Personal Devotions
Notes from Mark's personal Bible reading and meditation
With a goal to apply one truth from each day's reading to my life that day
Oct 24, 2026, 9:08 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 1-2
Meditation Verse: 2:6
Thought
Paul knew the Gospel by direct revelation. He didn't need anyone to approve his message or ministry. Barnabas was from the original group of disciples in Jerusalem, so he knew it from being in the midst of all the events and from the teaching of the apostles, so he would have been able to add anything that Paul was missing.
Oct 23, 2026, 6:10 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 12-13
Meditation Verse: 13:2
Thought
A church needs discipline. Believers need to put away sin and walk in righteousness. If there are those who are refusing to repent or putting too little effort into their obedience, they need to be rebuked. And if they will not change, they need to be disciplined by the whole.
Oct 22, 2026, 6:20 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 10-11
Meditation Verse: 11:23
Thought
The evidence Paul gives to confirm his status as a servant of Christ, it's all suffering and danger and opposition and deprivation--it's all negative! Did these other "super-apostles" point to that as evidence that Paul was not blessed by God, that Paul wasn't favored by God, that Paul wasn't a real servant of Christ?
Oct 21, 2026, 6:10 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 8-9
Meditation Verses: 9:13-14
Thought
There is a connection between our faith in the gospel of Christ and our generosity toward brothers in need. Because we believe the gospel, we shift our confidence and hope to the age to come rather than this age. We do not want to store up treasure here and now, but then and there.
Oct 20, 2026, 6:16 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 6-7
Meditation Verse: 7:15
Thought
Paul sent Titus to Corinth to straighten things out, and they received him with fear and trembling and with full obedience. Paul commends them for that, and because of it, Titus has much greater affection for them. This, then, is how a congregation of believers should receive one who has much greater knowledge, training and experience in walking with and serving the Lord.
Oct 19, 2026, 6:06 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 4-5
Meditation Verses: 4:2-4
Thought
Because Paul understands that his ministry is from God, so he trusts that God will do the work in men's hearts as he preaches a full and honest and complete Gospel. There are aspects of the Gospel that are embarrassing to confess. There are parts that are too incredible to believe.
Oct 18, 2026, 7:11 AM
Passage Read: 2 Corinthians 2-3
Meditation Verses: 2:12-13
Thought
Paul had once come to Troas seeking to preach the Gospel, but instead of an open door for him to preach, he had a dream of a Macedonian man pleading with him to come to them, so he left Troas and went to Philippi. The result was that he eventually made it to Corinth and began the church there.
Oct 17, 2026, 7:34 AM
Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 16 - 2 Corinthians 1
Meditation Verses: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Thought
The Christian faith is neither a simple thing nor an easy thing. This letter and the next show how hard it was for the Corinthians to understand and to live out correctly their faith in Christ. Besides internal confusion, strife and misunderstandings, there are attacks from men and from Satan.
Oct 16, 2026, 6:16 AM
Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 14-15
Meditation Verse: 15:58
Thought
The fact of the resurrection and our eternal life is the motivation for living a righteous and holy life. It is the reason and support for being devoted to the Lord and to doing His work. If not for the resurrection, we would have no reason to hope and nothing else to live for but this life.
Oct 15, 2026, 6:28 AM
Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 12-13
Meditation Verses: 12:25-26
Thought
The members of a church body are supposed to have the same care for one another, regardless of position or supposed importance. And when one member suffers, all should suffer with them. When one member is honored, all members should rejoice with them.