Good Words for Today

"It's me, it's me, O Lord, Standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, not my sister, But it's me, O Lord, Standing in the need of prayer."

When we can serve people in no other way, we can pray for them. By prayer we cast a pebble of faith into a lake of hope. Though the pebble sinks, the ripples go on and on and on. We’ll never know the difference our prayers have made until we get to heaven.

Here is a lesson for all of us. I may not be as wise or as eloquent as someone else, and I may not have the money or the influence of my neighbors. I may not be as educated or as well-connected. But I can trust the Lord just as well as anyone else. What is it that God honors? Faith! What is he looking for? Faith! What does he reward? Faith! And how much faith does he require? Not much. Faith like a mustard seed. Just a tiny smidgen of faith. Not the faith of many years and deep knowledge. He honors the faith of a child.

If we live to please the Lord, in the end it won’t matter what our critics say about us. Paul said, “We were bold in our God” (1 Thessalonians 2:2 KJV). When you have a firm grip on God and he has a firm grip on you, you can be bold. Why be afraid when God is on your side? Get to know the Lord. Rest in him. Don’t build your ministry and then add God. Build on the rock called God, and let your ministry rest on that divine foundation.

Integrity never goes out of style.

How should we respond to our critics? Learn from them. Pray for them. Ask God to bless them. Keep moving forward!

Do you pray about your everyday affairs?  If you are a salesman, you should pray about your appointments. If you are a doctor, you should pray for your patients. If you are a teacher, you should pray for your students. If you work in an office, you should pray for your fellow workers. Nothing is too small to bring to God’s attention. If it matters to you, it matters to him.

Although it may be unpopular today, we must proclaim the same message that the church has always proclaimed: There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Faith chooses to believe when it would be easy to give up. Believe in God! Believe in his goodness. Believe in his love. Believe in his kindness. Faith is a choice made by the heart. If you want to believe, you will believe, and the angels of heaven will come to your aid.

You can always be faithful if you can’t be anything else.  It’s good to win the victory, but if you can’t do that, don’t give up without a fight. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

Just because your life is messy doesn't mean God has messed up your life.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to keep on doing what you are already doing whether anyone pays attention or not. If you keep doing right long enough, sooner or later it will pay off.

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

Jesus Christ is the supreme truthteller, and those who want to find the truth must listen to him. “I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37).

When you invite the devil in, don't be surprised when he doesn't want to leave.

It is better to be a child of God in a lion’s den than to be a king without God in a palace.

My Lord, give me eyes to see your hand at work in my life. When nothing around me makes sense, anchor my heart in you. Amen.

True freedom comes not from rebellion but from obedience to God’s commands.

Waiting does not mean doing nothing. Waiting for the Lord means, "I know God is at work in this situation even though I cannot see it at the moment. By God's grace I will do the next thing that needs to be done, trusting that God is at work behind the scenes." That little step forward is a step of faith. While you wait, you do what needs to be done because you believe God is at work in the midst of the crisis.

When we view our trials through the lens of God’s providence, they turn out to be gifts from heaven. This is true even when our trials seem like a great burden. God knows what he is doing even when we can’t see it.

What God says about us matters much more than what the World says about us. Our condition in the world is tenuous, but our position with God could not be better!

Be careful about choosing leaders. Wrong leaders can destroy a church, a school, a city, or a nation.

Something to think about: Comparison leads to envy. Envy leads to frustration. Frustration leads to anger. Anger leads to bitterness. Bitterness destroys everything. There is a better way: "Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).

Over the course of life, we will all lead others, and we will all follow others. We learn how to lead well by learning how to follow well.  

Our only duty is to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. Everything else is details.

Our trials are not sent to make us fall. They are sent to cause us to soar by grace. They are not meant to defeat us but to be the means to a greater spiritual victory. They are not intended to make us weaker but to make us stronger. They are not sent to hurt us but to help us. Therefore, we should not complain when hard times come. We should rejoice. And we will rejoice if we believe what God has said. Every hard trial is another step on the stairway that leads from earth to heaven.

If you fight God at the point of your suffering, you’ll never receive the ocean of love he wants to pour into your life. ‘‘Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal” (Job 5:17-18).

Lord, grant me tenacious winsome courage as I go through this day. When I am tempted to give up, help me to keep going. Grant me a cheerful spirit when things don’t go my way. And give me courage to do whatever needs to be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God can use anything yielded to him—even an oxgoad. Remember Shamgar! (Judges 3:31).    

Most people think that money is the most important thing in the world. But money can't forgive a single sin. The blood of Jesus is far more precious than all the money in the world.

Never use the darkness as an excuse not to light a candle!

“Pastor Ray, how do you feel about things?” I feel great! God's plan is working perfectly. We were made for times like these. These are great days to serve the Lord. The future is as bright as the promises of God!

God continually puts us in situations where our faith will be tested to see if we will obey the Lord. This explains why “God makes it hard when it ought to be easy.” If obedience doesn’t cost you anything, it can’t be worth very much.

If you want to boast, boast that you know the Lord. That’s the only thing that matters.

Even in days of moral decline, faith can still move mountains.

Failure is a wonderful teacher if we are willing to learn.

Who can say why a prayer which has been uttered 9,999 times should finally be answered the 10,000th time?  But sometimes it happens.  So keep on praying as long as you can. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

Repentance isn't about feeling guilty or stupid or down on yourself. Repentance happens when you say, "Lord, you were right, and I was wrong." The moment you say that, healing can begin.

If the statement “I wouldn’t trade my pain for the things God has shown me” makes no sense to you, it is only because you haven’t been there yet.

Praise is a choice. No one is forced into bitterness. You choose the way you live. Praise starts with a conscious choice not to forget what God has done for you. “You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you" (Psalm 118:28).