Daily Devotions · January 29
Reading for January 29
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Exodus 23–24 · Psalm 14 · Acts 5
Exodus 23–24 · Psalm 14 · Acts 5, Berean Standard Bible
Exodus 23
“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. 2 You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. 3 And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. 4 If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it. 6 You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. 7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. 9 Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 10 For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce, 11 but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove. 12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident. 13 Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips. 14 Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. 15 You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. 16 You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD. 18 You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning. 19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. 20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. 22 But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them. 24 You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces. 25 So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. 26 No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run. 28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land. 31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Exodus 24
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but the others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.” 3 When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splattered on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 So Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” 9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them.” 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Psalm 14
For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. 3 All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD. 5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is in the company of the righteous. 6 You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed, yet the LORD is their shelter. 7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
Acts 5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? 4 Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!” 5 On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. 8 “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.” 9 “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events. 12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. 14 Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed. 17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out 18 and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.” 21 At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. 25 Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!” 26 At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. 27 They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.” 29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. 31 God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” 33 When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time. 35 “Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered. 38 So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.” 40 At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
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.