Daily Archives: April 28, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Just the Facts

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[The man Jesus healed of blindness] answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
John 9:11

Recommended Reading: 1 John 1:1-3

“All we want are the facts, ma’am.” Those were the words of Sergeant Joe Friday in the popular 1950s television series, Dragnet. If we had to describe what it means to give a testimony of faith in Christ, Sergeant Friday’s words would apply. New Testament writers used that framework when bearing witness to Christ—they talked about what they had “seen and heard” (Acts 4:20; 22:15; 1 John 1:1-3).

One of the clearest examples of a testimony came from a blind man whom Jesus healed. When he was interrogated about his healing, he recounted the simple facts about what Jesus had said and done (John 9:10-41). The apostle Paul twice delivered a longer testimony of how he came to faith (Acts 22:6-21; 26:12-18). Every believer should be ready to testify to how they came to believe (1 Peter 3:15).

If you have never done so, write out your personal testimony of faith in Christ. And ask God to provide opportunities for you to share it.

Every believer is a witness whether he wants to be or not.
Donald Grey Barnhouse

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – In God’s Line of Sight

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The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:8

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 121

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

Trina received a free ticket to a sold-out event and tucked it into her Bible. Later, her son saw her frantically searching through the pantry. When she explained that she’d lost her Bible, he asked why she was looking in the food cupboard. “Because I’ve looked everywhere else, and the event starts in thirty minutes,” she said. “I don’t want to miss one moment.” Her son chuckled. “Breathe, Mom,” he said. “I think you’re suffering from FOMO, the fear of missing out.” She laughed. As her son joined the search, Trina’s husband entered. “You left this in the car,” he said, holding up the Bible.

While it’s not wrong to enjoy unexpected blessings, big breaks, or once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, a desire for enjoyment can easily turn into a fear of missing out. We can even be tempted to think God holds out on us or loses sight of us. However, the “Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2) is our ever-watchful and never-sleeping provider and protector (vv. 3-7). So we don’t have to fret over detours, delays, or even missed opportunities. God will watch over our “coming and going both now and forevermore” (v. 8).

During times of affliction, seasons of abundance, and in every mundane moment God plans for us in-between, we’re always in His line of sight. We won’t miss out on anything God has planned for us to experience.

Reflect & Pray

How does being in God’s line of sight impact your life? When has missing out on something led to an unexpected blessing?

Faithful God, thank You for keeping me in Your line of sight.

Today’s Insights

Psalm 121 is part of a collection of songs designed for use during the high holy days of Israel’s calendar. People from all over the land would journey to Jerusalem for the celebration of “the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles” (Deuteronomy 16:16). However, most of them made the journey on foot (as Jesus did with His family in Luke 2:41-52), and the trek could be treacherous. Most pilgrims made the journey from the lowlands around Jerusalem, so going to the city meant climbing up Mount Zion. That’s why Psalms 120-134 are called Songs of Ascents. Psalm 121, in particular, promises that the God who lives on Zion watches over all those journeying to His city, and He’ll protect them on their way. Even today, we can trust that the God who lives in the heavenly Zion watches over us no matter where we are.

Watch Jack Beck explain more on seasons in the wilderness.

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Are 1 in 5 Americans exposed to hazardous drinking water?

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The most terrifying history series I’ve watched, by far, is Chernobyl—a dramatic re-creation of the collapse of the nuclear power plant in Soviet Russia. The most gut-wrenching and mortifying parts of the show are the way radiation is invisible to all the senses. Suddenly, without any warning, the person’s skin starts to melt, and they die horribly. Or maybe they die of cancer a few days, months, or years later.

If your stress levels went up reading that paragraph, your reaction makes sense on one level. But, of course, this happened decades ago and poses no real threat to you, personally, now.

Consider this headline from CNN: “1 in 5 Americans may have a dangerous toxin in their tap water.” Let’s unpack this finding and consider a bigger perspective to help peace win over anxiety.

What are the risks of dangerous toxins in tap water? 

A new report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that more than 3 million Americans are exposed to nitrates at levels exceeding 10 milligrams per liter in their drinking water (the federal safety limit is 10). The CNN article also points out that as little as 3 mg/liter has been connected to health risks. More than 62 million people have this level of water in their taps.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Are 1 in 5 Americans exposed to hazardous drinking water? →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Real Love

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 If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. 

—1 John 4:20–21

Scripture:

1 John 4:20–21 

One of the first things I remember taking place when I committed my life to Jesus Christ was the erosion of bitterness and anger in my heart and the growth of a love I had not known before. That surprised me because that bitterness and anger had been constant companions of mine. I had nurtured them for longer than I could remember. But such is the power of God and His love.

If we claim to be followers of Christ and harbor bitterness or hatred in our hearts toward someone, that should be a warning sign. The apostle John left little wiggle room when he wrote, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers” (1 John 4:20–21 NLT). He’s saying that if we have hatred in our hearts toward fellow members of the body of Christ something wrong in our spiritual life. Something that must be addressed immediately if we’re going to grow in our faith.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (Romans 12:9–10 NLT). He’s talking about something more than a passive tolerance here. Something more than simply spending an hour or two together on Sunday mornings. The love he’s talking about involves actively growing closer to others. And often that means finding ways to heal past hurts and remove the obstacles that keep us at a distance from others.

Maybe someone has wronged or hurt you. If so, take it to God. Let Him deal with it. Your job is to heed His call to love and forgive that person and not to avenge yourself. Here’s why: That bitterness and hatred will do more harm to you than to the person you’re directing it toward. It will eat you up inside. It will destroy your life. It will hinder your time of prayer with God. It will hinder your worship. It will, for all practical purposes, act as an obstacle in the relationship God wants to have with you.

There’s no room for hatred, bitterness, or prejudice in the heart of a child of God. God wants our love to be honest and without hypocrisy. That’s the kind of love that changes lives and changes the world.

Reflection Question: How can you remove an obstacle that’s keeping you at a distance from someone else? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – The Oracles of God

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” (Romans 3:2–3)

This striking synonym for the Scriptures (“the oracles of God”) occurs just three times in the Bible. In our text, Paul emphasizes the great privilege and responsibility that was committed to the Jews when God gave His “oracles” to them, a word implying “divinely inspired utterances.”

The author of Hebrews rebuked those Hebrew Christians who had still not learned the very “first principles of the oracles of God,” despite having been professing Christians for a long time (Hebrews 5:12). Finally, the apostle Peter urged his readers, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). That is, anyone who presumes to speak for the Lord must “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). It is not our words but His words that are “quick, and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). In fact, Stephen called them “the lively [or ‘living’] oracles” (Acts 7:38).

In all these references, it is clear that these “oracles of God”—that is, the Holy Scriptures—constitute the very utterances of the living God. They were given to and through believing Jews and are preserved for us now in our Bibles. They obviously should be believed, studied, obeyed, and proclaimed by all who consider themselves to be Christians.

The fact that many people reject the Bible, even claiming it is wrong in what it teaches, is irrelevant. Such claims merely display human arrogance. God’s Word has been “for ever . . . settled in heaven” and “is true from the beginning” (Psalm 119:89, 160). It will endure even after this present world has passed away (Matthew 24:35) and will finally be the criterion by which its detractors will be judged in the last day (Revelation 20:12; 22:18–19). HMM

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Choose Truth Over Feelings

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Whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

For many people, their security, peace, and joy are connected to their circumstances. If things are going well, they feel loved, but if they are not going well, then they think God doesn’t love them or that they are being punished for some sin they committed.

We are called to be led by the Word of God and the Spirit, especially concerning our thought life. We are not to be led by our soul (mind, will, and emotions). We may not be able to control what thoughts pop into our minds or what feelings arise in our hearts, but we can control what we do with those thoughts or feelings. We can be led by the Holy Spirit.

We don’t have to let negative, destructive feelings rule our lives; instead, we can take authority over our emotions, submit them to God, and choose to stand on the Word of God.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me not be ruled by emotions or circumstances. Teach me to submit my thoughts and feelings to You and follow Your Word and Spirit, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Confession Reveals our Hearts 

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Play

We can’t live with foreign objects buried in our bodies, or our souls. What would an X-ray of your interior reveal? Remorse over a poor choice? Shame about the marriage that didn’t work, the temptation you couldn’t resist? Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface. Festering, irritating, sometimes so deeply embedded you don’t even know the cause of your pain.

And you can be touchy, you know. Understandable, since you have a shank of shame lodged in your soul. Would you like an extraction? Here’s what you do: confess. Ask God to help you. Psalm 139:23-24 is a model prayer. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Confession. You see, confessors find a freedom that deniers do not. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins! He will cleanse us. Not might, could, would, or should. He will.

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Filled Up

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Read Ruth 4:16–17

German painter Paul Hermann Wagner (1852–1937) is known for his emotionally compelling images, often featuring tender domestic scenes. His oil painting “A Grandmother’s Love” depicts an older woman embracing a young child, who reciprocates by reaching toward her face.

Today’s passage paints a similarly simple, yet stunning, picture. In verse 16, Naomi becomes the subject and takes action once again. Since Naomi is the protagonist in the book, it is fitting for the story to finish this way. Her character arc is now complete. While she began in desperation and bitter emptiness (1:20–21), feeling alone after the loss of her husband and sons, now her heart and arms are full as she cares for her grandson.

When the women saw Naomi holding her grandson, they rejoiced (v. 17). The language used to describe the women is more personal than in verse 14. It shows a greater connection as neighbors and community. Their proclamation (“Naomi has a son!”) took the conventional form of a birth announcement, which typically would have been given to the waiting father. This is the only Old Testament account where women participated in such an event.

Next, the author reports that the women named the child Obed, which means “server” (v. 17). While these neighbors would not have actually given the baby his name, they publicly affirmed the name given by his parents. Lastly, the author adds an unexpected connection. Obed grew to be “the father of Jesse, the father of David” (v. 17). Through the line of David, the blessing of the witnesses (vv. 11–12) and the prayer of the women (vv. 14–15) are both fulfilled. In God’s providence, the hesed of all these characters is rewarded, and God’s plan for Israel and her kings is accomplished.

Go Deeper

Are you longing for God to answer your prayers? How does Naomi’s story encourage you?

Pray with Us

Jesus, open our eyes to Your work in our lives and to Your love that covers us. Help us see more clearly that You are with us every step of the way and teach us to rely on You in every situation.

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.Joel 2:25

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/