Daily Devotions · July 26
Reading for July 26
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Isaiah 46–49 · 1 Peter 5
Isaiah 46–49 · 1 Peter 5, Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 46
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. 2 The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity. 3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. 4 Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you. 5 To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike? 6 They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. 7 They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles. 8 Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors! 9 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. 10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ 11 I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it. 12 Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness: 13 I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.
Isaiah 47
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. 2 Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. 3 Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.” 4 Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—is the Holy One of Israel. 5 “Sit in silence and go into darkness, O Daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms. 6 I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke. 7 You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome. 8 So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’ 9 These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells. 10 You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ 11 But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly. 12 So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror! 13 You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate. 14 Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside. 15 This is what they are to you—those with whom you have labored and traded from youth—each one strays in his own direction; not one of them can save you.
Isaiah 48
“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness— 2 who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name. 3 I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. 4 For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze. 5 Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’ 6 You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you. 7 They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’ 8 You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth. 9 For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off. 10 See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another. 12 Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last. 13 Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together. 14 Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out His desire against Babylon, and His arm will be against the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I have brought him, and he will succeed in his mission. 16 Come near to Me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time it happened, I was there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, accompanied by His Spirit. 17 Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.” 20 Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!” 21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out. 22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 49
Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me. 2 He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver. 3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.” 4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.” 5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength— 6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” 7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.” 8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill. 10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. 11 I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up. 12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.” 13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones. 14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! 16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me. 17 Your builders hasten back; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride. 19 For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. 20 Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’ 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’” 22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. 23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.” 24 Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered? 25 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. 26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
1 Peter 5
As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. 7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you. 11 To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in 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.
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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.
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.