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 10, 2024, 6:48 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 39-42
Meditation Verses: 39:4-7
Thought
David was silent in the presence of the wicked, for fear of sinning with his tongue. He refrained even from doing good, but his sorrow only grew worse, and his heart grew hot inside him. Then he spoke (in the presence of the wicked?) and asked God to help him see how brief was his life on earth, and every man's life, and how pointless was the amassing of wealth. Instead, he looked to the Lord and waited for Him. He understood that the Lord loves righteousness and disciplines the man who sins.
Apr 9, 2024, 6:49 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 35-38
Meditation Verses: 38:17-20
Thought
David has so many psalms about enemies hating him so much that he needs God's deliverance. Here he is discouraged by his own sin, broken over it, confessing it, and his enemies are surrounding him and pressing in on him. He is often overwhelmed by the wicked who hate him without cause. Their only reason is because he does what is good. David is committed to doing what is pleasing to the Lord, he is committed to seeking the way of the Lord and doing it.
Apr 8, 2024, 6:51 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 31-34
Meditation Verse: 34:1
Thought
David feigned madness and Abimelech drove David away from him. And David writes a psalm of praise to God. He credits God with his deliverance, not his own cleverness. He is the one who played the part of the madman, he is the one who thought to feign madness! But he credits God with his deliverance. Abimelech could have captured and killed him or imprisoned him, but instead, he wanted nothing to do with another madman.
Apr 7, 2024, 6:52 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 27-30
Meditation Verse: 27:13
Thought
David says this kind of thing a lot, that he must be alive to praise the Lord, that he must remain alive or else it would be bad for the Lord or he would miss out on the Lord's goodness. He does not have a clear or complete understanding of life after death. To him, death means burial and decay, and the end of all his praise and enjoyment of God.
Apr 6, 2024, 6:53 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 23-26
Meditation Verse: 26:1
Thought
What a thing to say! What confidence in his faithfulness to the Lord, his integrity in trusting in the Lord and living like it's so! That he would have the courage to ask God to deliver him because he has walked in the Lord's truth. We ask for deliverance because the Lord is merciful; David knew that, but David knew that God's mercy wasn't for those who simply called on God's name but cared little how they lived; he knew God's mercy was for those who made the effort, with determination, to walk in obedience to the Lord, who trusted in the Lord and in His commands as good for his life so he obeyed.
Apr 5, 2024, 6:55 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:4-5
Thought
There were those among the Israelites, certain generations, that trusted in the Lord, often after forsaking Him and crying to Him for help, and they were delivered. Their lives were saved and they went on to live in safety and security and even prosperity. But this psalm is rightly seen as a prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ, and His experience on the cross. We know He was killed, not delivered from death.
Apr 4, 2024, 6:56 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 15-18
Meditation Verses: 18:1-2
Thought
David wrote this psalm after God had delivered him from all his enemies. How many years did he live in fear of his life? How many years did he flee from Saul? In all that time and in all those distresses, he never gave up on the Lord, he never gave in to despair. He didn't question God, like Job did, nor did he blame his own wickedness.
Apr 3, 2024, 6:57 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 11-14
Meditation Verses: 14:2-3
Thought
This is a pretty terrible indictment against all mankind. Though in this Psalm, there is mention of the Lord's people and the righteous generation, Paul uses these verses to establish the fact that there is no one righteous, no one who seeks God; all have turned away, all have sinned. It's worth evaluating: Do I truly seek God? Do I understand that He alone is worth seeking?
Apr 2, 2024, 6:58 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 7-10
Meditation Verses: 7:4-6
Thought
This is a bold request by David. He is so confident of his own righteousness and love that he asks the Lord to judge between him and his adversary. He's willing to be trampled in the dust, perhaps even killed, if he has treated his friend unfairly or even plundered those who were his enemy without cause. He is confident that he has treated friend and foe with righteousness and justice, so confident, in fact, that he knows he can call on the Lord to execute judgment on those who attack him.
Apr 1, 2024, 7:00 AM
Passage Read: Psalm 3-6
Meditation Verses: 3:1-2
Thought
This is when Absalom launched a rebellion against David. So when David says his enemies have multiplied, primarily it is his own son, but also it is all those who have gathered about Absalom to support his rebellion. David doesn't want to defend himself against his son, he doesn't want to destroy his son or those friends who have now turned against him in alliance with Absalom. What a horrible situation!
- ← Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3 (current)
- Next →