicles 20:12).
Isaiah 55:11 reminds us that nothing is ever wasted with God. His Word always accomplishes its divinely-ordained purpose. Our job is to sow the seed, his job is to bring in the harvest. If we do our part, God cannot fail to do his.
Faith means doing what God has told you to do, even if you don’t fully understand the reason why.
You don't have to push yourself forward. God knows your name. He knows where you are. He knows what is best. Let God lead and all will be well.
Love is a choice. You'll find out what that means when you decide to love someone who hates you.
You're not the savior of the world. That position has already been filled.