Good Words for Today
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
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.