Good Words for Today
Lord, give me wisdom in my personal decisions, knowing that others are influenced by the choices I make. Amen.
What a relief to realize that God is God and you’re not. Now you can rip that big “G” off your sweatshirt. You don’t have to play God anymore and you don’t have to try to control everything around you. You can sleep well when you realize that God is God and you are not. Corrie Ten Boom was having trouble going to sleep one night because she was so worried about the affairs of her life. She tried praying but it didn’t help. Finally, the Lord said to her, “Go to sleep, Corrie. I’m going to be up all night anyway.”
We don’t have to ask, “What will America be like in a hundred years?” The great good news is, I don’t have to stay alive for another hundred years because I serve a God who is eternal. He will still be on the job long after I go down to the grave. Those who know and love the Lord will see his face. We will behold the Lord in the most personal way possible. Today we walk by faith. Today we stumble along through this life. Today we struggle. But today is not the last day. There is a better day coming for the people of God when all will be made right. Between now and then we will have many days when the foundations seem to be crumbling around us and the wicked rise up and threaten us. But the wicked will not have the last word. Those who scoff at the Lord and his Word will be consumed with the fire of God’s judgment. Between now and then we move forward by faith. Take the long view because we’re in this for the long haul.
John 3:16 made simple: God loved. God gave. I believe. I have. (From a sermon by Harry Ironside)
Some years ago the Lord gave me a set of statements I call the First Law of Spiritual Progress: I can't go back. I can't stay here. By God's grace, I must go forward. You can't go back to change the past or to relive it. You can't stay where you are because life is like a river that flows ever onward. The one thing you can do is go forward with the Lord. Even if we want to go back, we can’t. And we can’t stay where we are. God’s call is always onward, forward, moving out by faith into the unknown future. In the spiritual life, direction makes all the difference. It’s not where we’ve been but where we’re going that matters.
Jesus may come in my lifetime. I hope he does. I think the signs point in that direction. But he may not come for 500 years. The precise date is left in the hand of God. But this much is certain: Jesus is coming. Are you ready?
"You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). “God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad. And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt?” John Stott
Disappointment is a tricky emotion. It’s not wrong to remember the past and it’s certainly not wrong to grieve over what you lost. If our loss was caused by our own stupid choices, then grieving may keep us from making the same mistakes again. But eventually there comes a time when we must move on. At that point our beginnings are likely to be small and insignificant. Do not despair. From tiny acorns mighty oaks someday grow. When God wanted to save the world, he started with a baby in a manger. Small beginnings are no hindrance to the Lord. Go ahead and get started. You never know what God will do.
Today our critics tell us it is unkind to "love the sinner and hate the sin," especially as it applies to sexual sin. But we do not say that when we go to a doctor. If you have cancer, you want a doctor who will find it, treat it, and get rid of it so you can get better. If a man has cancer, it's not unloving to tell him the truth. It's unloving not to tell him. Since it is the truth that sets people free, we must tell the truth even to those who don't want to hear it.
“The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing; but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; not those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray." S. D. Gordon
"I'm so glad I learned to trust Him, Precious Jesus, Savior, friend; And I know that He is with me, Will be with me to the end." Louisa Stead, 1882
We still die, but Christ has taken the sting out of death. We still fight Satan, but we fight from a position of victory because Jesus Christ won the battle 2000 years ago. We still struggle with temptation, but we don’t have to give in because God has provided the way of escape. We face many hardships in this life, but we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. We may be filled with doubts and think ourselves unworthy of God’s love and we may fear that God will get angry and cast us off. But we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
"The evil one cannot harm them" (1 John 5:18). Satan and his demons can harass us, oppress us, confuse us, disturb us, mislead us, trick us, and discourage us. But in the end, we will stand like champions before the throne of God and say, “He never laid a glove on us.” He can slow us down, but he can’t stop us. He can discourage us, but he can’t defeat us. He can knock us down, but he can’t keep us down because by God’s grace, we will get up to fight again. He can take away our assurance, but he can’t take away our salvation because the Holy Spirit has taken up permanent residence within the heart of every believer.
"The Scripture says that there is a time to be born and a time to die. And when my time comes an angel will be there to comfort me. He will give me peace and joy even at that most critical house, and usher me into the presence of God, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Thank God for the ministry of his blessed angels!" Billy Graham
No doubt many people reading these words face difficult situations. You may be out of money or you may be out of a job. Perhaps you face surgery very soon. Others face debilitating illness. You may have hard decisions you need to make this week and you don't know what to do. People you loved and trusted may have turned against you. Your dreams may have crumbled to dust. The future may seem very uncertain. Take this word of cheer. 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. You don't even have to ask him; he just does it because that's the kind of God he is. He never, never, never, never calls you to any hard task without giving you what you need to get the job done.
“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (John 6:9). God can do a lot with a little. He fed 5000 men with 5 biscuits and 2 sardines. It's not what we have that matters. We never have enough to meet all the needs we see. We are never equal to the task. But you never know what might happen when you give your little bit to the Lord. It is better to start small with God than never to start at all.
When God makes a promise, it is folly and disbelief to wonder how he will keep his word. Faith does not reckon with "how." Faith believes and leaves the "how" in the hands of Almighty God. If we spend too much time trying to figure out "how" God will take care of us, we are likely to talk ourselves into a corner.
"God’s people are truly blessed. Nothing can harm them, nothing can destroy them, because they are in Christ, and he lives forever." William Plumer
"So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: 'I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!'" Martin Luther
"Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait; Come now and within me a new heart create. To those who have sought You, You never said “No” Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." From "Whiter Than Snow" by James L. Nicholson, 1872.
"I can't make the Bible come alive. The Bible is already alive. It makes me come alive." R. C. Sproul
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). I suppose the question comes down to this. Do you even want to be forgiven? I say “even” because you can harden your heart to the point that you no longer care if you are forgiven. For such people, there is nothing left but the fearful judgment of God. But if you have the slightest desire to be forgiven, if in your heart you want a new beginning, your sins can be forgiven. That's the promise of the gospel. That's the power of Jesus' blood.
Many years ago a man hired an experienced guide to lead him on a hike into the Swiss Alps. After many hours they came to a high and remote mountain pass. To the man’s dismay, he saw that that path had almost been washed out. What could he do? To the left was a sheer rock cliff, to his right a precipice that dropped nearly 1000 feet. Looking down, the man felt his head growing faint and his knees beginning to buckle. At that moment his guide shouted, “Do not look down or you are a dead man. Keep your eyes on me, and where I put my feet, put yours there as well.” The man did as he was instructed and soon he passed from danger to safety. No one knows what lies ahead for any of us. We all have our plans and dreams but the times and seasons of life are in God’s hands. Sooner or later we will all come to a dangerous pass where the way ahead seems to be washed out. At that moment we can panic and fall into terrible trouble. Or we can fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and mark carefully his steps before us. If we will follow him, we will find that we have been kept safe by his amazing grace.
Father, may I show the same mercy to others that you have shown to me. Amen.
"Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker" (Psalm 95:6). Every worship service is an act of rebellion against the world. If worship doesn’t seem radical to us, it’s because we’ve become anesthetized to its power. By our prayers and by our music and by the grand tradition handed down to us, by the ministry of the Word, by baptism and the Lord’s Supper, through fellowship and affirmation, by the creeds and by the choir, regardless of the setting and irrespective of style, every worship service ought to be a great object lesson to teach our people, “We are not like the world. This is who we are. This is why we exist. This is what we believe. This is how we live.”
"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God" (Psalm 51:17 NLT). When the thing that matters is getting free from the burden of sin, When we no longer sugarcoat our sin, When we desperately seek restored fellowship with God and with his people, When we no longer worry about our reputation, When what God thinks matters more than what others think, Then we will find the forgiveness we seek because our repentance has led us back to the Lord.
If sin is to be forgiven, it must be confessed for what it is. You can’t call sin “weakness” and expect to be forgiven by God. God doesn’t forgive weakness; he only forgives sin.
“Lord, lead me to the ones I need, and to the ones who need me.” Amy Grant
"I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands; I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand Than to be the king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway; I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today." Rhea F Miller, 1922
"The wealth of the wicked means nothing. They have nothing. Without God, without forgiveness, without heaven, they have nothing. With God we have everything and always have everything, no matter the outward circumstances of our lives." Robert Rayburn
“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you” (Psalm 73: 21-22). True repentance looks like this. It recognizes the sin, calls it by name, goes to the root of the matter, and admits the truth. One version says, “I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence.” That’s telling it like it is.
"Jesus shall reign where ’ere the sun, Does its successive journeys run; His kingdom spread from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more." Isaac Watts, 1719
When we are troubled by the events around us, we should ask ourselves, “Do I still believe in God?” Do we have a God so big that he transcends the shattering affairs of this world? Do we have a God who doesn’t have to watch Fox News to find out what’s going on in the Middle East? Perhaps we should keep Isaiah 6 in mind. That magnificent passage begins with the words “In the year that King Uzziah died.” That note is important because Uzziah was one of the best kings Judah ever had. When he died, the nation was plunged into turmoil. A golden age in Israel’s history was drawing to a close. Would the people continue to walk with God or would they return to idolatry? In that fateful moment, Isaiah came face to face with the living God. He says it this way: “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Where is God? He’s not nervously pacing heaven wondering, “Who will I get to replace Uzziah?” Not at all. At that critical moment, God is where he has always been. Seated on his throne. That same is true today. The Lord of the universe is not worried about anything. He's got the whole world in his hands. Keep that in mind as we go through the next few months between now and Election Day.
https://youtu.be/MqtG-XfxMC4 Robertson McQuilkin died yesterday at the age of 88. For many years he served as president of Columbia International University (formerly Columbia Bible College and Seminary) in South Carolina. In 1990 he made headlines throughout the Christian world when he stepped down from his presidency to care for his wife Muriel who suffered from Alzheimer's and needed his full-time care. She died 13 years later, in 2003. This brief video comes from the announcement he made in 1990 when he stepped down from his position to care for his wife. Here is one excerpt: "It's not only that I promised in sickness and in health, 'till death do us part, and I'm a man of my word. But . . . it's the only fair thing. She sacrificed for me for forty years, to make my life possible . . . so if I cared for her for forty years, I would still be in debt. However, there's much more. It's not that I have to. It's that I get to. I love her very dearly, and you can tell it's not easy to talk about. She's a delight. It's a great honor to care for such a wonderful person." In his long life, Robertson McQuilkin wrote many books (including the very beautiful A Promise Kept about his life with Muriel), served as a missionary in Japan, had great influence at the school where he served as president, and gave many powerful sermons. But he never did more than when he laid down his career to take care of his wife. He called it the easiest decision he ever made. Though there were many challenges, he never regretted the choice he made. A godly man and a faithful husband has gone to heaven. His legacy will last for many generations.
Obedience always comes first. Jesus doesn’t tell us in advance what he will do. Will we obey him anyway?
Jesus is always more than enough for those who dare to trust him.
All truth is narrow. If something is true, then many other things must not be true. If everything is true, then nothing is true. If truth depends on your opinion or on the latest Gallup poll, we can never know the truth about anything. That is why Christians insist on the concept of absolute truth. Without it, we have no faith to believe, only some warm, fuzzy sentimental feelings in our heart. That is not enough. We need to reassert once again to this crazy, mixed-up, confused generation exactly what the Psalmist said regarding God, “All your words are true" (Psalm 119:60).
The real problem of America today is not the political battle between Democrat and Republicans. Our true problems are moral, ethical and spiritual. Francis Schaeffer summed up the condition of modern man when he said, “Modern man has his feet firmly planted in mid air.” As a culture, as a nation, as a society, we are dying. We are on life support. We are being kept artificially alive. We are dying and we don’t know why. Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life" (John 10:10). Let's ask God to send a great awakening to our nation. Our hope is not in politics. Our hope is in the Lord.
In 1916 Charles Tindley wrote a wonderful gospel song called "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There." You would be hard-pressed to any advice more needed today. We all struggle, but we don't all struggle in the same way. I thought you would be inspired by reading the words of this gospel song written a century ago. I have included a video of Joey+Rory singing this song. May the Lord use these words to give strength to your heart today. 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. If your body suffers pain and your health you can’t regain, And your soul is almost sinking in despair, Jesus knows the pain you feel, He can save and He can heal— Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail, Don’t forget that God in Heaven answers prayer; He will make a way for you and will lead you safely through— Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. When your youthful days are gone and old age is stealing on, And your body bends beneath the weight of care; He will never leave you then, He’ll go with you to the end— Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
"The work of a Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord'. This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow." C. S. Lewis