Daily Devotions · January 8
Reading for January 8
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Genesis 20–22 · Luke 8
Genesis 20–22 · Luke 8, Berean Standard Bible
Genesis 20
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3 One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.” 4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” 6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.” 8 Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10 Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11 Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. 13 So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14 So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” 16 And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— 18 for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
Genesis 21
Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. 2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised. 3 And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.” 7 She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” 8 So the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!” 11 Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned. 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.” 14 Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer. 21 And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.” 24 And Abraham replied, “I swear it.” 25 But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized, 26 Abimelech replied, “I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me, so I have not heard about it until today.” 27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelech asked him, “Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?” 30 He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.” 31 So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. 32 After they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Genesis 22
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” “Here I am, my son,” he replied. “The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, 16 saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. 18 And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba. 20 Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 Moreover, Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Luke 8
Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, 2 as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means. 4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told them this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ 11 Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop. 16 No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light. 18 Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” 19 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were unable to reach Him because of the crowd. 20 He was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see You.” 21 But He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and carry it out.” 22 One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So He got into a boat with them and set out. 23 As they sailed, He fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!” 26 Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs. 28 When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And the demons kept begging Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside. 35 So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Meanwhile, those who had seen it reported how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back. 38 The man whom the demons had left begged to go with Jesus. But He sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him. 40 When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. 41 Just then a synagogue leader named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Him to come to his house, 42 because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him, 43 including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.” 46 But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice, came trembling and fell down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched Him and how she had immediately been healed. 48 “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” 49 While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.” 50 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When He entered the house, He did not allow anyone to go in with Him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, everyone was weeping and mourning for her. But Jesus said, “Stop weeping; she is not dead but asleep.” 53 And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she got up. And He directed that she be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
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.