"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!" Psalm 139:17

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"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!" Psalm 139:17
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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. 

*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God&rsquo;s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from&nbsp;<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.&nbsp;
*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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

Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

PSALM 139:17: How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

On His Mind | Psalm 139:17

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:12–13 NLT)

 

Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul, had a ravenous hunger for knowledge, especially as it pertained to Judaism, and an unquenchable desire to be as devout as possible in his Jewish faith. As a Pharisee, he rose to a position of influence among the Jewish leaders, possibly even becoming a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which was like the Supreme Court of its day. With this honor, Saul enjoyed great fame and influence.

However, it could be said that Saul was both famous and, ultimately, infamous. He showed the depths of his rigid devotion to Judaism when he sensed a threat to its dominance. He seems to have instinctively recognized that the followers of the Nazarene known as Jesus were dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that Saul convinced himself that they needed to be wiped off the face of the earth. He made it his mission in life to hunt them down and make them suffer for their faith in Christ. But he didn’t stop with the Christians who were in his immediate jurisdiction. He asked for and received extradition papers from the high priest so that he could take his campaign of persecution on the road. He set out for Damascus, which was 140 miles from Jerusalem.

The journey was arduous, but Saul would not be deterred. He was so filled with hatred that he was willing to go anywhere to find Christians and stop them. He later wrote that he did this ignorantly in unbelief (see 1 Timothy 1:12–13).

Many people, believers and unbelievers alike, have a hard time understanding how a religious person can also be a hateful person. But the unfortunate reality is that some people who claim to be devout act in mean and cruel ways. They use their religion to belittle and destroy others. That was certainly the case with Saul.

Christians who fall into this trap can be dangerous to the cause of Christ. They can also cause great frustration for their fellow believers whose own ministry efforts are undermined or hindered by their un-Christlike behavior. As Vance Havner pointed out, “If we are too busy using our sickles on one another, we’re going to miss the harvest.”

As Christians, we need to travel light in our relationship with other believers. We need to show love, encouragement, and support. We need to let go of anger, competitiveness, and illusions of moral superiority. We need to embrace a spirit of humility and grace so that we can accomplish all that God has for us to do.

Saul certainly learned that lesson. Years later he wrote, “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:10 NLT).

Jesus put it even more succinctly: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT).

 

Reflection question: What does showing love for fellow believers look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.&rdquo; (1 Timothy 1:12&ndash;13 NLT)
&nbsp;
Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul, had a ravenous hunger for knowledge, especially as it pertained to Judaism, and an unquenchable desire to be as devout as possible in his Jewish faith. As a Pharisee, he rose to a position of influence among the Jewish leaders, possibly even becoming a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which was like the Supreme Court of its day. With this honor, Saul enjoyed great fame and influence.
However, it could be said that Saul was both famous and, ultimately, infamous. He showed the depths of his rigid devotion to Judaism when he sensed a threat to its dominance. He seems to have instinctively recognized that the followers of the Nazarene known as Jesus were dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that Saul convinced himself that they needed to be wiped off the face of the earth. He made it his mission in life to hunt them down and make them suffer for their faith in Christ. But he didn&rsquo;t stop with the Christians who were in his immediate jurisdiction. He asked for and received extradition papers from the high priest so that he could take his campaign of persecution on the road. He set out for Damascus, which was 140 miles from Jerusalem.
The journey was arduous, but Saul would not be deterred. He was so filled with hatred that he was willing to go anywhere to find Christians and stop them. He later wrote that he did this ignorantly in unbelief (see 1 Timothy 1:12&ndash;13).
Many people, believers and unbelievers alike, have a hard time understanding how a religious person can also be a hateful person. But the unfortunate reality is that some people who claim to be devout act in mean and cruel ways. They use their religion to belittle and destroy others. That was certainly the case with Saul.
Christians who fall into this trap can be dangerous to the cause of Christ. They can also cause great frustration for their fellow believers whose own ministry efforts are undermined or hindered by their un-Christlike behavior. As Vance Havner pointed out, &ldquo;If we are too busy using our sickles on one another, we&rsquo;re going to miss the harvest.&rdquo;
As Christians, we need to travel light in our relationship with other believers. We need to show love, encouragement, and support. We need to let go of anger, competitiveness, and illusions of moral superiority. We need to embrace a spirit of humility and grace so that we can accomplish all that God has for us to do.
Saul certainly learned that lesson. Years later he wrote, &ldquo;Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone&mdash;especially to those in the family of faith&rdquo; (Galatians 6:10 NLT).
Jesus put it even more succinctly: &ldquo;Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples&rdquo; (John 13:35 NLT).
&nbsp;
Reflection question: What does showing love for fellow believers look like in your life?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! <a href="https://inbound.harvest.org/2026-crusade?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=SoCal2026">Stay updated on all important event details</a>.
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

Unbelievers pay close attention to the way believers treat them and their fellow believers.

The Proof Is in the Love | 1 Timothy 1:12–13

“So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.” (Acts 8:35 NLT)

 

Every now and again, stories appear in the news about people who pose as physicians even though they’re not licensed to practice medicine. In some cases, the actions of these faux physicians prove to be destructive or even fatal for the people they’re “treating.” Obviously, such malpractice is inexcusable.

But what about spiritual malpractice? I believe that there are some preachers today who are guilty of harmful and destructive spiritual guidance. These questionable Christian leaders are not accurately presenting the gospel message.

The litmus test for determining whether a gospel message is legitimate is simple. If a presentation of the Good News doesn’t contain a message about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then it’s insufficient. Every effective gospel presentation, whether it’s a sermon given from a pulpit or part of a private conversation, ultimately needs to come down to this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin. He paid the price for every wrong thing we’ve ever done. And after He conquered the power of sin, He rose again to conquer the power of death.

That’s the essence of the gospel. That’s the message we need to take to people.

Too often we bog ourselves down with too many arguments, counterarguments, and debate strategies. We look for “gotcha” moments, opportunities to use unbelievers’ logic against them.

A better option is to “travel light”—to fill our thoughts with Scripture alone. If we want to be effective in sharing our faith, our message must be centered on God’s Word. That’s why the apostle Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).

When we commit Scripture to memory, when we know the Word of God, we have a well to draw from when someone asks us a question. And as we prepare to respond, we can pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the right passages to mind.

Think again about Philip’s opportunity to share the gospel with a government official from Ethiopia. Acts 8:35 says, “So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus” (NLT). Philip was able to present the gospel accurately and at a moment’s notice because he knew Scripture.

The better we know Scripture and the more of it we commit to memory, the more we give the Holy Spirit to work with. The psalmist wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 NLT). When we commit ourselves to that same pursuit, we’ll discover not only that God blesses our efforts but also that our heart has much greater storage capacity than we can imagine.

 

Reflection question: How much of your heart’s storage capacity is filled with memorized Scripture passages? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!



The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.&rdquo; (Acts 8:35 NLT)
&nbsp;
Every now and again, stories appear in the news about people who pose as physicians even though they&rsquo;re not licensed to practice medicine. In some cases, the actions of these faux physicians prove to be destructive or even fatal for the people they&rsquo;re &ldquo;treating.&rdquo; Obviously, such malpractice is inexcusable.
But what about spiritual malpractice? I believe that there are some preachers today who are guilty of harmful and destructive spiritual guidance. These questionable Christian leaders are not accurately presenting the gospel message.
The litmus test for determining whether a gospel message is legitimate is simple. If a presentation of the Good News doesn&rsquo;t contain a message about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then it&rsquo;s insufficient. Every effective gospel presentation, whether it&rsquo;s a sermon given from a pulpit or part of a private conversation, ultimately needs to come down to this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin. He paid the price for every wrong thing we&rsquo;ve ever done. And after He conquered the power of sin, He rose again to conquer the power of death.
That&rsquo;s the essence of the gospel. That&rsquo;s the message we need to take to people.
Too often we bog ourselves down with too many arguments, counterarguments, and debate strategies. We look for &ldquo;gotcha&rdquo; moments, opportunities to use unbelievers&rsquo; logic against them.
A better option is to &ldquo;travel light&rdquo;&mdash;to fill our thoughts with Scripture alone. If we want to be effective in sharing our faith, our message must be centered on God&rsquo;s Word. That&rsquo;s why the apostle Paul wrote, &ldquo;Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth&rdquo; (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).
When we commit Scripture to memory, when we know the Word of God, we have a well to draw from when someone asks us a question. And as we prepare to respond, we can pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the right passages to mind.
Think again about Philip&rsquo;s opportunity to share the gospel with a government official from Ethiopia. Acts 8:35 says, &ldquo;So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus&rdquo; (NLT). Philip was able to present the gospel accurately and at a moment&rsquo;s notice because he knew Scripture.
The better we know Scripture and the more of it we commit to memory, the more we give the Holy Spirit to work with. The psalmist wrote, &ldquo;I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you&rdquo; (Psalm 119:11 NLT). When we commit ourselves to that same pursuit, we&rsquo;ll discover not only that God blesses our efforts but also that our heart has much greater storage capacity than we can imagine.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: How much of your heart&rsquo;s storage capacity is filled with memorized Scripture passages?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a> 
The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! <a href="https://inbound.harvest.org/2026-crusade?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=SoCal2026">Stay updated on all important event details</a>.
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

Memorizing God’s Word is the best way to prepare to share your faith.

Everything You Need to Be a Witness | Acts 8:35

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 NLT)

 

Reflecting on the passing of human life, ethicist Michael Josephson wrote, “Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. . . . So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? . . . Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.”

The author of Ecclesiastes wrote, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 NLT). The psalmist wrote, “My future is in your hands” (Psalm 31:15 NLT). And Job said to God, “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer” (Job 14:5 NLT).

Contemplating how short life is and how powerless we are to change that can trigger anxiety in some people. It magnifies the importance of being proactive in the choices you make, not to mention the importance of starting to make those choices as early as possible. To put it another way: The evening of your life is determined by the morning of your life.

If you start prioritizing healthy eating and exercise as a young person and continue the practice throughout your life, you will enjoy the benefits for years and years. Likewise, if you start prioritizing the things of God as a young person and continue the practice throughout your life, you will reap unimaginable blessings for as long as you live.

The author of Proverbs touched on this principle when he wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 RSV).

If you’re in the morning of your life—if, statistically speaking, you likely have many years ahead of you—now is not the time to sow your wild oats or to do the things you plan to repent for later. Now is the time to establish the habits, practices, and principles that will guide your life. Now is the time to study God’s Word, to memorize and apply it to every area of your life. Now is the time to begin the discipline of prayer, to set aside time every day to speak and listen to the Lord. Now is the time to develop and sharpen your skills when it comes to sharing your faith. If time is on your side, don’t let that advantage slip away.

If you’re in the afternoon or even in the evening of life, the same principle applies, just in a different time frame. It’s never too late to adopt God-honoring disciplines. And right now, you’re as young as you’ll ever be.

 

Reflection question: How can you prioritize and embrace God-honoring disciplines in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.&nbsp;A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.&rdquo; (Ecclesiastes 3:1&ndash;2 NLT)
&nbsp;
Reflecting on the passing of human life, ethicist Michael Josephson wrote, &ldquo;Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. . . . So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? . . . Living a life that matters doesn&rsquo;t happen by accident. It&rsquo;s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.&rdquo;
The author of Ecclesiastes wrote, &ldquo;For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.&nbsp;A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest&rdquo; (Ecclesiastes 3:1&ndash;2 NLT). The psalmist wrote, &ldquo;My future is in your hands&rdquo; (Psalm 31:15 NLT). And Job said to God, &ldquo;You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer&rdquo; (Job 14:5 NLT).
Contemplating how short life is and how powerless we are to change that can trigger anxiety in some people. It magnifies the importance of being proactive in the choices you make, not to mention the importance of starting to make those choices as early as possible. To put it another way: The evening of your life is determined by the morning of your life.
If you start prioritizing healthy eating and exercise as a young person and continue the practice throughout your life, you will enjoy the benefits for years and years. Likewise, if you start prioritizing the things of God as a young person and continue the practice throughout your life, you will reap unimaginable blessings for as long as you live.
The author of Proverbs touched on this principle when he wrote, &ldquo;Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it&rdquo; (Proverbs 22:6 RSV).
If you&rsquo;re in the morning of your life&mdash;if, statistically speaking, you likely have many years ahead of you&mdash;now is not the time to sow your wild oats or to do the things you plan to repent for later. Now is the time to establish the habits, practices, and principles that will guide your life. Now is the time to study God&rsquo;s Word, to memorize and apply it to every area of your life. Now is the time to begin the discipline of prayer, to set aside time every day to speak and listen to the Lord. Now is the time to develop and sharpen your skills when it comes to sharing your faith. If time is on your side, don&rsquo;t let that advantage slip away.
If you&rsquo;re in the afternoon or even in the evening of life, the same principle applies, just in a different time frame. It&rsquo;s never too late to adopt God-honoring disciplines. And right now, you&rsquo;re as young as you&rsquo;ll ever be.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: How can you prioritize and embrace God-honoring disciplines in your life?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! <a href="https://inbound.harvest.org/2026-crusade?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=SoCal2026">Stay updated on all important event details</a>.
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

The sooner you prioritize and embrace God-honoring disciplines in your life, the more blessings you will enjoy.

On His Mind | Psalm 139:17

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