Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.” (Job 14:14 NLT)

The book of Job tells the story of a righteous, faithful man who suffers terribly because Satan wants to prove that his righteousness and faithfulness will last only as long as God’s obvious blessings in his life. With God’s permission, Satan takes...

“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” (2 Kings 20:1 NLT)

Over the years, I’ve done a lot of funerals and memorial services. I’ve also visited people who were at death’s ...

“Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.’” (Judges 6:36–37 NLT)

God is multilingual. He can speak to us in any num...

“Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar.’ (This was another name for En-gedi.) Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.” (2 Chronicles...

“Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: ‘Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?’” (Esther 4:13–14 NLT)

&nb...

“Then he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Pers...

“So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.” (1 Kings 17:5–7 NLT)

God said to the prophet Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Dr...

“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9 NLT)

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to look at the lives of several Old Testament characters. And we’re going to discover that their experiences are still relevant and applicable to us today. We’re going to start at the beginning with Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve enjoyed a unique relationship with God. Only they...

“So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.” (1 Kings 17:5–7 NLT)

Elijah proclaimed to King Ahab that a drought would strike the land and would continue for years until he, Elijah, called...

“Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city.” (1 Kings 3:1 NLT)

Solomon’s fall and disillusionment began with a series of compromises, one of which involved marrying the daughter of Pharaoh. Solomon did this because he ...

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Romans 5:6 NLT)

In the 1800s in London, a little boy wanted to hear the great American evangelist D. L. Moody, who had come to town to preach. This little street urchin made his way across the entire city of London, risking his very life, with no food or proper shoes. After a long journey, he finally came to the great ch...

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” (1 John 4:18–19 NLT)

I heard a story about a thief who broke into a house. He was looking around in the dark with his flashlight when he heard a voice say, “Jesus is watching you!...

“Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?” (Proverbs 6:27–28 NLT)

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by fire. This fascination prompted me to do some stupid things, like taking little green army men and lighting their plastic rifles on fire so that I could watch them melt into little green puddles. Once, however, I was do...

“The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV)

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.” And Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV).

Starting strong is overr...

“There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.” (1 Samuel 9:1–2 NLT)

David was in many ways the opposite of King Saul. Saul came from a family that loved him; David came fr...

“‘How foolish!’ Samuel exclaimed. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.’” (1 Samuel 13:13&...

“Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” (1 Samuel 30:24 NLT)

In 1 Samuel 30, we find the story of David leading his men to victory in battle against Amalekite raiders who had plundered and burned the town of Ziklag. As David and the four hundred soldiers who had fought with him were returning home, those who had stayed beh...

“And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:47 NLT)

The encounter between David and Goliath is one of the best-known stories in all of Scripture. In fact, it’s so well-known that it’s become a cliché. Today, any contest that involves an underdog is invariably ref...

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT)

In our last devotion, we saw how God used Samuel because Samuel made himself available. Today, we’re going to look at another factor as we try to de...