Daily Archives: March 31, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Koinonia

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They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42, NIV

Recommended Reading: Acts 2:42-47

The Chicago Tribune recently reported, “Despite being more digitally connected than ever, many people are struggling to forge the kind of deep, meaningful relationships that give life purpose. We have thousands of online ‘friends’ but fewer real confidants. We work longer hours, move more frequently, and engage in fewer communal activities…. A 2015 meta-analysis … found that prolonged social isolation carries the same health risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”1

Does any of that relate to you? God made us with a need for fellowship with Himself and others. Our word fellowship is a translation of the New Testament Greek word koinonia, which meant “something held in common, a shared state, being partners in a relationship.” This word occurs twenty times in the New Testament, beginning with Acts 2:42 and the Church created by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

Do you have a church to attend? Ask God to guide you to a circle of fellowship in a church or Bible study. Make the effort, and you will be blessed.

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles.
Corrie Ten Boom

  1. John Hewko, “Chicago Tribune: Curing the Loneliness Epidemic, Rotary-Style,” Rotary International, February 2025.

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – God’s View

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Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring. Exodus 14:13

Today’s Scripture

Exodus 14:1-4, 8, 10-14

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Today’s Devotion

Hudson Taylor was troubled. He’d left England to share the gospel about Christ in China, and ministry—though challenging—had gone well. But in 1865, as he considered sending more people to minister to a more dangerous part of the country, without protection, he felt “intense conflict.” After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . [recognizing] that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.”

Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea” (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and a vast body of water! The Israelites trembled as “Pharaoh approached” (v. 10). Panic-stricken, they told Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (v. 12). But Moses replied, “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). And he was right. God provided rescue and victory for His people as they rested in Him (vv. 15-31).

At times, we won’t understand what God’s doing in our lives because we don’t have His view. It was during such a moment that Hudson Taylor wrote, “As his servant it was [my responsibility] to obey and to follow him.” We too can rest in God’s view and plans.

Reflect & Pray

Why is it vital for you to surrender to God’s plans for you? How can you rest in Him?

 

Loving God, please help me rest in Your perfect plans for my life.

 

Today’s Insights

Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what God’s really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back, placing them in what looked like a military trap—boxed in between Pharaoh’s army and the sea (v. 2). But this was God’s plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10–12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasn’t dependent on their strength but on God’s (vv. 13-14). Even when we don’t understand His plans, this passage invites us to trust that His purposes are always good.

 

http://www.odb.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Power of Prayer

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 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 

—James 5:13–15

Scripture:

James 5:13–15 

Jesus retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane for one reason. It wasn’t to hide from His enemies. It wasn’t to spend quality time with His disciples. Jesus went there to pray. Knowing that, in a matter of hours, He would submit to unimaginable physical, emotional, and spiritual agony, Jesus wanted to spend His remaining hours of freedom in the presence of His Father.

The circumstances were unique, but the discipline wasn’t. The Gospels record several instances in which Jesus set aside time for prayer. Mark 1:35 says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray” (NLT).

Luke 5:15–16 says, “But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (NLT).

Jesus understood the power of prayer, and He wants us to understand it as well. When we find ourselves in trying circumstances, often the temptation is to strike out at those we hold responsible. Or to get mad at God for allowing those circumstances to disrupt our lives. Or to wallow in self-pity.

But those are things the devil wants us to do because he knows how counterproductive they are. When we’re afflicted, when we’re suffering, or when we’re in trouble, prayer should be our first response, just as it was for Jesus. Why? Well, for one thing, God may answer our prayer and remove the problem from our life. He may directly intervene in our circumstances. The Bible is filled with stories in which He did just that.

Even if He doesn’t intervene immediately, He still works in and through us when we take our needs to Him. Prayer affirms our dependence on Him. It puts us in a right relationship with Him. It also allows us to place our burdens in His hands. When we turn our requests over to God, we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that He will be doing the heavy lifting. Through prayer we also receive the grace we need to endure trouble and grow closer to God.

James 5:13–15 says, “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven” (NLT). The word suffering could be translated “in trouble” or “in distress.” Is anyone among you in trouble? Are you distressed? Then you should pray.

When the bottom drops out, when you feel as though you’re hanging by a thread, when circumstances seem to grow worse by the minute, pray. Pray when you’re afflicted. Pray when you’re sick. Pray when you need forgiveness. Pray when specific needs occur. Pray for God’s will to be done.

Just like Jesus did in Gethsemane.

Reflection Question: How can you make prayer a more integral part of your daily life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Other Preachers

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by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.

“What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)

This verse seems to conflict with warnings about false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) and another gospel (Galatians 1:6–9). The key is identifying what Paul is allowing on the one hand and condemning on the other.

Some teachers of his day (probably both in Philippi and in Rome) appeared to be taking advantage of Paul’s imprisonment to enhance their own reputations. Indeed, some were trying through their public preaching to “add affliction to [his] bonds” (Philippians 1:16).

Even though some with ungodly motives stood out among those preaching of good will, Paul was able to rejoice that “Christ is preached” (today’s text) by both categories, and therein is the source of the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

The stern denunciation of “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) exposes the untruth of all hybrid messages, whether human or angelic, that would attempt to preach anything other than “Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Here is the message for us. When the full gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection—according to the Scriptures—is preached (1 Corinthians 15:1–4) by whatever means and even under sometimes questionable motives, the “good news” is cause for rejoicing. It is the gospel that has power, not the messenger.

However, when some people attempt to change that gospel to make it seem more attractive to those who wish to continue in sin or change its message to allow for human works, we are to see such preachers as dangerous and under condemnation. May God keep us from both mistakes. HMM III

 

 

https://www.icr.org/articles/type/6

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Keep Asking

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For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.

Matthew 7:8 (AMPC)

If there is a promise in God’s Word, don’t stop asking to receive it. Let today’s scripture encourage you to refuse to give up. Continue asking, seeking, and knocking, and you will receive, find, and see doors open for you.

I prayed for my father’s salvation for more than forty years. Finally, at the age of eighty, he received Christ and was baptized. It seemed as if it would never happen, but it did.

Even Jesus, who always got His prayers answered, had to pray twice for a blind man’s eyes to be opened:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22–25 NIV)

Let this Scripture passage encourage you to never give up on receiving God’s promises.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Strengthen my faith when answers take time and remind me that You are faithful to fulfill every promise in Your perfect way, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Serve with Joy 

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Some people feel so saved that they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of those sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done, that you do nothing? The fact is, we are here to glorify God in our service.

Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You’re worried there’s some secret card that exists with your score written on it and your score is not enough. Is that you?  The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 (NIV) announces that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The blood of Christ doesn’t cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone your sins, or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all. So you are saved! And since you are saved, you can serve with joy.

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Our Savior Is Coming Soon!

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Read Revelation 22:12–21

In Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, two characters occupy the stage and talk, all the while waiting for the arrival of someone named Godot. He is mentioned from time to time but still has not appeared by the end of the drama. Sometimes we might feel like the two characters in this play—we get tired of waiting. When will Christ return? When will justice and righteousness prevail? When will earthly history come to an end? All we can say is what Christ said in the epilogue to Revelation: “I am coming soon!” (vv. 12–13). No matter what “soon” means, the important truth is that He could return at any time.

Who will get into heaven (vv. 14–15)? Those who “wash their robes,” that is, those who accept God’s offer of salvation in Christ. Who won’t get into heaven? Sinners. This is a stark reminder of what’s at stake in following Christ: our eternal destinies. With the consequences so enormous, following in His steps should be our top priority. The implication is that we should always be living by faith and pursuing righteousness (1 John 3:6–9). If we’re truly saved, our lives will show it.

All who hear the words of this book are invited to “come” to the water of life, to salvation in the Lamb (vv. 16–17). Accepting the invitation will eventually lead to the heavenly New Jerusalem. Christ sent this “testimony”—the book of Revelation—as one more call for people to choose eternal life. Why choose against the Alpha and the Omega?

Readers are also warned not to add or take away from the words of this book (vv. 18–19). God will judge and punish anyone who does so. Yes, He is coming soon (vv. 20–21)! The book’s concluding prayer is ours as well: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Go Deeper

What have you learned from this month’s study? Consider joining the discussion in our Facebook Today in the Word Devotional group. Also, if you have been blessed by this study, will you consider a gift to support this ministry?

Pray with Us

As we finish this study in Revelation, may the hope of the future remind us how to live in the present. Our lives belong to You, and our future is in Your hands! “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.Revelation 22:20

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/