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 29, 2026, 6:55 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 6-9
Meditation Verse: 6:18
Thought
Joshua knew and announced before the battle that if anyone took anything under the ban, that the whole nation would be accursed and they would bring trouble on everyone. So when they went up to Ai and were defeated, he should have known right then and there that someone had sinned.
Jan 28, 2026, 7:08 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 2-5
Meditation Verses: 4:23-24
Thought
If you lack rain and you pray to your god for rain and it comes, is that coincidence or the hand of your god? The Lord God of course can control the rain, whether it comes in season or out of season, or is withheld altogether. But He does even greater things than that, things which cannot be confused with happenstance.
Jan 27, 2026, 8:49 AM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 32 - Joshua 1
Meditation Verses: Joshua 1:7-8
Thought
There are two paths to success. One is to trust in the Lord and diligently learn from Him to do His will, then He will grant success. The other is to work as hard as possible to overcome all the challenges in the way, to carve a path to success by our own strength and wisdom. God promises success to the one who does the first, and success would be to accomplish all that God lays on our hearts.
Jan 22, 2025, 11:49 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 18-21
Meditation Verse: 18:3
Thought
Judah, Ephraim, Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh had all claimed their inheritance. The rest of the tribes remained in camp, waiting for their allotment. Four and a half tribes just asked for or took what they wanted.
Jan 21, 2025, 11:51 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 14-17
Meditation Verses: 17:16-18
Thought
Joshua is beginning to record those groups of Canaanites that were too strong for the Israelites to destroy. He also records that though they were too strong now, in time the Israelites would be strong enough to make them forced labor.
Jan 20, 2025, 7:47 PM
Passage Read: Joshua 10-13
Meditation Verse: 10:8
Thought
Joshua and the Israelites were commissioned by God to go and take the land. Here God reminds Joshua that he has no need to be afraid of a large number of kings coming against them, because it is God's will that they be defeated, so they will not be able to withstand the Israelites.
Jan 19, 2025, 7:49 PM
Passage Read: Joshua 6-9
Meditation Verses: 7:20-21
Thought
Achan confessed his sin and returned the things he had stolen, but that didn't remove the consequence of his actions. He still bore the death penalty, he and his whole family. Even all he had and all he'd stolen were buried with him.
Jan 18, 2025, 7:51 PM
Passage Read: Joshua 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:9-12
Thought
There are two responses to the Lord's overwhelming power and authority and commitment to judge: surrender and plead for life, or tremble and hopelessly defend. Rahab saw the certainty of God's coming and surety of His victory, and she decided to beg for her life and the lives of her family.
Jan 16, 2024, 9:18 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 22 - Judges 1
Meditation Verses: Joshua 23:6-7
Thought
The Israelites didn't drive out all the Canaanites at once, but many were left to be conquered after Joshua's death. Joshua warns them to remain faithful to the Lord and He will give them victory over the remaining Canaanites. So on their part, they were to be firm and do all that Moses had taught them, and they were not to make friends with the Canaanites, and especially not to learn the names of their gods and follow their practices. But of course, that is what they did.
Jan 15, 2024, 9:19 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 18-21
Meditation Verse: 21:44
Thought
Oh to have rest from all my enemies. It is a promise but not for this life. Unless I make peace with all my enemies. Which would require giving in to their way of thinking and living. The Israelites did that in many cases with the Canaanites, not so much with the surrounding enemies, though there were times when their neighbors left them alone. There's no real rest from my enemies until this life is done, and oh how I wish that were soon.