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
Oct 16, 2024, 2:02 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 5-6
Meditation Verses: 5:18-24
Thought
The war we're in is not a war between the Law and the Spirit, but between the flesh and the Spirit, and the battleground is our moral behavior. It is not a war of circumcision or holy days or animal sacrifices, but one of godly or selfish behavior. Fulfilling the material requirements of the law will not save, but rather will separate us from Christ.
Oct 15, 2024, 2:04 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 3-4
Meditation Verses: 4:22-24
Thought
God promised to give Abraham an heir through Sarah, but He delayed in fulfilling it, knowing that Sarah would become discouraged and suggest using Hagar, and Abraham would agree. This would become an illustration for our spiritual state apart from Christ and produce an illustration for our state in Christ. That doesn't justify Abraham's decision, but neither did it hinder what God had planned.
Oct 13, 2024, 2:05 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:11-14
Thought
Two things here: One, how easy it is to be pulled back into old ways when others who are in the grip of those old ways come along; two, leaders who fall into sin need to be publicly rebuked for the benefit of all. Peter had no problem fellowshipping freely with the Gentile believers until fellow Jews came from Jerusalem, Jews who still held firmly to Jewish ways, sadly including the belief that Gentiles were unclean.
Sep 25, 2023, 7:00 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 5-6
Meditation Verse: 5:3
Thought
If you believe you must obey certain parts of the Law to be saved, then you must obey all of it in order to be saved. The problem from the beginning of time is selective obedience: We obey what we want, what we deem easy, and ignore the rest. If I think I must obey certain parts of the Law in order for God to accept me, then I'm obligated to obey all of it, because God never said He'd accept people who obeyed part of His Law, but all of it.
Sep 24, 2023, 7:01 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 3-4
Meditation Verse: 3:5
Thought
The Galatians saw miracles among them, apparently not just when Paul was with them. They were spiritually gifted and enjoyed the power of the Spirit working among them. Today we explain spiritual gifts away by various means and to various degrees, but why? What in Scripture justifies the idea that the gifts were only for a short time? Have we just gotten too intellectual for our own good? God's Spirit still has power; have we just lost faith?
Sep 23, 2023, 7:03 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 1-2
Meditation Verses: 1:3-5
Thought
Jesus gave Himself to rescue us from this present evil age. Those are words you don't hear much. This present evil age. This age and time is nice, the most advanced on earth (that we know of). All kinds of modern conveniences. It's amazing! What's there to rescue us from? Back then, there were Jews who hated Christ and His followers. There were pagans who engaged in all kinds of debauchery. The Roman government in many places and from the highest levels persecuted Christians.
Sep 27, 2022, 7:08 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 5-6
Meditation Verses: 5:2-4
Thought
Paul is making this a very big deal! It is either Christ alone or nothing! But keeping the Law provides a measure of security and comfort--except that no one can keep the Law perfectly, so in that sense, the Law is useless. Still, it is attractive to have a back up plan, so that if Christ is not enough, then God might still accept you for your effort to keep the Law. Paul is forcing a choice, either Christ or the Law. We can't have both.
Sep 26, 2022, 7:09 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 3-4
Meditation Verses: 3:23-26
Thought
Is Paul speaking to Jews or to people heavily influenced by Jews? Who was locked up under Law but the Jews? The Gentiles didn't grow up under the Law, it is something we likely wouldn't even know about until we came to Christ. It was the Jews who would be locked up under Law, but they might come to us Gentiles and teach us that we too need to submit to all the Law. So we Gentiles need to understand that the Jews were originally locked up under the Law until faith came, so that we too do not look to the Law for salvation.
Sep 25, 2022, 7:11 AM
Passage Read: Galatians 1-2
Meditation Verse: 2:20
Thought
If I died and now the life I live is Christ's, how can I think of my life as being my own in any way? Am I not all the more a slave of Jesus Christ? And if Christ loves me so much as to give His life to save me, do I need to fear at all anything He might ask me to do, anything He might do with me? Even if He wants to do something painful or scary with my life, do I have any say anymore? My life is done. I died with Christ, the life I'm now living is His life and I'm just along for the ride.