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
Nov 9, 2025, 9:29 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verses: 5:6-7
Thought
While I'm sure Paul is talking about all these instructions regarding widows, the preceding statement has application for all people: Anyone who lives for pleasure is dead even while they live! Those who are truly in need have a natural encouragement to pray to God and ask for help; that's good for all of us, but not likely to leave us open to blame if we fail to pray but rather work to supply our need.
Nov 8, 2025, 8:34 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verse: 3:1
Thought
It is not wrong to desire to be an elder/overseer or even a deacon. These are good and noble ambitions, if they drive a man to prepare himself according to the standards Paul lays out. If it is just a position and power that a man seeks, with no desire to conform his life to these requirements, then it's just selfish ambition, and that man is not worthy of these positions.
Nov 7, 2025, 9:06 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 1:5-7
Thought
The Christian life is centered on love, which comes from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. Christian love is all about being of benefit to others, as the Word of God teaches, doing so out of a heart purified of sin and guile and self-seeking, purified by God's Spirit and according to the standard laid down in God's Word.
Oct 30, 2024, 8:00 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verse: 6:1
Thought
All believing slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and Paul's teaching may not be spoken against. Whether their master is a believer or not, whether they are kind and gentle or not, the believing slave is to consider his master to be worthy of all honor. This is true of anyone under authority: we are to consider our parents, our husband, our boss, our governing authorities, our church leaders, all authorities and any authority as worthy of honor, not based on their intrinsic worthiness, but so that the name of the Lord and the teaching of the Scripture may be honored.
Oct 29, 2024, 8:02 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verse: 3:6
Thought
One of the greatest enemies of faith is pride. To encourage someone in such a way that promotes their own pride, that causes them to inflate their own view of themselves, is not the act of a loving leader. What each person needs is to grow in humility. As much as possible, only those who have developed a healthy humility should be put in positions of responsibility in the church (and anywhere else).
Oct 28, 2024, 8:12 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 1:6-7
Thought
The goal of all Christian teaching and discussion should be to promote love from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. But some stray from these things, the result being that they are caught up in fruitless discussions, wanting to be teachers of the Law, but having no clue what they're really taking about. There is a desire to be important and to be admired by men as wise, likely in order to rule.
Oct 10, 2023, 9:18 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:6-10
Thought
Godliness with contentment is great gain. My greatest desire needs to be to grow in godliness, not grow my bank account or earthly assets. I came into the world with nothing, and I will leave the world with nothing but what I have done for the kingdom of God. If I have food and clothing, I should be content with that. That aligns with what Jesus said, that the Father promises food and clothing to those who seek first His kingdom and righteousness.
Oct 9, 2023, 9:19 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:8-9
Thought
This is a high standard for deacons. They have many of the same requirements as elders, and they must hold firmly to the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. What are the deep truths of the faith? And why would holding to them require a clear conscience? They obviously go beyond the basics of the gospel, beyond the elementary teachings listed at the beginning of Hebrews 6. But what would they include?
Oct 8, 2023, 9:20 AM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:1-4
Thought
Paul wants us making requests and praying for everyone, especially kings and all those in authority, with thanksgiving, so that we could live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Paul links this to men being saved, coming to a knowledge of the truth. Peaceful and quiet lives should result in men hearing and coming to a knowledge of the truth and so being saved, not pursuing the things of the world so that men are affirmed in their pursuit of the world.
Oct 11, 2022, 2:57 PM
Passage Read: 1 Timothy 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:2-3
Thought
There are many things taught in Scripture that men today consider backwards, and that is their excuse to turn away from such teachings. A slave serving well, especially if his master is a believer? The master should free the slave! How dare the Bible support slavery! Yet, that is what it says, because slavery is neither good nor bad. What is bad is how we treat one another. The excuse that we're so far past things taught in the Bible, like equality for women, that we can't go back to what the Bible teaches, that flies in the face of what Paul says here.