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
Jan 17, 2025, 6:54 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 32 - Joshua 1
Meditation Verses: Deuteronomy 32:5-6
Thought
In the song of Moses, which God gave to warn the people of their future, in hopes that they might repent and stay humble, teachable and obedient, in this song, God reveals Israel's rebellion against Him. They disobey and disregard His Word and worship other gods. They become a warped and corrupt generation.
Jan 16, 2025, 6:55 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 28-31
Meditation Verses: 29:2-4
Thought
With their own eyes, the Israelites saw all God's miracles and trials and wonders, but they still did not understand the Lord or the importance of trusting and offering His Word.
Jan 15, 2025, 9:11 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 24-27
Meditation Verses: 24:6,10-13
Thought
There is a lot about pledges for loans here, even mentioning in a few more verses not to take a widow's cloak as pledge. The one who makes the loan is allowed to have pledges, but the sender here is to think more if the person than the pledge.
Jan 14, 2025, 9:12 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 20-23
Meditation Verses: 22:21-24
Thought
Promiscuity is punishable by death, according to God. Adultery is punishable by death, whether the woman was married or pledged to be married. This is God's solution to remarriage. Death releases the remaining spouse from the law of marriage, so that he or she is free to remarry without being considered an adulterer or adulteress.
Jan 13, 2025, 9:14 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 16-19
Meditation Verses: 18:1-2
Thought
The whole nation of Israel inherited land and houses when they came to Canaan. They gave themselves to their crops and herds, to build up their material wealth. But the priests and Levites, they were given houses and cities and some pasture land, but not like the rest of the Israelites.
Jan 12, 2025, 9:15 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 12-15
Meditation Verses: 13:6-9
Thought
It did not matter who enticed an Israelite to worship a different God, they were all alike under sentence of death. It did not matter how close they were to you or how much you loved them,
Jan 11, 2025, 9:16 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 8-11
Meditation Verses: 9:6-7
Thought
It is easy to forget who we are when the Lord grants victory over our enemies. We can begin to think we're pretty awesome, that the Lord loves us and blesses us because we're so good and righteous.
Jan 10, 2025, 9:17 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 4-7
Meditation Verses: 7:25-26
Thought
Unbelievers make much of collecting and preserving artifacts from foreign cultures, but the believer in God has no business doing so with any object of worship. A foreign people may pour their greatest artistry into their objects of worship, they may cover them with all kinds of precious things, gold, silver, precious gems,
Jan 9, 2025, 9:19 PM
Passage Read: Numbers 36 - Deuteronomy 3
Meditation Verses: Deuteronomy 1:41-43
Thought
They thought it was easy to go in and take the land, but it wasn't. It required the Lord's help. These Canaanite nations were stronger than the Israelites, and this proved it. It would be a reminder that only with the Lord's help could the Israelites defeat the Canaanites.
Jan 10, 2024, 2:00 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 32 - Joshua 1
Meditation Verses: Deuteronomy 32:19-21
Thought
We are the Lord's people and possession, but when we ignore His word and go our own way, He is provoked to anger. He withdraws from us, withdraws His protection and care, and leaves us to weather whatever comes our way. God does not protect us when we will not follow His commands and trust His wisdom. His commands and instruction are part of His protection, so when we ignore them, when we think we're wiser than Him, we lose out on His protection and blessing.