Good Words for Today
"Though none go with me, I still will follow; No turning back! No turning back!"
"If there are two persons praying, there are three. If three meet to pray, there are four praying. There is always one more than you can see." S. D. Gordon
You don’t mean to leave God out, but unless you intend to bring him in, he’ll always be left out.
Integrity doesn’t need an audience.
“I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” Dwight L. Moody
The best Christians (if there is such a category!) are a bundle of contradictions. We love and we hate. We serve and we steal. We proclaim Christ and then we lie to our friends. We forgive and then we lose our temper 10 minutes later. This happens because the Spirit and the flesh are constantly at war with each other. No one is good enough to look down on anyone else because we all are in desperate need of God's grace, and without that grace none of us will ever make it to heaven.
In the Lord’s work, it is better to feel weak than to feel strong. At least in your weakness you know you need the Lord. The man who thinks he stands by his own power is heading for a shameful fall.
"Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer."
We never need grace more than when we have finally succeeded at reaching some long-sought goal. Unless we remember the Lord in our triumph, our blessings will soon be turned into curses.
I would rather be on the wrong side of history than on the wrong side of truth.
Lord, give me strength to take the hard road when the easy road would lead me in the wrong direction. Amen.
Do not pray for success. Pray for faithfulness because faithfulness is the surest path to success.
"Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Doxology, Thomas Ken, 1674
"Holy Spirit, breathe on me, until my heart is clean; let sunshine fill its inmost part, with not a cloud between." Chorus "Breathe on me, breathe on me Holy Spirit, breathe on me; Take Thou my heart, cleanse every part, Holy Spirit breathe on me." B. B. McKinney, 1937
You can smile or you can frown, but you'll be happier if you smile more than you frown today.
Father, I pray for a teachable spirit so that I might learn something from the difficult people in my life. Amen.
"I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee."
The hardest part of being filled with the Spirit is admitting our need. As long as we think we can live the Christian life on our own, we'll never cry out for God's help.
Gracious God, since nothing can befall me today without your express permission, help me to live with excitement and not with fear. Amen.
Lord, help me to squeeze every drop of joy out of life today. Amen.
The longer I live, the clearer it becomes that the greatest gift I can leave to the world is a family that loves God and tries to live by his Word. My books will soon be forgotten, and my sermons will not last forever. But if I can leave behind the legacy of a godly marriage, a happy family, of children and grandchildren who love each other and love the Lord, then I will not have lived in vain.
"Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). We need to surround ourselves with good music. As I type these words, I’m listening to Majesty Radio from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I just heard an up-tempo version of “Power in the Blood” that had me tapping my toes and singing along. As Luther remarked, the devil hates good music. When Christian music comes in, he must leave. So turn up the good stuff and drive him nuts!
Nothing is small that is done for the Lord, and nothing is big that is done without him.
Every day we get to choose: Joy or anger. Forgiveness or bitterness. Hope or despair. Compassion or indifference. Faith or unbelief. Patience or impatience. By God's grace, let's choose joy, forgiveness, hope, compassion, faith, and patience today.
"Lord, make me as holy as you can make a sinner saved by grace." Oswald Chambers
I believe the coming of the Lord must be near. Many Christians before me have said the same thing. I’m taking my stand with them. I’d rather expect Jesus to come in my lifetime and be wrong than to be so in love with the world that I’m not ready to see him when he comes.
"Faith, mighty faith The promise sees And looks to God alone, Laughs at impossibilities And cries, 'It shall be done.'"
"Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King!"
We can make all the plans in the world, but if God doesn’t bless our efforts, it will come to nothing. We don’t need God on our side; we need to make sure we are on God’s side.
Lord of all things, I pray for the grace to obey you without hesitation, without complaint, and without excuses. Amen.
O Lord, help me to stand on Your Word without fear, without favor, without compromise. Amen.
“One single soul saved shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world.” J. C. Ryle
"O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne, My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone." "Living for Jesus," by Thomas Chisholm, 1917
Give me a large supply of the Spirit of Christ, that I might submit in every trial and be at peace amid my uncertainties. Amen.
Lord, deliver me from a critical spirit today. Give me eyes to see my own sin before I start judging anyone else. Amen.
If you play with the pigs, don't be surprised when you get dirty.
Forgive as many times as Christ has forgiven you.
“Amazing love! How can it be That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
“There is no shortage of people talking about Christ, but there is a shortage of people living like Christ.” Robert Odom
Self-pity is the enemy of all spiritual growth.