Daily Archives: August 8, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Fives: The Pentateuch

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Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
Deuteronomy 4:5

Recommended Reading: Psalm 1

The Pentagon, a five-sided building constructed during World War II, was designed for an irregular plot of land bounded by roads that formed a rough five-sided shape. The Latin word for five is pent, and that’s also why the first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch.

The Jews called these books the Law or the Torah, and they contain core teachings foundational to biblical truth. When an observant Jew reads Psalm 1, for example, this is the way he reads it: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly … but his delight is in the [Torah] of the Lord. And in His [Torah] he meditates day and night” (verses 1-2).

Most of us like to read familiar biblical passages. But it all goes back to the Torah, and we would be wise to read it more often. Deuteronomy is especially rich. Read it, and you’ll find the Lord’s statutes and judgments that show us how to act in the land we are possessing with our souls.

Moses makes it clear that blessings come when the heart is right.
Warren Wiersbe

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Impacting Generations

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Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9

Today’s Scripture

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-10

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

During basketball practice, Enrique’s dad asked him and his friend to show the team how to pass the ball correctly. Enrique had practiced for weeks but feared messing up. He prayed, completed the drill, and said, “Thank You, God!” Later his dad said, “I’m proud of you for working hard, son. But I’m prouder that you prayed and praised God.” Enrique shrugged and said, “I just did what you do.”

Throughout history, God has worked through healthy, cross-generational relationships. Sharing His decrees and laws with the Israelites, He said not to add to them nor subtract from them (Deuteronomy 4:1-2). “Observe them carefully,” God said, “for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations” (v. 6). But God wasn’t only interested in how others perceived His people. He said, “Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (v. 9). Why? So that they “may learn to revere” God and teach “their children” about Him (v. 10).

We don’t have to be parents or serve in children’s ministry to share our Spirit-empowered faith with younger people. Whether we’re praying for a younger person or a young family, providing resources to nurture spiritual growth, or offering encouragement, God uses our healthy, cross-generational relationships to impact generations to come.

Reflect & Pray

How has God used older people to nurture you spiritually? How can you invest in the spiritual lives of a younger person or a young family?

Father God, please help me value, serve, and share You with people from all generations.

Today’s Insights

The Israelites were to pass on God’s truth to the next generation (Deuteronomy 4:9). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes to Timothy, who’d been impacted by women of faith from two different generations: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). The apostle also noted how God’s truth had contributed to Timothy’s development: “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (3:15). Today, we can ask God to help us nurture the spiritual lives of future generations.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Inside the CIA’s new task force targeting Cuba

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Why the fate of the Cuban people will not match the fate of their government

Shortly after US forces removed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, many began looking closer to Cuba as the Trump administration’s next target for a change in leadership. President Trump even said as much back in March. And while the war with Iran has delayed such a move, recent reports indicate that Cuba’s time may be coming soon.

Earlier this week, news broke that the CIA has established a task force in Cuba in an attempt to pressure the government into accepting a number of political, economic, and social reforms. Should Raúl Castro and others decline, their secondary purpose is to lay the groundwork for a more forceful change in leadership. Coupled with the Justice Department bringing formal charges against Castro back in May, it’s an eerily similar playbook to the one used in the buildup to January’s assault in Venezuela.

A timeline for any such move remains unclear, with conflicting reports on whether the war in Iran would need to be wrapped up first. While fighting on two fronts would be far from ideal, President Trump is said to be “running out of patience with Cuba’s regime,” while the island remains a “huge priority” for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose family came from Cuba.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Inside the CIA’s new task force targeting Cuba →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – A Second Chance

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 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 

—Psalm 32:1

Scripture:

Psalm 32:1 

Without a doubt, one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is that our God gives second chances. The apostle Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). But even if we’ve failed miserably, God gives us the opportunity to put it behind us. He can dramatically turn things around on our behalf. He can forgive us.

We have a choice in the course our lives take. We can either confess our sin and turn from it and know the happiness of being forgiven, or we can try to conceal our sin and then reap what we’ve sown. The Bible tells us that God will not bless people who try to hide their sin. Isaiah 3:9 says of such people, “They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves” (NLT).

On the other hand, Psalm 32:1 says, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (NLT). Doesn’t that sound better? David, the writer of the psalm, understood this well.

David’s story is a classic rags-to-riches tale. David was a shepherd and a musician. He was overlooked even in his own family. When his brothers went off to war, David was given the role of delivery boy. When Samuel the prophet told Jesse, David’s father, that God had sent him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel, Jesse didn’t even include David in the lineup.

Yet David thrived in the role of underdog. He killed the giant Goliath. He succeeded Saul as the king of Israel. God gave David the chance of a lifetime, and David rose to the occasion.

Gradually, though, his attention wandered. His priorities shifted. According to 2 Samuel 11:1, King David sent his men to battle the Ammonites while he “stayed behind in Jerusalem” (NLT). While he was idling in Jerusalem, he saw a woman named Bathsheba taking a bath. David sent for her and slept with her, even though she was the wife of Uriah, one of his most faithful soldiers.

When he learned that Bathsheba was pregnant, David called Uriah back from battle, hoping that he would sleep with his wife. That way, people would assume that he was the father of her child. But Uriah refused to enjoy the comforts of home while his fellow soldiers were still camped on the battlefield. In desperation, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle so that he could marry the widow Bathsheba in time to make the baby’s birth seem legitimate.

David failed God spectacularly. He committed adultery and murder. And after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, he felt the weight of his sin. He wrote, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1–2 NLT). God heard his prayer, forgave his sins, and gave him a second chance.

And God will do the same for you, no matter what you’ve done, if you repent and ask for forgiveness.

 

Reflection question: How does knowing that God offers forgiveness and second chances change the way you respond when you fail? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Rejoice in the Lord

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

The Christian has a compelling duty to rejoice. Paul stresses the Christian need to rejoice by using the tense in the Greek that specifies a continuing and habitual action. This instruction follows his mention of otherwise faithful believers in the church who were unfortunately pursuing disharmony and dissension. Believers are reminded to restore broken relationships, follow after harmony, and rejoice.

Perhaps the best reason to rejoice is that all our names are written in the “book of life” (v. 3). This precious book was mentioned from old times as “a book of remembrance . . . written before him for them that feared the LORD” (Malachi 3:16). Christ mentioned this book as a cause to “rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Our rejoicing will continue throughout eternity, for only “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27) will be permitted into the Lamb’s presence. Our love for the brethren and our hope for eternity are reasons to rejoice, indeed.

Paul told the Philippian church they were among the reasons for his joy. “I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” (Philippians 1:7). Those who had a heart for the things of God were important to him. Therefore, “fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (2:2). “For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me” (2:18).

Their joy of fellowship was rooted in the love and service of Christ, as well as His sufferings, “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (3:10). So, rejoice! JDM

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Why Obedience Beats Emotion Every Time

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He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest].

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (AMP)

Aren’t you thankful that you and I don’t have to be led by our emotions? We can be led by God’s Spirit. All we need to do is be obedient to Him. When the Lord asks us to do something, any of us can be tempted to wait for a convenient season, a time when all conditions are perfect, as today’s scripture mentions. Human nature causes us to hold back sometimes as we walk with God, wanting to wait until following Him won’t be so difficult. Our emotions find all kinds of ways to delay doing what we know we should do.

I encourage you to be unafraid of facing challenges or taking on responsibilities, so that you won’t procrastinate when God speaks. If you only do what is easy and what your emotions want to do, you will remain weak and shallow as a Christian. But as you meet resistance and overcome it, you will build your strength and grow in your faith.

God expects us to be responsible and take care of what He gives us. He wants us to use all He’s given us to bear good fruit (John 15:16). If we do not use the gifts and talents He has given us when He directs us to, then we are not being responsible over what He has entrusted to us.

If you are a procrastinator, I urge you to heed the instruction of Ecclesiastes 11:4. You don’t have to wait until everything seems perfect and your emotions are excited to obey God. Do what He says to do when He says to do it, and you will reap the blessings of obedience.

Prayer of the Day: Help me, Lord, to follow You immediately instead waiting for more convenient timing. Help me to obey You promptly when You lead me to do something.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – The Heavens Declare

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Read Psalm 19:1–14

As I am writing, it is December in Illinois. All week long, the sunsets have been a particularly vibrant pink and orange, and people in our neighborhood chat have been posting photos of the flaming sky. While they might not give glory to God, I think of today’s psalm every time.

Psalm 19 describes the communicative nature of our God. Verses 1–6 celebrate His revelation through creation while verses 7–11 proclaim His revelation through His Word. As a whole, the psalm testifies to a God who makes Himself known in a myriad of ways.

The first half of the psalm focuses on the heavens as a primary mouthpiece. All of humanity merely has to look up to observe the “glory of God” and to appreciate “the work of his hands” (v. 1). This revelation is continuous and uninterrupted (v. 2), and it transcends the limitations of language. Without speech or sound, the intricate innerworkings of the world give nonverbal testimony throughout all the earth (vv. 3–4).

Then, verses 4–6 focus on the sun. Many ancient cultures worshiped the sun itself. But here the psalmist describes the Hebrew God as providing a home for the sun, which is depicted as a “bridegroom” or a “champion.” With joy, vitality, and strength, the sun crosses the sky, making known its Creator.

The second half of the psalm focuses on God’s revelation through His law—and the desired human response to it. His law is “perfect,” “refreshing,” and “trustworthy” (v. 7). It is a source of wisdom, righteousness, and joy (vv. 7–8). It enlightens our minds (v. 8) and demands our reverence and respect (v. 9). God’s law is to be cherished and savored (v. 10), heeded and obeyed (vv. 11–13).

Go Deeper

What does this psalm tell us about the ways in which God communicates? Where do you enjoy God’s revelation through creation? Why not share a photo of the beauty of God’s creation in our Facebook group?

Pray with Us

Heavenly Father, all creation sings Your praise! Give us eyes to see the beauty in everything You have made, and lips that are eager to join with creation in worship. There is none like You.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.Psalm 19:1–2

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/