Daily Devotions · September 30
Reading for September 30
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Zechariah 7–9 · Luke 13
Zechariah 7–9 · Luke 13, Berean Standard Bible
Zechariah 7
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD 3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’” 8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. 12 They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. 13 And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts. 14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”
Zechariah 8
Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying: 2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.” 3 This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.” 4 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” 6 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts. 7 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. 8 I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.” 9 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts. 10 For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts. 12 “For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance. 13 As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.” 14 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts, 15 “so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates, 17 do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD. 18 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 19 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.” 20 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities— 21 and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.” 23 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Zechariah 9
This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place—for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD— 2 and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd. 3 Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets. 4 Behold, the Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire. 5 Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited. 6 A mixed race will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7 I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. 8 But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with My own eyes. 9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth. 11 As for you, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. 12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double. 13 For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a mighty man. 14 Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south. 15 The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar. 16 On that day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of His people; for like jewels in a crown they will sparkle over His land. 17 How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.
Luke 13
At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way? 3 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’” 10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.” 13 Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God. 14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.” 15 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? 16 Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17 When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing. 18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” 20 Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.” 22 Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem. 23 “Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.” 31 At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.” 32 But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’ 33 Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
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.