Daily Devotions · October 26
Reading for October 26
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Job 17 · Acts 24–26
Job 17 · Acts 24–26, Berean Standard Bible
Job 17
“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me. 2 Surely mockers surround me, and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion. 3 Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor? 4 You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them. 5 If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail. 6 He has made me a byword among the people, a man in whose face they spit. 7 My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow. 8 The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are stirred against the godless. 9 Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger. 10 But come back and try again, all of you. For I will not find a wise man among you. 11 My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart. 12 They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness. 13 If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness, 14 and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ 15 where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? 16 Will it go down to the gates of Sheol? Will we go down together into the dust?”
Acts 24
Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, who presented to the governor their case against Paul. 2 When Paul had been called in, Tertullus opened the prosecution: “Because of you, we have enjoyed a lasting peace, and your foresight has brought improvements to this nation. 3 In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude. 4 But in order not to delay you any further, I beg your indulgence to hear us briefly. 5 We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, 6 and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. 7 8 By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all our charges against him.” 9 The Jews concurred, asserting that these charges were true. 10 When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he began his response: “Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense. 11 You can verify for yourself that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me. 14 I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man. 17 After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings. 18 At the time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was not inciting a crowd or an uproar. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia 19 who ought to appear before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. 20 Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless it was this one thing I called out as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’” 22 Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “When Lysias the commander comes, I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs. 24 After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.” 26 At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him. 27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
Acts 25
Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus 3 to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 But Festus replied, “Paul is being held in Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.” 6 After spending no more than eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered that Paul be brought in. 7 When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove. 8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?” 10 Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12 Then Festus conferred with his council and replied, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” 13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were staying several days, Festus laid out Paul’s case before the king: “There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison. 15 While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case and requested a judgment against him. 16 I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges. 17 So when they came here with me, I did not delay. The next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered that the man be brought in. 18 But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 They only had some contentions with him regarding their own religion and a certain Jesus who had died, but whom Paul affirmed to be alive. 20 Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. 21 But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” “Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared. 23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be brought in. 24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write. 27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”
Acts 26
Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. 4 Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, 7 the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: 23 that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.” 24 At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!” 25 But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety. 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?” 29 “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.” 30 Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them. 31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
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.
-
Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
-
Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
-
Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
-
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.