Good Words for Today
"If I have . . . all knowledge . . . but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.
"An inheritance is what you leave for someone. A legacy is what you leave in someone. Let's leave legacies." Ken Whitten
In 1680 Joachim Neander wrote the hymn "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" based on Psalm 103 and Psalm 150. Here's one of the verses: "Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee! Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee; Ponder anew What the Almighty will do, If with his love he befriend thee!" Those words call us to "ponder anew" what the Almighty will do. Take a moment to do that right now. Think about God's power. Marvel at his love. Consider his kindness. Remember how he has helped you in the past. Ask him to help you today. Here's a contemporary version of this great hymn by Fernando Ortega.
God's sovereignty is only bad news for those who reject it.
When people ask me if God can speak to them today, I always tell them not to worry about it. He's got your number on speed dial, and he can ring your phone any time of the day or night. And you won't be able to put him on call waiting either.
Plan your days and make a schedule, but always leave room for God.
"Thou, O Christ, art all I want, More than all in Thee I find." Charles Wesley
Jesus doesn't tolerate sin, but he does forgive it. If we want to get the gospel right, we must understand both parts of that sentence. If we miss the first part, we don't take sin seriously. If we miss the second part, we lose the grace of God.
“For the child of God, there are no accidents, only incidents” (Roy Zuck). That's the best one-sentence summary of Romans 8:28 I’ve ever seen.
God so delights to save sinners that he saves people I wouldn't save if I were God. But if knew myself better, I would be more amazed that he saved me. It's all grace all the time. Smile and be glad that God included you.
If our sorrows do not drive us nearer to God, then for all practical purposes they are wasted on us. How sad to stumble and then to suffer and to be none the better for it. And how much worse if we stumble and then suffer and then become bitter against the Lord or against other people. But how good it is when we can come to the end of a hard time and say, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word” (Psalm 119:67).
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace today. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Amen.
"Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine Inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art." From the hymn "Be Thou My Vision."
Lord Jesus, may I never be ashamed and never hesitate to pick up my cross and follow you. Amen.
You aren't good enough, and you never were. Will you admit that? Jesus is more than enough, and always will be. Will you believe that?
"Faith is not the absence of doubt; it is continuing to follow Jesus in the midst of doubt." J. D. Greear
"Leave behind your regrets and mistakes Come today there's no reason to wait Jesus is calling Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy From the ashes a new life is born Jesus is calling" "O Come to the Altar" by Elevation Worship
Lord Jesus, forgive us for being complacent in an age of grace. Give us broken hearts for those who do not know you. Amen.
"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered" (Proverbs 22:24). You don't have to answer every angry email or every cantankerous Facebook comment. Wisdom knows when to walk away. We used to sing, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going," but that song was about God's love. There is enough dry tinder in all of us that it only takes a few sparks from an angry person to set us ablaze. Better to walk away from an argument than to wish you had.
It’s good to think about Jesus. It’s better to follow him. It’s good to be excited about Jesus. It’s better to commit your life to him.
Thank you, Lord, for amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. Help me to keep believing for those who don’t yet know you. Amen.
There are no hopeless cases with Jesus. He’s not ashamed to hang out with drunkards and prostitutes and crooked tax collectors. Here’s a real shocker: He’ll even spend time with religious people if they want to spend time with him.
"I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments" (Psalm 119:60). Delay is deadly to the spiritual life. We can always find reasons to procrastinate if we don't want to obey God. How blessed as those who are eager to do God's will. Delayed obedience is disguised disobedience. May God make us quick to . . . Hear his Word, Seek his face, Repent of our sin, Forgive others, Speak for Christ, Serve others in Jesus' name.
"Whenever God means to use a man for big things, He breaks him into little pieces first." Charles Spurgeon
Have you prayed about it? You tried worrying, and that didn't help. You tried ignoring it, and that didn't help. You tried complaining, and that didn't help. Just do what God always intended for you to do. Pray about it.
Lord, if I can’t change the whole world, help me to improve my little corner. Amen.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6). We all have a part to play. Some plant the seeds, others water the ground, but only God can bring forth new life. Be glad for the part God has given you, and do it as well as you can. Don't spend time worrying about what anyone else does. Our job is to plant and water. If we do our part, God cannot fail to do his. Be faithful today. Harvest time is coming.
"To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up." Ogden Nash *Incidentally Mr. Nash titled this poem "A Word to Husbands." Just thought I'd throw that in for your consideration.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10). If we do not humble ourselves before the Lord, he will do it for us. Nebuchadnezzar learned that the hard way (see Daniel 4). God knows how to humble the proud. Better to humble yourself now and save a lot of heartache later.
Lord, help me to pick my fights wisely so that I won't be embroiled in arguments all day long. Amen.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). The world is offended by the cross. If that is your situation, then I have nothing to say except that I pray God will change your heart. The world is judged by the cross. As long as you cling to the filthy rags of your own self-righteousness, the cross stands in judgment over you. The world is saved by the cross. This is our hope and this is our message to anyone who will listen.
"God promises a light unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future." Max Lucado
"He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ." Thesis 25, Heidelberg Disputation, 1518
"Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God" (Romans 12:19 LB). Seeking revenge turns us into perpetual victims. Revenge makes you go through the hurt over and over again. You never really get over it. Ultimately, it drags you down to the sewer where your enemies dwell. While you are staying up late at night stewing in your juices, they are out on a yacht on Lake Michigan, having a party. When you give in to the temptation to get even, your enemies have won twice: When they hurt you the first time and now when you can’t get it out of your mind. Let God take care of making things right. Do that and you will sleep better tonight.
"God is love, but He also defines what love is. We don't have the license to define love according to our standards." Francis Chan
O Lord of All, give me eyes to see your hand at work in my life. Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may love you more and serve you better. Amen.
"But my friends, anger is right sometimes, anger is sometimes necessary. I would not give much for a man who is not sometimes thoroughly angry. A man that knows not how to burn with moral indignation at the wickedness he sees around him and the wrongdoing, there is something wrong in him." John Broadus
"What would you say of the man who saw his neighbor's house in danger of being burned down, and never raised the cry of 'fire?' What ought to be said of us as ministers if we call ourselves watchmen for souls, and yet see fires of hell raging in distance, and never give the alarm? Call it bad taste, if you like, to speak of hell. Call it charity to make things pleasant, and speak of smoothly, and soothe men with constant lullaby of peace. My notion of charity is to warn men plainly of danger. My notion of taste in the ministerial office is to declare all the counsel of God. If I never spoke of hell, I should think I had kept back something that was profitable, and should look on myself as an accomplice of the devil." J. C. Ryle
"So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up" (Galatians 6:9). Sometimes we feel like giving up. I met a man who serves Christ in a distant land where it is not easy to be a Christian. Though he as brave as any man I know, he said that not long ago he felt like giving up. The burdens were so great, the needs so many, and his strength so limited. Wiping the tears away, he said, "I felt like giving up." All of us have felt that way, most of us many times. Sometimes we may feel as if our words make no difference. But there never was a word spoken for Christ that was spoken in vain. Jesus remembers what we forget, and he records it all in heaven. Here is all God asks of us: Don’t give up! Don’t stop! Don’t grow weary! Keep on going. There will be a wonderful harvest to come. That harvest will partly come in life and much of it will come when we finally get to heaven. Nothing done for Jesus is wasted--in this life or the life to come.
A Sunday school teacher finished her lesson on forgiveness and decided to review it with the children in her class. “Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can be forgiven of sin?” After an uncomfortable silence, one child volunteered an answer; “We have to sin.” I’m sure we’ve all fulfilled that requirement—I know I have. And precisely to the extent that I see my own sin will I be willing to forgive the sins of others.