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
Feb 27, 2026, 1:51 PM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21
Meditation Verse: 21:29
Thought
God is so gracious to Ahab, whom He describes as someone who sold himself to do evil. Sometimes Ahab shows a kind of grief, as if maybe he could be reached. He does not entirely reject the prophets of the Lord, though his wife tried to kill them all. He listens to military advice from them, though he does not learn real repentance through them.
Feb 26, 2026, 9:26 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 14-17
Meditation Verses: 14:7-10
Thought
The very thing Jeroboam was afraid of, he brought on his family and all Israel! He wanted to save his life and feared that if Israel remained faithful to the Lord, they would also eventually reunite with Judah and he would be killed. So he consulted with unfaithful men and set up new gods for Israel, offending the God who made him king!
Feb 25, 2026, 7:41 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13
Meditation Verses: 12:26-28
Thought
The Lord made Jeroboam king, but Jeroboam didn't trust the Lord to protect him, though the Lord has in fact made him king over ten tribes as He promised. He feared that the kingdoms would seek to reunite, and he would be found the rebel and offending king, like Saul's son, and be killed.
Feb 24, 2026, 9:45 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:3-8
Thought
God agrees to put His Name forever and to fix His eyes and heart perpetually on the house that Solomon built for Him. But He makes clear that His promise is conditioned on the obedience of the people, just as His promise to David is conditioned on the obedience of David's sons. He will not protect and bless people who refuse to honor Him.
Feb 23, 2026, 8:41 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:22-25
Thought
Solomon's justice was swift. And in Adonijah's case, he didn't judge merely based on outward actions and words, but on the intent of those words and actions. Adonijah simply asked for the young woman who served David in his old age, but Solomon understood that to be a ploy to regain the throne, along with Abiathar the priest and Joab.
Feb 19, 2025, 8:08 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21
Best Verse: 21:25-29
Thought
The Lord is determined to reward those who humble themselves before Him. He wants to forgive, not destroy men.
Feb 18, 2025, 8:08 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 14-17
Meditation Verses: 15:3-5
Thought
The Lord desired to do good to His people, and to keep His promise to David. Because of that, the people were able to disregard His commands and live, even prosper to a degree.
Feb 17, 2025, 8:06 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13
Meditation Verses: 11:38-39
Thought
Solomon turned from the Lord later in life, under the influence of the women he loved. He loved his wives more then the Lord and more than his father David, so he provoked the Lord to uphold His end of the warning.
Feb 16, 2025, 10:35 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9
Meditation Verse: 8:53
Thought
Did Solomon understand that the Lord's intent was not simply to single out the Israelites and make them His own people, and exclude all the rest? God made all people and deserves the worship of all His creation.
Feb 15, 2025, 4:07 PM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:3-4
Thought
David's charge to Solomon is first that he walk in obedience to all the Law of God, so that he can enjoy the favor of God and prosper in all he does and wherever he goes.