Daily Archives: May 13, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Your Problems, His Presence

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And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you.”
Genesis 26:24

Recommended Reading: Genesis 26:23-33

In Genesis 26, the patriarch Isaac faced multiple pressures. A terrible famine was threatening his livelihood (verses 1-5). He was in hostile territory, and he was worried he’d be killed by someone wanting his beautiful wife, Rebekah (verses 6-7). He also angered Abimelech, king of the Philistines, and was driven from his territory (verses 8-16). Local tribesmen constantly harassed and argued with him and his servants (verses 17-22).

Have you ever experienced a time when multiplied pressures and problems bore down on you? We all have! But that’s exactly when God appeared to Isaac and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you” (verse 24, NIV).

When you’re fearful or discouraged, learn to draw near to God. If you’ve admitted your fears to Him and called out to Him, He will deliver you. God doesn’t always remove you from your circumstances, but He will be with you through all of them, protecting you.

An awakened soul feels that his chief happiness is in coming before God…. In His presence is fulness of joy.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Waiting for the Harvest

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Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Today’s Scripture

Galatians 6:7-10

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Today’s Devotion

In 1962, Joanne Shetler and Anne Fetzer made an arduous trek by bus and foot into the rugged mountains of the Philippines to share the gospel with people who’d never heard of Jesus.

For five years, they translated Scripture into the people’s language, but the Balangao villagers weren’t receptive. They did, however, help build a primitive landing strip so new supplies could be flown in. One day, a plane dubbed “magic from another world” by the people arrived. The pilot then flew a deathly ill, pregnant village woman to a faraway clinic. When the plane later returned with the recovered woman and her healthy newborn, the people began asking about “this God” they’d been told about. Soon the village had a church full of believers in Christ.

All of us who share the story of Jesus have times of discouragement when our listeners don’t seem to hear. The apostle Paul knew that can happen. After explaining to the Galatians the importance of planting and harvesting the gospel, he recognized that a sower may grow tired. So he challenged his listeners not to “become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9).

The first five years of Joanne and Anne’s work was surely discouraging. But they kept sowing, and eventually they reaped a harvest. Let’s not “give up” (v. 9). Surely, the message of salvation will “reap eternal life” (v. 8).

Reflect & Pray

Why do you sometimes grow weary in sharing the gospel? What’s your sure hope?

Dear God, please help me to hang in there and keep sowing when a loved one seems disinterested in the gospel.

Today’s Insights

In Galatians 6:7-10, Paul emphasizes the theme of sowing and reaping—that is, that the choices we make come with real consequences. A life guided by “the flesh” (self-reliant human nature focused on self-gratification—5:16-21) inevitably leads to “destruction,” whereas a life guided by Christ’s Spirit leads to “eternal life” (6:8) and an abundant “harvest” (v. 9). Remembering this principle can strengthen the resilience and fortitude of believers in Jesus as they seek to “serve one another humbly in love” (5:13). Every action guided by the Spirit matters greatly. Sometimes the path of sharing the gospel and living like Christ can be exhausting, and results may not be obvious. But believers can be assured that their witness to Jesus’ love in words and lifestyle will lead to good results that will last for eternity.

Discover The Power of Prayer in Evangelism.

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Trump to discuss imprisoned pastor in meetings with China

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What happened: President Trump and key administration leaders are on their way to China for three days of negotiations with Xi Jinping and others in the Chinese government. While Taiwan, Iran, trade, and AI are expected to feature prominently in the negotiations, President Trump has also stated that he will bring up the cause of Ezra Jin, a Chinese pastor who was arrested last October.

Why it matters: While freedom of religion is technically guaranteed in the Chinese constitution, the government has stepped up its persecution of the underground church and its leaders in recent years. American leaders, from Marco Rubio to the entire Senate, have denounced these arrests, but this week’s meetings could be the first real chance to do more.

The backstory: What to expect from this week’s meetings

President Trump is on his way to China for what is currently scheduled to be three days of negotiations with President Xi Jinping. The meetings were originally slated to occur last month but were pushed back, with the expectation that the United States’s war with Iran would be wrapped up by now. However, the stalemate continues, with President Trump describing the already tenuous cease-fire with Iran as currently “on life support” after the most recent round of negotiations failed to produce anything close to a workable arrangement.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Trump to discuss imprisoned pastor in meetings with China →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Things of This Life

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 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers. 

—Philemon 1:23–24

Scripture:

Philemon 1:23–24 NLT 

It’s been said that everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. For a select few people, however, those fifteen minutes of fame stretched into centuries and millennia. Such is the case with the people mentioned in one of the apostle Paul’s epistles. Imagine what an honor that would be! For example, in his letter to Philemon, the apostle wrote, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers” (Philemon 1:23–24 NLT).

I imagine it must have been tempting to bring up those name-checks in casual conversation: “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Aristarchus. You may have heard of me from one of Paul’s epistles.”

One of the people Paul mentioned was Demas, whose name appeared not only in one epistle, but two. In Philemon, Demas is identified as a coworker of Paul. The bad news is that his second mention involved his apostasy. Something had happened to Demas in the time between Paul’s letter to Philemon and his second letter to Timothy, because we read, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10 NLT). In other words, “Hey, remember Demas? Yeah, well, he’s not with me anymore.” The reason? Demas loved “the things of this life.”

Demas serves as a prime example of why the apostle John warned, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:15–17 NLT).

There is nothing wrong with being blessed by God with things like a nice home or a good career. In fact, the Bible tells us that God “richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17 NLT). But if those things have become the most important to you, more important than God Himself, then that is a problem, my friend.

We must recognize the things of this life for the temporary blessings they are. We must be prepared to step away from them if the Lord instructs us to. Traveling light in this world means being prepared to sacrifice anything that gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord.

The Christian walk is challenging enough on its own. The last thing we need is to stumble over misplaced priorities.

Reflection question: How can you keep a godly perspective on the things of this life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Death by Sin

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

This very important verse conveys several vital truths. First of all, death came into the world only when sin came into the world. Suffering and death of conscious life, whether animal or human, were not a part of God’s “finished” and “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31–2:3). There was an abundance of food and all other provisions for both people and animals. There was certainly no struggle for existence or survival of the fittest, for every creature was created fit for its own environment.

When Adam sinned, however, it became necessary for God to bring the curse of decay and death not only upon Adam but also upon all his dominion (Genesis 3:17–20; see also Romans 8:20–22; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22).

Furthermore, there remains no warrant for the notion that “Adam” is simply a generic term representing the human race. He was a man. In fact, he was “the first man” (1 Corinthians 15:45), and Eve was “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). There was certainly no population of evolving hominids becoming Adam. In fact, Christ Himself made it clear that Adam and Eve were there “from the beginning of the creation” (Mark 10:6, quoting Genesis 1:27).

The entire argument here in Romans 5:12–21 becomes irrelevant if the Genesis record of the creation and fall of Adam did not happen precisely as recorded in Genesis 1–3, and this would mean that there is no reality in the saving work of Christ either.

Such a rejection of the Christian faith is hardly warranted by the fragmentary fossils that have been alleged to support the notion of human evolution. No one should stake his eternal soul on such a will-o’-the-wisp as that! HMM

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Overcome Fear with Faith

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When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 56:3–4 (NIV)

Psalm 56 begins with David crying out to God because his enemies are “in hot pursuit” of him and all day long they press their attack (v. 1). In the midst of such pressure, David declares to God: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Notice that he says “when I am afraid,” not “if I am afraid.” This tells me that David accepts the fact that fear is a human emotion; we all experience fear to some degree at some time. But he adds, “I put my trust in you.” He did not trust himself or other people; he trusted God alone. David lived boldly and courageously because he knew God was always with him. We can live this same way. We can choose not to live according to the fear we feel, but according to God’s Word.

Years ago, God taught me to use what I call the “power twins” to help me defeat fear in my life. They are “I pray” and “I say.” When I feel fear, I begin to pray and ask for God’s help; then I say, “I will not fear!” I encourage you to also use these power twins as soon as you feel fear about anything. This will help you manage the emotion of fear instead of allowing it to control you.

Prayer of the Day: When I am afraid, Lord, I will trust in You. I will pray for Your help and declare, “I will not fear!”

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Invitation 

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Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time with God and have not been successful. And all of us are busy. So we let others tell us what God is saying. Isn’t that why we pay preachers? Isn’t that why we read Christian books? If that is your approach, your spiritual experiences are second-hand. Do you do that with other parts of your life—vacation, romance, eating? I don’t think so. There are certain things no one can do for you.

When God asks for your attention, he doesn’t want you to send a substitute. He invites you to vacation in his splendor. He invites you to feel the touch of his hand. He invites you to feast at his table.  He wants to spend time with you. And with a little training, your time with God can be the highlight of your day.

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – When Fear Grips Us

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Read Numbers 14

Have you ever wanted to do something, only to be overwhelmed by fear? Last summer my 11-year-old grandson attempted to complete a high-ropes course. But once he got high off the ground, fear gripped him. He couldn’t accomplish what he had set out to do.

In Numbers chapter 14, after the twelve spies returned from scouting the Promised Land, the people faced their own high-ropes moment. Would they trust God’s promise and enter the land, or would they retreat to safety?

Despite Caleb and Joshua’s passionate plea that “the land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us” (vv. 7–8), the people chose fear over faith. The people’s response to Caleb and Joshua was devastating: “But the whole assembly talked about stoning them” (v. 10). Rather than trusting God’s promise, they wanted to kill the messengers of hope and return to Egyptian slavery.

God’s anger burned against their unbelief, but Moses interceded for the people, reminding God of His character: “The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished“ (v. 18). God’s response was both merciful and just. He forgave their sin but declared that the generation that refused to trust Him would wander in the wilderness for forty years. Only their children would inherit the promise they had rejected.

Fear-based decisions can lead to missing God’s best. Like Israel, when God calls you to step into His promises, choose faith over the false security of staying where you are. Remember that unbelief has consequences not just for you but for those who follow.

Go Deeper

Can you remember a time when fear stopped you from following God’s calling? As you look back at that choice today, would you do things differently?

Pray with Us

God, we often let our fear get the best of us. We avoid opportunities choosing the easier or safer way. Remind us that through You we are “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37).

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.Numbers 14:18

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/