Good Words for Today
God’s commands are not grievous. He never asks from us what he does not also supply for us. If we sin, we have only ourselves to blame. In the goodness of God, we truly have everything we need to live a life that pleases God.
Somewhere I read about a mountain climber who died during a steep ascent. To honor him, his friends put on his gravestone, “He died climbing.” That seems like an admirable goal for all of us. I don’t want to coast down the last few yards of the racetrack. I want to run through the tape, going as fast as I can. That’s not a statement about my schedule, but about my desire. I want to die climbing. That means growing in my knowledge of the Lord, growing in my dependence on the Spirit, growing in my love for others, growing in my commitment to the gospel, and growing in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If Christmas means anything, it is this: God wins in the end. At Bethlehem he launched a mighty counteroffensive that started with a tiny baby boy named Jesus, born in a scandalous way, in a barn, to a young couple who were alone. The world had no idea what God was up to. Only in retrospect do we understand. Evil will not win. The Babe of Bethlehem will make sure of that. "His kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:35).
"O holy Child of Bethlehem Descend to us, we pray Cast out our sin and enter in Be born in us today."
We believe something extraordinary about one particular baby, born in one particular place to a particular set of parents. That baby—and no other baby—was God in human flesh. What are the chances? When it comes to Christmas, we unashamedly confess that behind the carols and candy, behind the decorations and the parties, behind all the concerts and all the sermons, behind all of it lies an undeniable historical truth: that 2000 years ago God became man in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We not only believe that. We have staked our lives upon it.
Joseph had to give up his own ideas about how things should be done. It’s the same with us. We have to let go of our ideas and let God work his plan. Then the miracles happen
How far is God willing to go? He left heaven to save you. He entered a virgin’s womb. He was laid in a feeding trough. How far is God willing to go? You can’t even imagine the answer to that question.
The world believes “God helps those who help themselves.” Christmas proves the opposite. He helps those who admit they can’t do it on their own.
Here is the good news of Christmas: God has done it all. God wrapped up his Son in swaddling clothes and said to the whole world, “This is my Christmas gift to you.”
What’s the First Rule of the Spiritual Life? He’s God and We’re Not. Until you get that, you are still in spiritual kindergarten.
I commend to all of you what Charles Jefferson called the “gospel of love.” It is sorely needed in these confused days. As the songwriter told us, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” People are desperate for love, and they will do almost anything to know they are loved. Therein lies a great opportunity for any congregation. Let us love the people God sends us, and let us love the people who are not yet in the church. Let’s tell them the great gospel of God’s love. It’s the best news the world has ever heard.
When God sent his Son into the world, he didn’t send him to New York or Chicago or even to Rome. He sent him to a little village called Bethlehem. God loves to start small because then he can show his power in a mighty way. He also is the only one who gets the credit because most of us don’t want the credit for small beginnings. We’d rather start big and go from there. Not so with our Heavenly Father. He starts with the impossible and then turns it into reality.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked that the church is where all illusions are shattered. We see each other up close and personal so we see all there is to see. It’s not always a pretty sight. But that is okay too. Through our pain and tears, in good times and in bad times, as we laugh and play and pray together, in our singing and in our serving, we discover each other, and somehow we see Jesus.
The world had no room for Jesus 2000 years ago, but he came anyway. He still comes to every heart that makes room for him.
The only thing you can take to heaven is someone else. Everything else will be left behind. So I say, “Let’s get a big crowd and take them to heaven with us.” Why leave anyone behind? Let’s tell everyone about Jesus!
No one becomes a man or woman of God overnight, and it doesn't happen by chance. We must learn what Jesus meant when he said, "Without me you can do nothing." Once we figure that out, we are ready to be used by God in a mighty way.
Only two things last forever: People and the Word of God. Invest your life in that which will still matter 10,000 years from now.
Remember Rahab. Her faith moved her to make sure her whole family was saved. Go and do likewise.
Believers are the light of the world. If we leave whenever we are surrounded by unbelievers, we take the light with us. If the light goes out, the darkness will only get worse.
Remember Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. They were ready to die for what they believed. This is why we should be bold. The unsaved watch us all the time. They want to know whether or not we will live up to our convictions.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24). One seed is planted, then it dies. From its death, a vast harvest grows. We all love the harvest. It’s the dying that gives us pause. It helps to remember that when Jesus spoke those words, he was talking about his own death. Out of his death came forth many “seeds,” millions and millions of them, sprouting up into eternal life so that twenty centuries later the worldwide Christian community numbers over two billion. One man dies. Seeds arise. The Word spreads. Thus the pattern is set for all the followers of Jesus.
Whatever you plan to do for God, do it now. The world may not last much longer. You may not last much longer. The opportunity may not last much longer. Don't put off serving God. Do it now!
There was a day when Robert Morrison was a passenger on a ship to China. History records that he was the first Protestant missionary to China. One day the captain of the ship asked a rather disparaging question. “What do you think you’re going to do? Convert China?” “No,” came the quiet reply. “I don’t think I’ll ever convert China. I think God will.” That is the same faith that brought down the walls of Jericho.
When the Holy Spirit fills us, things will change. Kindness will replace rudeness. Forgiveness will replace bitterness. Gentleness will replace harshness. Generosity will replace selfishness. As F. B. Meyer says, these things are the "mint-mark" of heaven. Can they be clearly seen in your life and in mine?
Love does not run away. Love doesn’t take the easy way out. Love runs toward the battle, not away from it.
“When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord!” (1 Samuel 5:3). That’s the problem with idols. They keep falling over when you need them most.
"Faith, mighty faith The promise sees And looks to God alone, Laughs at impossibilities And cries, 'It shall be done.'” Charles Wesley
"Let go and let God." The first step is the hardest. What do you need to let go of today?
Where do you begin discovering the will of God? You start by doing what you already know to be the will of God in your present situation. So many of us live for those high mountain-peak experiences, for those times when the clouds part and God seems so close to us. Often when we say, "God, show me your will," what we really mean is, "Lord, give me some feeling, some insight, some spiritual revelation." And God says, "I have already shown you my will. Now just get up and do it!"
Hell is filled with good theologians who knew the truth but did nothing about it. If we know the truth but do not believe it, we will one day join them.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Still true today.
God has a zero tolerance policy for spiritual compromise in the church. Wrong doctrine leads to wrong living. To believe otherwise means we tolerate what God hates. When we excuse sin in the body of Christ, we pervert the grace of God and open ourselves to divine judgment. If this sound harsh, read Revelation 2:15-17. We ignore this at our own peril.
