Daily Devotions · May 2
Reading for May 2
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
1 Chronicles 16 · Psalm 106 · Matthew 19
1 Chronicles 16 · Psalm 106 · Matthew 19, Berean Standard Bible
1 Chronicles 16
So they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. 3 Then he distributed to every man and woman of Israel a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. 4 David appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to celebrate, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the chief, Zechariah was second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They were to play the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals 6 and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 On that day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this song of thanksgiving to the LORD: 8 “Give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations. 9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. 10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 11 Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. 12 Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced, 13 O offspring of His servant Israel, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. 14 He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth. 15 Remember His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations— 16 the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac. 17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 18 ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.’ 19 When they were few in number, few indeed, and strangers in the land, 20 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 21 He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf: 22 ‘Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!’ 23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation day after day. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. 25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling. 28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; 30 tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ 32 Let the sea resound, and all that fills it; let the fields exult, and all that is in them. 33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. 34 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. 35 Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’ 36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!” 37 So David left Asaph and his associates there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to minister there regularly according to the daily requirements, 38 along with Obed-edom and his sixty-eight relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. 39 And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon 40 to regularly present burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offerings, morning and evening, according to all that was written in the Law of the LORD, which He had commanded Israel to keep. 41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, for “His loving devotion endures forever.” 42 Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate. 43 Then all the people departed for their homes, and David returned home to bless his household.
Psalm 106
Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. 2 Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD or fully proclaim His praise? 3 Blessed are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times. 4 Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation, 5 that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, and give glory with Your inheritance. 6 We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 7 Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders or remember Your abundant kindness; but they rebelled by the sea, there at the Red Sea. 8 Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand that hated them; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their foes; not one of them remained. 12 Then they believed His promises and sang His praise. 13 Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel. 14 They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. 15 So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them. 16 In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD. 17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. 18 Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked. 19 At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image. 20 They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox. 21 They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, 22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. 23 So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them. 24 They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise. 25 They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of the LORD. 26 So He raised His hand and swore to cast them down in the wilderness, 27 to disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. 28 They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. 29 So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. 30 But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained. 31 It was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come. 32 At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them. 33 For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips. 34 They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. 36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. 38 They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. 39 They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds. 40 So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance. 41 He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them and subdued them under their hand. 43 Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress. 45 And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion. 46 He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise. 48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
Matthew 19
When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” 4 Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” 10 His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 “Not everyone can accept this word,” He replied, “but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” 13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. 16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 “Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
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.
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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.