Good Words for Today
"Thy love divine hath led us in the past, In this free land by Thee our lot is cast; Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay, Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way." From "God of Our Fathers" by Daniel C. Rogers. Written in 1876 to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence.
"Now, if one does not believe what the Church teaches, or, for now at least, even if one does believe those teachings but is prepared to be completely silent about them, one is safe—one can still be a comfortable Christian. In other words, a tame Christian, a Christian who is ashamed of the gospel—or who is willing to act publicly as if he or she were ashamed—is still socially acceptable. But a Christian who makes it clear that he or she is not ashamed must be prepared to take risks and make sacrifices." Robert P. George
We’re like little children who won’t let go of the marble in order to receive a diamond. “No, I won’t give up my weekend affair for eternal joy.” “Trade a broken marriage and a failed career for peace and forgiveness? Forget it.” “Give up my drug addiction and be forgiven for all my sins? No way.” “I can replace my anger and bitterness with peace and contentment? I can’t take the chance. Sorry.” No wonder we stay the way we are. We’re trapped in the pit of a thousand excuses.
"God wants us to pray because he wants to answer." George Murray
"We hold to what Jesus taught us, in continuity with the prophets before him, the apostles after him, and two millennia of Christian witness ever since. To ask us to give up our sexual ethic is to ask us to find a different Lord and a different Christ. Where else can we go? We believe that we follow the One who has the words of life. If we have to choose between social acceptance and Jesus, we’ll choose Jesus." Russell Moore
"Bring your doubts Bring your fears Bring your hurt Bring your tears There'll be no condemnation here." From "Greater" by MercyMe
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.
Father, I pray for a teachable spirit today so that I might learn something from the difficult people in my life. Amen.
"'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free, 'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be." From "Simple Gifts," 1848
God’s mercy is not like the weather. It does not change with the seasons.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." John Bunyan
"Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea." Reginald Heber, 1861.
"Christ has no velvet crosses." Samuel Rutherford
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). Here Joshua speaks as the God-appointed leader of his family. He claims the right to speak for his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and even for his servants. “As the leader of this clan, I hold their proxy in my hand. I hereby declare that my entire household will serve the true and living God.” Every Christian man ought to make a similar statement about the family God has given him.
The whole Christian life in 11 words: What God demands, he provides. What we receive, we give away.
When the memory of your sin overwhelms you, remember also that Jesus says, "You are my child. My blood covers your sins. You are welcome in heaven forever. Come and enter my Kingdom."
"I was dead in the grave I was covered in sin and shame I heard mercy call my name He rolled the stone away." Matt Maher
"The world never burned a casual Christian at the stake." John R. Rice
"I am convinced that every death, of whatever kind, through which we are called to go, must lead to a resurrection. This is the core of Christian faith." Elisabeth Elliot
"Only desperate people learn to pray." Erwin Lutzer
Lord Jesus, we pray today for those who are struggling to know you. Pull back the curtains of unbelief so that they might be filled with faith to believe in you. Amen.
Do you desire to be holy? Do you want to please the Lord? Is there a hunger in your heart to know Jesus and to love him? Do you desire to live a higher and better life even though you cannot seem to attain it? If you answer yes, that is strong evidence you are born again. Despite your personal failings, do you truly want to do what God wants you to do? Then you may rest in the knowledge that you are a child of God. Your struggle with sin is proof of your divine heritage. If sin is a burden, at least it is a burden and not a joy.
"The Christian life is a series of new beginnings." Alexander Whyte
"I don't want to stand before God one day and have to say to him, 'You were clear, and I was a coward.'" Bill Hybels
Did you wake up worried? God is large and in charge. He can handle the details that scare you to death.
"I will call upon Your name And keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rise." Hillsong "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"
If God chose only well-rounded people with no character flaws, some of the credit would inevitably go to the people and not to the Lord. By choosing flawed people with a bad past, a shaky present, and an uncertain future, God alone gets the glory when they accomplish amazing things by his power.
“We draw people to Christ by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” Madeleine L’Engle
"What are Christians put into the world for but to do the impossible in the strength of God?" Samuel Chapman Armstrong
"Understanding the deep truths of God's Word does not give a man a big head; it gives him a broken and contrite heart." Warren Wiersbe
"What people want is an easygoing syncretism, a truce in inter-religious competition, a mishmash of the best from all religions. But we Christians cannot surrender either the finality or the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. There is simply nobody else like him." John Stott
"What you do for yourself dies with you. What you do for others lasts for eternity." Lin Dunn
When you are discouraged, remember God’s faithfulness. Quote the great promises. Remember how God has answered your prayers. Reflect on his mighty deeds. Consider who it is who fights for you. Then pick up five smooth stones and get ready to defeat the giant.
"Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come." Charlotte Elliott, 1835
"The Church of Christ is not a social club. It is not a literary society nor a saint's everlasting rest. It is an army moving on the high enterprise of making Jesus Christ known, loved, and obeyed throughout the whole world. Have you enlisted your all?" Halford Luccock
Lord, help me to learn from my mistakes so that I won’t have to make them all over again. Amen.
"Live like someone died for you." Lecrae
No one becomes godly by accident.
"You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him or kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C. S. Lewis
"O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!" Katharine Lee Bates, 1895