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 31, 2024, 6:58 AM
Passage Read: 2 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:3-5
Thought
Paul is again imprisoned, possibly for the last time, yet he doesn't hesitate to call Timothy to suffer with him, like a good soldier of Christ. He is not afraid to call Timothy to care more for the Gospel and the salvation of others than for his own comfort, freedom and even life. The truth of salvation is so clear to him and the glory and honor of Jesus Christ so precious to him and the concern for the lost and the saved so heavy on him, that he thinks little of suffering to make sure Jesus is praised everywhere and believers kept on track, and even likewise challenged to surrender their lives for the sake of Christ and those who have yet to hear of Him.
Oct 30, 2024, 7:00 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verse: 6:1
Thought
All believing slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and Paul's teaching may not be spoken against. Whether their master is a believer or not, whether they are kind and gentle or not, the believing slave is to consider his master to be worthy of all honor. This is true of anyone under authority: we are to consider our parents, our husband, our boss, our governing authorities, our church leaders, all authorities and any authority as worthy of honor, not based on their intrinsic worthiness, but so that the name of the Lord and the teaching of the Scripture may be honored.
Oct 29, 2024, 7:02 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verse: 3:6
Thought
One of the greatest enemies of faith is pride. To encourage someone in such a way that promotes their own pride, that causes them to inflate their own view of themselves, is not the act of a loving leader. What each person needs is to grow in humility. As much as possible, only those who have developed a healthy humility should be put in positions of responsibility in the church (and anywhere else).
Oct 28, 2024, 7:12 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 1:6-7
Thought
The goal of all Christian teaching and discussion should be to promote love from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. But some stray from these things, the result being that they are caught up in fruitless discussions, wanting to be teachers of the Law, but having no clue what they're really taking about. There is a desire to be important and to be admired by men as wise, likely in order to rule.
Oct 27, 2024, 7:14 AM
Passage Read: 2 Thessalonians 2-3
Meditation Verse: 2:15
Thought
Paul, in effect says that the only defense against the deluding influence coming on the world to prepare the way for the Antichrist is to hold fast to the traditions and teachings that he spoke or wrote to them. The Antichrist cannot come until the one holding him back is taken out of the way. But before that happens, God is going to send a deluding influence on all people who did not receive a love of the Truth, God's truth. The Church needs to hold fast to Scripture's teachings especially in this age when men refuse to believe it.
Oct 26, 2024, 7:16 AM
Passage Read: 1 Thessalonians 5 - 2 Thessalonians 1
Meditation Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:14
Thought
This is important enough that Paul didn't just encourage the Thessalonians to do these things, but urged them to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak and be patient with everyone. The unruly need to be rebuked, admonished, to turn them from their evil ways and protect others who might stumble into their same sinful rebelliousness. The fainthearted need encouragement and assurance that suffering for Christ would be richly rewarded, to hold on and not give up.
Oct 25, 2024, 9:21 PM
Passage Read: 1 Thessalonians 3-4
Meditation Verses: 4:9-12
Thought
It sounds like Paul is saying that a next step up in their love for the brethren is to lead a quiet life, minding their own business and working with their hands, so that they would behave correctly towards outsiders and not be in any need. He commends them for their love of the brethren, that they are taught by God to love one another, so it's not like they have a problem in this area. They care not just for their own locally, but throughout the region.
Oct 24, 2024, 9:22 PM
Passage Read: 1 Thessalonians 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:4-6
Thought
The Gospel is a hard thing to accept. It can provoke a hostile reaction almost as often as it draws some to believe it. It is so offensive to many that those who preach it can be tempted to distort it in order to please men rather than preach the truth of it in order to please God. That is so not my experience that I wonder if I have been preaching the true Gospel?
Oct 23, 2024, 9:24 PM
Passage Read: Colossians 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:22-25
Thought
This chapter begins with a command to set our hearts on things above, not on earthly things, to seek the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. But then here is this command to slaves, that they obey their earthly masters with sincerity of heart, doing all their work (earthly things, seldom if ever connected to things above) as if serving the Lord. Isn't that a distraction from seeking things above? The way we serve and the reason we serve makes a distinction.
Oct 22, 2024, 9:26 PM
Passage Read: Colossians 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:16-18
Thought
I am not to allow anyone to judge me in regards to food or drink or a festival or holy day, including the Sabbath. These things all were important at one time, separating the Israelites from the surrounding peoples, making them distinct and unique, but what really sets us apart is Christ Himself! So no one should have any power over me, I should fear no one who thinks I'm bad for not observing these rules and others like them.