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
Aug 14, 2024, 7:07 AM
Passage Read: Mark 15-16
Meditation Verse: 15:10
Thought
Not everyone who serves God actually knows or cares about what God desires. The chief priests, the Sanhedrin, the scribes, all of these should have known God best and understood all He was doing. But instead, when Jesus came teaching and performing miracles, they became jealous of Him and plotted to kill Him. They should have rejoiced! But they were part of the problem.
Aug 13, 2024, 7:08 AM
Passage Read: Mark 13-14
Meditation Verses: 14:37-38
Thought
Peter had spent more than three years with Jesus. He was convinced that Jesus was indeed the Christ, God's appointed king of Israel, and the Son of God. He was ready to die for Jesus, willing to fight to protect Him from arrest, willing to fight to gain the throne of Israel for Him. But Jesus hadn't come from heaven to lead a rebellion and wage war to gain the throne of Israel. He came this first time to offer His life as a sacrifice for the sins of men, that all who believe in Him would be forgiven and made righteous.
Aug 12, 2024, 7:10 AM
Passage Read: Mark 11-12
Meditation Verse: 11:25
Thought
Following on the heels of Jesus telling about believing in prayer in order to receive what we ask for, He says that whenever we pray, we should forgive anyone against whom we are holding something, so that our Father in heaven will forgive us. Jesus seems to tie forgiveness to receiving what we ask for in prayer. Perhaps not, but it makes sense. If we do not forgive others who sin against us, then the Father is holding our sins against us.
Aug 11, 2024, 7:11 AM
Passage Read: Mark 9-10
Meditation Verses: 10:51-52
Thought
Bartimaeus cried out for mercy, and Jesus stopped and called him over. When Jesus asked what He could do for him, Bartimaeus asked for his sight. Jesus said, "Go, your faith has made you well." Bartimaeus immediately regained his sight, but instead of going, he began following Jesus. He did not take what he could get from Jesus and go, he believed more than just that Jesus could give him his request. He believed Jesus was worth knowing and following. He knew of Jesus, and recognized his chance when he realized Jesus was passing by.
Aug 10, 2024, 7:15 AM
Passage Read: Mark 7-8
Meditation Verses: 8:31-33
Thought
The desire to preserve life is so strong, whether it be a friend's life, a loved one's life or our own. Peter is unwilling for Jesus to die, at minimum purely out of human compassion, probably also because He believed Him to be the Christ and wanted Him to reign as king, not die. But Jesus moves the topic from preserving His life to preserving our own lives. We are not to love our lives so much that we shrink from death.
Aug 9, 2024, 7:16 AM
Passage Read: Mark 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:4-6
Thought
Jesus came to His hometown and taught in the synagogue there, but because they thought they all knew Him, they were offended that He would presume to teach them, to claim to be the fulfillment of Scripture. They could not believe He had power to heal and authority from God, so He could do nothing but a few healings among them. Their lack of faith held them back from seeking healing from Him.
Aug 8, 2024, 7:18 AM
Passage Read: Mark 3-4
Meditation Verses: 4:37-40
Thought
How quick we are to question the Lord's love for us. Things go sideways, maybe even only a little, maybe we're not worried about how we'll survive, but some small thing goes awry, and we jump to, "Don't You care?" The disciples were scared, and rightly so. They weren't blowing this storm out of proportion. Several were fishermen and knew the sea. But they didn't know Jesus very well yet.
Aug 7, 2024, 7:19 AM
Passage Read: Mark 1-2
Meditation Verse: 2:15
Thought
Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) to follow Him, and Matthew throws a banquet for Him at his house. He invites his only other friends, other tax collectors. Apparently, they've all been interested in Jesus; they've all wanted to meet Him. Would Jesus allow them to follow Him? Would He allow them to learn from Him? Could they be saved? Mark records that many of the tax collectors came to the meal, and they were following Jesus! That is a significant comment! They weren't just curious; they apparently had been "following" Him from afar.