Daily Archives: November 3, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Ministering Spirits

Leave a comment

 

NEW!Listen Now

Are [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:14

Recommended Reading: Hebrews 1:10-14

It’s fascinating to notice what angels did in the Bible. Throughout Scripture, angels are constantly at work behind the scenes. They protected Lot (Genesis 19:15-17), guided Abraham’s servant (Genesis 24:7, 40), strengthened Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-8), defended Daniel (Daniel 6:22), ministered to Jesus (Matthew 4:11; Luke 22:43), announced Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew 28:5-7), rescued Peter from prison (Acts 12:7-11), and encouraged Paul in the midst of a violent storm (Acts 27:23-24). God assigns specific tasks to angels for our aid. When we are unable to fight our own battles, God sends His helpers to encourage, deliver, and empower us.

Perhaps the best definition of angels is in Hebrews 1. They are ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation. That’s you and me! We seldom see them, and most of their work is done without our awareness. But they are nonetheless near at hand.

Allow that thought to linger in your mind through this day and evening, and take comfort. All day, all night, angels are watching over you. Rely on that help today.

Angels descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Fanny Crosby

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Praying for Answers

Leave a comment

 

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 2 Corinthians 12:8

Today’s Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:6-9

Listen to Today’s Devotion

Apple LinkSpotify Link

Today’s Devotion

When Monica’s son Augustine wanted to leave home for a city known for its immorality, she pleaded with God not to let him go. But he went anyway, which greatly grieved his mother, yet it was there that God transformed his life. In his Confessions, Augustine later prayed, “Yet in your deep counsel you heard the central point of her longing . . . [so] that you would make me what she continually prayed for.” Augustine not only became a believer in Jesus, but he also became one of the most influential Christian thinkers in history.

Sometimes God doesn’t give us what we ask for—giving us instead something of greater worth. Like Monica, the apostle Paul asked God for something he didn’t receive. We don’t know what Paul’s “thorn” in his flesh was, but we know it tormented him, and “three times” he “pleaded with the Lord to take it” from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). Yet God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). In the end, Paul concluded that he would “boast all the more gladly” about his weaknesses so that he might know more of “Christ’s power” (v. 9).

Paul’s response shows us the way forward when we’re waiting for God’s answers, or when they aren’t what we expect. Jesus is our hope in all things, and in His strength we have more than we need.

Reflect & Pray

When have you asked God for something and received something else? How did Christ help you in this?

Ever-wise Savior, please help me to trust Your goodness in all things and to daily draw strength from You.

Today’s Insights

God in His all-knowing wisdom doesn’t always give us what we ask for in prayer. Paul prayed for Him to remove the “thorn in [his] flesh,” whatever that may have been (2 Corinthians 12:7). But he knew God loved him and would do what was for his best (vv. 8-10; see Romans 8:28). The apostle’s weakness kept him humble and focused on God and His strength rather than on his own (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). And God used him to spread the gospel to many people. Paul had much he could boast about (11:16–12:5), but he chose instead to boast about the things that showed his weakness and God’s strength (12:6-9). Jesus’ prayer reminds us to pray according to God’s will: “Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). As we pray today, we can be assured of God’s faithfulness and that He’ll provide what’s best for us.

For further study, read: The Wilderness of Broken Dreams

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Three-day weddings and Tuesday midterms

Leave a comment

 

How to sacralize the secular

More than fifty million Americans cast ballots in early voting prior to today’s midterm elections. Among them was Pope Leo XIV, who submitted a mail-in ballot for the midterms, becoming the first pope to vote in a US election and likely the first to vote in a secular democratic election. More than a hundred million people are expected to join him by voting today.

But why do we vote on a Tuesday? The US is one of only twenty-eight democratic countries that typically hold national elections on non-holiday weekdays. By contrast, sixty democracies typically hold elections on Saturdays or Sundays, and sixteen others hold elections on weekdays but declare them public holidays.

Our reasoning goes back to the nineteenth century, when the nation was primarily rural and all voting was in person. Wednesday was farmers’ market day, so it was out. And Sunday wasn’t an option because so many people were in church.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Three-day weddings and Tuesday midterms →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – No Compromise

Leave a comment

 

 Peter swore, ‘A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!’ And immediately the rooster crowed. 

—Matthew 26:74

Scripture:

Matthew 26:74 

Spiritually speaking, it’s hard to beat the apostle Peter’s résumé. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle. He witnessed the Transfiguration. He walked on water with Jesus. He rushed into Jesus’ empty tomb. He heard these words from the Lord Himself: “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18 NLT). According to church tradition, Peter was crucified upside down because he didn’t believe he was worthy to be executed as Jesus was.

Yet Peter is also remembered for his lowest moment, for failing Jesus on an epic level. After Peter boldly promised that he would remain faithful to Jesus, he denied even knowing the Lord—not once, not twice, but three times. Just as Jesus had said he would. Peter’s humbling experience reveals the danger of compromising our standards as believers, which is the hot-button issue we’re going to talk about today.

Peter’s denial of Jesus did not happen over a period of seconds or minutes, but over at least an hour (see Luke 22:59). An hour had passed from the time the first person said, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean” (Matthew 26:69 NLT), to the time Peter made his third denial. He had ample opportunity to hightail it out of there, but he remained in the situation.

He sealed his failure in Matthew 26:74: “Peter swore, ‘A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!’ And immediately the rooster crowed” (NLT).

This heartbreaking story reminds us that no person is safe from temptation except the one who flees from it. Peter, having been warned by Jesus Himself, should have avoided any place where he might have been weakened. He certainly should have steered clear of all roosters. I would have said, “Are there any roosters here? Because I’m leaving if there are. The Lord mentioned a rooster.”

Peter was hardly alone in his failure. Countless great men and women of God have been compromised by lowering their standards and allowing themselves to be drawn into sin. People like Solomon, Samson, and David all found out the hard way. Are we better than they were? Are we more spiritual than they were? I don’t think so.

So, if someone like Peter could fall, then surely we can. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us, “Bad company corrupts good character” (NLT). Peter was around people who were dragging him down spiritually. Are you in a similar situation today? Have you entered into relationships in which people are dragging you down? Maybe it’s a romance. Maybe it’s a close friendship. Are you finding yourself compromising your principles to fit in and not offend anyone? Perhaps you need to reconsider who your friends are. Perhaps you need to make some immediate changes.

Is bad company corrupting you?

Reflection question: What changes do you need to make in your life to keep from being corrupted by bad company? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Creation and the Finger of God

Leave a comment

 

by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:17–18)

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16), but this portion of Scripture was given by direct inscription of God! Moses testified, “The LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly” (Deuteronomy 9:10). “He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments” (Exodus 34:28). Thus, out of all the Holy Scriptures, God chose to write this section, not through one of His prophets, but with His own finger! It should, therefore, be taken literally and most seriously.

It is also significant that these commandments were structured around a weekly day of rest, remembering God’s creation week—six days of creating and making everything in heaven and Earth, followed by a sanctified day of rest and refreshment (note also Exodus 20:8–11 and Genesis 1:31–2:3). Ever since the creation, people have observed a weekly calendar. The seven-day week (unlike the day, month, and year) has no astronomical basis. People keep time in weeks simply because God did! Even those who deny the six-day week of creation must observe it, for their biological rhythms are constructed that way by God. “The sabbath was made for man,” said Jesus (Mark 2:27). Since God considered the truth of the literal creation week so important that He inscribed it Himself, we should believe this portion of His Word first of all. HMM

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – What Attitude Will You Take?

Leave a comment

 

Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).

Matthew 28:20 (AMPC)

When good things happen to us, praise comes naturally. It’s easy to lift our hands and our voices when God answers our prayers and delivers us from problems. But what about when things go wrong? What do we do when we’re sick, lose a job, or face criticism from others?

The negative response is to take the attitude of Job’s wife, who was so overwhelmed by the loss of their children and possessions that she told her husband: Renounce God and die! (Job 2:9 AMP). But Job answered with great wisdom: You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature? (Job 2:10 AMP). Job understood that living righteously doesn’t guarantee a life free from challenges.

The positive response is to praise God despite what’s going on in our lives. It may take effort, but if we can turn our eyes away from our immediate problems, we can find something that is good. We also can rejoice because God has faithfully taken us through the turmoil of the past, and we can trust that He’ll do the same again.

Prayer of the Day: God, thank You for Your Word, which promises that You are with me always and on every occasion. Help me praise You in both good and challenging times. May my attitude reflect trust in You, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Life of Victory 

Leave a comment

 

Play

Think about the Christian you want to be. What qualities do you want to have? More compassion? More conviction? More courage? What attitudes do you want to discontinue? Greed? Guilt? Endless negativity?

With God’s help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Indeed, the person God made you to be. You can live “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). To inherit your inheritance is God’s vision for your life. Imagine the thought! You as you were intended. It’s a life that is yours for the taking.

Expect to be challenged. The enemy will not go down without a fight. But God’s promises outweigh personal problems. Victory becomes, dare we imagine, a way of life. Isn’t it time for you to change your mailing address from the wilderness to the Promised Land? Are you ready to march?

 

 

 

Home

Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Birth of the Church

Leave a comment

 

Read Acts 2:14–47

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared in a spectacular way. As a result, the disciples were able to speak in the different languages of the God-fearing Jews who had come to visit Jerusalem. The disciples were not only speaking in the language, but they were “declaring the wonders of God” (2:11). This intrigued the Jews who inquired, “What does this mean?”

“Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine’” (2:13). How could any of the onlookers conclude that the disciples’ ability to speak in foreign languages was because they were drunk? The very thought is baffling. They literally attributed the power of the Holy Spirit to alcoholic spirits. But it shows how an unregenerate mind rationalizes a supernatural event.

Peter demonstrated how the ability to speak in different languages was a fulfillment of prophecy. He quotes the prophet Joel. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (vv. 17–18).

Peter used this opportunity to proclaim the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ. “For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (vv. 34–36). Peter begged his hearers to repent: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (v. 40).

How to Know Christ

Go Deeper

Why did onlookers misinterpret what was happening at Pentecost? How did Peter respond to their accusations? What key arguments did he use?

Pray with Us

Precious Jesus, we know the gift of Your salvation is for “whoever believes” (John 3:16). Help us, like Peter, proclaim the gospel with boldness to those You bring into our lives.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.Acts 2:21

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/