Daily Devotions · April 26
Reading for April 26
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
2 Samuel 1 · Psalm 140 · Matthew 13
2 Samuel 1 · Psalm 140 · Matthew 13, Berean Standard Bible
2 Samuel 1
After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage. 3 “Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied. 4 “What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” 5 Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I answered, ‘Here I am!’ 8 ‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.” 11 Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.” 14 So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15 Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’” 17 Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar: 19 “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. 21 O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not retreat, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and luxury, who decked your garments with ornaments of gold. 25 How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 26 I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. 27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
Psalm 140
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence, 2 who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long. 3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble. 5 The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah 6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for help. 7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle. 8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah 9 May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused. 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again. 11 May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence. 12 I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.
Matthew 13
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” 10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ 14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. 18 Consider, then, the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.” 24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’” 31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. 32 Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.” 34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” 36 Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. 42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. 44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it. 47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away. 49 So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. 52 Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place. 54 Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.