Good Words for Today

“Nothing would be done at all if a man waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” John Henry Newman

"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking For things that could not satisfy. And then I heard my Savior speaking— 'Draw from My well that never shall run dry.'” "Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up Lord; Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole." Richard Blanchard

"I have stored up your word in my heart" (Psalm 119:11). It's good to get into the Word. It's better to let the Word get into you.

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).   If we don't pray for our enemies, who will? If we don't pray for our enemies, how will they ever change? If we don't pray for our enemies, how will we ever be free from bitterness?  

In 2010 Billy Graham wrote these words in his book Storm Warning. It came true for him yesterday morning when he passed from earth to heaven. "How I long to join the throngs of people as Jesus holds out His pierced hands to welcome us home; To thank the Father for the sacrifice of His Son; To bow at the Savior's nail-scarred feet; To sing around the throne of God; To sit at the Bridegroom's bountiful table; To feast on the Bread of Life; To praise the Lamb in all His glory; To walk with the Master along the river of life and drink of the water that will never run dry; To look into the face of the Holy One who died for me--and worship Him."

A note to Christian leaders: Marriage matters to God, and it ought to matter to you. When leaders keep their vows, it becomes easier for followers to keep their promises.

"Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)   The first step in any miracle is realizing you can't do it on your own. Only when we admit that we can't does Jesus step forward to do what only Jesus can do.

For God so loved the world That he sent us into the world With the only message that can save the world.

"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Wounded and weary, help me, I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine."

"Don’t speak to a fool, for he will despise the insight of your words" (Proverbs 23:9). Remember this the next time you're tempted to get into an argument on Facebook or Twitter.

"All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all!"

"Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand All the ways that God could lead us to that blessèd promised land; But He guides us with His eye, and we’ll follow till we die, For we’ll understand it better by and by." "By and by, when the morning comes, When the saints of God are gathered home, We’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome, For we’ll understand it better by and by." Charles A. Tindley, 1905  

"The dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16). "Jesus knows where all the bodies are buried." Jared Wilson

"The riches of his grace" (Ephesians 2:7). He takes the dead and raises them. He takes the enslaved and frees them. He takes the guilty and forgives them. He takes the lost and saves them.   He turns his enemies into his friends. He takes the broken and restores them. He takes the lonely and adopts them. He takes the fallen and gives them new life. Grace is God’s total answer to the moral ruin of the human race. It is such a complete answer that nothing else could ever be added to it.

Whatever you have to do this week, God will equip you to do it. No matter how hard the road ahead, God has already started mending your nets and arming you for battle. He never calls you to any hard task without giving you what you need to get the job done.

Christian worship is more than choir practice for heaven. It's basic training for the war whose outcome has already been determined by King Jesus.

"The heart is more deceitful than anything else" (Jeremiah 17:9). Apart from grace, your heart is a beautiful liar.

The universe is not a democracy. Truth is not determined by majority vote.

“The true test of a man of God is how he treats people who cannot help him.” Adrian Rogers

"Weak and wounded sinner Lost and left to die O, raise your head, for love is passing by Come to Jesus Come to Jesus Come to Jesus and live!"  Chris Rice

Who needs a kind word from you? Who needs a smile from you? Who needs to know you haven't forgotten them? Be the answer to their prayers today.

Our Father, may we never forget that every trial has a divine purpose. Help us to keep looking to Jesus as he leads us on to glory. Amen.

The arithmetic of salvation: He subtracted my sin. He added his righteousness.

The first step in repentance is to stop making excuses.

Don’t get frustrated when you forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it. Be glad. You’re only doing what God did for you.

"Whoever hates correction will die" (Proverbs 15:10). Failure isn’t final, but it might be fatal if you learn nothing from it.

Can God work miracles today? Yes! Every answered prayer is a miracle. Some are just more obvious than others.

"It is difficult to be indifferent to a wide-awake Christian." Clarence Jordan

“O how bold I would be if only I could hear Christ in the next room praying for me. But distance makes no difference. He is praying for me in heaven.” Andrew Murray

"Lord, make me humble, but don't let me know it." D. L. Moody

O Lord, may I never doubt your Word, but simply believe it, obey it, and build my life upon it. Amen.

"Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt; Fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!"

"God has never run an ad for an administrative assistant." Stephen Davey

Don't look back. It might make you want to go back. That's a bad idea. Remember Lot's wife.

Lord Jesus, when I am discouraged and want to go back to Egypt, keep my feet marching toward Canaan. Amen.

"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart’" (Jeremiah 1:5). God is at work in the womb and his fingerprints are everywhere. When you touch an unborn child, you touch the handiwork of God.

The hardest part of being thrown in a fiery furnace is deciding you'd rather go there than deny the Lord. Better to die in obedience than to live in shame.

“God doesn’t love some future version of you. He loves you now.” Matt Chandler

Desperation is not a bad thing if it leads you to Jesus.

"He forgives all your sin" (Psalm 103:3). Never be ashamed to ask for forgiveness. You cannot out-sin the grace of God. All means all.