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 19, 2023, 1:50 AM
Passage Read: Hebrews 5-6
Meditation Verses: 5:7-9
Thought
Jesus is the source of eternal salvation to those who obey Him. These few verses are filled with obedience; obedience and submission are the very fabric of God's creation, purposes and will. Jesus submitted to the Father, even to the point of death. He didn't back off in order to save His life, but obeyed the Father even though it cost Him His life.
Oct 18, 2023, 1:51 AM
Passage Read: Hebrews 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:12-13
Thought
The writer is writing to believers, whom he calls brothers, and he warns them not to have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. He goes on to say that sin is deceitful, and so we need to keep warning and encouraging one another so that our hearts are not hardened by it. It is possible for someone who professes belief and follows the Lord to become hardened by sinful behavior or sinful ideas, such that they turn away from the Lord and are lost.
Oct 16, 2023, 1:52 AM
Passage Read: Hebrews 1-2
Meditation Verse: 1:9
Thought
While this is speaking specifically of Jesus, this pattern and principle is consistent with God's rewarding nature. Those who love righteousness and hate wickedness are rewarded with high rank and responsibility in God's kingdom. No one will be higher than Jesus, but anyone can aspire to greatness in His kingdom. The more we love and live out God's righteousness and hate and resist man's wickedness, the higher place in eternity God will grant to us.
Oct 15, 2023, 2:12 AM
Passage Read: Titus 3 - Philemon 1
Meditation Verse: Titus 3:14
Thought
Paul wants all believers to be devoted to doing what is good, which includes providing for their own daily necessities and being productive. He doesn't say that they should work to get rich or be devoted to providing for themselves. He wants them to live productive lives, which certainly includes being productive in their work, so that they can provide for their necessities.
Oct 14, 2023, 2:14 AM
Passage Read: Titus 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:7-8
Thought
Paul wants Titus to teach with integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned. These things Paul teaches, the things Jesus teaches, there is a seriousness to them, a weight and importance to them. They are not to be treated lightly, there is a life-and-death quality to them. Everything the Scriptures teach should be taken seriously and applied carefully and diligently.
Oct 13, 2023, 2:15 AM
Passage Read: 2 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verse: 3:9
Thought
How will the folly of these false teachers be clear to everyone when people in the last days are so selfish and given over to their own evil desires? How will their folly be evident to all when men deliberately gather around themselves teachers who tell them what their itching ears want to hear? Will their folly be evident only to those who actually know and love the truth? Or will men in their duplicity know their own duplicity but doggedly seek their own desires over and against their own consciences?
Oct 12, 2023, 2:16 AM
Passage Read: 2 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:23-26
Thought
There are foolish and stupid arguments, and they produce quarrels. They have no value, except in producing quarrels. But the Lord's servant is not to quarrel, rather he is to be kind to everyone, even those who bring up foolish and stupid arguments. He should be able to teach, and he should not be resentful. People who bring up foolish and stupid arguments are not necessarily people who are seeking truth, but seeking to exalt themselves, to show themselves smart and clever.
Oct 10, 2023, 2:18 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:6-10
Thought
Godliness with contentment is great gain. My greatest desire needs to be to grow in godliness, not grow my bank account or earthly assets. I came into the world with nothing, and I will leave the world with nothing but what I have done for the kingdom of God. If I have food and clothing, I should be content with that. That aligns with what Jesus said, that the Father promises food and clothing to those who seek first His kingdom and righteousness.
Oct 9, 2023, 2:19 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:8-9
Thought
This is a high standard for deacons. They have many of the same requirements as elders, and they must hold firmly to the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. What are the deep truths of the faith? And why would holding to them require a clear conscience? They obviously go beyond the basics of the gospel, beyond the elementary teachings listed at the beginning of Hebrews 6. But what would they include?
Oct 8, 2023, 2:20 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:1-4
Thought
Paul wants us making requests and praying for everyone, especially kings and all those in authority, with thanksgiving, so that we could live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Paul links this to men being saved, coming to a knowledge of the truth. Peaceful and quiet lives should result in men hearing and coming to a knowledge of the truth and so being saved, not pursuing the things of the world so that men are affirmed in their pursuit of the world.
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