Daily Archives: May 11, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Light of the Word

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Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 6:20-23

The first automobiles were equipped with gas lanterns to provide light when driving at night. Fast forward to today—modern LED headlights can illuminate the road hundreds of feet ahead. Regardless of advances in technology, there is no headlight that can provide total illumination.

The psalmist seemed to understand this when he wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The lamp of which he spoke was a small, handheld clay lamp, fueled by olive oil, that created a flame only an inch or two high. Such a lamp only provided enough light to illuminate the next few steps. The psalmist refers to God’s Word as such a lamp. And for the one who trusts in God, that is illumination enough. We don’t need to know exactly what the future holds as long as we know who holds the future. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything about the future, but it does tell us how to trust in God for the steps immediately ahead of us.

The more we read and meditate on God’s Word, the more our path will be illuminated.

Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.
V. Raymond Edman

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – God’s Word Endures

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The word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 40:1-8

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Today’s Devotion

In the early 1900s, successful steel businessman Charles Schwab decided to build perhaps the most lavish mansion in New York City. Completed in 1906, his Riverside Drive estate took its inspiration from French chateaus and spanned an entire city block, with lush gardens, grand halls, and opulent interiors. It stood in stark contrast to the rising apartment buildings that would soon define Manhattan. Despite its grandeur, the estate struggled to find a buyer after Schwab’s death. The mansion was too large, too costly, and out of step with real estate trends. Riverside Drive estate was demolished in 1948. Both the mansion and the man faded away.

It’s easy for us to point to earthly realities like wealth, ambition, and mansions as destined to fade away. The words of Isaiah 40 remind us, “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field” (v. 6). Isaiah wrote to people enduring God’s discipline for their faithlessness. After He had corrected them, God would comfort them (vv. 1-2). What the prophet says about people, grass, and flowers is true (vv. 6-7). But the truth of God Himself? It will outlast men and mansions and wealth and ambition and accolades. Yes, “the word of our God endures forever” (v. 8).

It’s good to keep in mind how fragile we are. And it’s wise to remember God’s word is everlasting.

Reflect & Pray

What have you witnessed that has withered and faded away? How does God’s eternal nature and unfailing word encourage you?

Eternal God, I praise You because Your word endures forever!

Today’s Insights

The words recorded in Isaiah 40:6-8 are sobering. There’s nothing flattering about humans being described as “grass [that] withers” (v. 7) or “flowers [that] fall” (v. 8). These word pictures describe the temporary nature of our human existence, which contrasts with the permanence of “the word of our God” (v. 8). The apostle Peter, before citing Isaiah 40:6-8 to biblically support the point he was making in 1 Peter 1:24-25, wrote these words: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23). Isaiah wasn’t the only biblical spokesperson to grasp the potency and permanence of the Scriptures. The psalmist’s words in Psalm 119:89 touch on this theme: “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” Though constantly confronted with our frailty, we find comfort that “the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Learn how to find enduring joy beyond circumstances that fade away.

 

http://www.odb.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Everything You Need to Be a Witness

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 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. 

—Acts 8:35

Scripture:

Acts 8:35 

Every now and again, stories appear in the news about people who pose as physicians even though they’re not licensed to practice medicine. In some cases, the actions of these faux physicians prove to be destructive or even fatal for the people they’re “treating.” Obviously, such malpractice is inexcusable.

But what about spiritual malpractice? I believe that there are some preachers today who are guilty of harmful and destructive spiritual guidance. These questionable Christian leaders are not accurately presenting the gospel message.

The litmus test for determining whether a gospel message is legitimate is simple. If a presentation of the Good News doesn’t contain a message about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then it’s insufficient. Every effective gospel presentation, whether it’s a sermon given from a pulpit or part of a private conversation, ultimately needs to come down to this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin. He paid the price for every wrong thing we’ve ever done. And after He conquered the power of sin, He rose again to conquer the power of death.

That’s the essence of the gospel. That’s the message we need to take to people.

Too often we bog ourselves down with too many arguments, counterarguments, and debate strategies. We look for “gotcha” moments, opportunities to use unbelievers’ logic against them.

A better option is to “travel light”—to fill our thoughts with Scripture alone. If we want to be effective in sharing our faith, our message must be centered on God’s Word. That’s why the apostle Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).

When we commit Scripture to memory, when we know the Word of God, we have a well to draw from when someone asks us a question. And as we prepare to respond, we can pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the right passages to mind.

Think again about Philip’s opportunity to share the gospel with a government official from Ethiopia. Acts 8:35 says, “So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus” (NLT). Philip was able to present the gospel accurately and at a moment’s notice because he knew Scripture.

The better we know Scripture and the more of it we commit to memory, the more we give the Holy Spirit to work with. The psalmist wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 NLT). When we commit ourselves to that same pursuit, we’ll discover not only that God blesses our efforts but also that our heart has much greater storage capacity than we can imagine.

Reflection question: How much of your heart’s storage capacity is filled with memorized Scripture passages? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Things Worth Knowing

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

Although the book of 1 John is well known for its use of the word “love,” various words such as “know,” “perceive,” and “behold” occur almost as often.

Several of these words refer to the work of Christ in salvation. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins” (1 John 3:5). “We know that we have passed from death unto life” (v. 14), and “hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (v. 16). This knowledge brings great comfort and assurance: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (5:13).

This knowledge should bring us into a life of submission and service. “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (2:5). Similarly, “he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (3:24; see also 4:13).

This gives us confidence in prayer. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (5:14–15).

The culmination of a life marked by salvation, assurance, empowerment, and victory will be that we will be with Him and be like Him. “Behold [same word as ‘know’], what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (3:1). JDM

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Bold and Specific in Prayer

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Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

Philippians 4:6 (AMPC)

Prayer is not a religious obligation that we do out of duty, but a tremendous privilege. We are invited to come boldly to God and ask specifically for what we need and want, not only for ourselves, but we can intercede for others and their needs. I recommend putting some thought into what you want God to do for you and go to Him in faith with your requests.

I think sometimes we are afraid to be really specific in our requests, but God invites us to bring definite requests. If we ask amiss, God will not give us our request (James 4:3, NKJV), but we don’t need to be so afraid that we might be wrong in what we want that we don’t even ask. You need not have fear in your relationship with God. He loves you, He understands you even better than you understand yourself, and He wants you to be completely confident and comfortable with Him.

My children are not shy about asking me for what they want, and they usually get it unless I feel it would not be good for them. We can trust God to be the same way with us. Knowing we are loved sets us free to be bold. Ask and receive that your joy may be full (John 16:24).

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for the amazing privilege of prayer. Teach me to pray confidently and boldly, knowing that You love me and want me to be blessed, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Touch of Jesus 

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Play

People longed for the compassionate touch of Jesus. Each one who came was touched, and each one touched was changed.But none was touched or changed more than the unnamed leper described in the first four verses of Matthew chapter 8. “He bowed before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, you can heal me if you will.’ And Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, ‘I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease.”

In New Testament times, leprosy was the most dreaded disease. In Scripture, the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast. A person doesn’t have to have leprosy to feel quarantined. The divorced, handicapped, unemployed, depressed, and terminally ill know this feeling. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same?

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Criticism Crosses the Line

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Read Numbers 12

Most companies have specific channels for addressing employee concerns. Why? Because when someone openly attacks a leader’s competence, it doesn’t just hurt the boss; it damages the entire organization’s effectiveness.

Numbers chapter 12 reveals what happens when close family members challenged God’s appointed leader through improper channels. Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ siblings, made the mistake of publicly questioning his authority and character. Their action brought severe consequences from God. In what appeared to stem from jealousy, Miriam and Aaron “began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife.” Then they asked, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?…Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” (vv. 1–2). What started as a complaint about Moses’ marriage quickly escalated into a challenge of his unique calling.

Notice that God took this attack on His servant personally. He immediately called all three siblings to the tent of meeting and delivered a powerful defense of Moses. The Lord typically revealed Himself to prophets in visions or dreams: “But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD” (vv. 7–8). Then came the devastating question: “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (v. 8). The consequences were swift and severe—Miriam was struck with leprosy. Moses’ intercession spared her from permanent punishment, but she still endured seven days of exclusion from the camp (vv. 10–15).

This passage instructs us to approach spiritual leaders with humility, without undermining their authority by gossip or public attack.

Go Deeper

Have you ever heard or even participated in grumblings about your pastor or church leaders? What would be the proper way to address concerns?

Pray with Us

God, thank You for the pastors and leaders You have appointed to lead our churches. Keep us from grumbling and show us ways we can appreciate their faithful service.

Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.Numbers 12:3

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/