Good Words for Today
"While I wait for the smoke to clear You don't even have to speak Just sit with me in the ashes here And together we can pray for peace To the one acquainted with our grief." From "Not Right Now" by Jason Gray
"There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stain." William Cowper, 1772
When we stand before the Lord, we may be surprised to know that our bottom line and his aren’t quite the same. He won’t ask how much money we made or lost or how many cars we owned or whether or not we climbed to the top of our profession. His question on that day will be much simpler: “Were you faithful in doing the task I gave you to do?” If we can answer yes, our time on earth will have been well-spent.
"Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul, Thank you, Lord, for making me whole; Thank you, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free." Seth and Bessie Sykes, 1940
If you have the courage to open your heart to Jesus, he will come in and transform your life into something more beautiful than you ever imagined possible.
"Sometimes I disagree with God. No times have I been right and He wrong." R. C. Sproul, Jr.
When we trust in Christ, God covers our sin, he removes the inner stain, he wipes our personal record clean, and then he releases us from our guilt so that we are set free.
"When I walk through the shades of death Thy presence is my stay; One word of Thy supporting breath Drives all my fears away." Isaac Watts
Forgiveness means giving grace to those who don't deserve it. If people deserved forgiveness, they wouldn’t need it.
If for some reason you aren’t filled with the Holy Spirit, it’s not because of God’s reluctance.
Religious people trust in their religion. Christians trust in Jesus. Where are you placing your trust?
"The call of God embarrasses us because of two things--it presents us with sealed orders and urges us to a vast venture." Oswald Chambers
It's not wrong to plow a field, but if your plowing keeps you from Jesus, you'd better burn the plow.
"It does not matter whether or not people understand us or think we are even sane as long as we are true to God. Obedience to him is the important thing." Theodore Epp
"One who believes the Lord has called him and given him a gift to preach and teach, need not be hasty or anxious. Power makes itself felt, and it is well to begin in a small way." William Kelly
You can make all the speeches you want and announce your long-range plans, your ten-year goals, and your personal objectives, but just remember this: When you are finished, God always gets the last word. What a relief to realize that God is God and you're not. Now you can rip that big G off your sweatshirt.
As you look at the course of life, you may think that God is going to use some rich uncle or a wealthy friend to help you out. But experience shows how unlikely that is. He is much more likely to meet your needs through the ravens of the earth that fly to your need when you least expect them. The Lord has plenty of ravens to supply the needs of his children. If God sends you to Cherith to hide you for a season, do not despair, for he has not forgotten you. Though you be hidden to man, you are not hidden to your heavenly Father. He knows where you are, and he knows why you are there. Your grocery list is written on his heart.
The world says, "Seeing is believing." God says, "Believing is seeing." We believe, therefore we see.
"Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful May the fire of our devotion light their way May the footprints that we leave Lead them to believe And the lives we live inspire them to obey." From "Find Us Faithful" by Steve Green
Hold lightly what you value greatly because you can’t keep it forever anyway.
“I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth "home." Before you know it, I am calling luxuries "needs" and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mindset." John Piper
I told someone recently that those were the two most important words in the Bible.Everything hangs on those two words. “But God.” When we start to count up the problems we face, they soon look overwhelming. Some people reading these words feel backed into a corner. Maybe your situation looks hopeless. If so, remember these two words: But God!
Death cannot cancel the promises of God.
Living by faith means stepping out for God and leaving the results to him.
Lord, I do not pray for more faith. I ask instead for a greater understanding of your faithfulness. Amen.
Everything we need we will find in Christ. He has all the hope, all the love, all the grace, all the power, all the strength, all the wisdom, all the patience, all the guidance, all the encouragement, all the joy, all the endurance, all the gentleness, all the forgiveness, all the determination, all the boldness, and all the meekness that we need. Every virtue is in him. Every good thing we need he has. What he has, he willingly gives to us. Let no one falter in the race that is set before us. Let no one drop out because of discouragement, fear, doubt, despair, anger, or bitterness. The Lord Jesus has already run the race. He is the Captain of our Salvation. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and all will be well.
God often gives us more than we can bear, but he never gives us more than he can bear.
If you are a Christian, the best is yet to come.
Jesus didn’t come to make us nicer people. He came to make us new people.
"The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access." Tim Keller
When it comes to judging, be hard on yourself and easy on others. Most of us get that backwards.
"Many Christians today talk about ‘the difficulties of our times’ as though we should have to wait for better ones before the Christian religion can take root. It is heartening to remember that this faith took root and flourished amazingly in conditions that would have killed anything less vital in a matter of weeks. These early Christians were on fire with the conviction that they had become, through Christ, literally sons of God; they were pioneers of a new humanity, founders of a new Kingdom. They still speak to us across the centuries. Perhaps if we believed what they believed, we might achieve what they achieved.” J. B. Phillips
"Unity is a mighty blessing, but it is worthless if it is purchased at the cost of truth." J. C. Ryle
Thank God for women of faith. Their prayers have changed the world.
Sometimes God’s no is the surest sign of his love for us.
"You don't fall into love. You commit to it. Love is saying, 'I will be there no matter what'.” Tim Keller
"God’s word is the same, yesterday and today and a million years from now." Franklin Graham
"The Christian religion is at once the broadest and the narrowest in the world. It is a faith that admits every possible kind of person. But it admits them in only one way." Tim Challies
Christians pray in Jesus' name. Here’s a useful experiment that will bring the point home. Sometime this week, during your private prayer time, offer all your requests to God in your own name. That is, pour out your heart for yourself, your loved ones, for your church, your friends, the missionaries you know, and for the hurting people of the world. Then end it like this: “Father, today I offer this prayer in my own name. I do this because my name is a great name and I have the power and authority to do the things I ask. Amen.” Try praying like that just once and see what happens. If you are a Christian, that thumping sound you hear will be your prayers bouncing off the ceiling and back onto your head. Christians pray in Jesus’ name because there is no power in any other name to answer our prayers.
"Well-behaved Christians rarely make history." Doug Wilson