Good Words for Today

Lord Jesus, slow us down so that we can hear your voice. Help us to stop striving and learn to rest in you. Amen.

“Either we are unfaithful in order to be popular, or we are willing to be unpopular in our determination to be faithful. I very much doubt if it is possible to be faithful and popular at the same time.” John Stott

"Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish" (Jonah 1:3). Any time you run from God, you never go “up"; you always go “down.”  

God does not change, which means he will be there when we need him most. In the midst of our difficulty, when we have failed, when we say, “I deserve to go to hell,” the Father speaks from heaven and says, “I have made a promise, and I swore an oath. Your sin cannot cancel my grace.”  Thank God for his oath! He takes us to heaven in spite of ourselves.

Plan your days and make a schedule, but always leave room for God.

You can't fix yourself. What makes you think you can fix someone else? Love them and let God do the fixing.

Lord of all grace, I look to you for the strength I need to keep going, for without your help I will certainly fall. Amen.

Be quick to repent when you need to repent. Be quick to forgive when you need to forgive. Or else you will drown in a sea of guilt and bitterness.

"Treat people the same way you want them to treat you" (Matthew 7:12). We call this the Golden Rule because it reveals the heart of Jesus. We like to say, "You go first, and I'll treat you the way you treat me." Jesus said, "Don't wait for the other person. You make the first move." But what if they don’t respond well? That doesn’t matter. We’re not in charge of how people respond to us. Make the first move and let the Lord take care of the results.

Lord, I pray for extra grace because I know I'm going to need it before this day is done. Amen.

Be careful about saying, "So-and-so couldn't possibly be a Christian." Let God do the judging. We're in sales, not administration

"Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee, And hail him as thy matchless King Through all eternity."

"The canvas doesn't tell the artist what to paint."  Bob Goff

"Mercy there was great And grace was free Pardon there was multiplied to me There my Burdened soul found liberty At Calvary"

"Jesus didn't say, 'I am finished.' He said, 'It is finished.' He was just getting started." Tony Evans

Sometimes the first step forward is to stop doing what got you in trouble. When you're in a hole, stop digging!

"The world never burned a casual Christian at the stake." John R. Rice

"People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1. They are facing only one direction, 2. They can never turn back, and 3. They no longer have plans of their own." A. W. Tozer

When you feel yourself tempted to despair, ponder this thought: His love endures forever. When you want to give up, write this thought down and stick it on your dashboard: His love endures forever. When you have had all you can take, when the world seems to collapse around you, stand up, lift your head, and shout to the skies: His love endures forever!

There are no small sins. What we call "small sins" sent Christ to the cross. Nothing is small that was paid for with his blood.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to his foes; that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"

Lord God, forgive me for giving up too soon. Create in me new determination to keep on moving in the right direction. Amen.

"Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears" (Proverbs 26:17). Ignore this at your own risk. Sometimes it's better not to get involved. Leave that dog alone!

Too many people want . . . The outcome but not the obedience, The pleasure but not the pain, The answers but not the agony, The crown but not the cross. It doesn't work that way.

"When it's all been said and done There is just one thing that matters Did I do my best to live for truth Did I live my life for You" "When it's all been said and done All my treasures will mean nothing Only what I've done for love's Reward Will stand the test of time"

Many prayers fail to receive an answer because we give up too soon.

God's standards have not changed. If anyone has changed, it's us, and not for the better.

Healing in the Bible is not going back to what we were before. It's going forward to all God wants us to be.

"Yahweh's promises are not intended as sedatives but as stimulants. God does not want us to swallow his promises but to seize them." Ralph Dale Davis"

God's will is not a choice we make; It's a path we follow. Stay on the path, and you will end up where God wants you to be.

Lord Jesus, when I am tempted to do wrong, help me to remember that others are depending on me to do right. May I not fail them--or you--today. Amen. 

"Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle." From "A Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther

"Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle." From "A Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther

"If you were a hundred times worse than you are, your sins would be no match for his mercy." Tim Keller

“How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!” (Psalm 1:1) Be choosy about your friends. Some people aren’t good for you. You can’t get better until you get them out of your life.

The devil is a liar. He buys your soul with counterfeit promises.

Lord, help me to make somebody happy today. Amen.

The next time you feel the need to brag about what you’ve done, pay attention to that faint cracking sound. It’s the thin ice beneath your feet that is about to give way.

Sometimes God’s no is the surest sign of his love for us.

“I preached myself, the scholars came and praised me. I preached Christ, the sinners came and thanked me.” Bernard of Clairvaux