Daily Devotions · October 28
Reading for October 28
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Job 19 · Mark 1–2
Job 19 · Mark 1–2, Berean Standard Bible
Job 19
Then Job answered: 2 “How long will you torment me and crush me with your words? 3 Ten times now you have reproached me; you shamelessly mistreat me. 4 Even if I have truly gone astray, my error concerns me alone. 5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my disgrace against me, 6 then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me. 7 Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. 8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness. 9 He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. 10 He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree. 11 His anger burns against me, and He counts me among His enemies. 12 His troops advance together; they construct a ramp against me and encamp around my tent. 13 He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me. 14 My kinsmen have failed me, and my friends have forgotten me. 15 My guests and maidservants count me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight. 16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer, though I implore him with my own mouth. 17 My breath is repulsive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my own family. 18 Even little boys scorn me; when I appear, they deride me. 19 All my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me. 20 My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? 23 I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book, 24 by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever. 25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. 26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. 27 I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me! 28 If you say, ‘Let us persecute him, since the root of the matter lies with him,’ 29 then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”
Mark 1
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” 3 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” 4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 7 And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” 12 At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, 13 and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him. 14 After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” 16 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 And at once they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. 21 Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. 22 The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: 24 “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 25 But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” 26 At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek. 27 All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” 28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee. 29 As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. 31 So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed, 33 and the whole town gathered at the door. 34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. 35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for Him, 37 and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!” 38 But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.” 39 So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. 40 Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed. 43 Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.
Mark 2
A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home, 2 they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them. 3 Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men. 4 Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked. 9 “Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” 12 And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” 13 Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there. 14 As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him. 15 While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. 16 When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?” 19 Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.” 23 One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. 24 So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.” 27 Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
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.