Good Words for Today
The love of God is not limited—not by nation or ocean or tribe or tongue or custom or clothing or race or politics or creed or caste or any other human condition. When the love of God captures us, our hearts will be as big as his—reaching to the ends of the earth.
The Word of God is not like the first draft of a thesis where the writer submits it and says, “What do you think?” Not so with the Bible. God never asks us to correct the New Testament. He never asks us to review Isaiah and make a few changes. And he won’t abide by those who add to or take from the Book of Revelation. The Bible stands approved as written, without correction, without change, without deletion, without addition.
The gift of God is eternal life. Tell a friend. Don't go to heaven alone.
Here's a good prayer for the start of a busy week. As chaplain of the United States Senate, Peter Marshall offered this prayer on May 8, 1947: Help us to do our very best this day and be content with today’s troubles, so that we shall not borrow the troubles of tomorrow. Save us from the sin of worrying, lest stomach ulcers be the badge of our lack of faith. Amen.
Only God can make you better. Think about that for a moment. Exercise improves your body, therapy make help your soul, friends may lift your spirit, good fortune may improve your circumstances, but only God can make you better.
"We encourage you as believers to excel in love even more" (1 Thessalonians 4:10 GW). You can never love too much. You never reach the point where love doesn't matter. We can always grow in our love for others. How do we learn to grow in love? There is only one way. God puts us around unlovely people, usually people very close to us. He surrounds us with family and friends who sometimes get on our nerves, and he puts us in situations at work where we have to deal with difficult people every day. Over the years I have observed God do this again in again. He allows two people to have difficulties with each other, often to the point of anger and bitterness. He does it because the only way we learn to love is by dealing with unlovely people. I have seen it happen between husbands and wives, parents and children, between co-workers, neighbors, fellow students, and relatives. I've even seen God do for people who aren't going to vote the same way on Election Day. Right now it feels like we need a few miracles in this area. But God always gives us what we need to obey his command. People who start out disliking each other often end up as dearest friends. They may not agree on everything, but in Christ they learn to love one another. Lord Jesus, help us to grow in love today. Amen.
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee; Let the water and the blood, From thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure."
Our critics tell us it is unkind to "love the sinner and hate the sin," especially as it applies to sexual sin. But we do not apply that when we go to a doctor. If you have cancer, you want a doctor who will find it, treat it, and get rid of it so you can get better. If a man has cancer, it's not unloving to tell him the truth. It's unloving not to tell him. Since it is the truth that sets people free, we must tell the truth even to those who don't want to hear it.
God has ordained that his children—all of them without exception—will be made complete in the end. We’re not that way now. Most of us feel fragmented and torn in a thousand directions. We’re incomplete and under construction in this life. But God intends that when we finally get to heaven, the hammers and saws will be put away, and we will stand before the Lord with every part perfectly in place and every aspect of our life made perfect.
When you stand at the gate of heaven and God says, "Why should I let you in?" what answer will give? "I was a member of Wesley Methodist Church." Not good enough. "I was an elder at Wayside Chapel." You'll be in big trouble. "My father built our church." That's good, but it's not the right answer. "I lived a good life." Wrong answer. "I gave to feed the hungry in Namibia." That's truly wonderful, but that won't open the doors of heaven. "Pastor Ray baptized me." Not even close. If you want to go to heaven, you must trust in Jesus Christ and him alone. You must go "all in" on the Son of God who loved you and died for you. You must believe in him so much that if he can't take you to heaven, you aren't going to go there. Don't be proud or cocky or arrogant. If you make it to heaven, it will only because of God's kindness toward you. And between now and then, run to the cross every day. Lay hold of Christ and never let go. May God help us all to "wholly trust in Jesus' name."
"Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying." Martin Luther
How we work is as crucial as how we pray. There is no greater testimony than the Christian mechanic at his bench, the Christian teacher in the classroom, the Christian secretary at the desk, the Christian nurse at the hospital, or the Christian accountant keeping the books.
Even though the prodigal son smelled like the pigs, his father ran to meet him. Here is hope for every prodigal. Your past does not determine your future. New life will begin when you dare to take the first tiny step toward home.
"Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse." Philip Yancey
When we look at the world around us, we may find many reasons to be discouraged. These are troubling times, and it’s true that Christians are under attack around the world. But if we believe the Bible, and if we are Christians at all, we must not despair. No Supreme Court decision can put Jesus back in the grave. No terrorist attack can reverse the Resurrection. They can burn our churches, but they cannot destroy the gospel of Jesus. Remember that the church was born on the wrong side of history. We’ve been on the wrong side of history since Rome, and it was enough to turn the world upside down.
He’s God and we’re not. This is the ultimate self-evident truth. If you forget it, God will remind you.
Lord, in these busy days, may I never be too busy for you. Amen.
God measures time not by our watch but by his wisdom. He's never early. He's never late. He's always right on time.
No one knows how to pray. Not really. If we were more like little children, we could pray better, but we are grown up, and so we struggle and wonder if we are doing it right. We worry that we say too much or we don't say it the right way or we forget the formula we were taught. But if we were more childlike, we would come to Jesus with our little bit of faith, and that would be enough. If the disciples of Jesus needed help, then so do we. Let us follow in their steps, and begin each day by saying, "Lord, teach us to pray."
Salvation is always personal. Come to Jesus. Believe in him. Trust in Him. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me.” This is not just a word for those without Jesus; it is a word for all of us who know him. He says to each of us, “Come to me. Come just as you are. Come and don’t delay. Don’t spend another moment drinking from polluted fountains. Come and I will give you living water.”
We know that Jesus died so that our sins might be forgiven. But there is an aspect of this truth that we often overlook. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). One of the primary Hebrew words for forgiveness means to “lift and take away.” That’s forgiveness. God removes the burden of our sin, and then he takes it far, far away.
Is there any fear more fundamental than the fear of death? Perhaps every other fear is but a subset of that great fear. But Jesus has transformed death for those who follow him. What happens to us, happened first to him. What happened to him will one day happen to us. He entered death’s dark realm and not only subdued it. He conquered it once and for all. By his victory over death, he has sanctified it so that we no longer need to fear it. He went into the tomb and then he came out. Thus, we will not fear to go in, knowing that one day by God’s grace, we too will come out.
Because of the ascension, we may rest assured that the religion of Christ is true. God has accepted him, and because God accepted him, he will accept all those who trust in him. Because he is safe in heaven, we will someday be safe in heaven. We will be where he now is.
"Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely forever; One day He’s coming—O glorious day!"
We ought to face the future with optimism. The world looks at all the problems and says, “What is this world coming to?" Christians say, "Guess who's coming to the world? Jesus!" For those who know Him, there is enormous hope. If he comes today, we win. If he comes in 50 years, we win. If he comes in 1,000 years, we win. Keep your eyes on the skies. Jesus is coming again!
The same Jesus who ascended into heaven is coming again. That’s what we mean when we say that Jesus is coming again. The actual, historical figure that lived 2,000 years ago on the other side of the world is returning to the earth one more time. There awaits in the future an event more marvelous, more startling, more amazing, and more blessed than anything that has happened in the last 2,000 years. I speak of the literal, visible, bodily return of Christ to the earth. No event may seem less likely to modern men and women; no event is more certain in the light of inspired Scripture.
Thanks be to God for the empty tomb. As much as I marvel at the virgin birth of Jesus, as much as I wonder at the sinless life of Jesus, as much as I glory in the cross of Jesus, it is the resurrection of Jesus that makes Christianity unique among all of the world religions.
A friend told me, “I have learned I can trust Jesus even though he knows all about me.” Think about that for a moment. He knows you through and through. He knows where you were last night, what you did, and what you thought about doing. He knows all about every dumb thing you’ve said and done (and thought) in the last week—and he still loves you. That’s good news for imperfect people who stumble and struggle their way through life.
You don't need to know the big picture. Just take the next step. Let God take care of everything else.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Verse 9 reveals God’s tender heart toward the lost. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. For 2000 years, he has held back the final judgment in order to give rebellious men and women a chance to surrender their arms and yield allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Christianity is supremely the champion of purity. When Jesus comes in, he cleans house. We all think that’s good news until the Lord starts rearranging the furniture in our living room.
Every day Jesus tugs on our hearts, pulling us up toward heaven so that when we finally get there, we won’t feel like strangers. One day soon, the Lord will give us one final tug, and we’ll end up in heaven forever.
If everything in your life can be explained apart from God, what do you need God for? True conversion goes beyond religion—which is why religious people are often the last to be converted. Religious people trust in their religion—but their lives are never changed. They go to church and go through the motions, they may even pray the prayers and say all the right words, but they have a Sahara heart—hot, parched, barren, empty. When Jesus comes in, living waters flow out. And they keep on flowing.
A genuine believer in Christ is not self-centered. He says to himself, “I have been greatly blessed. I must pass these blessings along to others. I can’t keep them for myself.”
You will know you are converted when you come to Jesus and something happens to you that you cannot fully explain. True conversion is more than walking an aisle, saying a prayer, or raising a hand. True conversion means that Almighty God enters your life, in the deepest, most personal part, and takes up residence within. You can truly say, “I am converted,” when you know that God has done something for you that only God can do.
We come to Christ because we are thirsty, and until we see our need and cry out for help, we will never come at all. As Jesus said, only the sick need a physician. Only the hungry will be fed. Only the lost are found. Only the thirsty drink the living water.
How close are we to that great day when the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air? Perhaps very close. Certainly closer than we think.
What God gives me, I give away. If it’s money, it’s not mine anyway. If it’s my time, it all belongs to God anyway. If it’s something I own, I can give it away because I don’t own anything; God owns it all. If it’s a helping hand, I can do that because God reached down and helped me.
Apart from God’s grace, all of us are pathetic losers. There are no exceptions. But when pathetic losers band together to seek the Lord, the Red Sea parts, the walls come tumbling down, the enemy is routed, and the church rolls on for the glory of God.