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
Mar 16, 2026, 6:54 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 10-13
Meditation Verse: 12:14
Thought
This one sentence explains so much! Rehoboam did evil because he didn't set his heart to seek the Lord. It's just as simple as that. If someone sets their heart to seek the Lord, they are too busy to do evil. They are too enamored with the glory of the Lord to do anything that would offend Him.
Mar 15, 2026, 9:16 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 6-9
Meditation Verses: 6:28-31
Thought
This is a frightening prayer, but it is just a restatement of all the other prayers. When trouble comes in whatever form it takes, because of the unfaithfulness of the people, when they humble themselves and repent and pray for relief, forgive them and grant them relief and blessing.
Mar 14, 2026, 6:35 AM
Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:5-6
Thought
The Lord God is greater than all gods, which is why there is no image of Him in His own house. He cannot be contained within any structure on earth, so the best anyone can do is build a building in which to offer incense and set out the showbread. Any other god has an idol to represent them; they can be captured by a likeness that fits within their temple or shrine.
Mar 13, 2026, 6:34 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 27 - 2 Chronicles 1
Meditation Verses: 1 Chronicles 29:14-15
Thought
David recognizes that all things come from God. All his wealth and blessing are from the Lord. He is just a temporary custodian, a pilgrim, a renter on the land. All that the Lord has given, especially what is above and beyond what is needed to live, it all was the Lord, and still belongs to the Lord.
Mar 12, 2026, 8:51 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 23-26
Meditation Verse: 25:5
Thought
Here's a little more about Joel's son Heman! He served David as a seer and he was exalted by God in that he had so many sons and several daughters. Heman wasn't chosen just because he was a Levite, but he clearly had a deep and close relationship with the Lord, unlike his father, but much more like his grandfather, Samuel.
Mar 11, 2026, 9:29 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 19-22
Meditation Verses: 21:3-4
Thought
Joab gets some things right and some things very wrong. He killed two army commanders to protect his position. He sided with Adonijah against Solomon to inherit David's throne. But he was a very successful and diligent army commander. And here, he understood, for whatever reason, that David's desire to number the people was a bad idea.
Mar 10, 2026, 9:17 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 15-18
Meditation Verse: 17:9
Thought
The Israelites are dwelling in their own land, and the Lord has set David over them as a blessing to them. He will fight against all their enemies and bring peace to their land. Yet the Lord says that He will appoint a new place for His people, where they will be planted and never again moved from that place, a place where the wicked will not harass or waste them ever again. Is that not where they are now living?
Mar 9, 2026, 8:18 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 11-14
Meditation Verses: 13:11-14
Thought
David was angry with the Lord for striking Uzza dead, and he was also afraid of Him. They were doing a great thing, as far as David was concerned; they were bringing the Lord back to His people, and the people wanted Him back! Couldn't He overlook one little mistake? If the Lord was so holy that everything had to be perfect, how could someone like David or anyone be near to the Lord and live?
Mar 8, 2026, 7:31 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 7-10
Meditation Verses: 10:13-14
Thought
Saul lived a full life, but died in battle, not peace. He took his own life because he was wounded, but not so badly that he thought he would die before the Philistines found him, and he didn't want to be tormented by them. Scripture considers this a consequence of his sins against the Lord, because he was careful to do exactly as the Lord asked, and he consulted a medium because the Lord wouldn't speak to him.
Mar 7, 2026, 8:17 AM
Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 3-6
Meditation Verses: 6:32-33
Thought
There is something of a redemption story here. Samuel originally appointed his sons, including Joel, to follow him as judge over Israel. But his sons didn't walk in their father's ways: They took bribes and perverted justice. They're a key reason the Israelites asked for a king. But Joel's son Heman was apparently a great singer and musician and loved the Lord such that David appointed him as one of the chief singers in the tabernacle at Jerusalem.