"Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire." 2 Kings 6:17

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"Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire." 2 Kings 6:17
—
<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/A1PWfZ8W">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God’s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from Pastor Greg Laurie, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you. 

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God’s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from <a href="https://harvest.org/about-greg-laurie/">Pastor Greg Laurie</a>, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you.

Greg Laurie provides commentary on the day's Bible verse.

Daily Devotions From Greg Laurie

2 KINGS 6:17: Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

An Invisible Army | 2 Kings 6:17

And await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. (Jude 1:21 NLT)

The pages of the Bible are filled with the stories of those who had such tremendous potential and started out well, but they ended miserably. They didn’t cross the finish line.

You may know people who started out with great promise in the Christian life. They made a profession of faith in Christ, but they haven’t followed through. They’ve become casualties in the race of life.

The Bible pulls no punches in this regard. It tells us story after story of men and women who initially flourished spiritually. But then they withered.

For example, Saul, the first king of Israel, was someone who had all the right stuff. In fact, if we were going to look for a candidate today to run for office, this would have been our person. He was charismatic, handsome, tall, and sharp. Most importantly, God’s Spirit had come upon him and anointed him for the task at hand.

For a relatively short time, everything was going well. But Saul allowed himself to give way to pride, paranoia, and jealousy. It consumed him. And he met an untimely end on the battlefield. Essentially, he wrote his own epitaph when he said, “I have been a fool and very, very wrong” (1 Samuel 26:21 NLT). How true that was. He threw it all away.

We think of the mighty Samson, whom God supernaturally blessed with an incredible strength to vanquish his enemies with relative ease. On one occasion he killed one thousand Philistines with a bone he picked up off the ground. As a he-man with a she weakness, Samson squandered his incredible potential. He allowed his lust to consume him and ultimately lost his strength, dying an unnecessary death.

Gideon, a man with humble beginnings, was plucked from obscurity when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” (Judges 6:12 NLT). God raised him up to courageously lead the armies of Israel into battle. But as he came to the end of his life, he lowered his standards and fell into immorality and pride.

The Bible tells us, “And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” (1 Peter 1:5 NLT).

Jude 1:21 says, “Await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love” (NLT). And James 1:27 tells us, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (NLT).

In 1 John we read, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (5:21 NLT).

Yes, God will keep us, but we have our part to do as well. The goal is to run the race He has set before us and to cross the finish line.

Invest in evangelism in 2025!

—

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

And await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God&rsquo;s love. (Jude 1:21 NLT)
The pages of the Bible are filled with the stories of those who had such tremendous potential and started out well, but they ended miserably. They didn&rsquo;t cross the finish line.
You may know people who started out with great promise in the Christian life. They made a profession of faith in Christ, but they haven&rsquo;t followed through. They&rsquo;ve become casualties in the race of life.
The Bible pulls no punches in this regard. It tells us story after story of men and women who initially flourished spiritually. But then they withered.
For example, Saul, the first king of Israel, was someone who had all the right stuff. In fact, if we were going to look for a candidate today to run for office, this would have been our person. He was charismatic, handsome, tall, and sharp. Most importantly, God&rsquo;s Spirit had come upon him and anointed him for the task at hand.
For a relatively short time, everything was going well. But Saul allowed himself to give way to pride, paranoia, and jealousy. It consumed him. And he met an untimely end on the battlefield. Essentially, he wrote his own epitaph when he said, &ldquo;I have been a fool and very, very wrong&rdquo; (1 Samuel 26:21 NLT). How true that was. He threw it all away.
We think of the mighty Samson, whom God supernaturally blessed with an incredible strength to vanquish his enemies with relative ease. On one occasion he killed one thousand Philistines with a bone he picked up off the ground. As a he-man with a she weakness, Samson squandered his incredible potential. He allowed his lust to consume him and ultimately lost his strength, dying an unnecessary death.
Gideon, a man with humble beginnings, was plucked from obscurity when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, &ldquo;Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!&rdquo; (Judges 6:12 NLT). God raised him up to courageously lead the armies of Israel into battle. But as he came to the end of his life, he lowered his standards and fell into immorality and pride.
The Bible tells us, &ldquo;And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see&rdquo; (1 Peter 1:5 NLT).
Jude 1:21 says, &ldquo;Await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God&rsquo;s love&rdquo; (NLT). And James 1:27 tells us, &ldquo;Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you&rdquo; (NLT).
In 1 John we read, &ldquo;Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God&rsquo;s place in your hearts&rdquo; (5:21 NLT).
Yes, God will keep us, but we have our part to do as well. The goal is to run the race He has set before us and to cross the finish line.
<a href="https://harvest.org/donate/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=YearEnd2024">Invest in evangelism in 2025!</a>
&mdash;
<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/A1PWfZ8W">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

God will keep us, but we have our part too.

Casualties in the Race of Life | Jude 1:21

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Hebrews 3:14 NLT)

We all will leave a legacy of sorts. It will be a positive one or a negative one. But eventually our lives will come to an end, and we will leave a legacy. People might say some nice things about us at our funerals, but afterward, the truth will come out.

Of course, we don’t know how much time God will give to each one of us. We may live long, productive lives. And maybe we will be able to look back eventually and say that we finished well.

Or, our lives may be cut relatively short. We might not live quite that long. That is why we want to make sure that every day counts. We don’t want to waste a single moment.

On more than one occasion, the Bible likens the Christian life to running a race. Writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul said, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” (1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT).

And the writer of Hebrews urges us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (12:1 NLT).

The objective in the Christian life is not only to start our race well but also to cross the finish line. We must finish this race. The Bible warns us of failing to do that.

Again, we read in Hebrews, “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. . . . For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ” (3:12, 14 NLT).

It doesn’t matter whether we’ve been in first place for nine laps in a ten-lap race. We have to cross the finish line. That is why Paul also said, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT).

We must be so very careful.

Paul, addressing the elders of Ephesus prior to his departure, spoke of his impending imprisonment. He told them, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (Acts 20:24 NLT). That was Paul’s goal. He wanted to finish his race.

In the race of life, we’re not competing with each other. I’m not running against you. And you’re not running against me. Our goal is not to outrun each other. Rather, our goal is to stay in our lane and finish the race that God has set before us.

Invest in evangelism in 2025!

—

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Hebrews 3:14 NLT)
We all will leave a legacy of sorts. It will be a positive one or a negative one. But eventually our lives will come to an end, and we will leave a legacy. People might say some nice things about us at our funerals, but afterward, the truth will come out.
Of course, we don&rsquo;t know how much time God will give to each one of us. We may live long, productive lives. And maybe we will be able to look back eventually and say that we finished well.
Or, our lives may be cut relatively short. We might not live quite that long. That is why we want to make sure that every day counts. We don&rsquo;t want to waste a single moment.
On more than one occasion, the Bible likens the Christian life to running a race. Writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul said, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!&rdquo; (1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT).
And the writer of Hebrews urges us, &ldquo;Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us&rdquo; (12:1 NLT).
The objective in the Christian life is not only to start our race well but also to cross the finish line. We must finish this race. The Bible warns us of failing to do that.
Again, we read in Hebrews, &ldquo;Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. . . . For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ&rdquo; (3:12, 14 NLT).
It doesn&rsquo;t matter whether we&rsquo;ve been in first place for nine laps in a ten-lap race. We have to cross the finish line. That is why Paul also said, &ldquo;I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified&rdquo; (1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT).
We must be so very careful.
Paul, addressing the elders of Ephesus prior to his departure, spoke of his impending imprisonment. He told them, &ldquo;But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus&mdash;the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God&rdquo; (Acts 20:24 NLT). That was Paul&rsquo;s goal. He wanted to finish his race.
In the race of life, we&rsquo;re not competing with each other. I&rsquo;m not running against you. And you&rsquo;re not running against me. Our goal is not to outrun each other. Rather, our goal is to stay in our lane and finish the race that God has set before us.
<a href="https://harvest.org/donate/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=YearEnd2024">Invest in evangelism in 2025!</a>
&mdash;
<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/A1PWfZ8W">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

Finish Your Race | Hebrews 3:14

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)

The Christmas story is the greatest story ever told. But it isn’t a fairy tale; it’s history. It is His story. The Son of God, the Savior, God incarnate, entered our world when He was born in Bethlehem on the first Christmas.

But why did God send His Son to Earth? Why did Jesus walk among us as a man? Why was all this done? It was so that God could give us the greatest gift of all: the gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, “The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT).

The gift of Christmas is the gift of eternal life. That is why God came to this earth.

When we open Christmas gifts, we’ll initially feel excited about them—or at least about some of them. But it won’t be long until they’re quickly outdated or forgotten.

But God’s gift, the gift of eternal life, only grows in value as we begin to understand what it’s all about. What’s more, it isn’t a gift that we can only enjoy when death comes. It’s a gift that we can enjoy right now.

That’s because one of the aspects of this gift of eternal life is something called justification. This is a unique, biblical word with a twofold meaning. First, it speaks of what God has taken away. And what has He taken away? Our sin. The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are instantaneously forgiven.

Think of all the things you’ve done that you have regretted. God can forgive you of those things because of the death of Jesus on the cross. If you will turn from your sin and call it what it is, God will forgive you.

Second, justification speaks of what God has put in place of our sin. When God justifies us, when we believe in Jesus, He places the righteousness of Christ into our account. And that balances the moral and spiritual budget for us.

Pastor and author Charles Swindoll describes justification this way: “Justification is the sovereign act of God whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner—while he is still in a sinning state.”

The Bible says, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1 NLT).

The reason we can approach God, the reason we have access to God, and the reason that God will even hear our prayers is because of the gift He has given to us. And while this gift is free to us, it was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Do you know God in a personal way? If you’ve never asked Jesus to come into your life, will you do it today? This is why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He came to bring you this gift. As Isaiah tells us, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us” (9:6 NLT). He is God’s gift from Heaven.

—

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

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)
The Christmas story is the greatest story ever told. But it isn&rsquo;t a fairy tale; it&rsquo;s history. It is His story. The Son of God, the Savior, God incarnate, entered our world when He was born in Bethlehem on the first Christmas.
But why did God send His Son to Earth? Why did Jesus walk among us as a man? Why was all this done? It was so that God could give us the greatest gift of all: the gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, &ldquo;The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord&rdquo; (Romans 6:23 NLT).
The gift of Christmas is the gift of eternal life. That is why God came to this earth.
When we open Christmas gifts, we&rsquo;ll initially feel excited about them&mdash;or at least about some of them. But it won&rsquo;t be long until they&rsquo;re quickly outdated or forgotten.
But God&rsquo;s gift, the gift of eternal life, only grows in value as we begin to understand what it&rsquo;s all about. What&rsquo;s more, it isn&rsquo;t a gift that we can only enjoy when death comes. It&rsquo;s a gift that we can enjoy right now.
That&rsquo;s because one of the aspects of this gift of eternal life is something called justification. This is a unique, biblical word with a twofold meaning. First, it speaks of what God has taken away. And what has He taken away? Our sin. The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are instantaneously forgiven.
Think of all the things you&rsquo;ve done that you have regretted. God can forgive you of those things because of the death of Jesus on the cross. If you will turn from your sin and call it what it is, God will forgive you.
Second, justification speaks of what God has put in place of our sin. When God justifies us, when we believe in Jesus, He places the righteousness of Christ into our account. And that balances the moral and spiritual budget for us.
Pastor and author Charles Swindoll describes justification this way: &ldquo;Justification is the sovereign act of God whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner&mdash;while he is still in a sinning state.&rdquo;
The Bible says, &ldquo;Therefore, since we have been made right in God&rsquo;s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us&rdquo; (Romans 5:1 NLT).
The reason we can approach God, the reason we have access to God, and the reason that God will even hear our prayers is because of the gift He has given to us. And while this gift is free to us, it was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Do you know God in a personal way? If you&rsquo;ve never asked Jesus to come into your life, will you do it today? This is why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He came to bring you this gift. As Isaiah tells us, &ldquo;For a child is born to us, a son is given to us&rdquo; (9:6 NLT). He is God&rsquo;s gift from Heaven.
&mdash;
<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/A1PWfZ8W">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

An Invisible Army | 2 Kings 6:17

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