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
Aug 20, 2026, 1:52 AM
Passage Read: Mark 7-8
Meditation Verses: 7:1-2
Thought
Nowadays, we'd call this basic health and safety. Wash your hands before eating, because you've touched all kinds of things, and you have no idea what you've picked up along the way. As God, Jesus would know that, but He never bothered to teach His disciples such basic cleanliness rules. More than that, He knew this confrontation was coming.
Aug 19, 2026, 1:40 AM
Passage Read: Mark 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:1-6
Thought
These people thought they knew Jesus, because He grew up among them. They knew Him as the carpenter. They knew His mother and father, His sisters and brothers. Because they knew His upbringing, they couldn't understand how He now knew so much about God and His Word. He hadn't been away from them for very long, certainly not long enough to now have authority to teach in their synagogue.
Aug 17, 2026, 9:18 AM
Passage Read: Mark 3-4
Meditation Verses: 4:38-40
Thought
This is convicting. How many things do I worry about? How many things am I afraid of, things that may go wrong (or not), things that may cause me trouble (or not). Jesus' disciples were in a real storm in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. They were all afraid, even the fishermen who knew the sea best. They could very well drown.
Aug 16, 2026, 8:51 AM
Passage Read: Mark 1-2
Meditation Verse: 1:34
Thought
The demons recognized Jesus and would tell it freely, so Jesus would not permit them to speak, and they obeyed. More than that, He would cast them out of those who came to Him, and they could not refuse. They did exactly as He instructed, but the leper Jesus healed a few sentences later couldn't keep quiet in spite of Jesus' stern warning to tell no one.
Aug 15, 2026, 9:16 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 27-28
Meditation Verses: 28:18-20
Thought
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, and He commands His disciples to make more disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He commanded them, for He resides with those who do so. That should give every one of us great confidence to teach God's Word in truth and faithfulness.
Aug 14, 2026, 6:54 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 25-26
Meditation Verses: 26:38-41
Thought
Jesus knew it was time, and He was grieved to the point of death. He could ask His Father for twelve legions of angels to protect Him. He could flee and miss His appointment with torment and death. The anticipation of what was coming was incredibly heavy. He knew He needed to talk with His Father and gain the strength and assurance to do what needed to be done.
Aug 13, 2026, 6:30 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 23-24
Meditation Verses: 24:9-13
Thought
Times are coming when everyone will hate those who call themselves Christian, followers of Christ. And they won't just hate us, they will attack and torment us. It won't be just followers of other religions that hate us, but everyone, even our own family members will betray us to torment and death. No wonder Jesus says that some will turn away from the faith.
Aug 12, 2026, 6:26 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 21-22
Meditation Verses: 22:5-7
Thought
The Lord is jealous even for His servants. In the Parable of the Vineyard, slaves are mistreated and killed, then the owner sends his son, and he too is killed. This parable doesn't mention the son, except as the one getting married, but the servants are still mistreated and killed.
Aug 11, 2026, 9:34 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 19-20
Meditation Verses: 19:16-22
Thought
We want to know what good thing we can do to gain eternal life. Just give me one magic deed, one act that can guarantee my salvation. And Jesus gives it to him: Obey God's commandments. Which sounds like works-based salvation, but it's not. Jesus is actually pointing to a lifestyle change based on belief and trust in God and who He is.
Aug 10, 2026, 6:19 AM
Passage Read: Matthew 17-18
Meditation Verses: 18:32-35
Thought
The Lord is willing and able to restore a debt He has forgiven. This is a warning to me and every other believer, that we forgive from the heart our fellow man or woman, especially those who plead with us for forgiveness, just as we have pleaded with God for forgiveness and received it from Him.