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
Jul 27, 2026, 11:38 AM
Passage Read: Habakkuk 3 - Zephaniah 3
Meditation Verses: Habakkuk 3:16-19
Thought
Habakkuk knows what's coming, how terrible it will be, and it fills him with dread. He can't stop it; he can only wait for it to come. It's like decay in his bones; it saps his strength. But he reminds himself that his trust is in the Lord, no matter how bad things get.
Jul 26, 2026, 8:35 AM
Passage Read: Nahum 2 - Habakkuk 2
Meditation Verses: Habakkuk 1:2-4
Thought
Violence and wickedness, destruction, strife and contention. The law is ignored and justice never served. These things should break the heart and repulse us. We should hate these things and cry out to the Lord for their end. They should not be counted as normal and endured.
Jul 25, 2026, 9:05 AM
Passage Read: Micah 5 - Nahum 1
Meditation Verse: Nahum 1:15
Thought
This verse, which Paul quotes later to describe the blessedness of those who preach the Gospel, is about announcing the destruction of Nineveh! That's the good news referenced in its original context: The removal of foreign rulers who do not love or fear God, who oppress the people and promote idols.
Jul 24, 2026, 11:35 AM
Passage Read: Micah 1-4
Meditation Verses: 3:9-12
Thought
It is because of the rulers, both political and spiritual, that Israel and Jerusalem will be overthrown. Whether king or prince or governor or priest or prophet, none are acting as the Lord commanded. They twist everything that was straight, whether common sense or the revelation of God and His instructions.
Jul 23, 2026, 7:20 AM
Passage Read: Jonah 1-4
Meditation Verses: 1:14-16
Thought
Jonah is fleeing from God's presence (as if) because he knows God is compassionate enough to forgive Nineveh if they repent. And somehow, he guesses that Nineveh will in fact repent if he preaches the Lord's message. That is confidence in God! That is confidence in his understanding of God and His will!
Jul 22, 2026, 6:12 AM
Passage Read: Amos 7 - Obadiah 1
Meditation Verses: Amos 8:11-12
Thought
We live in a day of great literacy. We live in a day when the Word of God is taught on radio and on the internet every hour of every day. We have countless books attempting to explain the truths of Scripture. Yet studies show that we are greatly ignorant of what the Bible actually teaches. In truth, it is the prevalence of teaching materials and speakers that is behind our confusion.
Jul 21, 2026, 11:13 AM
Passage Read: Amos 3-6
Meditation Verses: 6:4-7
Thought
The problem with being wealthy and thinking we honor God is that we can't see the disaster hanging over our people's head. We're blessed, we enjoy all kinds of good things, and we think we honor God, so surely we must be blessed by God. He must be delighted with us! When, in fact, He is disgusted by our selfishness and godlessness.
Jul 20, 2026, 10:29 AM
Passage Read: Joel 2 - Amos 2
Meditation Verses: Amos 2:11-12
Thought
The Israelites mocked God! The young men among them, whom God moved to take the vow of the Nazarite, their neighbors made them violate their vow by forcing them to drink wine. As if it was a game. To humiliate the one who sought to honor the Lord. And those compelled by God to speak warning from Him, they told to be quiet.
Jul 19, 2026, 8:50 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 12 - Joel 1
Meditation Verse: Hosea 12:6
Thought
God's call to His people is to return to Him, to observe kindness and justice, and to wait for Him continually. It is not hard, but it is difficult. It is not hard to return to God, but to learn His ways and do them takes time and effort that we would rather spend elsewhere. To practice kindness isn't hard, but it means we can't cheat or deceive or take advantage of others, and we have to make people more important than making money.
Jul 18, 2026, 10:55 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 8-11
Meditation Verse: 11:12
Thought
God just determined not to execute His fierce anger against Ephraim, because He is God and not man. He can overlook sin and forgive. He is not ruled by His passions; He is bigger than those who continually offend Him. He can take the hit. Instead, He promises to roar like a lion, and at His roar, His sons will come trembling from the west and Egypt and Assyria, trembling because He is almighty, because He has roared.