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
Jun 25, 2024, 5:07 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 16-19
Meditation Verses: 18:19-22
Thought
Why would anyone be upset that the son does not bear the consequences of the father's sin? Why would Israel say that the Lord is unjust because he doesn't bring punishment on the son, who did no evil, for the sin of his father? It makes no sense! Unless the sons want to believe they are innocent, and the only reason they suffer at present is because of the sins of their fathers.
Jun 24, 2024, 5:08 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 12-15
Meditation Verses: 14:3-8
Thought
God sees the heart. He knows who seeks Him in truth and who seeks Him as just another possibility. In Israel, they had idols carved on the walls of the temple or standing around the temple or on every high hill and under every spreading tree. They had physical idols that could be seen and touched and carried. When they went into exile, not all of them abandoned their idols. They couldn't carry the physical form with them, but they could carry them in their hearts.
Jun 23, 2024, 5:10 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 8-11
Meditation Verses: 11:17-21
Thought
The exiles are considered by those still in Jerusalem to be those rejected by God, but God has instead removed them from the land in order to protect them from the disaster He has planned against those who refuse to believe and obey Him. He will preserve the exiles, then bring them back to the land, when He is finished punishing those who remain in the land.
Jun 21, 2024, 5:12 PM
Passage Read: Lamentations 5 - Ezekiel 3
Meditation Verse: Ezekiel 3:7
Thought
Jesus says something similar to His disciples: Those people who are willing to listen to Jesus, to God, will listen to those who are sent by Him, who teach His Word. If they are willing to listen to the Lord, they will listen to His servants. But if they are not willing to listen to those who speak His Word, then nether will they listen to Him.
Jun 13, 2023, 5:25 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 44-47
Meditation Verse: 47:12
Thought
This is a clue that suggests all this about the sanctuary and the sacrifices and the coming division of the land take place during the reign of Christ. There will be Israelites who survive the wrath of God at the end of this age, and there will be gentiles too who survive and make it into Christ's kingdom. The Lord will give the Jews this final chance to make their kingdom successful and to enjoy all the blessings God originally intended, and they will do well, because Jesus will enforce God's law strictly.
Jun 12, 2023, 5:26 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 40-43
Meditation Verse: 42:20
Thought
This idea of the holy and common still needing a separation has come up several times in Ezekiel. Today we want to eliminate the difference, but this is about the future, either during the reign of Christ or after. That means there must still even today be a distinction between the common and the holy. The idea the distinctions and differences must be eliminated from life, that lines must be blurred is a human, worldly idea.
Jun 11, 2023, 5:27 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 36-39
Meditation Verse: 36:32
Thought
The Lord was put to shame by the conduct of the Israelites. When he drove them out of the land, the people where they went all recognized that they were the people of the Lord, but had to leave their land. It made the Lord look weak, like He couldn't protect His people, or else He couldn't lead them to live righteously. They were an embarrassment to Him, because of their conduct and His need to discipline them.
Jun 10, 2023, 5:29 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 32-35
Meditation Verses: 33:18-20
Thought
The Israelites wanted people to be established as either wicked or good, with no possibility of change. That was far easier than having to continually evaluate people to determine if they were evil or good. That was especially good for those determined to be good, because then they could carry on however they like in the assurance that they would be safe. They could also have those who were evil without ever having to worry about forgiveness.
Jun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 28-31
Meditation Verses: 31:10-12
Thought
It doesn't matter how powerful a nation may become, how great it may be on the earth. It is still subject to the Lord and expected to honor Him. The nation or people who become proud, thinking they made themselves and they alone rule over the nations, they are doomed to destruction. This is why every great empire collapses, because the do not acknowledge God, they do not humble themselves before the Lord of all Creation.
Jun 8, 2023, 5:31 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 24-27
Meditation Verses: 24:13-14
Thought
Judah refused to be cleansed of their impurity, their sin, but God would not give up on the nation. He would pour out His wrath on them until they were finally cleansed. They resisted and refused to repent and change their ways, but He would have His way. Sadly it would require them to endure the fullness of His wrath. But once He finished His wrath, they would then be cleansed of their wickedness and impurity.