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
Feb 18, 2022, 11:12 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 14-17
Meditation Verse: 16:7
Thought
Asa had done so well, seeking the Lord and cleansing the land from of the high places and the idols and Asherah. He depended on the Lord for salvation from the Cushites. He was doing everything right, so what happened that when Baasha threatened him from the north he felt compelled to seek help from the king of Aram? He was told multiple times that when he sought the Lord and trusted in Him, He was with them.
Feb 17, 2022, 11:13 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 10-13
Meditation Verse: 12:13
Thought
Rehoboam did poorly as king because he was young and inexperienced, yet here it says he began to reign when he was forty-one years old! How then could he be a youth and tender of heart? He should have been mature with some experience, not like a seventeen year old or a twenty-five year old! Yet twice Scripture testifies that he was young and inexperienced! If that was true of a forty year old, how much truer is it of thirty- and twenty-year-olds!
Feb 16, 2022, 11:15 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 6-9
Meditation Verses: 7:19-22
Thought
God is not so jealous of His name that He would protect a building dedicated to Him when the people who dedicated it departed from Him. He is rather so jealous for His name that He would abandon the House and overthrow the people who turned away from Him. He is far more concerned with the obedience of the people than with the preservation of a building. His name is actually tied to the people far more than to any building they build for Him.
Feb 15, 2022, 11:16 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 2-5
Meditation Verses: 5:13-14
Thought
When they dedicated the house and offered their sacrifices and sang in praise to God, then the Lord appeared in their midst. He was pleased with their offerings and with their singing, but most importantly with their faith. He didn't show up in the cloud every day that they sang and sacrificed, but He showed His presence when they dedicated the temple. He wanted them to know that He was indeed present, so that they would have an awareness of His nearness.
Feb 14, 2022, 7:28 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 27 - 2 Chronicles 1
Meditation Verses: 1 Chronicles 29:18-19
Thought
It's interesting that David would pray this, because back in Genesis, God said that every inclination of the thoughts of men were only evil all the time. David prays that God would keep this generous intent towards Him in their hearts forever. So how much will God do and how much will He leave it to us to decide? Is this a prayer that God will answer? Obviously, He didn't keep the hearts of the people delighting in Him forever.
Feb 13, 2022, 7:29 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 23-26
Meditation Verses: 26:30-32
Thought
The tabernacle hadn't moved for hundreds of years, from the time it was set up at Gibeon after Joshua brought the Israelites into the land. So most of the Levites had nothing to do. They had formerly been assigned the duty to carry all its equipment, but since it wasn't moving any more, there was nothing for them to do. David recognized that it was actually their duty to serve the priests, and with the construction of the temple, they would have even less cause to serve.
Feb 12, 2022, 7:30 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 19-22
Meditation Verses: 19:2-4
Thought
Assuming the worst about someone is bad enough. Doing evil to them without provocation is even worse. God is as jealous for His people as David was, and He will pay back those who impute evil motives to those of His who are truly seeking to show kindness. It's far better to suffer for doing right then to suffer for doing wrong. The former will be repaid in kindness and the latter is deserved.
Feb 11, 2022, 7:31 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 15-18
Meditation Verses: 17:16-18
Thought
David cared more about the Lord and honoring Him in every way possible, that he was embarrassed to be living in a house better than the Lord's. He knew that the Lord had established and honored him as king, so he knew the good things that had happened to him were from the Lord and not by his own efforts to gain them. They were a blessing from the Lord for his efforts to honor and obey the Lord and shepherd His people according to His desire.
Feb 10, 2022, 7:32 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 11-14
Meditation Verse: 14:2
Thought
David loved God and honored God in all that he did. He understood that he was to rule for God and for the good of the people, to make sure they had what they needed and knew God and did what pleased Him. So God highly exalted him, for the good of His people. David understood that by carefully following the Lord, by living for the Lord and doing all He asked, he would lead the people well and God would bless them.
Feb 9, 2022, 7:34 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 7-10
Meditation Verses: 10:13-14
Thought
Saul died because he didn't faithfully carry out the Lord's instructions. He didn't trust God, especially in things he didn't fully understand. His first major sin was fearing that his men would depart and the Philistines come against him while he waited for Samuel. So he took it upon himself to offer sacrifice to God to seek His favor…which was not allowed in God's eyes! So he offended God because he thought the sacrifice was more important than trusting, even if everything fell apart.