Good Words for Today
Nothing about the birth of Jesus appeared supernatural. There were no halos, no angels visible, and no choirs singing. If you had been there, and if you had no other information, you would have concluded that this was just a baby born to a poor young couple down on their luck. Nothing about the outward circumstances pointed to God. Yet all of it—every part of it, every single, solitary, seemingly random detail—was planned by the Father before the foundation of the world. To the unseeing eye, nothing looks less like God; to those who understand, God’s fingerprints are everywhere.
"He whom the world could not enwrap Yonder lies in Mary's lap; He is become an infant small, Who by his might upholdeth all." Martin Luther
At Bethlehem God struck a blow to liberate the world from sin and death. And his front line soldier was a tiny baby boy.
"Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle." C. T. Studd
God has an eternity to set right what has gone wrong in this world.
"It is difficult to be indifferent to a wide-awake Christian.” Clarence Jordan
"As a Christian, I am under no obligation to attempt to reconcile the Bible's teachings with modern philosophy. Biblical truth does not parallel human opinion in any generation; it usually opposes it!" Billy Graham
"Let us never forget that the gospel is not good advice, but good news." B. B. Warfield
There is a real sense in which the preacher has an audience of one—God. He first must preach so that the Lord is pleased with his message. If the Lord is pleased, it matters not what men say. If the Lord is not pleased, the applause of millions will make no difference.
So many times we walk through life saying, "What have you done for me lately, Lord?" And the Lord answers back from heaven, "If only you knew."
To a world that rejects authority, the church must declare the authority of God. The world says, “We want freedom.” God says, “If you want freedom, obey my Word.”
Never be ashamed of the gospel. Never be ashamed to stand up for Jesus. Never be ashamed to own his name and to confess your allegiance to him. The workers of iniquity aren’t ashamed of their sin. Why should we be ashamed of our Savior?
We think the Christian life ought to be easy. It’s not easy, and it’s not supposed to be easy. Today is the day of struggle, combat, warfare. Today we march to battle in the name of the Lord. The day of rest comes later.
"Hug your kids every chance you get. Tell them you love them every chance you get. You don't know when it's going to be the last time." Tony Dungy
"Contemplate the love of Christ, and you will love. Stand before that mirror, reflect Christ's character, and you will be changed into the same image from tenderness to tenderness. There is no other way." Henry Drummond
"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Quaker proverb
“God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers he uses to crush us with. If God would only use his own fingers and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when he uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made wine to drink, we will have to be crushed. You cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.” Oswald Chambers
"People say that God does not speak to men as he did long ago. The truer statement is that men do not listen today as they did long ago." J. Sidlow Baxter
"Thou that hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart." George Herbert (1633)
"When devils engage, the billows arise, And horribly rage, and threaten the skies: Their fury shall never our steadfastness shock, The weakest believer is built on a rock." Charles Wesley, 1744
"Oh, dear friends, you may rejoice. God has laid no embargo upon rejoicing; he puts no restriction upon happiness. Do believe it that you are permitted to be happy. Do believe that there is no ordinance of God commanding you to be miserable." Charles Spurgeon
As a Christian, your whole life is to be one great, “Thank you, Lord.”
The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.
If you refuse to give thanks in every situation, you are virtually saying that you know better than God how to run the universe. By giving thanks when we don’t feel like it, we are proclaiming that God’s wisdom is greater than ours.
Jesus taught us to pro-actively return good to those who have done us evil. For most of us, it will be all we can do not to smack someone in the face. To turn the other cheek is a truly supernatural act.
"God doesn't love some future version of you. He loves you now." Matt Chandler
Sometimes people say, “I lost my temper.” But you didn't lose your temper; you found it! Some of us need to lose our temper and never find it again.
“This triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.” G. K. Chesterton
"He who believes in the gospel must become weak and foolish before men, so that he may be strong and wise in the power and wisdom of God." Martin Luther
"Lord, put me in over my head." Charlie Riggs
The best way to discover God’s will for the future is to do what you know to be the will of God right now.
“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
The problem with the world is not the world. The problem with the world is the church.
It is perfectly possible to obey God with a rotten attitude.
"It is the responsibility of each generation to reach their generation for Christ." Jack Wyrtzen
Small obedience always beats great intentions.
If you are unwilling to take a chance, you can never discover what living by faith is all about.
To all our questions, God replies, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The answer is a Person, not an explanation. Someone may reply, “But that’s not enough. I want a real answer.” To which I reply, “If God himself is not enough, then no answer would ever satisfy you.”
All prayer is based on this simple truth: He runs the universe, we don’t. We pray because he’s in charge and we’re not.
"The reason why many get so little out of their Bible reading is simply because they are not willing to think. Intellectual laziness lies at the bottom of a large per cent of fruitless Bible reading." R. A. Torrey