Turkey Creek Free Will Baptist Church, Friendship Ohio

09/15/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Nerves and Knees

He's so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!
1 Samuel 25:17, NLT

According to a 2024 survey, 85% of all employees have had an experience with a coworker who annoyed them, and 41% wish they could tell their annoying coworker what they think about them.1

When David was a young man running for his life, he encountered an ill-tempered man named Nabal. David almost went to war against him. Only the intervention of Nabal’s wife, Abigail, kept the two men from bloodshed. God gave her the grace to be a peacemaker.

What do we do with people who get on our nerves? First, we have to look at ourselves and ask if we are the cranky and irritable one. Sometimes fatigue can create friction, and neglecting Bible study can cause our love to ebb. Second, we have to look at the other person and see if they have a need behind their nuisance. We are to consider their souls and remember that we are all children of God.

When people get on our nerves, we should get on our knees.

We are all in relationships, we all face conflicts, and we all have to learn how to navigate them so that we, and our relationships, can truly thrive. Gary Chapman

1Julia Belak, “Survey Reveals 85% of Workers Have to Deal With Annoying Colleagues,” KickResume, June 19, 2024.

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09/14/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Dr. Fell

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

What do you do about people you simply don’t like? It may be the person you sat beside on the airplane last week, but at least you won’t have to see him again. But what if that person is your relative? Or a coworker? Or someone in your church? They may be nice enough, but something about them rubs you the wrong way. It’s like the old nursery rhyme, “I do not like thee, Dr. Fell; the reason why I cannot tell.”

These are the very people God wants us to love, to pray for, to bless, and to serve. Their personalities might be different from ours. But remember how Jesus managed to love people of every temperament, in every place, at all times, and under all circumstances.

It comes down to a little prayer: Lord, give me Your love just now. It’s as simple as that. When we confess that our human affection is insufficient to care for a certain person, we must ask the Lord to give us His love, and then we have to act on it.

Jesus never fails to help you love others, even Dr. Fell.

Love is service rather than sentiment. John R.W. Stott

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09/13/2026

Daily Devotional From In Touch Ministries

Every one of us will fail—sometimes in ways that cut deep. Peter knew exactly how it feels. Jesus warned him that Satan had asked permission to “sift” him like wheat (Luke 22:31)—to shake his faith so hard that he’d fall away like chaff. Peter was confident no such thing would happen: “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not” (Mark 14:29) But that confidence was rooted in his own strength, which is exactly where the Enemy struck.

When Satan sifts believers, his goal is to damage our faith so deeply that we’re sidelined from God’s kingdom. He goes after our strengths—the areas where we believe ourselves to be invincible or well protected. Peter’s loyalty to Jesus was genuine, but it was also something he was proud of—and pride made it a target. When the Enemy succeeds, the disappointment and shame can feel paralyzing. But we don’t have to stay there.

If we are willing, God can use our worst failures to reshape us. Peter’s denial didn’t disqualify him—it dismantled the self-reliance that had been standing in his way. What replaced it was the Holy Spirit’s courage. That transformed a man who couldn’t face a servant girl’s question into one who risked everything to proclaim the the gospel (Acts 2:22-24) Failure wasn’t the end of Peter’s story. It was the turning point.

09/12/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah’s Turning Point

Great Reunions: Jacob and Esau

Then [Jacob] crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet [Jacob], and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. Genesis 33:3-4

The word estranged comes from a Latin word that meant “not belonging to the family; a stranger.” Family members can sometimes be estranged from one another due to a conflict in the past. But when they meet and are reconciled, their reunion is watered by tears of joy.

That was the situation with the two sons of Isaac—Esau and Jacob. As the older brother, Esau was in line to receive Isaac’s blessing as the firstborn. But Jacob tricked Isaac into bestowing the blessing on him instead. Esau’s grudge against Jacob caused Jacob to flee for his life to the home of a family relative in a distant land (Genesis 27:41-45). Many years later, Jacob returned to Canaan with his own family. When Esau saw his younger brother coming, he ran to him and embraced him—and they wept together.

Reconciliation and reunion don’t have to take years of estrangement to heal. Be the first to build a bridge if estrangement has taken place (Matthew 5:23-24).

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. William Blake

09/11/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Second Chances

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh.
Jonah 3:1-3

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire that conquered the ten northern tribes of Israel and deported many of them in 722 B.C. The Assyrian Empire was known for its massive armies and brutal treatment of conquered peoples and prisoners. When God commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn them of impending judgment, his fear of what might happen to him at their hands was understandable.

So instead of journeying east to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction across the Mediterranean Sea. Jonah represents all who have ignored or disobeyed the will of God and found themselves in a season of discipline. But Jonah also illustrates the fact that God provides second chances for those who are willing to turn around (repent) and submit to His will. After Jonah was rescued from the great fish, he went and preached to Nineveh.

Failure to obey God does not put us beyond God’s grace. He is faithful to forgive and give us new opportunities to serve Him.

Sin forsaken is the best evidence of sin forgiven.
George Jennings Davies

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09/10/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Huddle Up and Pray

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Acts 20:36

Earlier this year an EF-2 tornado tore through the north Texas community of Runaway Bay. What did the people do in the path of the storm? According to the newspaper, they “huddled up and prayed.”1

Have you had an experience like that, when some kind of storm was bearing down on you or affecting the lives of those you loved? What a time to huddle up and pray! In the stomach of the huge fish, Jonah had to huddle up with himself because he was far from any other living soul. It was a lonely prayer, but God heard it.

We are so blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ who will pray with us and for us and who will bear our burdens to the throne of grace. Though the Lord already knows our circumstances, He wants us to tell Him, to lay out our problems for Him so that He can lighten our load.

Cast your cares upon the Lord today. Pray about your own needs, pray about the needs of others, and pray with others for God’s fresh grace amid every unexpected storm.

What if we converted every problem, every opportunity, into a prayer? Mark Batterson

1Tiffany Lou, “‘We Huddled and Prayed,’ Residents Recount Deadly EF-2 Tornado in Runaway Bay,” WFAA ABC8, April 26, 2026.

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09/09/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Repentance and Rededication

When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. Jonah 2:7

Though Isaac Watts was the Father of English Hymnody, he was first and foremost a local pastor. On the subject of prayer, he encouraged his congregation to include repentance as a part of their habit in coming to the Lord. He wrote, “We should confess our sins under the sense of the guilt of them, as well as under the deep and mournful impressions of the power of sin in our hearts.”1

Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2 is essentially a prayer of repentance and of rededication. Though Jonah was deep in the heart of the ocean, the Lord heard every word. If God listened to Jonah from the depths of the sea, don’t you think He will listen to you no matter where you are or what you’ve done?

Let’s learn to include repentance and rededication in our prayers. The Lord is more willing to forgive us than we are to ask for forgiveness. But we should confess our sins so as to have fresh joy in our daily walk with God.

Thus I abandon every thing that would divide me from God, to whom I have made a surrender of myself. Isaac Watts

1Isaac Watts, The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, Vol. III (London: J. Barfield, 1810), 114.

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09/08/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Discipline for Our Good

For [our fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Hebrews 12:10

The New Testament occasionally uses the earthly family to illustrate God’s familial relationship with us (Romans 8:15-17). The writer to the Hebrews compares how earthly fathers discipline their children to the ways that God disciplines us (Hebrews 12:1-13). His purpose is for us to be “partakers of His holiness.”

The story of Jonah is a good example of God’s discipline. The discipline started with a storm at sea that resulted in Jonah being thrown into the deep where he was swallowed by a great fish. During his three days in the fish, Jonah called out to God and repented of his sin. After Jonah was deposited onto dry land, he obeyed God’s original commission to go to Nineveh and warn them of God’s impending judgment. While Jonah struggled with yielding to God’s purpose, the hardship he endured at least led him to repent of his initial disobedience.

If you find yourself in a season of hardship, seek the Lord and ask Him if there is something He wants you to do or learn.

Those that would enjoy the dignities and privileges of Christ’s family must submit to the discipline of it. Matthew Henry

09/07/2026

Daily Devotional From Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point

Your First Impulse

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
Jonah 1:17–2:1

When we find ourselves faced with a seemingly unsolvable challenge, someone usually reminds us, “When all else fails, read the directions!” A similar reminder is sometimes issued among Christians: “When all else fails, pray!” We often have to be reminded that prayer should be our first impulse, not our last.

Jonah would have done well to have received that reminder when he found himself cast into the Mediterranean Sea. He had rebelled against God, been accused of causing calamity by his shipmates, and been thrown overboard in hopes of placating the storm “gods.” And adding insult to injury, he was swallowed by a great fish! Finally, Jonah decided it was time to pray: “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” He didn’t exactly confess his sins, but at least he repented of his pride by calling out to God for help.

Don’t wait until you have tried every solution before turning to prayer. Regardless of the situation, make prayer your first impulse.

Before we can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath

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09/06/2026

Daily Devotional From In Touch Ministries

Exodus 3:1-15

How do you respond when God calls you to do something that seems beyond your capabilities? Do you hesitate—or give Him reasons why He must have picked the wrong person? That’s exactly how Moses responded. But the exchange at the burning bush reveals two questions that can steady us when we feel overwhelmed by what God is asking.

Who is God? Presenting Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 3:6), the Lord called Himself by the name “I AM WHO I AM” (v. 14). The sovereign, self-existent, promise-keeping God wasn’t introducing Himself to a stranger but was reminding Moses whose voice he was hearing.

Who am I? When Moses questioned whether he was the right man for the job, God didn’t list Moses’ qualifications. He gave him something better: “I will be with you” (v. 12). Moses’ adequacy wasn’t the point—God’s presence was. And the same is true for us. Our sufficiency comes not from our own strength but from Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:5).

Has God given you a daunting task? He knows your limitations better than you do and has already accounted for them. So, instead of worrying whether you are enough, focus instead on the truth that He is.