Good Words for Today

Don't despair when you feel like your service for Christ doesn't matter. Remember Elijah and the 7000. You aren't in a good position to judge your own effectiveness. If you think you hit a home run, better let the Lord make the call. If you think you just struck out, leave that call with him also. In heaven we’ll discover that our Christian testimony touched people we didn’t even know about.              

Jesus did not come to add to our condemnation. He came because we were “condemned already” (see John 3:18). He came to offer us life instead of death, hope instead of despair, and light instead of darkness. He says, “All who are weary, come to me, and I will give you rest.” Horatius Bonar wrote these words in 1846: I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest; Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.” I came to Jesus as I was, Weary and worn and sad; I found in Him a resting place, And He has made me glad.  

So many people live in defeat because they can’t climb the steep mountain before them. Just remember this: You don’t have to climb the mountain. You just have to take the next step with God. He’ll take care of the rest.

God invites the whole world to be saved. That’s the Good News of the gospel. But the invitation has a condition. Salvation is only through Christ. You cannot rewrite the invitation to read “through good works” or “through being nice” or “through being religious” or even “through church attendance.” God offers salvation through Christ and only through Christ.      

In the midst of judgment, God always remembers mercy. He remembers those who suffer, and he keeps his eyes on them. Though they suffer long and often feel forgotten, the Almighty will not abandon them. There is no trial that can separate us from the God who loves us.      

God often delays his mercies in order that we should properly thank him when they finally appear.

Spirit of God, I pray for the gift of sanctified brevity. Amen.                

Jesus has done everything necessary for your sins to be forgiven. If his death is not enough for you, there isn’t a Plan B. No, it doesn’t work that way. If Jesus isn’t enough for you, God has nothing else to offer. If you refuse to come to Christ as Lord and Savior, then the door of heaven will remain shut to you.

Jesus stands at the end of life’s road for all of us. There can be no middle ground. To ignore him is the same as to hate him because you end up without him either way. But no one can ignore him forever. We all have an appointment with Christ sooner or later.

There are plenty of grumpy people in the world. We have to deal with them, but we don’t have to spend all day with them. Find the grateful folks and hang out with them.

Pick your friends wisely. Some people bring you closer to the Lord, and some drag you farther away. Make sure you know the difference.      

All-knowing Father, I trust in you even when I do not understand. Thank you for loving me enough to sometimes say no to my prayers. Amen.

Bitter tears over our stupid mistakes do not substitute for the broken heart that leads to repentance.  

Don't get angry at your critics. You're much worse than they know.

Here’s a good plan for today: Be Quick to Believe. Be Quick to Repent. Be Quick to Forgive. The world would be a better place if we were quick to do all three.                    

Keep hope alive. You never know what God will do.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that you’ve got a bigger and better plan. Forgive us for presuming to tell you how to do your work. We’re glad that you are God and we are not. Amen. 

If a man is true to God, he gains everything. If he is untrue to God, he loses everything. In time and eternity, nothing matters save loyalty to God.

God's faithfulness is the ground of our assurance. Sometimes believers struggle with assurance because we don't "feel" saved. But feelings have nothing to do with it. If you feel saved, that's good, and you should be grateful. But if you don't feel saved, trust God to keep his word anyway. Salvation rests not on your fickle feelings but on the unchanging promises of a God who cannot lie.  

“It is better to tell the truth and be thought unloving than to whisper lies and be thought compassionate.” Erwin Lutzer

The surprise of Judas is that he was the only one who betrayed Jesus for money. He sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver, making it the worst investment decision in history. But we do the same thing every time we choose our desire over God's will. There is a little Judas in all of us. If we think differently, the devil has a bag of silver he will trade for your soul.      

God is not offended by your problems. He will not turn you away. "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him" (Ezra 8:22).

Lord Jesus, I pray for discernment to choose friends who will bring me closer to you. Amen.

Lord Jesus, I long to be delivered from my bondage to sin. Grant that I might emerge victorious by your power. Amen.

Each temptation brings you face-to-face with a moral choice. Either you give in, or you stand your ground and say no. Each time you give in—even a little bit—you grow weaker, and each time you resist— even when you resist a small temptation—you grow stronger. Say no to sin and yes to God!

Love must have limits. We must love people, but we must not thereby tolerate false doctrine or condone moral evil. To use a familiar phrase, we must love the sinner while hating the sin. Sometimes we may appear to love the sinner too much, and sometimes we may appear to hate the sin too much. Both will be necessary if we are to stand for Christ and win the lost in this evil day.

We ought to be the most thankful people on the face of the earth. May our days be marked with humility, simplicity, and integrity. We can start by giving thanks for the things we no longer have to have.

When we submit ourselves to our heavenly Father and finally say, "Lord, you are God and I am not," when we bow before him, through our tears if necessary, then (and only then) do we discover true freedom. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

O Lord, teach me to guard my heart today. Deliver me from evil within and without. Amen.  

The church was founded by traitors. That's what Mark 14:50 means when it says that after Jesus was arrested, "Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away." These are the same men who would later preach the gospel, endure great persecution, and die for Christ. Under pressure, they ran away, but that was not the end of their story. Your failure isn't the end of your story either. We all fail in many ways, which is why there is no room for pride in the church. We are all traitors who found the Lord. It's all grace, all the time, for everyone. Let that thought give strength to your heart today.  

Lord of Hosts, you have given me everything I need to be victorious in the day of battle. May I not foolishly rely on my own strength but wholly rest on you alone. Amen.

Has God been kind to you? Be kind to others. Has God shown mercy to you? Show mercy to others. Has God forgiven you? Forgive others. Freely you have received, freely you give. This is the heart of the gospel.

"You are not suffering from anything that a good resurrection can’t fix." D. A. Carson  

Beware of the perfect church. You couldn't join it anyway because you don't qualify for membership. Better to be part of an imperfect church filled with imperfect people who realize their imperfections and cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. When you find that imperfect church, join it, because you will fit right in.                                                

If you can worry about it, you can pray about it.