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And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:1-2

Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-10

When Jonah preached to the Ninevites, he simply delivered the short message God gave him. The same was true when Paul entered the city of Corinth. He didn’t have an elaborate presentation, nor was he a spectacular orator. He simply preached the message of the Cross.

Sometimes in our church programming we try too hard to be innovative. There’s nothing wrong with creativity or with doing things with excellence, but we must always remember the power resides in the Gospel itself. The same can be true for us as individuals. Perhaps you’re afraid your personality is inadequate for winning others to Christ, or maybe you worry about having the biblical knowledge necessary to share your faith.

Leave those concerns with God. Just a simple word, a quoted verse, a proffered prayer, or a moment of testimony can have a remarkable, long-term effect. When it comes to witnessing, remember, little is much when God is in it.

Jesus can use anyone who wants to be used.
Robert E. Coleman

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
Jonah 3:8

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 12:10-16

Early Methodist preachers noticed something unexpected when revival swept through parts of England. Men who had once cursed their horses, beaten their dogs, and treated animals harshly began showing gentleness even toward creatures under their care. John Wesley taught that the grace of Christ softens the entire heart. Conversion changed not only how people worshiped God and treated neighbors—it even changed how they treated animals.

When God changes our heart, it affects every relationship we have. When revival came to the city of Nineveh under the preaching of Jonah, people turned away from their evil ways and from feelings of violence. The streets became safer, and the homes became sweeter.

Have you experienced the Lord’s work in your life? Has it affected your interactions with others? It should, and as you walk with Christ, your love, joy, peace, and patience will grow.

True love is an act of the will—a conscious decision to do what is best for the other person instead of ourselves.
Billy Graham

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And [the prodigal son] arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luke 15:20

Recommended Reading: Luke 15:3-7

John Newton’s hymn “Amazing Grace” contains these familiar words: “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” The reference to seeing is taken from the story of the blind man Jesus healed (John 9:25), whereas the reference to being found is taken from the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:24).

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son is one of the most poignant in the four Gospels. It is a story of mercy, a story of an undeserving son who received the compassion of his father after abusing his privileges as a son. Though the son deserved the father’s judgment, he received the opposite: love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and reunion. Whenever judgment is replaced by mercy, there is a price to be paid if reunion is to be realized.

If there has been a break in one of your relationships with a friend or family member, consider paying the price of extending mercy. Such a reunion demonstrates what God has done for us.

Peace of conscience is nothing but the echo of pardoning mercy. 
William Gurnall

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Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh.
Jonah 3:6-7

Recommended Reading: Esther 4:12-14

The Bible has numerous examples of people who had great influence upon kings and those in authority. Joseph served in the courts of Egypt. Daniel influenced the king of Babylon. Esther saved the Jews in Persia by her request to the king. The apostle Paul influenced King Agrippa with his personal testimony. And Jonah brought a prophetic message to Nineveh that caused the king to repent before God.

It is easy for us to discount the influence we may have for Christ with those in our circle of influence. We may not have the opportunity to speak before kings and rulers, but God can still use us to bring a godly influence into the lives of others. That was Jesus’ point when He said that we are to be salt and light in the world—that others may see our good works and ultimately give glory to God (Matthew 5:13-16).

Pray that God would give you the opportunity to be salt and light wherever you go.

The most serious thing in all the world…is this matter of personal influence.
George Truett

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Then [Jonah] cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
Jonah 3:4-5

Recommended Reading: Romans 10:14-17

“Gipsy” Smith was a British evangelist who preached in Great Britain and America for more than seventy years. He is famously known for this formula for bringing about revival: “Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that chalk circle.” That is, there can be no corporate revival (renewal) that does not begin with prayerful, personal revival.

God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach a message of impending judgment if the city did not repent. Thankfully, the city listened to Jonah’s message and repented before God. But that corporate repentance only happened because Jonah repented first of his personal sins and submitted to God’s direction for his life. The awakening in Nineveh was the result of renewal in Jonah.

Be in prayer for revival in your family, church, city, and nation. But pray most fervently for revival in your own heart.

Waiting for general revival is an opportunity for enjoying personal revival. 
Stephen Olford

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
Matthew 5:43-44

Recommended Reading: Matthew 18:21-35

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus corrected a faulty reading of Leviticus 19:18. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jewish scribes had added these words to that verse: “and hate your enemy.” But Jesus corrected that tradition by saying, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.”

When God chose to withhold judgment on the city of Nineveh, the demonstrated enemy of Israel, Jonah became angry. He had readily received grace and forgiveness from God for his own disobedience but could not reconcile the idea of God forgiving the Assyrian people. Jonah was violating the eventual New Testament principle of grace: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God” (Ephesians 4:32–5:1). What God has done for us, we are to do for others.

Is there someone to whom you can extend the same grace that God has extended to you?

True forgiveness breaks a man, and he must forgive.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!
1 Samuel 25:17, NLT

Recommended Reading: 1 Samuel 25:14-19

According to a 2024 survey, 85% of all employees have had an experience with a coworker who annoyed them, and 41% wish they could tell their annoying coworker what they think about them.¹

When David was a young man running for his life, he encountered an ill-tempered man named Nabal. David almost went to war against him. Only the intervention of Nabal’s wife, Abigail, kept the two men from bloodshed. God gave her the grace to be a peacemaker.

What do we do with people who get on our nerves? First, we have to look at ourselves and ask if we are the cranky and irritable one. Sometimes fatigue can create friction, and neglecting Bible study can cause our love to ebb. Second, we have to look at the other person and see if they have a need behind their nuisance. We are to consider their souls and remember that we are all children of God.

When people get on our nerves, we should get on our knees.

We are all in relationships, we all face conflicts, and we all have to learn how to navigate them so that we, and our relationships, can truly thrive.
Gary Chapman

1. Julia Belak, “Survey Reveals 85% of Workers Have to Deal With Annoying Colleagues,” KickResume, June 19, 2024.

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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

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Then [Jacob] crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet [Jacob], and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Genesis 33:3-4

Recommended Reading: Matthew 5:23-24

The word estranged comes from a Latin word that meant “not belonging to the family; a stranger.” Family members can sometimes be estranged from one another due to a conflict in the past. But when they meet and are reconciled, their reunion is watered by tears of joy.

That was the situation with the two sons of Isaac—Esau and Jacob. As the older brother, Esau was in line to receive Isaac’s blessing as the firstborn. But Jacob tricked Isaac into bestowing the blessing on him instead. Esau’s grudge against Jacob caused Jacob to flee for his life to the home of a family relative in a distant land (Genesis 27:41-45). Many years later, Jacob returned to Canaan with his own family. When Esau saw his younger brother coming, he ran to him and embraced him—and they wept together.

Reconciliation and reunion don’t have to take years of estrangement to heal. Be the first to build a bridge if estrangement has taken place (Matthew 5:23-24).

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.
William Blake

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Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh.
Jonah 3:1-3

Recommended Reading: 1 John 1:9

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire that conquered the ten northern tribes of Israel and deported many of them in 722 B.C. The Assyrian Empire was known for its massive armies and brutal treatment of conquered peoples and prisoners. When God commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn them of impending judgment, his fear of what might happen to him at their hands was understandable.

So instead of journeying east to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction across the Mediterranean Sea. Jonah represents all who have ignored or disobeyed the will of God and found themselves in a season of discipline. But Jonah also illustrates the fact that God provides second chances for those who are willing to turn around (repent) and submit to His will. After Jonah was rescued from the great fish, he went and preached to Nineveh.

Failure to obey God does not put us beyond God’s grace. He is faithful to forgive and give us new opportunities to serve Him.

Sin forsaken is the best evidence of sin forgiven.
George Jennings Davies

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And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Acts 20:36

Recommended Reading: Acts 20:32-38

Earlier this year an EF-2 tornado tore through the north Texas community of Runaway Bay. What did the people do in the path of the storm? According to the newspaper, they “huddled up and prayed.”¹

Have you had an experience like that, when some kind of storm was bearing down on you or affecting the lives of those you loved? What a time to huddle up and pray! In the stomach of the huge fish, Jonah had to huddle up with himself because he was far from any other living soul. It was a lonely prayer, but God heard it.

We are so blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ who will pray with us and for us and who will bear our burdens to the throne of grace. Though the Lord already knows our circumstances, He wants us to tell Him, to lay out our problems for Him so that He can lighten our load.

Cast your cares upon the Lord today. Pray about your own needs, pray about the needs of others, and pray with others for God’s fresh grace amid every unexpected storm.

What if we converted every problem, every opportunity, into a prayer?
Mark Batterson

1. Tiffany Lou, “‘We Huddled and Prayed,’ Residents Recount Deadly EF-2 Tornado in Runaway Bay,” WFAA ABC8, April 26, 2026.

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When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.
Jonah 2:7

Recommended Reading: Psalm 32:1-5

Though Isaac Watts was the Father of English Hymnody, he was first and foremost a local pastor. On the subject of prayer, he encouraged his congregation to include repentance as a part of their habit in coming to the Lord. He wrote, “We should confess our sins under the sense of the guilt of them, as well as under the deep and mournful impressions of the power of sin in our hearts.”¹

Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2 is essentially a prayer of repentance and of rededication. Though Jonah was deep in the heart of the ocean, the Lord heard every word. If God listened to Jonah from the depths of the sea, don’t you think He will listen to you no matter where you are or what you’ve done?

Let’s learn to include repentance and rededication in our prayers. The Lord is more willing to forgive us than we are to ask for forgiveness. But we should confess our sins so as to have fresh joy in our daily walk with God.

Thus I abandon every thing that would divide me from God, to whom I have made a surrender of myself.
Isaac Watts

1. Isaac Watts, The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, Vol. III (London: J. Barfield, 1810), 114.

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For [our fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Hebrews 12:10

Recommended Reading: James 1:2-4

The New Testament occasionally uses the earthly family to illustrate God’s familial relationship with us (Romans 8:15-17). The writer to the Hebrews compares how earthly fathers discipline their children to the ways that God disciplines us (Hebrews 12:1-13). His purpose is for us to be “partakers of His holiness.”

The story of Jonah is a good example of God’s discipline. The discipline started with a storm at sea that resulted in Jonah being thrown into the deep where he was swallowed by a great fish. During his three days in the fish, Jonah called out to God and repented of his sin. After Jonah was deposited onto dry land, he obeyed God’s original commission to go to Nineveh and warn them of God’s impending judgment. While Jonah struggled with yielding to God’s purpose, the hardship he endured at least led him to repent of his initial disobedience.

If you find yourself in a season of hardship, seek the Lord and ask Him if there is something He wants you to do or learn.

Those that would enjoy the dignities and privileges of Christ’s family must submit to the discipline of it. 
Matthew Henry

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Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
Jonah 1:17–2:1

Recommended Reading: Psalm 32:6-7

When we find ourselves faced with a seemingly unsolvable challenge, someone usually reminds us, “When all else fails, read the directions!” A similar reminder is sometimes issued among Christians: “When all else fails, pray!” We often have to be reminded that prayer should be our first impulse, not our last.

Jonah would have done well to have received that reminder when he found himself cast into the Mediterranean Sea. He had rebelled against God, been accused of causing calamity by his shipmates, and been thrown overboard in hopes of placating the storm “gods.” And adding insult to injury, he was swallowed by a great fish! Finally, Jonah decided it was time to pray: “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” He didn’t exactly confess his sins, but at least he repented of his pride by calling out to God for help.

Don’t wait until you have tried every solution before turning to prayer. Regardless of the situation, make prayer your first impulse.

Before we can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
Genesis 45:4-5

Recommended Reading: Genesis 50:19-21

Families have the possibility of great conflict because of close quarters and constant interaction. But when conflicts are resolved and relationships repaired, family “reunions” can be sweet.

That is what happened with Joseph and his brothers. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, God’s providence caused Joseph to rise in stature in the royal Egyptian court. When a famine struck Joseph’s family in Canaan, his brothers journeyed to Egypt to buy food. There they encountered Joseph and were reunited with the brother they had sold into slavery. But Joseph saw God’s hand at work, sending him to Egypt to prepare a way for his family to stay alive.

If you have been separated from friends or family, trust that God has a purpose in your pain (Romans 8:28). Do everything you can to be reunited with those you love (Romans 12:18).

Christians ought at all times to be making contributions towards reunion, if it is only by their prayers.
C. S. Lewis

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Then [the sailors] said to [Jonah], “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
Jonah 1:8

Recommended Reading: Matthew 16:11-12; Galatians 5:9

In 1624, the English poet John Donne penned a meditation whose title comes from the first line: “No Man Is an Island.” The theme of the short poem is the interconnectedness of human experience—what happens to one affects all.

When the prophet Jonah was fleeing from the call of God on his life, the ship he was on encountered a bad storm. The sailors concluded that it was Jonah who was the cause of their dangerous misfortune. They demanded to know who he was and what he had done to put them in danger. Jonah’s situation illustrates the point in John Donne’s poem: We do not act alone in life; our behavior impacts those around us. It raises the rarely discussed dimension of stewardship called the stewardship of influence. We are responsible for the influence we have on the lives of others.

Ask God today for grace to be a godly influence on those with whom you come in contact—to be salt and light in their life (Matthew 5:13-16).

Your influence is negative or positive, never neutral. 
Henrietta Mears

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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There was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up…. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
Jonah 1:4; Acts 27:20

Recommended Reading: Acts 27:21-25

Jonah encountered a storm in the Mediterranean Sea that nearly took his life. A similar thing happened to the apostle Paul in Acts 27 on the same sea and with the same raw terror. In Jonah’s case, the prophet’s sin precipitated the storm. In the case of Paul, the storm arose for other reasons. In both cases, God used the storms to develop the souls of his two servants.

Not every storm happens because of sin, but every storm can be used by God to shape our faith and character and draw us closer to Him. How we wish we could avoid storms! Bereavement! Illness! Anxiety about our loved ones! Yet there has never been a storm beyond the reach of our Savior’s outstretched arm. We often learn more about Him in the storm than in the sunshine.

When you experience a difficult trial, look for how God is helping you to grow in your relationship with Him.

The Lord’s our rock, in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm.
Vernon Charlesworth

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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“Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “do I not fill heaven and earth?”
Jeremiah 23:24

Recommended Reading: Jonah 1:1-6

An online article featured hilarious photos of children trying to play hide-and-seek. One boy was betrayed by his shadow. Another thought hiding under a blanket in the middle of the kitchen was the perfect spot. A third crawled beneath a rug, unaware of the obvious hump she created. And a fourth removed the lampshade from a lamp, placed it over his head, and assumed he had disappeared completely.

The Lord must look with amusement at our attempts to hide from Him. We cannot run away; He fills heaven and earth. When Jonah ran from God, the Lord sent a storm after him. There was no place he could have gone where the Lord wouldn’t find him. Yet doesn’t that show us how much God loves us? When we move away from God’s presence, we can be assured He will find us.

If you’re hiding from God or if you are trying to hide something from Him, admit it. Ask the One who fills heaven and earth to fill you with His love and mercy.

When you feel like running away, claim your privilege as a child of God and approach the throne of grace.
Warren Wiersbe

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Then [David] took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had.
1 Samuel 17:40

Recommended Reading: 1 Samuel 17:40-47

The story of David—especially his epic face-off with Goliath—speaks to every generation. Even recently, a television series and a major animated feature film have brought the story of David to life for modern audiences. When we read the Bible story, we cannot help but notice the number five.

Why five stones? The Bible doesn’t say. Some suggest David anticipated more than one opponent since Goliath had relatives. Others point out that a skilled slinger would naturally carry several stones. Most simply, David was prepared. His faith in God didn’t eliminate wise action. Like an old Revolutionary War adage—“Trust in God, but keep your powder dry.” David trusted the Lord fully, but he was also well armed.

Here is an application for us. We face many giants in life. Some are problems that we must try to solve, and others are temptations that we must overcome. The Bible has more than 31,000 verses. So when a giant problem or temptation confronts you, gather into your mental pouch five smooth Bible verses. God’s Word is rock solid when it comes to our victory.

The Bible was given not to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.
D. L. Moody

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Then [David] took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had.
1 Samuel 17:40

Recommended Reading: 1 Samuel 17:40-47

The story of David—especially his epic face-off with Goliath—speaks to every generation. Even recently, a television series and a major animated feature film have brought the story of David to life for modern audiences. When we read the Bible story, we cannot help but notice the number five.

Why five stones? The Bible doesn’t say. Some suggest David anticipated more than one opponent since Goliath had relatives. Others point out that a skilled slinger would naturally carry several stones. Most simply, David was prepared. His faith in God didn’t eliminate wise action. Like an old Revolutionary War adage—“Trust in God, but keep your powder dry.” David trusted the Lord fully, but he was also well armed.

Here is an application for us. We face many giants in life. Some are problems that we must try to solve, and others are temptations that we must overcome. The Bible has more than 31,000 verses. So when a giant problem or temptation confronts you, gather into your mental pouch five smooth Bible verses. God’s Word is rock solid when it comes to our victory.

The Bible was given not to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.
D. L. Moody

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But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:1-6

In the old movie Young at Heart, there’s a scene in which Barney Sloan (Frank Sinatra) is so discouraged he turns off his windshield wipers while driving in a snowstorm. He can no longer clearly see the road, and everything is blurred. It’s a frightening moment that illustrates how we often look at life. We can “turn off the wipers” in our own lives by neglecting truth and withdrawing from God’s Word.

The only way to see clearly is by looking at things through the eyesight of Jesus. Paul twice spoke of “the mind of Christ.” He told the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5), and he said to the Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ.”

Having the mind of Christ means having the Savior’s point of view. We learn to think as He does, not as the world thinks. Here is a verse to say aloud today and to turn into a prayer for this hour: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5, NIV).

Believers must regain the use of the mind for God’s glory.
Bill Muhlenberg

https://www.davidjeremiah.org