Daily Devotions · November 9
Reading for November 9
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Job 34 · 1 Corinthians 4–6
Job 34 · 1 Corinthians 4–6, Berean Standard Bible
Job 34
Then Elihu continued: 2 “Hear my words, O wise men; give ear to me, O men of learning. 3 For the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food. 4 Let us choose for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. 5 For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice. 6 Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ 7 What man is like Job, who drinks up derision like water? 8 He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men. 9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’ 10 Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly. 11 For according to a man’s deeds He repays him; according to a man’s ways He brings consequences. 12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice. 13 Who gave Him charge over the earth? Who appointed Him over the whole world? 14 If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath, 15 all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust. 16 If you have understanding, hear this; listen to my words. 17 Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One, 18 who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ 19 who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands. 20 They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand. 21 For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step. 22 There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide. 23 For God need not examine a man further or have him approach for judgment. 24 He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place. 25 Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed. 26 He strikes them for their wickedness in full view, 27 because they turned aside from Him and had no regard for any of His ways. 28 They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted. 29 But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation, 30 that godless men should not rule or lay snares for the people. 31 Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more. 32 Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’ 33 Should God repay you on your own terms when you have disavowed Him? You must choose, not I; so tell me what you know. 34 Men of understanding will declare to me, and the wise men who hear me will say: 35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’ 36 If only Job were tried to the utmost for answering like a wicked man. 37 For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
1 Corinthians 4
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 6 Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. 7 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 8 Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. 11 To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
1 Corinthians 5
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this? 3 Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10 I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 12 What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 6
If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers? 6 Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers! 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
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.