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 15, 2024, 8:19 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.
Jan 14, 2024, 8:21 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 14-17
Meditation Verses: 17:14-15
Thought
The sons of Joseph were not content with the land they had been allotted; it wasn't enough for them. Joshua didn't dispute them or rebuke them, but acknowledged that what they said was true and right, so he gave them another portion. However, that portion was still in the hands of Canaanites; they would have to fight to claim it. That would be too hard for them, they said, but Joshua assured them that they'd be able to take it.
Jan 13, 2024, 8:22 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 10-13
Meditation Verse: 11:20
Thought
The Canaanites received no mercy from God. They were to be completely destroyed. Some however would receive mercy from the Israelites, not for love of them, but because they chose to enslave them rather than destroy them. Perhaps they considered themselves more noble than the Lord, for offering mercy to people the Lord had set apart for destruction. It's a shame that the Lord didn't harden their hearts too; the Israelites and the Lord could have avoided much grief if they had obeyed the Lord.
Jan 12, 2024, 8:24 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 6-9
Meditation Verses: 7:11-12
Thought
God's response was immediate, though the people didn't realize it until later. Things went badly at Ai, and then they were afraid that the Lord had given them over to destruction. But the Lord had simply withdrawn His help from them, and with that, they were powerless against the people of the land. And it didn't occur to them that their failure was because someone among them had sinned. God had to point that out to them.
Jan 11, 2024, 8:25 AM
Passage Read: Joshua 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:10-13
Thought
The only right response to the news that the Lord is coming to claim the land is to humble yourself and plead for your life, and to serve the servants of God in whatever way you can. This is also the gospel message, that the Lord is returning to claim His world and to establish His King to rule over everything and everyone, so that the world and everyone in it does His will. Those who humble themselves and plead for their lives and submit themselves to this new king will be spared and allowed to remain in the land.
Jan 10, 2024, 2:00 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 32 - Joshua 1
Meditation Verses: Deuteronomy 32:19-21
Thought
We are the Lord's people and possession, but when we ignore His word and go our own way, He is provoked to anger. He withdraws from us, withdraws His protection and care, and leaves us to weather whatever comes our way. God does not protect us when we will not follow His commands and trust His wisdom. His commands and instruction are part of His protection, so when we ignore them, when we think we're wiser than Him, we lose out on His protection and blessing.
Jan 9, 2024, 2:02 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 28-31
Meditation Verse: 31:21
Thought
The people were already developing their plans for rebellion, before the Lord even brought them into the land. Yet the Lord still brought them in. He intended to do good to them and prosper them, and let them go astray, as a testimony to them and to the world. He couldn't keep delaying, He couldn't start all over again with a new people. They would go astray; He would turn away from them. He would eventually drive them out of the land; they would repent and return in a little more obedience.
Jan 8, 2024, 2:03 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 24-27
Meditation Verse: 26:17
Thought
So basically what it means to declare the Lord to be my God is that I walk in all His ways. I submit myself fully to His command and leadership. If I do not completely submit myself to all His commands, then I am not truly taking Him as my God, but only aligning myself with Him so that I can still retain control over what I choose to do; I retain autonomy to agree with the commands I choose and reject the ones I don't like. But to take the Lord as my God means giving up all autonomy and submitting myself fully to Him.
Jan 7, 2024, 2:04 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 20-23
Meditation Verses: 23:21-23
Thought
It is better not to vow than to vow and not fulfill it. In fact, a vow should be fulfilled as quickly as possible. It is sin to fail to fulfill a vow, but it is not sin to keep from making a vow! God is not one who takes promises lightly; if we promise Him something, He expects us to fulfill our promise as quickly as possible. We cannot say we didn't mean it, because God holds us accountable for every word that comes from our mouths, even the careless words.
Jan 6, 2024, 2:05 PM
Passage Read: Deuteronomy 16-19
Meditation Verses: 17:19-20
Thought
The way to humility and fearing God is pretty simple: read and obey God's Word all the days of your life! Simple and complete obedience guards a heart from pride and teaches it to fear the Lord. That was the prescription given to any man who would be king over the Israelites: to write themselves a copy of the Law, read it all their days and carefully do all it says.