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
Apr 30, 2023, 6:51 AM
Passage Read: Ecclesiastes 11 - Song of Solomon 2
Meditation Verse: Ecclesiastes 11:4
Thought
Conditions are often less than ideal for what needs to be done. If there is a work that needs to be done, there will always be excuses that can be found to not do it. I cannot let conditions dictate whether or not I do a work that needs to be done.
Apr 29, 2023, 6:53 AM
Passage Read: Ecclesiastes 7-10
Meditation Verses: 9:16-18
Thought
Wisdom is better than strength, but few if any really appreciate wisdom or honor it. Though wisdom may get a chance to show its power and benefit, men almost always return to praising strength and power. So wisdom is forgotten and men return to sin. It takes real effort to hold onto wisdom. If no effort is made to retain it, it will be lost in the overwhelming noise of sin and folly.
Apr 28, 2023, 6:54 AM
Passage Read: Ecclesiastes 3-6
Meditation Verse: 3:17
Thought
There is no guarantee of justice among men, but one thing is for sure: God will judge every one of us. We may be able to escape judgment here, or we may be unfairly judged here, but God's judgment will be fair and inescapable.
Apr 27, 2023, 6:55 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 30 - Ecclesiastes 2
Meditation Verses: Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
Thought
Solomon basically says that the one who is content with what he has and is satisfied with the work he had to do, this is a wise man. The fool is one who continually has to add to his possessions and increase his wealth; he does so only to leave it to someone who pleases God. All the wealth and riches of this earth will be given over to those who please the Lord, eventually.
Apr 26, 2023, 7:01 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 26-29
Meditation Verse: 28:23
Thought
This doesn't always feel true, but if I really care about people and see them going astray, I have to warn them. This proverb assures me that those who rebuke honestly will receive more favor in the end than those who flatter. Maybe not right at the start or even for a time, but when the one rebuked realizes that the one who rebuked genuinely cared for them, they'll realize they have a better friend in the one who rebuked them than the one who told them what they wanted to hear. Flattery is self-serving, rebuke serves the other.
Apr 25, 2023, 7:02 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 22-25
Meditation Verses: 24:33-34
Thought
This proverb suggests that poverty starts with a little coddling of self. Laziness doesn't start off as an absolute unwillingness to do anything, but with a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. A nap here and a nap there. Then a little more. A giving in to a little tiredness here and there becomes giving in to a little tiredness some more and more, until you're always tired and always resting rather than doing the work necessary to keep oneself out of poverty.
Apr 24, 2023, 7:03 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 18-21
Meditation Verse: 20:15
Thought
Gold is precious because it is rare; rubies are supposed to be the rarest of gems. A good wife is as rare as rubies, and so very precious if found. But this says that lips that speak wisdom are far more rare even than a good wife. Gold and rubies exist in abundance compared to the frequency of meeting someone who speaks knowledge. There are certainly tons and tons of people who have knowledge and even great knowledge, boat-loads of PhDs.
Apr 23, 2023, 7:05 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 14-17
Meditation Verse: 15:12
Thought
To resent correction is the behavior of a mocker, not a wise man. To refuse to consult the wise for fear of finding oneself in error is dangerous. Correction is hard to receive; as good as we all know it to be, we find it painful and so prefer to avoid it. And then we get upset if someone calls us out. Without thinking, we step into the shoes of a mocker, resenting correction and refusing to consult the wise. We would rather figure things out on our own than humble ourselves and seek out the wisdom of those who know God better than us.
Apr 22, 2023, 7:06 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 10-13
Meditation Verse: 10:24
Thought
This is an encouraging word. As long as my desires are in line with righteousness, with the will of the Lord, they will be granted. The righteous receive what they desire because they do the will of the Lord, so of course they desire things He desires. The more I walk in God's ways, the more I will see my desires granted, because my desires change and conform to the things God cares about and desires to give.
Apr 21, 2023, 7:07 AM
Passage Read: Proverbs 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:7-9
Thought
A mocker and a wicked man abuse those who rebuke them, but a wise man welcomes correction and learns from it. This is not just instruction on how to treat different kinds of people and the importance to discern who you might be talking to, but it's also instruction on what kind of person to be. I don't want to be a mocker who abuses those who correct me; I want to be a wise man who learns from those who correct him.