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
Jul 11, 2023, 6:47 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 15-16
Meditation Verse: 16:12
Thought
The teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees are both subtle and invasive. Only a little yeast is needed for a batch of dough, but it works its way throughout the whole loaf. The Pharisees loved to debate fine details in an attempt to be faithful to the text, but they ended up making their own rules that led to violating the plain meaning of God's Word. The Sadducees denied the spiritual aspects of Scripture: angels, demons and the resurrection.
Jul 10, 2023, 6:48 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 13-14
Meditation Verse: 13:19
Thought
We talk about sowing seeds in the heart of unbelievers, but according to Jesus, anyone who hears and doesn't believe, Satan snatched the seed from him. So there is no seed left in their heart to water and tend in the hope of it eventually springing to life. That's not how it works, according to this parable. Someone who hears and doesn't understand requires the seed to be scattered upon them again and again, because Satan keeps snatching it away.
Jul 9, 2023, 6:49 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 11-12
Meditation Verses: 11:21-22
Thought
Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago if they had seen the miracles that Jesus was doing. But He didn't do them there. He didn't go where people would have repented, but went to the lost sheep of Israel. And by implication, despite the large number of people following Him, He implies that not many repented. Thousands of people followed Him. How big were the towns around there? Yet He says that none of the cities where He did miracles repented.
Jul 8, 2023, 6:50 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 9-10
Meditation Verses: 10:14-15
Thought
If anyone doesn't listen to our Gospel message, we're under no further obligation to them. Even worse, they have chosen to reject the only chance at eternal life and are left with nothing but judgment. As tragic as that is, Jesus doesn't command His disciples to keep trying, but to walk away. Their choice is their responsibility, not ours. Our responsibility is to take the Gospel to as many people as possible. Whoever will listen, teach them further, but whoever refuses, leave as a testimony against them.
Jul 7, 2023, 6:52 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 7-8
Meditation Verses: 7:1-5
Thought
It seems the safest path is to never judge anyone, just speak truth without applying it specifically to anyone. But verses like Leviticus 19:17 imply that not rebuking your neighbor is to hate them and also to share in their guilt. Even here, Jesus goes on to imply that we should be helping each other with our sins, but the safest way to do that is to recognize that my sin is always far worse than your sin. And to recognize that I need the help of others more than they need mine.
Jul 6, 2023, 6:53 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 5-6
Meditation Verse: 5:7
Thought
How do you show mercy? Because I want to be shown mercy. Surely it includes forgiving those who seek forgiveness from you. Mercy doesn't hammer someone who shows repentance and humility, but extends grace and kindness and forgiveness. But mercy also looks at those who aren't (yet?) repentant, and desires that they receive mercy rather than judgment from God, so surely it steps up and warns those people to repent, pleads and urges them to turn to God in humility and repentance.
Jul 5, 2023, 6:55 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:7-10
Thought
Right out of the gate, John seems pretty hostile to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious people. It's as if he recognizes that they have a problem with appearances over substance. They're all about looking right, but not necessarily about doing right. Everyone needs repentance, but these religious people think they're mostly fine, just need to jump on the latest religious thing. John knows they need repentance, but they just think they need to add one more righteous marker to their lives, and they're even better.
Jul 4, 2023, 6:56 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 1-2
Meditation Verse: 1:5
Thought
Boaz's mother was Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute/innkeeper who hid the Israelite spies and pleaded for her life and the life of her family. Surely she was held in honor by that generation, though it is possible some still looked on her with contempt. So Boaz may have grown up with a complicated childhood. That may have made him more sensitive to the plight of Ruth and Naomi, and it may have driven him to seek the Lord more than others of his generation.
Jul 3, 2023, 6:44 AM
Passage Read: Malachi 1-4
Meditation Verse: 2:17
Thought
There is so much in this book about dishonoring the Lord. People and priest treat Him with contempt in so many ways. Behind it all is a lack of fear of Him. In this verse, they say that God doesn't care about the wicked and accuse Him of accepting them as good, or they ask where is the God of Justice? He doesn't punish the wicked right away; they endure and prosper, and so everyone figures it's safe to disregard God's Word.
Jul 2, 2023, 6:45 AM
Passage Read: Zechariah 11-14
Meditation Verse: 13:9
Thought
Two-thirds of the people will be destroyed, but a third will survive. Yet this third will be tested by fire to be refined, ultimately proving faithful to the Lord and saved by Him. The Lord has been betrayed again and again by faithless worshipers. Generation after generation have declared their loyalty only to wander after other gods or abandon all gods and go their own way. Of course God desires to test all who claim to believe and trust Him.
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