Daily Archives: November 4, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Angels Unseen

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For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:16

Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:15-18

When were angels created? They are not mentioned as part of the created order in Genesis 1, but we have an intriguing passage about this in the Old Testament. Near the end of the book of Job, God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind and asked: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation… while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7, NIV) That seems to indicate that a choir of angels sang in worship as God created the universe. If so, the Lord made them first.

The apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:16 that Christ created everything, the invisible as well as the visible, the spiritual realm as well as the physical. One day God will merge these two realms into one unified reality (Ephesians 1:10; Revelation 21:3). But for now, as we thrash around on this visible world, we should rejoice that we have the support of an invisible host whose existence predates the cosmos.

Praise God for that today!

Angels, unseen, attend the saints, and bear them in their arms; to cheer the spirit when it faints, and guard the life from harms.
John Newton

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Hope in Loss

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God . . . has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

Today’s Scripture

Ephesians 1:3-14

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Today’s Devotion

While out walking the family dog, my nephew Andy was hit by a car. Someone saw the accident and stopped to give him CPR and call for an ambulance. A ventilator kept him alive for a week. Miraculously, he was weaned off the sedation medicines and vent the day after Christmas and told his wife, parents, brother, and five children, “I love you.” Emotions and hope soared! But the very next day, he died.

All of his children, ages fifteen to twenty-one, spoke through their tears at his God-honoring memorial service. Daughter Julia read a quote that made those in attendance think: “It’s not about how much we lost. It’s about how much we have left.”

But the truth is, those of us who knew and loved him lost so much with Andy’s passing—a beautiful life lived for Jesus—and he’s greatly missed. What do we have left that gives us hope? Ephesians 1 speaks of the spiritual blessings Andy and other believers have in Jesus: We’re “blameless in his sight” (v. 4), “predestined . . . for adoption to sonship” (v. 5), “[redeemed] through his blood” (v. 7), and “[forgiven] of sins [by] God’s grace” (v. 7). “The promised Holy Spirit” lives in us and guarantees “our inheritance” with Him in the life to come (vv. 13-14).

Those who love Jesus have His gift of eternal salvation.

Reflect & Pray

What have you lost? If you’re grieving, how much do you have left that you can thank God for?

Father God, please comfort me and enable me to depend on Your promises.

Today’s Insights

To encourage believers in Jesus to live godly lives in an ungodly world (Ephesians 4:1, 17), Paul begins this letter by reminding us how much God loves us and in Christ has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing” (1:3). Through Jesus, we’re chosen, redeemed, forgiven, saved, and adopted as His children into His family, destined to be His heirs. Distinctively marked and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we’re graciously cared for and given all that we need to live God-honoring lives as His children (vv. 3-14). Whatever challenges or trials we may face, and whatever losses and pain we may suffer, our heavenly Father “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” for “his power . . . is at work within us” (3:20).

For further study, read: Personal Relationship with God

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Your Wait Time

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 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. 

—Isaiah 40:31

Scripture:

Isaiah 40:31 

In today’s devotion, we’re going to talk about the hot-button issue of delayed gratification—that is, the value of waiting. Waiting has become a lost art in our modern culture.

For example, there was a time when, if you wanted to access a movie, you went to a video store and rented something called a videotape. That videotape came with a reminder to “be kind and rewind.” Then DVD technology arrived, so you didn’t have to rewind anymore. Then Netflix came along, and your rental DVDs were delivered by mail. Now you can just stream the movies you want to watch.

We don’t have to wait for much of anything today. We just click it and stream it. Everything comes fast. The idea of waiting is an alien concept in a culture accustomed to immediate gratification. And something is getting lost along the way. The Bible tells us, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT).

After Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, four months passed. He waited before he posed his question to the king: “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried” (Nehemiah 2:5 NLT).

Nehemiah spent more time praying than he did building. Sometimes the Lord will give you an idea. But timing is everything. You must wait for the right moment to go to the next place. Most of us don’t like to wait, however. We like everything now.

Some of the best-known people in the Bible understood—or learned—the value of waiting. Abraham waited decades for God to fulfill His promise to give him a son.

Joseph waited for years in an Egyptian prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

David waited years after being anointed king of Israel to assume the throne.

These people realized what we need to realize: Waiting involves much more than pressing “pause” on life. Good things happen to those who wait patiently and faithfully for God to work. They grow closer to God by staying in constant contact with Him, pouring out their feelings and listening to His voice. They grow to understand the Lord and His ways more clearly. They mature. They inspire others along the way. And eventually, they make a difference.

Sure, there will be struggles along the way. Impatience is part of the human experience. But know this: Waiting time is never wasted time. We need a plan, and then we need to pray that God will help us with that plan—if it is the plan He has given to us. There is a time to pray, and there is a time to move. Know the season you’re in and embrace it with everything you have.

Reflection question: In what area of your life do you feel as though you’re waiting on God? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Stand Fast

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:6, 9)

Many is the modern-day evangelical who has attempted to harmonize the plain sense of the Scriptures with Big Bang cosmogony, concepts of stellar evolution, and a uniformitarian framework for Earth history. This exercise seldom results in a tempering of secular thought but rather results in a compromising reinterpretation of Scripture, making it say something it clearly does not say.

The Bible says that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”—all things that now exist were simply called into existence at God’s spoken command (Hebrews 11:3).

Creation was a true miracle. It was not (as some insist) merely a godly oversight of cosmic processes acting on eternal matter, nor was it the gradual appearance and disappearance of matter in a steady-state transformation. Only a poor regard for Scripture coupled with an overly high regard for current astronomical theory could interpret Hebrews 11:3 as the explosion of a tiny, superdense “cosmic egg” (that did not “appear,” i.e., too small to see), itself the result of a supposed quantum fluctuation in a vacuum in a Big Bang that produced the entire universe.

Rather, as implied in the formula “Let there be . . . and there was” repeated many times in Genesis 1, and as described in our text and elsewhere, all things derive simply from His spoken word. Our response should not be to disbelieve and twist but to believe and praise. “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” (Psalm 33:8). JDM

 

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Meditate on God’s Word

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This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

Joshua 1:8 (AMPC)

To meditate means to roll something over and over in your mind and perhaps to mutter it softly. If you know how to worry, then you know how to meditate. To worry is to meditate on your problems, but proper meditation is to think about God’s Word. The more you think about His Word, the more you will get from it, and it will become part of you. The scriptures you have meditated on will come back to you at times when you need them.

Psalm 37 talks about not fretting over evil people, and verse 3 tells us to trust God and do good. I have taught on and thought about this scripture many times, and when I am dealing with a problem or a person who is frustrating, it often comes to mind and reminds me to stay focused on trusting God and helping other people.

If you hide God’s Word in your heart, it will keep you from sinning (Psalm 119:11). Today’s scripture promises that if we meditate on the Scriptures day and night, all we do will prosper. This sounds good to me—don’t you agree? God’s Word is full of power, and the more of it we know, the more powerful we will be.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me meditate on Your Word day and night, hiding it in my heart. Let it renew my mind and make my way prosperous, in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Be Someone 

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Play

When disaster strikes, the human spirit responds by reaching out to help those afflicted. People stand in line to give blood. Rescue teams work for endless hours. But the most essential effort is accomplished by another valiant team. Their task?  To gird the world with prayer.

For the most part, we don’t even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend who was sick. No one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus. John writes, “So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’” (John 11:3 NCV).

Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded. Would you be someone for someone?

 

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – The Lame Beggar

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Read Acts 3:1–26

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to engage with street beggars. Sometimes I have walked right by them. Other times, I have stopped and engaged them in a conversation about Christ. I’ve given them money, taken them to get something to eat, and even invited them to church. Once I brought a guy to Bible study and, unbeknownst to me, he had a beautiful voice and blessed us by singing a Christian song a cappella. However, nothing remotely compares to what Peter and John experienced in Acts 3.

Peter and John were on their way to afternoon prayer at the temple. At the same time, a beggar was placed at the temple gate called Beautiful. This seemed to have been his customary spot. All we know is that he was handicapped and begged. So he asked Peter and John for money.

One interesting observation of this passage is the visual interaction between the beggar and the apostles. First, the beggar “saw” Peter and John (v. 3). Then Peter and John “looked straight” at him (v. 4). Then Peter said, “Look at us!” (v. 4). So the man “gave them his attention.” The interaction moved from the beggar viewing the apostles as objects from which to gain money to individuals who truly wanted to interact with him.

God healed the beggar instantaneously through Peter. The man “jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God” (v. 8). As a result of this miracle, Peter was able to share the good news concerning Jesus Christ with those who knew that the man had been healed. Yes, the beggar was healed, but the healing wasn’t just for him. It was for the proclamation of the gospel to others.

Go Deeper

How do you respond to those in need? What can we learn from Peter and John’s example?

Pray with Us

God, what opportunities are You giving us to be a light for You? Make us accustomed to looking for them. Let us always be ready to share our faith.

Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”Acts 3:6

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/