Daily Devotions · November 28
Reading for November 28
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Matthew 28 · 1 Thessalonians 1–3
Matthew 28 · 1 Thessalonians 1–3, Berean Standard Bible
Matthew 28
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” 8 So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. 10 “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.” 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money 13 and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day. 16 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1 Thessalonians 1
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. 2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers 3 and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more. 9 For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 2
You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain. 2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God. 3 For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery. 4 Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts. 5 As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness! 6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it. 7 On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. 8 We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us. 9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed. 11 For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children— 12 encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 13 And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them. 17 Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense. 18 For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us. 19 After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 You are indeed our glory and our joy.
1 Thessalonians 3
So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this. 4 Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain. 6 But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you. 7 For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith. 8 For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows, 13 so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. 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.