Good Words for Today
The first step is coming to Jesus. It’s all very personal. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me.” He doesn’t say, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to the church.” Or “let him come to the pastor.” Or “let him walk an aisle or sign a card.” Or even “let him learn Bible doctrine.” Jesus invites a thirsty world to come to him. Christianity is Christ. It’s not a religion; it’s a relationship.
Lord Jesus, so many of us have been sleepwalking through life, going through the motions, sowing to the flesh, frittering away our opportunities, and ignoring the needs around us. Teach us to count our days and then teach us to make our days count. Wake us up, Lord! Shake us up! Do whatever it takes to get our attention. Help us to get busy living for you. Amen.
Some people think Christians are nothing but a bunch of “do-gooders.” But I recall that in Acts 10:38 Peter summarized the ministry of Jesus by saying that “he went around doing good.” Being called a “do-gooder” is a nice compliment. The world would be a better place if we had more “do-gooders.” And I’d much rather be a “do-gooder” than a “do-badder.” For that matter, I’d rather be a “do-gooder” than a “do-nothing-at-all.”
Don’t complain that the world is dark. Light a candle instead. Is this not what Jesus meant when he said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven?” (Matthew 5:16). The good deeds we perform, when done in Jesus’ name, shine a light in the darkness and point others toward God.
No church ever died by giving too much, but many churches have died by giving too little. It is impossible to be over-generous in the work of the Lord. We ought to give and then give again and keep on giving. Why? Because when you give to God, you are sowing to the Spirit and from the Spirit you will reap a vast harvest.
Wisdom for today: Life is hard. Deal with it. People are jerks. Love them anyway. Things don’t go as we planned. Keep on moving forward. People forget to say, “Thank you.” Help them anyway. People are hardheaded. Share Christ with them anyway. Not all your prayers are answered. Keep praying! God doesn’t do what you think he should do? Trust him anyway! You may be scared and filled with fear. Keep believing! Your friends criticize you. Do right anyway! Do you feel like quitting? It’s always too soon to quit.
"Trust and obey for there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey."
Maybe we need a “back to the cross” movement today. We talk about the love of God, but apart from the cross the love of God is just an ethical concept. We can’t separate the love of God from the bloody cross of Calvary. Samuel Rutherford said, “Christ has no velvet crosses.” He wasn’t crucified on a velvet cross, and he doesn’t have a velvet cross for you and me either.
"Your arms are too short to box with God" (James Weldon Johnson). Here's something I just discovered. That sentence comes from a poem called "The Prodigal Son." More than a poem, it's a fervent appeal for all the prodigal sons and daughters to come home to God. Here is the closing stanza: "Young man, come away from Babylon That hell-border city of Babylon Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon The wine and whisky of Babylon The hot-mouthed women of Babylon; Fall down on your knees And say in your heart: I will arise and go to my Father." There are prodigals in Babylon who would come home if they knew we would take them in. We can't bear the thought of going to heaven without them. So let's fall on our knees and get right with God ourselves, and then let's pray and pray and keep on praying until all of God's wayward children come home at last.
Before you condemn, confess your own sin. The world would be a better place if we cleared our own conscience before we start throwing stones.
No one becomes godly by accident. You can't sleep late and lounge around like a coach potato if you want to win the prize of a godly life.
We can't avoid being hurt, but we can choose not to be bitter about it.
Little things mean a lot. In the midst of the battle, giving a cup of cold water in Jesus' name may preserve a soldier's strength. Nothing is small if it is done for the Master.
God does not call us to courage or greatness. He calls us to faithfulness, and when we are faithful to our family, our church, and our God, we discover both courage and greatness.
"Come home, come home Ye who are weary come home Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling Calling, 'O sinner come home.'"
Lord Jesus, help me today to do your will and trust you for the results. Amen.
The Holy Spirit prays for us when we can't pray on our own. He asks what we would ask if we knew what he knows.
We still die, but Christ has taken the sting out of death. We still fight Satan, but we fight from a position of victory because Jesus Christ won the battle 2000 years ago. We face many hardships in this life, but we know that all things work together for our good and God’s glory. Do not give in to your doubts and fears. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Lord Jesus, I dare not go one more day without your blessing. Show me what needs to change so that your Spirit may fill me once again. Amen.
"Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble" (Psalm 41:1). God blesses those who care for the weak. Are you in need of God's blessing right now? Find someone in need and give them a helping hand. Perhaps you can't do everything, but you can do something. Sooner or later, you'll be the one needing help. You'll be glad you gave a helping hand when someone pulls you out of the ditch.
Repentance starts when we say, "Lord, you were right all along, and I was wrong." But that should not be hard for us to say because when we sin, we are always wrong, and God is always right.
Give to others the grace you ask for yourself. If we say, "They don't deserve it," you are right. They don't. But neither do you deserve grace from the Lord. Grace is not earned; it is freely given. Freely have you received. Freely give to others.
"Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). Or as one translation puts it: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.” It's okay to put some people out of your life. You need to put them in the rear view mirror because they pull you down. You can't be friends with everyone. Choose your friends wisely. Say farewell to so-called friends who drag you down. Then keep moving forward with the Lord!
Who are you going to believe? Take 30 days to read the Gospel account. Read the story for yourself and come to your own conclusions. I will tell you what I believe will happen. If you read with an open mind and an open heart, you will come to the inevitable conclusion that what Jesus said is true, that he is the truth, and that his word can be eternally trusted.
Most of us know the verse that says, “This is the day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:24). One wise observer said that we have turned that on its head: “This is the Lord the day has made.” What a perfect description of modern man and his rebellion against God.
Ο God, I fall so far short of loving people as Jesus did. Create in me the mind and heart of Christ that I might live and love as he did. Amen.
A father prayed for years for his children. When his children went to bed, the father would go into the bedroom and stand over his children, praying for them every single night. They always knew that Dad was there when they were younger. As they got older, he would wait until they were asleep and then go in and pray. Even later when they were gone off to college, he would still go in and pray over where they had been. The father was talking to his children one day and he mentioned that he still prayed for them every night without fail. The kids said they knew that. But how did they know? They said, “We see the footprints in the carpet.”
God gives us what we need today. If we needed more, he would give us more. When we need something else, he will give that as well. Nothing we truly need will ever be withheld from us. Search your problems and within them you will discover the well-disguised mercies of God.
"Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me; For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary."
If you want Jesus plus your sinful ways, forget it. You aren’t ready to become a Christian. You don’t really want Jesus until you are willing to agree with God about your sin.
Don’t worry about evildoers. Let them enjoy their little moment in the sun. And don’t waste a moment wishing you could be like them. Put your hope in the Lord and keep moving ahead.
It is hard to humble yourself, hard to admit you were wrong, and very hard (for some of us, at least) to cry out for God’s help. But when we do, we find that God meets us where we are and gives us far more than we ask for.
In the battle for your soul, Satan never takes a vacation.
"What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms."
Let's wrap up this year with the familiar words of missionary C. T. Studd: Only one life, ‘Twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Live for Christ today, and you’ll be glad you did 10,000 years from now.