July 17, 2026

Daily Devotional

Is it Time to Make a U-Turn in Your Life?

Life often feels like driving down a long highway—speeding toward goals, distractions, or old habits that pull us far from where we truly belong. At 85 years young, as a Vietnam veteran who has seen many roads, I know the wisdom of recognizing when it’s time to turn around. A U-turn isn’t defeat; it’s wisdom. It signals you’ve spotted danger ahead and chosen life instead. The Bible calls this repentance—a deliberate change of mind and direction back to God.

In The Living Bible, Acts 3:19 declares: “Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to Him so He can cleanse away your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord.” This is God’s open invitation. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, who squandered his inheritance in a far country yet “came to his senses” and returned home, we too can arise and go to our Father. He doesn’t wait with condemnation but runs to embrace us with open arms, restoring what was lost.

Why make the U-turn now? Because tomorrow is promised to no one. Isaiah 55:7 (TLB) urges: “Let the wicked change their ways and banish their evil thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” At any age—whether entangled in sin, pride, bitterness, or simply drifting—we face a crossroads. Continuing straight may feel easier, but it leads to emptiness. Turning back brings cleansing, refreshing, and renewed purpose.

For veterans, first responders, teachers, and everyday warriors, this U-turn aligns with the discipline we’ve known: assessing the situation, correcting course, and pressing forward with resolve. It’s not about perfection but surrender—admitting our need and trusting Jesus’ finished work on the Cross. His Blood covers every wrong turn. The Holy Spirit empowers the new direction.

Friend, is it time for your U-turn? Pause today. Confess, receive forgiveness, and step into the Father’s refreshing presence. Joy awaits. As Ezekiel reminds us, God takes “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). Turn now—abundant life begins with one honest pivot toward the Sovereign King.

Amen!

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If you have questions, please call the 24-Hour BGEA Prayer Line at:

(855) 255-PRAY.

CONTINUE:

Let us Praise Him Daily!

A good way to learn to Praise God is to memorize the first 6 Verses of Psalms 148:

1 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise Him from the skies!

²Praise Him, all His angels, all the armies of heaven.

³Praise Him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars.

⁴Praise Him, skies above. Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds.

⁵Let everything He has made give praise to Him. For He issued His command, and they came into being;

^{6 H}e established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

PLEASE read the last 6 Chapters of Psalms: 145-150 so that you will learn how to Praise God like David did!

If you don’t want to get your Bible, Here they all are, just click on each Chapter and I will read them to you:

PSALMS 145 PSALMS 146 PSALMS 147 PSALMS148 PSALMS 149 PSALMS 150

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JESUS IS:

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH,

THE LEADER,

THE ORIGINATOR,

THE LORD & MASTER,

THE SUPREME LEADER,

OUR HOPE,

1ST BORN FROM THE DEAD WITH AN IMMORTAL BODY TO NEVER DIE AGAIN,

THE 1ST FRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION,

HE IS OUR FESTIVAL OF HOPE,

OUR PARDON,

GIVEN 1ST PLACE IN EVERYTHING,

HAS BEEN EXALTED AS SUPREME OVER EVERYTHING,

IS ENOUGH,

THE FULLNESS OF GOD DWELLS IN US THROUGH JESUS,

JESUS HAS BROUGHT US INTO HARMONY WITH GOD,

HE HAS BROKERED A PEACE TREATY BETWEEN GOD & MAN,

YOU WERE BORN ON THE WRONG SIDE, BUT BY ACCEPTING JESUS

YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT SIDE NOW,

YOU ARE BEYOND REPROACH,

JESUS WAS THE SOLUTION BEFORE YOU HAD A SIN PROBLEM,

NEVER GET OVER WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU!

NOW:

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH:

TO TEACH US TO LEAD OTHERS TO CHRIST!

AMEN!

(You might want to copy those down and memorize them!)

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DAILY BIBLE READING:

>1. Chapter for the DAY in Proverbs;

>2. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the Old Testament AND

>3. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the New Testament Daily:

Chapter 16 in Proverbs for today: (JULY 16 (MT) (ESV)

17 Better is a dry morsel with quiet
    than a house full of feasting^[a] with strife.
²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
    and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
³The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and the Lord tests hearts.
⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
⁵Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
    he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
⁷Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
    still less is false speech to a prince.
⁸A bribe is like a magic^[b] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
⁹Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion,
    and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹²Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
    rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³If anyone returns evil for good,
    evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
¹⁷A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
²⁰A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
²²A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
²³The wicked accepts a bribe in secret^[c]
    to pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father
    and bitterness to her who bore him.
²⁶To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Footnotes

Proverbs 17:1 Hebrew sacrifices
Proverbs 17:8 Or precious
Proverbs 17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

CHAPTER 52 ISAIAH for today: (JULY 17 (JJ) (ESV)

52 Awake, awake,
    put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
    O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
    the uncircumcised and the unclean.
²Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
    be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.

³For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” ⁴For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.^[a] ⁵Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. ⁶Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

⁷How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
    the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹Break forth together into singing,
    you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

¹¹Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹²For you shall not go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
    and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

¹³Behold, my servant shall act wisely;^[b]
    he shall be high and lifted up,
    and shall be exalted.
¹⁴As many were astonished at you—
    his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
¹⁵so shall he sprinkle^[c] many nations.
    Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
    and that which they have not heard they understand.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
Isaiah 52:13 Or shall prosper
Isaiah 52:15 Or startle

Revelation 03

for today: (JULY 17 (NN) ESV)

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. ³Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ¹²The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

¹⁵“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

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Please Remember:

“CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD!”

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The Steps to Salvation:

> Repent: Repentance means that you are turning away from sin to turn to Christ. It does NOT mean that you will be perfect.

> Believe/Receive: Salvation is through Faith in Jesus and by the Grace of God. Believing means putting your Faith in Jesus and receiving forgiveness of sin.

>Walk in the Newness of Life: Jesus died so that we might live. We walk in the Newness of Life being Born Again by His Blood.

Additionally, if you feel you need someone to Pray for you,

please call the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,

24 Hours/Day, at: 1+855 255 PRAY (This is the same as: 1+855 255 7729).

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GOD THE FATHER IS THE SOVEREIGN KING
AND CREATOR OF THE ENTIRE
UNIVERSE AND BEYOND!

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