Good Words for Today
"I’m praying into eternity that the grace for my family will increase. These prayers feel desperate, hopeful, important. I feel as though these future prayers that enter eternity matter. They will meet Jason where I cannot. I will cease, but those prayers will go on and on and on. They will be love that transcends my strength and ability." Kara Tippetts in The Hardest Peace. Kara died on Sunday after a 2 year battle with breast cancer. She was 38. She is survived by her husband Jason and their four children. The Puritans taught that there was such a thing as "dying grace." Kara Tippetts found that grace and shared it with her family and friends, and through her writings to the rest of us.
"Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go, Anywhere He leads me in this world below; Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade; Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid." Jessie Pounds
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." John Calvin
"Faith will move mountains. And don't forget to plant a few mustard seeds as well!" David L. Allen
“In forgiveness, there is no bitterness and when there is no bitterness, there is hope. The consolation comes from Jesus Christ." Gladys Staines, speaking of her decision to forgive the men who killed her husband and their two sons by burning them alive in their vehicle. Graham and Gladys Staines were missionaries to India doing Bible translation and working with lepers.
"Open My Eyes So I Can See The Wonderful Things That You Do Open My Heart Up More And More And Make It Wholly Devoted To You." Terry Butler
Death is a trade-in. One day we will trade in our broken down bodies for a new body designed by God.
Go to the cross and you will find your way home to God.
We are richer than we think, we are more blessed than we know, and we have more than we realize.
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.
Father, teach me the joy of the present moment and the pleasure of living in the here and now. Amen.
"Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Polycarp, AD 155. The oldest account outside the New Testament of a Christian dying for his faith. This was his response when offered his freedom if only he would curse Christ and swear allegiance to Caesar. He was burned to death.
"I own no other master my heart shall be your throne: my life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for you alone." Thomas O. Chisholm
Giving thanks in the midst of sorrow and heartache is a testimony worth more than 10,000 words spoken when things are going well.
"We have many men of science; too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount." General Omar N. Bradley
God is a better parent than you are. Will you trust him to take care of your children?
“When man is bored with God, even heaven does not have a better alternative.”Ravi Zacharias
"Thy sov’reign majesty May we in glory see, And to eternity Love and adore." From "Come, Thou Almighty King," 1757
You may lose your wealth, your health, your happiness, and your friends. But no one can take Jesus away from you.
Eternal Father, help me live so that those who come after me won’t be ashamed to follow in my steps. Amen.
"When the Lord wants to work a small miracle, He puts me in a difficult situation. When He wants to work a great miracle, He puts me in an impossible situation." Watchman Nee
What have you been sowing? Are you happy with what you’ve been reaping?
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Charles Spurgeon
“Affliction works as our preacher and tutor. Sometimes a sickbed can teach us more than a sermon." Thomas Watson
O Lord, disturb us if that’s what needs to happen to shake us free from our excuses so that we will dare to follow you. Amen.
“When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less." C. S. Lewis
"Drive shallow tent pegs, because we are moving on in the morning." Corrie Ten Boom
"Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave." G. K. Chesterton
"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me Let me be singing when the evening comes." Matt Redman
"The door of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition." Bob Jones, Sr.
"Faith is a decision you make to believe that the dark road you are traveling on will eventually yield to a sunrise." Tony Evans
“One sin makes many. The Devil’s hounds run in packs.” Alexander Maclaren
When we try to help other people, we . . . "must not be high in our expectations nor harsh in our resentments nor hard in our impositions, but endeavor to make the best we can of everything and think the best we can of everybody." Matthew Henry
“No saint shall fall finally or fatally. Sorrow may bring us to the earth, and death may bring us to the grave, but lower we cannot sink, and out of the lowest of all we shall arise to the highest of all." Charles Spurgeon
"God loves to view the holy strivings of a soul pressing forward to the skies." Charles Spurgeon
"The bottom line in the Christian life is obedience and most people don't even like the word." Charles Stanley
“Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” Francis Schaeffer
“Of all the acts of man, repentance is the most divine. The greatest of all faults . . . is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” Charles Schultz
"Souls are expensive." Peter Odanga