Daily Devotion — August 19 | Acts 19:20 (NKJV)

God's Truth Always Prevails

Acts 19 describes the powerful work of God in the city of Ephesus. As the gospel spread, many people turned away from sinful practices and publicly demonstrated their repentance by destroying items connected with their former way of life. Their transformed lives became evidence of God's power at work.

Luke concludes this section with a simple but powerful statement: "The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." Despite opposition, spiritual darkness, and resistance, nothing could stop God's truth from accomplishing His purpose.

This verse reminds us that God's Word continues to transform lives today. Cultures may change, opposition may arise, and circumstances may seem difficult, but the message of Jesus Christ remains powerful. As believers faithfully live and proclaim the gospel, God continues to accomplish His work.

Reflection Questions

1. Am I allowing God's Word to shape my daily life?

2. What old habits or influences should I leave behind?

3. How can I help others experience the transforming power of God's Word?

Prayer

Lord God, thank You that Your Word is living, powerful, and unchanging. Continue to transform my heart through the Scriptures and help me faithfully share the gospel with others. May Your truth always prevail in my life. In Jesus name Amen.

Practical Application

● Spend time reading God's Word every day.

● Remove influences that hinder your spiritual growth.

● Share God's truth with someone this week.

Takeaway Thought

Nothing can stop the life-changing power of God's Word.

#LordsbookDailys #DailyDevotion #August19 #Acts1920 #WordOfTheLord #FaithThatPrevails #GrowingInChrist #BibleInspiration #GrowInFaith

https://youtu.be/b7Nf5bUapyM?si=6IXQ0jxPqF5ygCxh

Good day, brothers and sisters. I believe you are all blessed and doing well in Jesus’ name.

I want to share something I’ve created for the glory of God. As I have shared before, I often play the Bible while I sleep and even while I’m at work. However, I’ve found that many audio Bibles on YouTube don’t always contain the complete text of a particular book.

So, I decided to create my own Audio Bible series, starting with the Gospels. I’m still working on the rest, but I have now completed the Book of Matthew.

It is not only an audio Bible. The full text of Matthew appears on the screen as the Bible is being read, so you can either listen, read along, or do both.

You can play it in your home while cleaning, cooking, or doing other things, or you can listen with your earphones while working. You can also download the video through YouTube so that you can listen to it offline without Wi-Fi or mobile data. Of course, you will need Wi-Fi or data initially to download it.

I also created this because I noticed that some audio Bible videos on YouTube do not always contain the complete text of the book. That is not necessarily wrong, as some may have been created with a particular audience or purpose in mind. But with this series, my goal is simple: the complete text of the book, from beginning to end, without adding to or taking away from the Word.

My prayer is that you will listen to it, read along, be blessed by God's Word, and share it with others. Let us make disciples and share the Gospel with everyone we can.

Jesus commanded us:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...”
Matthew 28:19

And Scripture tells us:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17

I know that for some people, sitting down and reading the Bible can be difficult. I understand this personally because, with little ones around, it isn't always easy to find the time to sit quietly and read. That is one reason I often listen to the Bible.

As you listen, don't just let it play in the background. Listen for God speaking to you through His Word. When God speaks to you, pause. Make notes. Go back and study it. Ask questions. Compare Scripture with Scripture. And most importantly, allow the Word of God to transform your life.

The Bible says:
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...”
Hebrews 4:12

Let's not simply hear the Word let's live it.

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
Romans 11:36

May this Audio Bible be a blessing to you, your family, and anyone else who listens to it.

Listen. Read. Study. Share. Make disciples.

All glory belongs to God.

God bless you all, brothers and sisters, in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

A Prayer to Lay Down My Crown

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Learn More:

The Girl in the Pew: Loving Jesus. Loving People. Speaking the truth in love.

Philistia Pittman is The Girl in the Pew, a woman of immense spiritual depth and battle-tested resilience.

Click here to learn more about The Girl in the Pew: thegirlinthepew.com/about-the-girl-in-the-pew

Explore The Girl in the Pew Series (Read & Watch): thegirlinthepew.com/series

#TheGirlInThePew #SpeakTheTruthInLove #FaithJourney #SurrenderingYourPlanstoGod #TrustingGodWithDetours #SovereignShifts

A Nugget of Truth.
“The man who would truly know God must give time to Him.”

This quote agrees with the teaching of Scripture. No man grows in the knowledge of God by neglecting Him. A close relationship with the Lord is not built in a moment, but through daily fellowship in His Word and in prayer.

The Bible says:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Many people have time for work, entertainment, social media, and worldly pleasures, yet very little time for God. Then they wonder why they are spiritually weak. A starving soul cannot be strong. Jesus said,

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” — Matthew 4:4 (KJV)

To know God is more than knowing facts about Him. It is to walk with Him, obey Him, and delight in His presence. David declared,

“O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” — Psalm 119:97 (KJV)

If you desire to know Christ more deeply, make time every day to read His Word, pray without ceasing, and seek His face. The Lord reveals Himself to those who diligently seek Him.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” — Jeremiah 29:13 (KJV)

Do not wait until tomorrow. Every day spent without seeking God is a day of missed fellowship. Open your Bible today, humble your heart before the Lord, and give Him the first place in your life. For those who truly know God are those who continually seek Him. Amen.

August 19th, 2026
Read; Hebrews 6:10

So much comfort in one short verse! God isn't unfair—and that's putting it mildly. Because He gave His Son for our sins, we can trust Him never to overlook love shown in His name. He will never forget the good things we have done and the work we have done for Him. When we help our Christian brothers and sisters, we bless Jesus. We belong to Him! That's a good reason to keep getting better in Christ.

Prayer

You are so kind, God. I'm grateful. Thank You for remembering every work of love done in Your name and every act of service to Your people. I'm so happy to be Your child. In Jesus' precious name, I pray. Amen.

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

James 1:3 NLT
____
God invites us to experience intimate fellowship with Him. Walking in the light is our response to His call.
____
Begin the practice of allocating more time in prayer to giving thanks
____
Dear God, please help me see Your breathtaking beauty.
____
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for My own sake and will never think of them again.

Isaiah 43:25 NLT

Good morning to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.

It appears that the rain monster is headed back our way. Perhaps today. I have one more yard to mow/bale, and hopefully I can get that done before it gets here. If I recall, the rain is supposed to start this afternoon around 3. We kind of made a plan for today, so…fingers crossed that the monster stays away for the right amount of time.

This year has been a wild year for my yard. I do not recall a year where it felt like a cloud just passed over my place and the grass grew six inches. It is crazy how fast my yard is growing this year. I don’t even think that it has to rain a tiny bit for my yard to keep growing. It is crazy. You know, I always thought a balance of water and sun was the formula for a good growing yard. Apparently, my yard has an attitude and has said, “Give me rain, or not; give me sun or not; give me cold or not; I will grow and will not rot.” I guess it is its version of ‘hold my beer’.

The wonderful part of it is that my yard actually looks like a fluffy pillow of beautiful grass. Not sure how that happened, but it did. There are not a lot of thistles or weeds; even in the back part of the yard, it is beautiful grass.

The way that the grass is growing so quickly and fully is a reminder of how quickly sin can manifest in our lives. Now you are wondering, how did I just turn my beautiful pillow grass into sin? Stick with me; I think you will like this. Some of you who are used to my brain are trying to see my vision first. Haha.

In one of the parables that Jesus taught, the farmer planted bountiful seeds and had a great crop. However, one day one of his servants told him of how the weeds were growing up in the plants and should they pull the weeds. The farmer told them no; they would worry about the weeds at harvest.

My nice and quick-growing yard is just like the weeds in the parable, in that the weeds sprung up quickly and became noticeable to the servants. They did not need attention, but they were trying to take over the crop to the point that the servant wanted to rid the field of them.

Sin works the same way. It finds its way into our lives, usually with logic. Such as, Jesus sat with sinners, so why can’t I? The problem with that example is that Jesus was perfect and without blemish. He did not succumb to the sin from which he was trying to save them from. He simply sat with them and told them the truth in love. WE on the other hand, are sinners who are saved by grace. WE are still human and are susceptible to the temptation of the same sins that we are sitting with. Meaning, a drug addict should not move into a drug-infested area to witness because the temptation could become too strong for them to resist.

Once sin has planted itself in our minds, it festers and grows quickly. It uses logic and ‘common sense’ ideas to justify its existence. Soon, and it does not take long, for those around you to see how the sin has manifested and grew in your/our lives. And the bad part of it all is that many times we either do not see it and still try to justify our actions with the ‘Jesus sat with sinners’ or we do not see it at all.

Today I encourage you to go to Him in prayer and ask Him to reveal any areas in your life that you may be lying to yourself about as a witness opportunity to allow for your sin. When He reveals it to you, go to Him and ask Him to forgive you. If He had sent anyone to open your eyes, ask them to forgive you for not listening to His servant. As you do that, you are telling the enemy to kick rocks and that will give him a headache for sure.

Be blessed.

**Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. – Colossians 3:17

Matthew 20:17-34

Jesus was always clear that He demands it all from us if we are to follow Him. And during this journey of miracles, feedings and teaching Jesus again warns them of the fact that when they arrive in Jerusalem that He would be handed over to be killed.

Now what the disciples were thinking I can't tell you. Maybe they thought that if they ignored it long enough it just won't happen. Maybe they thought this was another parable they didn't understand fully, yet. But they were too scared to ask.

He told them He would be raised on the third day but that good news didn't really get through their heads. Because to accept the good part they had to mentally accept the bad part. A ‘raising from the dead’ can't be done before the death part comes.

And it is in this context I believe that James and John’s mothers’ prayer for her sons was answered. Her prayer? That it would be her sons seated at Jesus’ left and right hands in the Kingdom. No doubt being the Jewish mother of all mothers she wanted her boys on the leadership council when He takes his Kingdom. She wanted them to be preeminent amongst all the disciples and Jesus is horrified at the request because he knows what it will mean for them and her.

She was thinking they would be powerful, Jesus knew it would cost their lives. Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink? He asked, are you able and willing to die for this position? And they affirmed it. And that is the point that God made these two men the effective book ends for the Martyrdom that would claim the lives of all apostles.

James was the first Apostle to die.

Acts 12:1-2
[1] Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. [2] And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.

Herod was insane, but he was a people pleaser and when the church began making inroads into Jewish life and James’ death marks the beginning of the effort that led to the continued persecution of the church and the death of the apostles.

After James’ death, the enemy used the one tactic that would continually fail throughout history, persecution. Yes, some solid Christian leaders fell to the violence, but persecution always spurred on mighty works of the Spirit which grew the church. The one strategy the enemy believed would discourage the church became the catalyst for rapid expansion of Christianity worldwide.

And it was encompassed by these Bookends of Martyrdom, James and John. A position their mother believed would be an honor to them not realizing that honor would claim their lives as James became the first and John the last to give their lives for Him.

Think of the reception in Heaven when these young men arrived. Their arrival is a victory celebration in eternity while those who believed they were in the right for killing them celebrated here, temporarily. And now they suffer eternally.

Be careful mothers about what you pray for. You may end up getting it. The passage ends with healing blind men on their way. And amongst his warning of His impending death, His followers' fates and a prayer for a blessing she didn't fully comprehend Jesus has compassion and heals them.




[17] As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them, [18] “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, [19] and they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, and on the third day He will be raised up.” [20] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. [21] And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She *said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” [22] But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” [23] He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” [24] And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers. [25] But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. [26] It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, [27] and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; [28] just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” [29] As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. [30] And two people who were blind, sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” [31] But the crowd sternly warned them to be quiet; yet they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” [32] And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” [33] They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” [34] Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.