Daily Devotions · November 4
Reading for November 4
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Job 26–27 · Mark 15–16
Job 26–27 · Mark 15–16, Berean Standard Bible
Job 26
Then Job answered: 2 “How you have helped the powerless and saved the arm that is feeble! 3 How you have counseled the unwise and provided fully sound insight! 4 To whom have you uttered these words? And whose spirit spoke through you? 5 The dead tremble—those beneath the waters and those who dwell in them. 6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. 7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing. 8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight. 9 He covers the face of the full moon, spreading over it His cloud. 10 He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. 11 The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke. 12 By His power He stirred the sea; by His understanding He shattered Rahab. 13 By His breath the skies were cleared; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14 Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?”
Job 27
Job continued his discourse: 2 “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul— 3 as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5 I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. 6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me. 7 May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust. 8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9 Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? 10 Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? 11 I will instruct you in the power of God. I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty. 12 Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves. Why then do you keep up this empty talk? 13 This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. 14 Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food. 15 His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them. 16 Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay, 17 what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent. 18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut set up by a watchman. 19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone. 20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest sweeps him away in the night. 21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. 22 It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. 23 It claps its hands at him and hisses him out of his place.
Mark 15
Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. 2 So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!” 5 But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply. 6 Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing. 7 And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8 So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. 10 For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. 12 So Pilate asked them again, “What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!” 14 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” 15 And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. 16 Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. 17 They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. 18 And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. 20 After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. 21 Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. 22 They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull. 23 There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. 24 And they crucified Him. They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take. 25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him. 26 And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left. 28 29 And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save Yourself!” 31 In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him. 33 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 34 At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” 37 But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 40 And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him. 42 Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. 45 When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.
Mark 16
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’” 8 So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone. 9 Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping. 11 And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it. 12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country. 13 And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14 Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
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.
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.