Good Words for Today
A man hired an experienced guide to lead him on a hike in the Swiss Alps. After many hours they came to a high and remote mountain pass. To the man’s dismay, he saw that that path had almost been washed out. What could he do? To the left was a sheer rock cliff, to his right a precipice that dropped nearly 1000 feet. Looking down, the man felt his head growing faint and his knees beginning to buckle. At that moment his guide shouted, “Do not look down or you are a dead man. Keep your eyes on me, and where I put my feet, put yours there as well.” The man did as he was instructed and soon he passed from danger to safety. No one knows what lies ahead for any of us. We all have our plans and dreams, but the times and seasons of life are in God’s hands. Sooner or later we will all come to a dangerous pass where the way ahead seems to be washed out. At that moment we can panic and fall into terrible trouble. Or we can fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and mark carefully his steps before us. If we will follow him, we will find that we have been kept safe by his amazing grace.
Today the nations rage; tomorrow the King comes to judge them. Between now and then, "Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Psalm 2:12).
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers" (Psalm 1:1). Blessings come not only from what we do, but also from what we don’t do. Blessed people avoid certain things. And they avoid certain people and certain situations. They don’t hang out just anywhere and they don’t quickly buy into every line of thinking. And they are very careful not to join themselves to the company of those who do not love the Lord.
When Jesus comes back, sin and sickness will be banished from the earth forever. Until that day, believers can demonstrate their faith amid sickness, and we also have the privilege of bringing our cases to the Great Physician and asking for the healing we need.
There is no shortage of people talking about Christ, but there is a shortage of people living like Christ.
Not everyone who smiles at you loves you. Not everyone who frowns at you hates you. Lord, give us discernment—and patience! Amen.
Father, I rest in the confidence that I will be delivered from all my difficulties sooner or later. Grant that it might be sooner. Amen.
God doesn’t judge according to racial ID. The Pharisees thought going through the motions was enough. They assumed they had a “favored nation clause” with the Almighty that guaranteed them entrance into heaven. But God doesn’t “need” us. He can turn the stones into Abraham’s children. If we will not serve the Lord, he will find someone else who will.
Eternal God, You are so much bigger than my puny faith. I believe, Lord—help my unbelief. Amen.
The quicker you repent, the quicker you can be forgiven. The longer you wait, the easier it is to pretend you never sinned. Don’t put it off!
“Faith is not believing in spite of evidence but obeying in spite of consequence.” Warren Wiersbe
The empty tomb is still empty. No one has ever found the bones of Jesus. No one ever will. Far from being a myth or legend, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best-attested fact in all human history. He is risen indeed!
Lord Jesus, in these momentous days, when the world shakes beneath our feet, help us to be people of the Word, delighting in what you have given us. Amen.
If we know Jesus, we ought to be the happiest, most positive, most optimistic, most encouraged, most forward-looking, most creative, most dynamic, most hope-filled people on the face of the earth. Maybe we should put a sign in front of our churches: “If you’re looking for hope, we’ve got plenty to spare!”
We do not confess our sins to make sure God knows what we did. We confess to make sure we know what we did. Confession blows away the cobwebs of deceit that led us to sin in the first place. When we confess, we are saying, "Lord, you were right all along."
Eternal Father, let your Word be planted deep in my heart today. Amen.
It is a great advance spiritually to come to the place where you can say with conviction, “My trust is in the Lord alone.” But it's not always easy. Sometimes we have to hit bottom and hit it hard before we can say those words.
Life is so short for all of us. We come quickly, we leave quickly, we will all be buried someday. But oh, how precious is the gift of life, and how blessed we are to be here. What sadness if we go through life complaining about our misfortune, focused on ourselves, and blind to all the beauty that God has placed in our path. Rejoice evermore.
Sometimes prayer can be very hard. But that's a good thing because it means you have turned away from the world and in a deep sense have turned away from yourself. Prayer answers the greatest question: Who's in charge here? When you pray, you confess you are not in charge of anything, including your own life.
What should we do when we are discouraged and confused? Seek the Lord! What a thrilling thought this is. God wants us to seek him because when we do, we will find him. He’s not playing hide-and-seek with us. He is always near at hand. Let this be our watchword for today: When in doubt, seek the Lord!
There’s good news from the harvest field. Tell the hungry to come and eat because God never runs out of grace.
"Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!"
Years ago I heard Vernon Grounds say that when we face a major decision, we ought to ask ourselves, “What difference will this make in 10,000 years?” Most of our decisions—the ones we agonize over—won’t matter at all in 10,000 years. What a liberating way to look at life. Ninety-nine percent of what you worried about this week won’t matter three weeks from now, much less 10,000 years from now. But 10,000 times 10,000 years from now, you'll still be glad you decided to follow Jesus.
Eternal Lord, thank You for love that will not let me go. Amen.
Every time we pray, we have come near to God. Every time we worship together, heaven is not far away. Every time we sing a Christian song, we draw near to the angels. We are in God's presence, surrounded by angels, enrolled in heaven, accepted by God, not far from our loved ones, and forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. Because of Jesus, we live next door to heaven.
If Jesus is leading you, whatever lies in front of you can be done in his power. He puts his children in difficult situations so they will trust in him without hesitation or reservation. Most of us learn this lesson the hard way, and then we have to learn it again. But how happy are the saints whose trust is in the Lord alone!
It is a great advance spiritually to see God at work all the time, in every situation, no matter whether we are happy or sad.
Lord Jesus, I pray for the discernment to choose friends who will bring me closer to you. Amen.
The grave will not have the final victory because the dead in Christ rise first.
Father, you have provided all I need and more besides. Thank you for an overabundance of grace because I'm going to need all of it today. Amen.
You cannot improve your lot in life by running away from the Lord.
The crucified life is a simple life. The crucified man does not worry about tomorrow because the only thing he has is today. He doesn't worry about criticism because he is already dead to the world. We object to crucifixion because it hurts, and we end up dead. Out of death comes life, but it starts at the cross.
Remember the past but don't live there. The "good old days" are happening right now. Enjoy today as a gift from God. Tomorrow it will be gone forever.
There are godly mothers and grandmothers who have prayed their children all the way to Jesus. Some of them are praying their children and grandchildren to Jesus at this very moment but the kids haven’t found out about it yet. Thank God for women of faith. Their prayers have changed the world.
Lord Jesus, we pray to be delivered from our desperate need to compare ourselves to others. Grant us a single-minded devotion to follow wherever you lead. Amen.
Some people don't want to be helped. Some people don't want to be rescued. Some people don't want to change. You don't have to spend time with them. It's okay to let them go. But never stop praying for them. You never know when they may ask for your help. Until then, put them in God's hands, shake the dust off your shoes, and keep moving forward for the Lord.
People ask, “Do you believe in divine healing?” That’s the only kind there is. It just comes in many different varieties.
Prayer bridges the gap between people. What starts in your heart goes first to the Father’s heart, and purified by the sunlight of his love, your prayer falls like an arrow in the heart of the one you love. Prayer enables you to touch people who won’t speak to you. Pray, pray, and keep on praying. You never know what God will do.