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 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.
Mar 6, 2026, 6:58 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 24 - 1 Chronicles 2
Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 24:2-4
Thought
It has not been that long since the northern kingdom was wiped out. How did all Judah not take warning? How could any king arise and not fear the Lord? Was it because of the confusing testimony of Josiah, who loved the Lord and cleansed the land and was killed by the king of Egypt?
Mar 5, 2026, 6:49 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 20-23
Meditation Verse: 23:25
Thought
With this statement, Scripture makes Josiah an example of what it means to love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength. Josiah heard the words of the Law and was distraught, because he knew all Israel was in trouble. He sent messengers to ask the Lord for confirmation and perhaps direction on what to do to make things right.
Mar 4, 2026, 6:57 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19
Meditation Verses: 19:25-28
Thought
The king of Assyria thinks he is great by his own wisdom and strength, but the Lord has been watching over him and using him to carry out His plans all along. Assyria didn't worship the Lord or know Him. They forgot Him long, long ago. But the Lord knows all the nations and uses them, one against the other, to rebuke and punish those who do evil.
Mar 3, 2026, 9:32 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15
Meditation Verse: 13:23
Thought
Joash is one of the few kings of Israel that had something of a good relationship with God's prophets. He seems to have been on good terms with Elisha, and the Lord granted him some success as king. But Israel never turned away from Jeroboam's idols. Generation after generation, they provoked the Lord to anger.
Mar 2, 2026, 8:42 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11
Meditation Verse: 8:18
Thought
The choice of a wife is very important, even in a culture where wives seem to have no voice. An unbelieving wife will entice or encourage her husband towards godlessness, a path he is already on if he chooses to marry an unbeliever. A God-hating wife will encourage her husband to abandon the Lord altogether, a path he is on if he chooses to marry such a woman.