Good Words for Today
Remember the TKN rule before you speak: Is it True? Is it Kind? Is it Necessary?
"Are we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge— Take it to the Lord in prayer." Joseph Scriven
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King Jr.
Just because something is impossible doesn't mean God hasn't called you to do it. It just means that without God's help, it will never get done.
“What are Christians put into the world for but to do the impossible in the strength of God?” Samuel Chapman Armstrong
Who needs an encouraging word from you today? Open your eyes. The answer is all around you.
Never stop being amazed by grace. It's the only way anyone goes to heaven.
When in doubt, be kind today.
"You cannot afford to be too busy to pray." Billy Graham
"Never trust your tongue when your heart is bitter." Samuel Johnson
Lord, strip away the things that don’t matter, so that what is left are the things that will still matter 10,000 years from now. Amen.
God always speaks loud enough for a willing ear to hear. Lord, make me willing to be willing to do your will. Amen.
Did you wake up worried? God is large and in charge. He can handle the details that scare you to death.
Unless I am regularly contradicted by the Bible, I am not engaging it. God’s Word is like a sword (Hebrews 4:12-13). Swords cut. Good swords are razor sharp. Even a slight touch draws blood. Lord, let your Word speak to me even when the truth hurts. Amen.
"The cross is less insulted by its declared enemies than by its pretended friends." Calvin Miller
Death is a trade-in. One day we will trade in our broken down bodies for a new body designed by God.
"Evangelicals have confused Christ's command to love others with being likable, as if that were an attribute of God. (It isn't.)" Larry Alex Taunton
The only thing more painful than repenting of our sin is the pain of not repenting. Repentance stings because it uncovers our sin. But once exposed to the light of God, our sin can be forgiven and we can be healed. If we refuse to repent, we suffer the inner torture of a guilty conscience. That's a pain in the soul that will not go away. No wonder David said, "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!" (Psalm 32:1 NLT). If you will repent of your sin, you can have the joy of forgiveness.
If the new crime is to be a Christian, let us all be criminals.
"You can be right theologically, but a heretic in how you treat people." Caleb Kaltenbach
O Lord, teach me the joy of the yielded life. Bring me to the place where you alone are my greatest treasure. Amen.
"When we don't wait on God, we will always wish that we had." Erwin Lutzer
My Father, help me to love the unlovely just as you have loved me. Amen.
"Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it." John Stott
You can criticize your enemies, or you can pray for them. But you can’t do both at the same time.
We engage in spiritual warfare when we come together to worship God. It's our way of saying to the world, "You will not have the last word," and to the devil, "You will not win because you've already lost." Christian worship is more than choir practice for heaven. It's basic training for the war whose outcome has already been determined by King Jesus.
You're not going to heaven because you are hanging onto Jesus. You're going to go to heaven because Jesus is holding onto you.
"I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22:27). “If you want to be a leader, you’re going to end up frustrated in life, because very few people want to be led. But if you aim to be a servant, you’ll never be disappointed.” Frank Warren
Here is the first question from the Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563: Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death? Answer: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him. That’s the sort of statement every Christian should memorize. Why don’t you stop right now and read it out loud? It will do your soul good to say those words. Just stop for a moment and read it aloud.
In the spiritual life, direction makes all the difference. It's not where you've been but where you're going that matters.
Lord, give me a teachable spirit so I can receive the reproof of others even when I don't think I deserve it. Amen.
"Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut." Elisabeth Elliot
"We live in an age of rage. The only thing that will break through is the power of God's love." James Robison
"God's blessings are found within God's boundaries. When we ignore the boundaries, the blessings become burdens." Jason Benham
"Our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). "Christians must constantly remember that we live here, but don't belong here." Don Carson
The more you encourage others, the more you are encouraged. Like the miracle of the loaves and fish, the more you give, the more you have. By giving encouragement to a fellow traveler, the spigot of God's blessings is opened to you. So far from running out, before long you are running over with God's blessings.
A cartoon from the Wall Street Journal shows a man walking up a set of stairs toward the gate of heaven. Above the gate is a sign with two words: “No Deals.” This time the Journal got it absolutely right. God makes no deals when it comes to heaven. You either enter by way of the cross of Christ or you don’t enter at all.
"The problem in America today is not the presence of darkness. It's the absence of light." Jason Benham
Love does not run away. Love doesn't take the easy way out. Love runs toward the battle, not away from it.
How precious are a mother’s tears! There is no substance on earth more valuable than the tears of a godly mother. There are mothers and grandmothers who have prayed their children and their grandchildren to Christ. There are mothers and grandmothers who have seen their children in the “far country” of sin and have prayed them step by step back to the Father’s House. When everyone else gave up, godly women laid hold of heaven and claimed their offspring in Jesus’ name. And God heard those prayers and answered them.