Daily Archives: August 27, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Trust

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Recommended Reading: Psalm 37:3-5

The digital age has brought us cars with built-in navigation systems and phones with maps powered by GPS satellites. We also have the option of riding in self-driving cars! Making the transition from depending on our own skills to trusting computerized devices can be challenging.

The same can be said when it comes to navigating through life. Before becoming a Christian, we trusted in our own skills, instincts, and decisions to make our way. But once we enter into a relationship with God, we find a different strategy is recommended—the strategy of trust. When we are driving and using a computerized map, we might question directions we are given based on traffic or construction delays. We might even ignore the directions and go our own way. But Solomon warned against such a strategy for life. Against our natural inclinations, we are told to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart, and lean not on [our] own understanding; in all [our] ways acknowledge Him.”

If you need direction for your future, depend on God’s instructions instead of your own; let Him direct your path.

Doubt breeds distress but trust means joy in the long run. 
Charles Spurgeon

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Where God Reigns

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Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Today’s Scripture

James 4:1-10

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

In 2018, a man checked into a room at New York hotel for a one-night stay. Remarkably, he used the room for five years without paying another cent—exploiting obscure rent laws to hold on to it. His refusal to leave, however, eventually led to potential prison time for him.

Like an unwelcome tenant who overstays, James warns us that the devil lingers in our lives when left unchecked. “Resist the devil,” James writes, “and he will flee from you” (4:7). The apostle emphasizes that our struggles often come from impure “desires” and “wrong motives” (vv. 1, 3)—things like pride, divided loyalties, and impure thoughts residing in our hearts. To counter such temptation, James offers two commands: “submit . . . to God” and “resist the devil” (v. 7). To submit means surrendering every part of our lives to God. Resisting the devil is equally active, requiring prayer, vigilance, and the wisdom of Scripture.

Like a landlord evicting an unlawful tenant, in God’s strength we can refuse to let the temptation of the devil overtake us. As we resist him, God promises victory as James asserts, “He will flee from you” (v. 7).

When we evict sin and the devil’s influence and “come near to God” (v. 8), we allow His peace, joy, and purpose to dwell more fully in us. The enemy can’t stay where God reigns!

Reflect & Pray

What can you do to remove “unwelcome tenants” from your life? How does submitting to God help?

Sovereign God, please help me surrender every part of my life to You so I can stand firm against the enemy’s schemes.

Today’s Insights

In addition to the admonitions of Peter (1 Peter 5:8) and James (James 4:7) regarding spiritual vigilance in resisting temptation, Paul also had something to say about it. After noting how the Israelites had succumbed to temptation in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:1-11), he warned the Corinthians: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful . . . . When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (vv. 12-13). The apostle lists two examples of how the “way out” can sometimes involve fleeing. He says we’re to “flee from idolatry” (v. 14) and “sexual immorality” (6:18). The Holy Spirit helps us to stand firm against the enemy.

Read further to understand how a boy who grew up in the church moved from Hidden sin to honest surrender: From Hidden Sin to Honest Surrender.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Flash floods and wildfires

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A reflection on meteorology and eternity

Forty-seven American tourists are missing today following flash flooding that occurred at 8:30 a.m. local time in Nepal. They are among a “preliminary” toll of at least 341 missing people, according to a statement by the Nepal Tourism Board.

In other weather news, a wildfire west of Fort Worth, Texas, has burned eighty thousand acres at this writing and is only 12 percent contained. I have been watching it closely because it is close to a chapel our ministry supports, and that is close to my heart.

Mark Twain noted, “Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get.” He is often credited as well with the observation, “Everyone complains about the weather, but nobody ever seems to do anything about it.”

I am writing today to complain about the weather, and to decide what to do about it as well.

Meteorology and my morning walk

My morning walk was impaired today by meteorologists. I consulted the Weather Channel app, the AccuWeather app, and the app from our local news station. All were in adamant agreement that it would begin raining in forty-five minutes. So I altered my routine, got outside in the dark, and shortened my walk by half. Of course, not a drop of rain fell this morning.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Flash floods and wildfires →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – A Hunger for Truth

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 O LORD, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent, those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long. 

—Psalm 140:1–2

Scripture:

Psalm 140:1–2 

There’s an old saying that goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” David’s words in Psalm 140 offer compelling evidence of that. David begins the psalm with these words: “O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent, those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long” (verses 1–2 NLT).

“Stirring up trouble all day long” is practically a job description for the influencers, trolls, and others who crowd onto modern social media platforms. No gossip is too salacious, no accusation is too offensive for them to reframe for their own purposes, comment on, and spread to others.

Like David, we are living in a wicked, vicious time. People today have an unhealthy appetite for gossip and slander—anything that makes others look bad. Once upon a time, this was known as a “tabloid mentality.” But the kind of stuff that once could be found only in supermarket tabloids has spread throughout the ranks of journalism and broadcast media. Hard news has been replaced by attacking partisan commentary. Everyone wants the dirt, especially on those they oppose. Social media has accelerated the decline in journalistic and personal integrity. Civility, courtesy, and empathy seem to be nearing extinction.

Take away the technology, and you have a culture that would have been recognizable to David. The “evil people” he referred to in Psalm 140:1 had initiated a carefully planned campaign of slander and lies against him, and it was proving to be effective. You’ve heard the expression, “Good news travels fast.” I suggest to you that bad news travels even faster. It’s been said that a lie is halfway around the world while truth is still putting on its shoes. There’s something about a falsehood that causes it to spread like a wildfire.

James knew what he was talking about when he wrote, “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3:6 NLT).

David understood what our response should be to the trouble that people stir up. In Psalm 25:4–5, he wrote, “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you” (NLT).

As believers, we must reject the lies of the world and learn everything we can about God’s truth. We must ask God to lead us, to help us resist the temptation to fight fire with fire when people stir up trouble.

We need never concern ourselves about people’s reactions when we’re walking in God’s truth.

 

Reflection question: What would focusing on God’s truth look like in your life?

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Always

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)

A favorite old song of many senior citizens (of this writer, at least) is the sentimental “I’ll Be Loving You—Always” ballad written long ago by Irving Berlin. The sincerity of some who sing it may be questioned, but the many “always” promises of the Bible really mean it. Consider a few of these precious promises.

The apostle Paul urges believers to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). And to the same Corinthian church he later wrote, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Then there is that other tremendous promise in the same epistle: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). The greatest such promise is that in our text, when the Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised that “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

There are also a number of very important exhortations in the Scriptures involving an “always” type of commitment. For example, Jesus said “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). That is, never give up praying just because the answer seems a long time coming. Furthermore, Paul says that we should be “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

Then, we are to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). Finally, there is the command to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). HMM

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – How to Keep Your Passion for Jesus Alive

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So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!

Revelation 3:16 (AMPC)

When our relationship with Jesus is new, it is often filled with passion and enthusiasm, but it is possible as time goes by to let it become commonplace and dull. That is a serious mistake!

We should keep ourselves stirred up and not allow ourselves to become so familiar with the amazing things that God does for us that we are no longer enthusiastic about them. Once I recall asking God, “Why don’t You do the exciting things in my life that You once did?” and He said, “I still do the same things, but you have become accustomed to them and are no longer amazed!” Let’s not be lukewarm but instead let’s keep our passion for Jesus.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, please don’t let familiarity steal my passion for You, because I definitely want to be intimately familiar with You. Help me stay amazed by the amazing work You are doing in my life and keep my enthusiasm for You burning bright, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Hit Your Knees 

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When the child of Elijah’s friend died, the prophet prayed for the boy. “And God listened to Elijah’s prayer…Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. ‘Here’s your son,’ said Elijah, ‘alive!’” 1 Kings 17:22-23 MSG).

The power of praying it through. Elijah believed in it. Jesus taught it. He told his followers “that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit” (Luke 18:1 MSG). Take the dead and dying portions of your life—the vigor that has faded, the faith that has dwindled—and lay them before the Lord. And next to them place our society, which seems sicker day by day.

The theologian Samuel Taylor Coleridge called prayer “the greatest achievement of the Christian’s warfare upon earth.” If you want to take a stand against the enemy, hit your knees.

 

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – God Has Spoken

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Read Hebrews 1:1–4

In Matthew 21:33–44, Jesus told this parable: A landowner leased his vineyard to several tenants. When he sent his servants to retrieve his produce, the tenants killed them. When the landowner sent a larger group of servants to complete the errand, the tenants killed them as well. Finally, the landowner sent his own son. However, the tenants saw in the son an even greater opportunity. They killed him, seeking his inheritance.

The servants in the parable were the prophets, sent by God and rejected by the Jewish leaders. The son represented Jesus—God’s ultimate messenger. Through this parable, Jesus demonstrated God’s persistent communication with Israel, despite their objections. Hebrews also opens with a clear declaration of divine communication: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (vv. 1–2). God has always communicated with His people through different methods.

The “but” in verse 2 does not indicate a contrast, but rather the continuation and climax of God’s communication. Jesus’ arrival was the fulfillment of the prophets’ messages, and He was a superior revelation for many reasons. He was the divinely appointed “heir of all things” (v. 2b). No prophet could claim such an inheritance. He was also the Creator of the universe, while the prophets were among the created beings (v. 2c). Jesus radiated God’s glory and was “the exact representation of his being” (v. 3a). Divine communication was no longer shadowed or indirect. To see the Son was to know the Father. Jesus was also the ultimate revelation because He alone provided the atonement for our sins (v. 3b). He alone returned to the right hand of God on high. And He alone was superior to the angels (v. 4).

Go Deeper

In what ways has God communicated to people? What are ways we can hear God’s voice today?

Pray with Us

We stand in awe at the gift of Your Son, Father God. May we never take Your sacrifice for granted. We praise Your holy name!

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.Hebrews 1:1–2

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/