Daily Devotions · June 7
Reading for June 7
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Ecclesiastes 4–6 · Psalm 18 · Ephesians 3
Ecclesiastes 4–6 · Psalm 18 · Ephesians 3, Berean Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 4
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter. 2 So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4 I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind. 7 Again, I saw futility under the sun. 8 There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning. 14 For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king. 16 There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 5
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God. 8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. 9 The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. 10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. 11 When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep. 13 There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, 14 or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on. 15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. 16 This too is a grievous affliction: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. 20 For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 6
There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: 2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction. 3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. 5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? 7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. 8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 10 Whatever exists was named long ago, and it is known what man is; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he. 11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
Psalm 18
For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears. 7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger. 8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth. 9 He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet. 10 He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him. 12 From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them. 15 The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me. 18 They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support. 19 He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me. 20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. 21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes. 23 And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity. 24 So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless; 26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes. 28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness. 29 For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall. 30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear. 33 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights. 34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me. 36 You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way. 37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed. 38 I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet. 39 You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me. 40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer. 42 I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me. 44 When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me. 45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds. 46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted— 47 the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me, 48 who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men. 49 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name. 50 Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Ephesians 3
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles... 2 Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. 8 Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence. 13 So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. 14 ... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth 19 of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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.