Daily Devotions · May 28
Reading for May 28
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Proverbs 7–9 · Romans 9
Proverbs 7–9 · Romans 9, Berean Standard Bible
Proverbs 7
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. 2 Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. 3 Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman, 5 that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words. 6 For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice. 7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, 8 crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house, 9 at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night. 10 Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart. 11 She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home. 12 Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner. 13 She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him: 14 “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you. 16 I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses! 19 For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. 20 He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.” 21 With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him. 22 He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, 23 until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life. 24 Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. 26 For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. 27 Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 8
Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand. 3 Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances she cries out: 4 “To you, O men, I call out, and my cry is to the sons of men. 5 O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding. 6 Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right. 7 For my mouth will speak the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; none are crooked or perverse. 9 They are all plain to the discerning, and upright to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. 11 For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her. 12 I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. 13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. 14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight and strength. 15 By me kings reign, and rulers enact just laws; 16 By me princes rule, and all nobles who govern justly. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me. 18 With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, 21 bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full. 22 The LORD created me as His first course, before His works of old. 23 From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began. 24 When there were no watery depths, I was brought forth, when no springs were overflowing with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth. 27 I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when He established the clouds above, when the fountains of the deep gushed forth, 29 when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was a skilled craftsman at His side, and His delight day by day, rejoicing always in His presence. 31 I was rejoicing in His whole world, delighting together in the sons of men. 32 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Listen to instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD. 36 But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
Proverbs 9
Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars. 2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city. 4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. 5 “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.” 7 He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself. 8 Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences. 13 The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. 14 She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, 15 calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. 16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. 17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!” 18 But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Romans 9
I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit. 2 I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen. 6 It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac. 11 Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, 12 not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden. 19 One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? 22 What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction? 23 What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory— 24 including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles? 25 As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,” 26 and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” 27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively.” 29 It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.” 30 What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
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.