Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15 NLT)   Years ago, I encountered a man on a street in Hawaii. He was holding a sign that read, “The wages of sin is death.” He was also yelling, “God hates you” and “God will judge you” to everyo...

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NLT)   Our nation was founded on Christian principles but has turned its back on many of them. In his 1796 Farewell Address, President George Washington said, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are in...

“This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: ‘Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!’ The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow...

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.   He said, ‘I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me. . . . But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone....

“Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. ‘O Lord,’ they pleaded, ‘don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.’” (Jonah 1:14 NLT)   The possibility of a spiritual revival in Nineveh was almost too terrible f...

“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:   ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.’” (Jonah 1:1–2 NLT)   Throughout this month, we’ll be addressing the need for revival in our nation. To help frame our discussion, I want to look back at one of the...

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NLT)   Years ago, I was staying at a friend’s cabin in Virginia. He informed me that the cabin was heated by a fireplace and a stove. That meant I had to bu...

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NLT)   Hope is a precious commodity in today’s world. Our 24-hour news cycle feeds us story after story of events and tragedies that are far beyond our control. Many people...

“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!” (Psalm 80:19 NKJV)   Before we get too deep in our discussion of revival in our country, we should probably define the term. What is revival exactly? Too often believers mystify the word without understanding its true meaning. Revival is simply another word for “refreshment” or “r...

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.” (Romans 13:11–12 NLT)   This month, we celebrate the 250th anniversa...

“There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.   He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6 NLT)   One of the costs of following Christ is not being able to join in the feel-good consensus that claims, “All paths lead to God.” Believers don’t have the option of nodding in agre...

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (Hebrews 13:14 NLT)   I heard a story about an old missionary couple who had been serving in Africa for years and were returning home to retire. Their health was broken down, and they had no pension. As it turned out, the same steamer ship they were traveling on had a very well-known passenge...

“David asked the soldiers standing nearby, ‘What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?’” (1 Samuel 17:26 NLT)   David may have thought to himself, “This is a joke. This guy can’t be serious!” David was on an errand for...

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,   he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.   He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.   Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confide...

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)   Years ago, I was a guest on a morning television show. The host and I were having a nice chat when, near the end of the program, he dropped a bombshell. He said, “Greg, I have a question for you. You believe that most of the world is non-Christian and that because of that, they...

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT)   I think we can all agree that the United States needs a spiritual awakening. Over the years, God has done a powerful work through the Harvest Crusade&mda...

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.’” (Matthew 25:41 NLT)   One of the most insidious lies in our spiritually contentious culture is that God is a vengeful Judge who gets a perverse pleasure from sending people to Hell. But it takes a very selective reading...

“Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10 NLT)   Benjamin Franklin wrote, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Many people have devised strategies to avoid the second. No one has yet devised a strategy for...

“For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT)   As believers, we have the sacred trust of the gospel message. Jesus has given us our command: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes a...

“The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did n...

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Roma...

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8–9 NLT)   In our next set of devotions, we’re going to look...

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14 NLT)   In our us-versus-them culture, the concept of Hell is reserved almost exclusively for “them.&rdq...

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.   Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” (Matthew 7:24–25 NLT)   While spending time at the beach, I’ve watched people construct some very elab...

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8 NLT)   The apostle Paul wrote,   “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,&nbs...