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
Mar 21, 2023, 5:51 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 35-38
Meditation Verses: 35:12-14
Thought
David doesn't start off wishing for the destruction of the wicked; he cares about these people, even when they do him harm. He repays good for evil, seeks their good continually. But there comes a point when despite all his kindness, they refuse to acknowledge his love for them, then he asks the Lord to repay them according to their ruthlessness. He is not quick to ask the Lord to overthrow them; he has spent considerable time seeking their good, their repentance, but they have exhausted his compassion.
Mar 20, 2023, 5:53 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 35-38
Meditation Verses: 32:1-5
Thought
It is the man who confesses his sins who is forgiven, who enjoys the favor of the Lord. It is not the man who covers over his sin, who pretends he has not sinned or who redefines sin so that he considers himself to be not guilty. Those men have no freedom from guilt, they have to continually, regularly remind themselves that their deeds are not evil. The more they feel the weight of their guilt, the more they have to struggle against the truth about sin.
Mar 19, 2023, 5:54 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 27-30
Meditation Verse: 27:14
Thought
Sometimes we just have to wait for the goodness of the Lord to show up. He does allow hard things to come, if for no other reason than to drive us to Him. When my heart says to seek His face, then I need to seek His face, and wait till He turns things around. Sometimes the wait can be very long; I still need to wait and not give up.
Mar 18, 2023, 5:55 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 23-26
Meditation Verse: 24:1
Thought
The world and everything in it belongs to the Lord, so He gets to make the rules, and He gets to decide who remains and who is cast out. He sets the standards and we must abide by them if we desire to remain. We don't have any real autonomy: we either submit to Him or we end up cast out of Creation. His mercy grants us time to decide whether we will repent and honor Him or continue to go or own way, but His mercy doesn't last forever.
Mar 17, 2023, 5:56 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:1-3
Thought
The psalmist cries out to God but receives no answer, yet he acknowledges that God still reigns as King. Though He is silent, it doesn't mean He is non-existent, it doesn't mean He doesn't care. In effect, it means he has received an answer, but it was not what he asked for, so God still reigns supreme. Indeed, this is prophetic of Jesus on the cross, and Jesus didn't want to go through the cross, but He submitted to the Father and received the inheritance of all nations, though He suffered unto death.
Mar 16, 2023, 5:57 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 15-18
Meditation Verses: 16:1-2
Thought
The psalmist prays for safety and affirms his trust in the Lord, more than that, he declares that his greatest treasure is the Lord. The most important thing in life is not to seek wealth or prosperity, but to know the Lord and delight in Him. Work is a part of life, we are dependent on food for life, raw materials for clothing and we like to have shelter over our heads; all those things are needed for living. But fancy food, lots of clothes and a big house are not necessary.
Mar 15, 2023, 5:58 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 11-14
Meditation Verses: 11:5-7
Thought
The Lord loves the righteous but hates the wicked. The truth is, there are those who love evil and will not turn from it. There are such things as wicked men, and God hates them from the bottom of His heart. He will destroy them and they will have no remedy. Those who exist presently have a purpose to play in God's bigger picture, if nothing else than to cause the righteous to shine brighter in their response to the wicked.
Mar 14, 2023, 6:00 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 7-10
Meditation Verses: 10:12-14
Thought
Why does God not call the wicked to account right now? Why doesn't He catch them in their wickedness and rebuke them? If He wants them to repent, why does He not say anything to them, warn them, call them to repent, show them His mighty power and terrify them into repentance? Because "the righteous will live by faith"? So the wicked have the same information as the righteous, but they don't respond the same?
Mar 13, 2023, 6:01 PM
Passage Read: Psalm 3-6
Meditation Verses: 6:8-10
Thought
The psalmist is hopeful, even confident that the Lord will hear his prayer and deliver him, especially when he's been grieving and weeping through the night. The Lord is inclined towards the humble, towards the weak, towards those who cast their lot completely with Him. There is definitely a difference in how I pray, whether I believe there is no hope but God or when I think there are other options.
Mar 12, 2023, 12:46 PM
Passage Read: Job 41 - Psalm 2
Meditation Verse: Job 41:11
Thought
Our arrogance is that we think God owes us something, when in truth we owe Him everything. There is nothing He owes us but what He binds Himself to provide. We are His, and we are required to give to Him anything He asks and everything He desires. We are His to do with as He pleases; we are nothing special, except what He makes of us. So if He wants to gain glory through us by our degradation, so be it. If He wants to gain glory through our exaltation, we'd better give it.