Good Words for Today
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" Erma Bombeck
Becoming like Jesus doesn't mean a slightly improved personality. It means a whole new you.
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt'" (Exodus 13:17). God knows what we need even when we think we have a better plan. There are no shortcuts to the Promised Land. The easy way and God's way are generally two different things.
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart. O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above."
In the kingdom of God everything begins with a seeking heart.
Lord God, when I am tempted to take matters into my own hands, remind me to wait lest by my impatience I run ahead of you. Amen.
"It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you. With arms wide open, He'll pardon you, It is no secret what God can do." Stuart Hamblen
The fool thinks he knows it all; The wise man knows he doesn't.
God of Grace, turn our hearts away from all self-trust so that we will look to you alone. When we start thinking too highly of ourselves, remind us again that every breath we take is a gift from you. Amen.
"Living below, in this old sinful world Hardly a comfort can afford Striving alone, to face temptation's sword Where could I go but to the Lord?" "Where could I go, oh where could I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul Needing a friend, to help me in the end Where could I go, but to the Lord?"
Lord Jesus, help me to live today so that in 10,000 years I will have no regrets but will be glad I lived for you. Amen.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Sometimes we are planting and waiting. Sometimes we are watering and waiting. If we do our part, God will not fail to do his. Harvest time is coming. You can count on it.
God honors imperfect faith because that’s the only kind we can have in an imperfect world.
"Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you." John Owen
Occasionally God saves very terrible sinners, people who have done terrible things, who definitely don't deserve saving. That describes you and me, by the way. If we think anything else, we don't have a clue about our sin or how much we need the grace of God ourselves.
Active faith releases God's power. God told the children of Israel that the walls of Jericho would fall down. But they still had to march. The miracle came after they obeyed, not before.
"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:28). When faced with someone who has mistreated you, ask God to do for them what you want God to do for you. Seek the blessing for them you want God to do for you. Think of it this way: The greater the hurt, the greater the potential blessing that will come when we forgive from the heart and by God’s grace bless those who curse us.
You're not in charge of how people respond. Do the right thing anyway. Be kind anyway. Forgive them anyway. Share Christ anyway. Let God deal with their response.
O Lord, you have numbered all my days and written them in your book. Help me to enjoy each day as a gift from you and use it to serve others in Jesus’ name, Amen.
We can ask Jesus how or where or when. We can even ask him "Will you?" But we can't ask him "Can you?" He's God. He can.
Lord Jesus, help me to remember that you have a bigger and better plan even when I've made a total mess of things. Amen.
God’s delays are not the same as God’s denials. If we know that, we can keep believing even while we wait for an answer that has not yet come.
Great victories for Christ will not be won by halfhearted effort.
"Down at the cross where my Savior died, Down where for cleansing from sin I cried, There to my heart was the blood applied; Glory to his name!"
"The highest degree of faith is to be able to wait, sit still, and not complain." J. C. Ryle
"Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold, Threaten the soul with infinite loss; Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, Points to the refuge, the mighty cross."
"But whoever has been forgiven little loves little" (Luke 7:47). Your love for the Lord is directly related to your estimate of how greatly you have sinned and how much he has forgiven you. It’s not how much you sin, but how deeply you feel it that matters. If you figure that you are a “little sinner,” then all you need is a “little Savior.” If you are a “moderate sinner,” then what you need is a “moderate Savior.” But if you are “big sinner,” you need a “big Savior.” And those who have a “little Savior,” will love him very little. But those who have a “big Savior” will love him greatly. Many of us who were raised in the church struggle precisely at this point. We don’t love Christ very much because we have forgotten what we were and what we would have been if Christ had not found us. When our sin seems small, our love cannot be very great.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) It’s a fine thing to say, “Lord, Lord,” in church. It’s better to live so that people know that you know Jesus.
In one of his books Bruce Larson mentions visiting a halfway house in Western Ontario. The main meeting room was the living room of an old farmhouse. A beautiful sign above the fireplace caught his attention. It read, "Do you want to be right or well?" What a great question. Each one of us faces that same choice. As long as you demand that you be right all the time, your life will never change. Once you learn to say, "I was wrong," then you begin to get well.
Success isn’t final and failure isn’t fatal. Popularity is overrated and jealousy doesn’t satisfy. Pray every day to become the person God wants you to be.
Lord Jesus, grant me grace to listen when I need to listen, courage to speak when I need to speak, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Life is too short to hold a grudge.
"Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives." Fanny Crosby
Lord, thank you for friends who care enough to tell me the hard truth. I pray for grace to hear your voice through their words. Amen.
"O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray thee, with me." Chinese Prayer
There must be a new brokenness among the people of God before revival can come. As long as we blame “someone else” for the spiritual condition of America, nothing will change. God is using the moral disintegration of this nation to call his people to prayer and repentance.
"In times like these you need a Savior, In times like these you need an anchor; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!"
"You are the salt of the earth, not the sugar candy." Charles Spurgeon
Apart from God’s grace, all of us are pathetic losers. There are no exceptions. But when pathetic losers band together to seek the Lord, the Red Sea parts, the walls come tumbling down, the enemy is routed, and the church rolls on for the glory of God.
“We are sometimes tempted to think that we get no good by our prayers, and that we may as well give them up altogether. Let us resist that temptation. It comes from the devil. Let us believe, and pray on.” J. C. Ryle