Daily Archives: October 23, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Pray Without Ceasing

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Be happy in your faith at all times. Never stop praying. Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, PHILLIPS

Recommended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Isaac Watts, the London pastor and hymn writer, wrote, “There is such a thing as correspondence [communication] with heaven and prayer is a great part of it while we dwell on earth. Who would not be ambitious to correspond with heaven? Who would not be willing to learn to pray? This is the language wherein God hath appointed the sons of Adam, who are but worms and dust, to address the King of Glory, their Maker.”1

In our preparation for the battle, it’s important to realize God gave us a secret resource: prayer. Prayer is a direct link to our Lord, and we are to pray without ceasing. While this doesn’t mean we are constantly praying, it does mean that we consistently leave the lines of communication open, walking with God in uninterrupted fellowship.

Be alert and be ambitious to correspond with heaven.

Prayer is a sacred and appointed means to obtain all the blessings that we want [need], whether they relate to this life, or the life to come.
Isaac Watts

  1. Isaac Watts, A Guide to Prayer (London, 1789), 264-265.

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Carried Through

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It is good to praise the Lord . . . proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Psalm 92:1-2

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

Lillie Cunningham is 110 years old, yet she isn’t reliant on a cane or walker. She does rely on Scripture, however, which she reads every morning and night—and attends church every Sunday. When she considers her life, she states, “I just always had faith and trust in God that he was going to carry us through.”

Mrs. Cunningham trusts in and praises God for carrying her through hardships, including wars, pandemics, and the death of her husband and siblings. Her life resembles that of the psalmist who proclaimed God’s “love in the morning and [His] faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1-2); and her perseverance points to the psalmist’s words: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree . . . ; planted in the house of the Lord . . . . They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (vv. 12-14). And like the psalmist, she attributes it all to God (v. 15).

We can learn much from this centenarian’s example. Like Lillie, may we live our lives in communion with and praise for God by spending time in prayer, reading Scripture, and worshiping “in the courts of our God” (v. 13). We aren’t promised a long life on earth, but through Him, we can stay “fresh and green” (v. 14) as God prepares us for eternal life with Him.

Reflect & Pray

What does it look like to flourish through walking with God? How has God carried you through hardships?

Dear God, thank You for bringing me through both the joys and trials of my life. Please help me to walk with You in my everyday activities.

Today’s Insights

The superscript for Psalm 92 reads, “For the Sabbath day.” It’s the only psalm written for the Sabbath, and the tone is one of thanks and praise. “I sing for joy at what your hands have done,” writes the psalmist (v. 4). This references creation, after which God “rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2). The psalm also draws on a familiar theme of Scripture’s poets—“the righteous will flourish like a palm tree” (Psalm 92:12). This echoes Psalm 1, which likens the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” (v. 2) to “a tree planted by streams of water” (v. 3). Psalm 1 notes how “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous” (v. 6). Psalm 92 acknowledges God Himself as the source of that righteousness, for “the righteous” (v. 12) declare, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock” (v. 15). Through our joys and trials, we can praise God, knowing that He cares for us.

For further study, read: Walk with Me

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Ohio governor’s race roiled by attack ad against Democrat

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According to the Wall Street Journal, “An attack ad against an Ohio Democrat featuring her estranged mother calling her a liar and unfit for office has roiled the state’s closely contested governor race.” The candidate, Dr. Amy Acton, has said her mother’s husband sexually abused her; she and her mother have been estranged since she was a child. Last Tuesday, her opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, took responsibility for the ad.

Reaction has been strong on both sides. Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic nominee for Senate this fall, called the ad “disgusting.” His opponent, GOP Sen. Jon Husted, said, “I would not have run that ad.”

By contrast, Vice President JD Vance rebuked Republicans for “whining” about the ad, saying: “Politics is a tough business.” At a campaign rally in Ohio, he said the ad “calls it out like it is.” And Donald Trump Jr. posted, “Ohio watch this and think about what it means.”

There’s an old truism about politics that says you have to get elected to serve, so whatever it takes to do the former is warranted so long as you then do the latter. I’m certainly not endorsing this approach, and it remains to be seen whether the ad will work for or against its sponsoring campaign when all the votes are cast.

Of course, such transactionalism is not limited to politics. Any of us who aspire to something are likely to do what it takes to try to achieve it. And since we aspire to many different things, we adopt many different strategies for success. They are like masks we wear, each intended for the context in which it is being worn.

Behind such masking, an even more foundational process is at work. Psychologists say we all have an “idealized self,” the person we wish we were and want others to believe us to be. We then act to project this perfected person to the world.

This is wearying work. We wish we could be ourselves with everyone, but we fear they wouldn’t like us if we did.

Sacrificing to Mars before we go to war

The good news is that our Father already knows what’s behind our masks and loves us anyway. But it’s hard to believe this to be true since it’s not entirely true with anyone else we know.

For example, my wife’s love for me over our many decades of marriage is a daily marvel to me. Knowing myself as I know myself, I continue to be astonished that she loves me as she does. But if I were to have an affair or act in a way that harmed our children or grandchildren, I have to think that I would damage her heart for me. She might still love me, but she couldn’t love me in the same way. The same would be true of my family and friends, I presume.

It is only natural to apply this reality to our relationship with God. Unsurprisingly, the world’s religions function on an axis of transaction: if we do what God wants, he will do what we want.

When I led study tours to Ephesus, for example, we walked past the many altars that lined its main thoroughfare, each of them an invitation to do business with the deity it represented. If you’re going to war, you want to sacrifice to Mars so he will protect you in battle. If you need wisdom, Athena is your god; if you’re sailing, you want to placate Neptune beforehand.

So, it only makes sense to go to church on Sunday so God will bless you on Monday. Start the day with a “quiet time” with him so he will bless your day. Act with righteousness to be blessed by your righteous God.

Of course, this could only work if we were as sinless as the Lord whose favor we seek. If he is to bless our righteousness, he must punish our sinfulness. And we are back where we started, needing the help of a God whose help we cannot earn.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love”

The good news is that, unlike you and everyone you know, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Love is his very nature, his essence, not just what he does but who he is. To put it a bit crudely, God loves you because he cannot help loving you. His nature requires him to love you.

There is, therefore, nothing you can do to make him love you any more or any less than he did when he sent his Son to the cross for you. He loves you as much as when he chose to create you. He loves you on earth as much as he will love you in heaven.

This is why he can say to his people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3a). There never was and will never be a time when his love for us changes, which is why he can add, “I have continued my faithfulness to you” (v. 3b).

The key is seeing ourselves as he sees us, remembering all through the day that we are God’s “Beloved,” as Henri Nouwen called us. We then respond by worshipping him, not so he will love us but because he already does. We serve him, not so that he will bless us, but because he already has. Our gratitude for his grace motivates all we do and liberates us to do it in love.

Someone wrote that he asked Jesus, “How much do you love me?” He responded, “I love you this much,” as he spread his arms wide on the cross and died.

He would do it all again, just for you.

 

 

Denison Forum

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Choosing Not to Fear

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 Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. 

—2 Timothy 4:18

Scripture:

2 Timothy 4:18 

If anyone ever had reason to feel anxious or afraid, it was the apostle Paul. Here’s just a glimpse of what life was like for him, as told in the apostle’s own words: “Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24–28 NLT).

One of the things that amazes me about Paul is that he always seemed to rise to the top of every situation and seize every opportunity to preach the gospel, no matter how frightening his personal circumstances were.

As we talked about in an earlier devotion, when Paul and Silas were thrown in prison, they began to sing praises to God at midnight. Later, an earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, the doors flew open, and the prisoners’ chains fell off.  And then the very jailer who had chained them up and whipped them asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

When Paul was brought before the dignitaries of Rome, he wasn’t intimidated. When he stood before Felix, he talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. When he stood before Herod Agrippa II, Festus, and other dignitaries he asked, “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8 NKJV). Later, addressing Agrippa directly, he asked, “Do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe” (Acts 26:27 NKJV). When he was transported as a prisoner on a ship, he didn’t let his fear get the best of him. Instead, he gained the respect of the captain, the crew, the soldiers, and the Roman centurion aboard the vessel.

Paul’s boldness was the logical outflow of his faith. He wrote, “Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18 NLT).

After his conversion, Paul still experienced fear and discouragement. But he repeatedly chose to trust God rather than allow those emotions to control him. The words he penned to the believers at Philippi seem always to have been true for him: “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11 NKJV).

Paul was fully convinced of the faithfulness of God and was sustained by that conviction. He chose to embrace boldness and contentment over fear. Let us do the same, with God’s help.

Reflection question: How can you choose boldness and contentment over fear in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Fellowship

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

Much goes on in Christian churches today under the name of “fellowship.” Usually this consists of coffee and donuts, church socials, or sports. As delightful as these functions may be, they should not be confused with biblical fellowship.

Nowhere in the New Testament do any of the Greek words translated “fellowship” imply fun times. Rather, they talk of, for example, “the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:4) as sacrificial service and financial aid. (See, for example, 1 Timothy 6:18.)

Elsewhere, Paul was thankful for the Philippian believers’ “fellowship in the gospel” (Philippians 1:5), for he knew that “inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers [same word as fellowship] of my grace” (v. 7). This sort of fellowship may even bring persecution.

We are to emulate Christ’s humility and self-sacrificial love (2:5–8) through the “fellowship of the Spirit” (v. 1). In some way known only partially to us, we have the privilege of knowing “the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (3:10), and even “the communion [i.e., fellowship] of the blood” and “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

As we can see, this fellowship is serious business. As in our text and subsequent verses, fellowship should be accompanied by teaching, prayer, and ministry to the poor (Acts 2:45). This kind of fellowship will be in “favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). JDM

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Faithful to Forgive

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…Their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more.

Hebrews 10:17 (AMPC)

God is always faithful to forgive our sins just as He promised He would. Sometimes people won’t forgive us, but God always forgives sin and then forgets it. And we can be thankful to know that there is no limit to God’s forgiveness.

People often have limits to what they are willing to forgive or how often they are willing to do it, but God’s forgiveness never runs out. People may say they forgive us and then remind us of what we did that hurt them, but God never reminds us of our past sins, because He has forgotten them (Hebrews 10:17).

When we are reminded of past sins, it is not God bringing them to our remembrance; it is Satan, the accuser of God’s people. Reject the lies of the enemy and choose to receive the faithfulness of God to forgive.

Prayer of the Day: I thank You today, Father, that You are always faithful to forgive. Regardless of how many times I mess up, I know that You love me and You are faithful to forgive my sins. I am grateful for Your forgiveness, and I desire to live my best for You in response to Your goodness to me.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – From Blind to Sight 

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Play

Christians love to sing “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. I was blind, but now I see.”

Blind. Blind to the promise of eternal life. Blind to the provider of life. We relate to the words of the was-blind beggar: “One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see.”

His story is our story. Perhaps that’s why John was in no hurry to tell it. He needed only twelve verses to describe how water became wine, but he dedicated a whopping forty-one verses to depicting how Jesus found and cured and matured the blind man. Now why? Among the explanations is this one. What Jesus did physically for the blind beggar, he desires to do spiritually for all people—to restore our sight.

Remember my friends, you are never alone.

 

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Generosity Bears Fruit

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Read 2 Corinthians 9:6–11

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that storing up “treasures on earth” is useless. In this world, our treasures can be stolen or destroyed. Rather we should store up “treasures in heaven,” beyond the reach of the risks of a fallen world. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19–21).

The virtue of generosity shows that our hearts are not attached to the things of this world. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul reveals another twist on the principle of you reap what you sow, as applied to giving and generosity (vv. 6–7). We should give not with reluctance or under compulsion, but willingly and even cheerfully. If we sow generously, we’ll reap generously. Why? Because “God loves a cheerful giver.”

How? Because God (vv. 8–9). One might think that giving generously would empty the bank account. But God’s economy is different and He’s “able to bless you abundantly.” This is not a prosperity gospel, for all that’s said here is that we’ll have what we need. The blessing is spiritual—to “abound in every good work.” Paul then quoted from Psalm 112, which includes generosity in its portrait of righteous people. Why do they scatter gifts to the poor? Because they’re trusting in God, not their money.

Furthermore, for generous givers God “will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (vv. 10–11). He doesn’t ignore material things. After all, He supplies seeds and bread. But the focus is on the spiritual: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” “Through us” makes it clear that Paul was specifically grateful for their missionary support for him and his team (cf. Phil. 4:10–13).

Go Deeper

What does it mean to be a cheerful giver? How does your faith and obedience to God shape your own financial decisions?

Pray with Us

As You have so freely given to us, Jesus, help us freely give to others. Please bring people across our path who are in need; let us show You to them.

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.2 Corinthians 9:11

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/