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
Jul 21, 2023, 2:14 PM
Passage Read: Mark 7-8
Meditation Verse: 8:38
Thought
So Jesus is right in everything He says. All of God's Word is right in everything it teaches. If I am ashamed of anything God has said, any of His words, Jesus will be ashamed of me when He returns. It is either follow God or follow this adulterous and sinful generation. This generation in all its "wisdom" cannot keep me out of God's judgment. Only God can do that. And if I want to be saved, not condemned, then I have to choose to believe and obey the Lord, especially when His words are counter-cultural!
Jul 20, 2023, 2:15 PM
Passage Read: Mark 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:19-21
Thought
John was arrested by Herod and protected by him from his wife who wanted him dead. Herod knew he was a righteous and holy man and liked to listen to him, but couldn't understand him. That in itself is an interesting statement. There are those who are intrigued by truth but cannot understand. How long was John in prison? Did he wonder if he'd ever get out? Did he hope Jesus would become king soon and release him?
Jul 19, 2023, 2:16 PM
Passage Read: Mark 3-4
Meditation Verses: 4:11-12
Thought
It is not everyone who can understand the Word of God, but only those to whom Jesus chooses to reveal it. I can't make people understand, any more than I can make myself understand. If Jesus doesn't open their eyes, then there is nothing I can do to make them see. If Jesus doesn't open my eyes, there's nothing I can do to understand. I am at His mercy, both for myself and for others.
Jul 18, 2023, 2:18 PM
Passage Read: Mark 1-2
Meditation Verse: 1:38
Thought
Jesus came to preach, but He gladly healed people left and right. He came to bless people, to help them out from under Satan's thumb. He didn't build houses or provide fresh drinking water, He healed diseases and demon possession. He helped the people in ways they couldn't help themselves. He helped the people in ways only God could, but most significantly to me right now is the fact that He gladly and frequently healed them.
Jul 27, 2022, 2:16 PM
Passage Read: Mark 15-16
Meditation Verse: 15:10
Thought
Though Pilate didn't believe and was not necessarily a lover of Truth, still he recognized envy when he saw it. He knew it was because of envy that the religious leaders had handed over Jesus. He even tried to release Jesus, if for no other reason than to annoy the Jewish leaders, perhaps even to rebuke them for their duplicity. Unbelievers are not necessarily fools. They are not blind to the ways of men.
Jul 26, 2022, 2:17 PM
Passage Read: Mark 13-14
Meditation Verses: 13:12-13
Thought
Blood relatives are not the safest people to be around, but only those who truly believe in Christ. When persecution begins there will be pressure on all people to betray Christians. There will be false believers who care more for their own lives than for their fellow Christians, and they will betray them to those seeking their lives. Family members, perhaps even also appearing to be believers, perhaps not, will also betray their own flesh and blood in order to save their own lives.
Jul 25, 2022, 2:18 PM
Passage Read: Mark 11-12
Meditation Verses: 12:43-44
Thought
It is not the amount of money that we give to the Lord that matters to Him, but the cost to us that matters to Him. To give out of our abundance costs us nothing and requires no faith in Him. But to give what we need to live on, that requires faith in God, that He will indeed supply our need in spite of us giving away what we needed. This widow gave all she had, so either she still has some food at home and knew that she could get more money somehow, or she knew someone would provide what she needed to live.
Jul 24, 2022, 2:19 PM
Passage Read: Mark 9-10
Meditation Verses: 10:49-52
Thought
This is the last miracle Jesus does for a person before His crucifixion, except for healing the ear that Peter cuts off. This is the last request for healing anyone makes, and it is a blind man regaining his sight. Jesus knows He's on His way to His death, but no one else understands that, not even His disciples, whom He's warned three times. He's on His way to His execution, but here's one last person who wants help.
Jul 23, 2022, 2:20 PM
Passage Read: Mark 7-8
Meditation Verse: 8:17
Thought
How often do I not understand because I have hardened my heart? Jesus is constantly teaching me through His Word, but am I listening? Am I willing to hear? There are things hidden because I'm not ready to understand them, I'm not mature enough, I haven't practiced enough to be ready to receive greater understanding. But how often do I refuse to hear a message, because of my hardened heart?
Jul 22, 2022, 2:22 PM
Passage Read: Mark 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:50-52
Thought
Jesus is literally claiming to be God as He approaches the disciples in their boat. And the disciples marvel greatly because, according to Mark, they didn't understand the miracle of the loaves. What is the connection between the two? How would understanding the miracle of the loaves cause them to marvel less at Jesus walking on the water? They were involved with the bread, they had passed it out. They should have seen the baskets filling or never running out.