Daily Devotions · July 8
Reading for July 8
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Hosea 13–14 · Psalm 100–102 · Hebrews 5
Hosea 13–14 · Psalm 100–102 · Hebrews 5, Berean Standard Bible
Hosea 13
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died. 2 Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!” 3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window. 4 Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me. 5 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. 6 When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me. 7 So like a lion I will pounce on them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart. 9 You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper. 10 Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? 11 So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is stored up. 13 Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb. 14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes. 15 Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article. 16 Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
Hosea 14
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. 2 Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.” 4 I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. 6 His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. 7 They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me. 9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.
Psalm 100
A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.
Psalm 101
A Psalm of David. I will sing of Your loving devotion and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praises. 2 I will ponder the way that is blameless—when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart. 3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know nothing of evil. 5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure. 6 My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me. 7 No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who tells lies shall stand in my presence. 8 Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.
Psalm 102
A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call. 3 For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. 4 My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. 5 Through my loud groaning my skin hangs on my bones. 6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7 I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop. 8 All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears 10 because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside. 11 My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass. 12 But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations. 13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come. 14 For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust. 15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory. 16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory. 17 He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer. 18 Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. 19 For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth 20 to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, 21 that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem, 22 when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD. 23 He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days. 24 I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations. 25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on. 27 But You remain the same, and Your years will never end. 28 The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”
Hebrews 5
Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.” 6 And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 7 During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. 9 And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him 10 and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing. 12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! 13 For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
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.