Good Words for Today
Lord Jesus, deliver me from a complaining spirit when times are hard. Help me to remember that you've got plenty of manna and quail whenever I need it. Amen.
"I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord I'm restored and made right He got a hold of my life I've got Jesus How could I want more." From the song "I Got Saved" by Selah.
"Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet Thy blessèd face to see; For if Thy work on earth be sweet What will Thy glory be!" "My knowledge of that life is small, The eye of faith is dim; But ’tis enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him." Richard Baxter, 1689
Today is All Saints Day. It's a day to remember the "communion of the saints" that joins us forever with our loved ones who are now with the Lord. Our Father has a huge family that spans the generations. Some of us are on earth, and some are in heaven. But whether on earth or in heaven, we serve the same Lord and are saved by the same grace. I have included a video of my favorite All Saints Day hymn: For All the Saints. We ought to sing it more than we do because it contains soul-stirring truth. Here are the lyrics to this grand hymn. Read, listen, and rejoice! For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confess, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia! Alleluia! Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old And win with them the victor's crown of gold. Alleluia! Alleluia! O blest communion, fellowship divine, We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia! Alleluia! And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song, And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia! Alleluia! But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day; The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia! From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Alleluia!
On this day five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Though he only intended to stir up some theological debate, God in his wisdom used Luther to ignite the Protestant Reformation, which entailed recovering the gospel of the free grace of God. In 1521 he was forced to answer for his convictions at a trial called the Diet of Worms. When asked to recant his beliefs, he uttered these words that echo across the centuries: "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason (I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other) my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen." May God raise up a generation of men and women who stand for the truth in our day as Luther did in his day.
You'll see that speck of dust in your neighbor's eye a lot better if you take the telephone pole out of your own eye first.
"I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit." John Knox
When God forgives, he removes our sins, he lifts them up, he takes them away, and he puts them so far away from us that we could never find them if we searched for them for a thousand years. They are gone forever.
"And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in, That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin." "Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art!"
Anyone, Anywhere, Any time, Can be saved by Trusting in Christ. That’s the Good News of the Gospel.
"Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!" Isaac Watts
The Reformers said we were saved by "alien righteousness." The term alien means “from another place.” When I visit Uganda or China or Ukraine, I am an “alien” in those countries because I am from another place. We are saved by righteousness that comes “from another place.” It comes not from within us as a result of our good deeds but from outside of us entirely. Where can a guilty sinner find righteousness “from another place”? He can find it in Jesus Christ! That’s the “alien righteousness” that saves guilty sinners.
If I show up at the gates of heaven talking about how good I've been, I'm in real trouble. First of all, I haven't been all that good. Too many sins come crowding into my memory, and those are only the ones I can remember. I testify that I am a sinner through and through; and left to myself, I don't have a chance of going to heaven. My only hope of heaven is to cast myself completely on the Lord Jesus Christ who loved me and died for me. He is my only hope. If he can't take me to heaven, I'm not going to go there. But I'm not worried. I'm trusting in Jesus to meet me at the gate and usher me into heaven. As the song says, "I need no other argument, I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me."
"There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, No, not one! No, not one! None else could heal all our soul’s diseases, No, not one! No, not one!" "Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done; There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, No, not one! No, not one!"
We need not fear death. We may die, but we don't stay dead. When Christ arose, all his people rose with him.
Lord, we pray today for our loved ones who are far from you. Open their eyes so that light from heaven may come flooding in. Give us grace to keep believing while we wait for the answer to come from heaven. Amen.
You can have the pleasures of sin or you can have the joy of the Lord, but you can't have both at the same time.
"Few Christians backslide while under the rod. It is usually when on the lap of plenty that believers sin." Charles Spurgeon
Lord, give me gritty faith that will never give up until the answer comes. Amen.
If Jesus is the only way to heaven, the kindest thing we can do is to let the world know.
"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln
Better to suffer divine discipline than to continue in sin. Better to repent than to wish we had.
"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art - thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light." Old Irish hymn, translated by Mary Byrne
"If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold, And you have to get along with meager fare, Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird— Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there." Refrain: "Leave it there, leave it there, Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there; If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out— Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there." Charles A. Tindley, 1916
God never wastes his burdens. When God gives a burden, we may be sure it is because he intends to give an answer.
We can't avoid being hurt, but we can choose not to be bitter about it.
Try loving your enemies today. Hating them never worked anyway.
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is to tell the truth even when people don't want to hear it.
The world is full of discouraged people who feel like giving up. Whose burden will you bear today?
Hugh Hefner, founder of the Playboy world empire, died last week at the age of 91. We all know the legacy he left behind. While rummaging through my files, I came across a quote from a 1964 Dick Van Dyke episode called "The Man from Emperor." In it a longtime friend of Rob Petrie (played by Dick Van Dyke) shows up and offers him a job at a hugely successful but racy magazine called Emperor. Rob is interested at first until his wife Laura (played by Mary Tyler Moore) intervenes. The episode shows Rob sorely tempted by the wine, the women, and the promise of unbridled freedom. Here's the kicker. The friend was intentionally modeled on Hugh Hefner, and Emperor obviously stood for Playboy. The episode comes to a climax when Rob explains his decision to turn down the offer. He tells his friend that marriage can be like prison or like Disneyland: "Marriage has boundaries. To some guys those boundaries represent walls, and that makes marriage a prison to them. But to other guys those boundaries hold everything that is good and fun in life.” Rob Petrie was right, and Hugh Hefner was wrong. God established the boundaries to protect the most valuable things in life. If we ignore what God says, we end up imprisoned by our own lust. But it doesn't have to be that way. Marriage still works when a husband and wife follow the divine design.
You can have the praise of man, or you can have God's approval, but you can't have both. Which one do you want today?
You will be amazed by grace precisely to the degree that you are shocked by your own sin.
"The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine, But God who called me here below Shall be forever mine!" From "Amazing Grace" by John Newton
The skill of the shepherd is seen not in the sunlight but in the dark valleys.
Love is a choice. You'll find out what that means when you decide to love someone who hates you.
"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs" (Psalm 100:2). "Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength." John Wesley "As long as we live, there is never enough singing." Martin Luther
My Father, teach me to trust you even when circumstances aren't going my way. Amen
Good work, righteous work, even holy work, can become a distraction if we are not centered upon the Lord. Knowing Christ must come before serving Christ or else our service will be barren and our hearts will be frustrated.
"I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear; And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds, For to see good put in action is what everybody needs." Edgar Guest
Choose your heroes wisely. Admire them but do not worship them. The best man you know is still just a man.