Daily Devotions · February 15
Reading for February 15
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Leviticus 25 · Psalm 25–26 · Acts 22
Leviticus 25 · Psalm 25–26 · Acts 22, Berean Standard Bible
Leviticus 25
Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. 4 But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. 6 Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you, 7 and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food. 8 And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years. 9 Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land. 10 So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan. 11 The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field. 13 In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property. 14 If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other. 15 You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining. 16 You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests. 17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God. 18 You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land. 20 Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’ 21 But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years. 22 While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in. 23 The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me. 24 Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land. 25 If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land, 27 he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property. 28 But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property. 29 If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed. 30 If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess. 33 So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites. 34 But the open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for this is their permanent possession. 35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you. 37 You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 39 If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. 40 Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers. 42 Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. 43 You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God. 44 Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them. 45 You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property. 46 You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother. 47 If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan, 48 he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him: 49 either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50 He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand. 51 If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years. 53 He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight. 54 Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee. 55 For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Psalm 25
Of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 2 in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced. 4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. 5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You. 6 Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. 10 All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees. 11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great. 12 Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him. 13 His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them. 15 My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh. 16 Turn to me and be gracious, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress. 18 Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred. 20 Guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. 21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.
Psalm 26
Of David. Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind. 3 For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites. 5 I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD, 7 to raise my voice in thanksgiving and declare all Your wonderful works. 8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides. 9 Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I will walk with integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 My feet stand on level ground; in the congregations I will bless the LORD.
Acts 22
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul declared, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ 8 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me. 10 Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’ 11 Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. 12 There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice. 15 You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’ 17 Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” 22 The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!” 23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him. 25 But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” 26 On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.” 27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. 28 “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. 29 At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains. 30 The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
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.
-
Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
-
Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
-
Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
-
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.
Added to your journal. Go to journal
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.