Daily Devotions · September 24
Reading for September 24
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Ezra 1 · Psalm 84–85 · Luke 7
Ezra 1 · Psalm 84–85 · Luke 7, Berean Standard Bible
Ezra 1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: 2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’” 5 So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver utensils, 10 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles. 11 In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Psalm 84
For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts! 2 My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altars, O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; even the autumn rain covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion. 8 O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah 9 Take notice of our shield, O God, and look with favor on the face of Your anointed. 10 For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity. 12 O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Psalm 85
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity. 2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah 3 You withheld all Your fury; You turned from Your burning anger. 4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us. 5 Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your loving devotion, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation. 8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints; He will not let them return to folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. 10 Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.
Luke 7
When Jesus had concluded His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2 There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, “This man is worthy to have You grant this, 5 for he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come to You. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, He marveled at the centurion. Turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 And when the messengers returned to the house, they found the servant in good health. 11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples went with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. 12 As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. “Young man,” He said, “I tell you, get up!” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding region. 18 Then John’s disciples informed him about all these things. 19 So John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’” 21 At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.” 24 After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? 25 Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ 28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. 31 “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” 36 Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!” 40 But Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, Teacher,” he said. 41 “Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more?” 43 “I suppose the one who was forgiven more,” Simon replied. “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not greet Me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing My feet since I arrived. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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.