Daily Archives: September 14, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Dr Fell

Leave a comment

 

NEW!Listen Now

Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:8

Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

What do you do about people you simply don’t like? It may be the person you sat beside on the airplane last week, but at least you won’t have to see him again. But what if that person is your relative? Or a coworker? Or someone in your church? They may be nice enough, but something about them rubs you the wrong way. It’s like the old nursery rhyme, “I do not like thee, Dr. Fell; the reason why I cannot tell.”

These are the very people God wants us to love, to pray for, to bless, and to serve. Their personalities might be different from ours. But remember how Jesus managed to love people of every temperament, in every place, at all times, and under all circumstances.

It comes down to a little prayer: Lord, give me Your love just now. It’s as simple as that. When we confess that our human affection is insufficient to care for a certain person, we must ask the Lord to give us His love, and then we have to act on it.

Jesus never fails to help you love others, even Dr. Fell.

Love is service rather than sentiment.
John R. W. Stott

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – The God Who Helps

Leave a comment

 

[The Israelites’] cry for help because of 
their slavery went up to God. Exodus 2:23

Today’s Scripture

Exodus 2:23-25; 3:7-10

Listen to Today’s Devotion

Apple LinkSpotify Link

Today’s Devotion

While driving her nine-year-old son to camp, a mother got lost after taking a wrong turn and getting the car stuck on a rural forest road in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Her GPS and phone quit working because of the remote area, so they were unable to retrace their way back. In desperation after being stranded for more than twenty-four hours and sleeping in their car overnight, they began to walk. They left a trail of notes along the way: “HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can’t call 9-1-1.” Because they didn’t arrive at the camp on time, search-and-rescue teams went out looking. They discovered the car, the notes, and then quickly found them.

The Israelites desperately cried out to God for help because they were being severely mistreated by the Egyptians, who had enslaved them (Exodus 1:11-12). Working them ruthlessly, “they made their lives bitter with harsh labor” (vv. 13-14). The Israelites must have wondered if they’d even survive the cruelty. But God heard their cries and raised up Moses to deliver them (3:4-10). Eventually God used him to rescue them and lead them out of Egypt (see Exodus 14-15).

Whether we’re feeling lost or mistreated, God is always near and His ear is open to our cries. In His time and in His way, He’ll send the help we need.

Reflect & Pray

How can you learn to share your desperate cries with God? What desperate cry might you need to pray right now?

Please help me, loving God. I’m always in need of Your mercy. I bring my heart’s burdens to You now.

Today’s Insights

God worked through Joseph to preserve His people, who at the time of their migration to Egypt four hundred years earlier had been seventy in number (Exodus 1:5). Now, as the King James Version so poetically renders it, “There arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (v. 8). This pharaoh enslaved the Hebrews, who were now numerous, and he began to commit infanticide against them (v. 22). But Pharaoh’s murderous net failed to get the baby Moses (2:1-10). As God had used Joseph to establish His people, He’d now use Moses to deliver them. But it would take time. Forty years would pass before Moses futilely tried to help his own people (Acts 7:23), and forty more would go by until God called him out of the desert (v. 30). Still another forty years would transpire as God corrected and instructed His disobedient people (v. 36; Deuteronomy 2:7; Joshua 5:6). As God was faithful to His people, He’ll also be near to us in our trials.

For further study, read: The Mercy of God

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – A Pleasing Faith

Leave a comment

 

 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. 

—Hebrews 11:6

Scripture:

Hebrews 11:6 

In this week’s devotions, we’ll focus on the New Testament book of Hebrews. Today’s passage contains some crucial wisdom regarding faith, but first we need a biblical definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 offers a great starting point for understanding this topic: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (NLT).

Faith plays a key role in the Christian walk not just in a lofty spiritual sense, but also in a practical, rubber-meets-the-road way. For example, faith is essential to prayer. To put it more bluntly, sometimes our prayers aren’t answered in the affirmative because we simply don’t believe. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (NLT).

When we approach God thinking, “I don’t really believe this can happen,” then we essentially cancel our own prayer. To not believe what God’s Word says is true is to effectively call God a liar. James tells us, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:5–7).

We must pray with faith. And if we lack faith, then we must follow the example of the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). That prayer works. We don’t need to have super faith, but we do need to have some faith—and we need to apply that faith in prayer.

Faithful prayer involves a sense of expectation. That’s not to say that we should have a smug assurance that God will give us everything we ask for when we ask for it. Rather, we should approach God knowing that our heavenly Father will give us His full attention. He is deeply concerned about our lives, our circumstances, and our needs. He promises to respond to our prayers according to His will. And His will is far greater than anything we can conceive of. Ultimately, His answers to our prayers will result in our increased wisdom, preparation, joy, fulfillment, and peace.

That’s how we please God with our faith. And that’s how we unlock the full potential of prayer in our lives.

 

Reflection question: How can you unlock the full potential of prayer in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Guard against Pride

Leave a comment

 

by Brian Thomas, Ph.D.

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Acts 26:18)

Jesus promised to make Paul “a minister and a witness” (Acts 26:16) to “turn [unbelievers] from . . . the power of Satan unto God” (our text). And Paul did this through his living and teaching for the rest of his life, teaching the exact opposite of what caused Satan’s downfall and what led Paul to persecute believers: pride.

Scripture reveals the devil’s proud heart in the famous five “I wills” of Isaiah 14. Here are two: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). This mere creature believes he deserves praise fit only for the uncreated Lord. So do we! Why else do we want others to know how good we are, like Paul before he encountered Christ? When we try to wrest glory from the infinitely more deserving Lord, we follow in the steps of Satan. How can we escape this “darkness” (our text)? Live like the living Light: Jesus.

Instead of expecting and demanding the treatment due Him as Lord, Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and . . . humbled himself” (Philippians 2:7–8). The result? “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him” (v. 9). The way up is to give ourselves up to the will of the Lord. “So the last shall be first” (Matthew 20:16).

Will you obey your self-exalting flesh or “set your affection on things above” (Colossians 3:2)? Peter admonished, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Each day affords a gracious opportunity to turn “from the power of Satan unto God” (our text). BDT

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Being God’s Friend

Leave a comment

 

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

James 2:23 (NIV)

Do you have a friendship with God? I pray that you do, for that is God’s desire! Yes, He wants to be your friend! We may see God in many different ways. Perhaps as a Father, a Master, our Lord, our Helper—and He is all of these things, but He uses the term “friend” as a way of saying that He desires a close and intimate relationship with each of us.

I think a lot about this invitation of friendship, and I’ve gathered all the biblical information I can about what that means and how to develop it. I like the thought of “doing life with God.” We should involve Him by inviting Him into all that we do and developing a conversational relationship with Him. God wants to talk to you, and He will talk back. He speaks to us in many ways and through many different avenues, but He does speak, and we should expect Him to. How can we possibly be the friend of God if we don’t have conversation?

The Bible is filled with records of people who prayed, and it is also filled with numerous accounts of God speaking to His people. Jesus said that His sheep know and hear His voice (John 10:27). We learn to hear from God by studying His Word and by experience. I encourage you not only to talk to Him about everything, but to learn to listen and expect Him to speak to you.

God is your friend, and He has promised to be with you always, until the end of time! You are never alone!

Prayer of the Day: My God and my Friend, thank You for inviting me into a close friendship with You. Help me and guide me into a deep, personal, and intimate relationship with You. Teach me what it means to be Your friend and help me grow in this friendship each day. Draw me closer to You, help me know You more deeply, and teach me to love You more fully, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Filter of Faith 

Leave a comment

 

Play

Christ followers hear a language that others miss.  In  2 Kings chapter 6 we see this truth played out in dramatic fashion.  Elijah’s protégé, Elisha, followed in his mentor’s footsteps and upset the powers of the age.  The king of Aram decided to take the young prophet out.  He sent a kill squad.  They surrounded the city by night.  It appeared to be the end.

But the man of God saw what his frightened servant could not.  “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see’” (v. 17).  One saw through the filter of fear.  The other, the filter of faith.  Elisha learned this lesson from Elijah.  We’d be wise to do the same.

 

 

 

Home

Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Twisting the Truth

Leave a comment

 

Read Ezra 4:6–16

The New Testament confirms that Satan “is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). We see evidence of this in the very first book of the Bible. In the garden of Eden, the serpent twisted God’s words to deceive Eve (Gen. 3:1). And in Ezra 4:6–16, we see another example of the enemy twisting the truth in order to harm God’s people.

Verse 6 gives helpful historical context: “at the beginning of the reign of Xerxes.” Xerxes ruled Persia from 485 to 465 BC. The next verse refers to “the days of Artaxerxes,” who ruled from 464 to 424 BC. The author is emphasizing that God’s people faced opposition for an extended time—decades! This was not a one-time occurrence cleared up in a few days.

The letter to Artaxerxes called Jerusalem a “rebellious and wicked city” (v. 12). It stated that “this city was destroyed” because it “is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces” (v. 15). That was all true. The city was rebellious and wicked. Most significantly, God exiled His people because they consistently worshiped false gods and refused to obey Him. But the letter writer was not concerned with Jerusalem’s idolatry or mistreatment of the poor, the orphans, or the widows. Those opposing God’s work in Jerusalem twisted the truth of God’s people’s sins in order to manipulate the earthly ruler Artaxerxes into stopping the rebuilding project.

In short, the letter did not technically lie, but it left out the whole truth. Namely, God’s people had rebelled against God Himself. They had experienced God’s discipline for their sin, repented of their sin, and now God had restored them to the land He had already given them. The accusations lodged against God’s people didn’t tell the whole story. In fact, they left out the most important parts: sin, repentance, and God’s glorious grace.

Go Deeper

Have you experienced someone telling half-truths about you? How did it feel be misrepresented and to have your past used against you?

Pray with Us

We repent of the lies we have told that have hurt others, Jesus. Please keep our mouths from deceit and help us always to speak in truth and kindness. Let our tongues build others up.

An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.Proverbs 12:17

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/