Daily Devotions · August 11
Reading for August 11
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Jeremiah 7–9 · John 13
Jeremiah 7–9 · John 13, Berean Standard Bible
Jeremiah 7
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5 For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another, 6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’? 11 Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD. 12 But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer, 14 therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers. 15 And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim. 16 As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 19 But am I the One they are provoking? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame? 20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished. 21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you. 24 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again. 26 Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers. 27 When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips. 29 Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind. 32 So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away. 34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
Jeremiah 8
“At that time,” declares the LORD, “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of the officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. 2 They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground. 3 And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts. 4 So you are to tell them this is what the LORD says: “Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not return? 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD. 8 How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception? 9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? 10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. 11 They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all. 12 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD. 13 I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.” 14 Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror. 16 The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it. 17 “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD. 18 My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me. 19 Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?” 20 “The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we have not been saved.” 21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Jeremiah 9
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people. 2 If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people. 3 “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD. 4 “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander. 5 Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity. 6 You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD. 7 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people? 8 Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. 9 Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?” 10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away. 11 “And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.” 12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it? 13 And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink. 16 I will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.” 17 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them. 18 Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water. 19 For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’” 20 Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament. 21 For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares. 22 Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.” 23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. 24 But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. 25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
John 13
It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end. 2 The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 18 I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He. 20 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.” 21 After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant. 23 One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side. 24 So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about. 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27 And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the table knew why Jesus had said this to him. 29 Since Judas kept the money bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as he had received the morsel, Judas went out into the night. 31 When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself—and will glorify Him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” 36 “Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked. Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.” 37 “Lord,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.” 38 “Will you lay down your life for Me?” Jesus replied. “Truly, truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.
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.