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
Feb 21, 2024, 8:18 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19
Meditation Verses: 19:34-37
Thought
It is not good to underestimate the Lord, His reality and His power. He is not like the gods of the nations, which are but idols, wood and stone. He is the true and living God. To discount Him or insult Him is to invite wrath upon ourselves. To ignore Him, thinking He will do nothing or can do nothing, is to invite destruction. Israel sinned against the Lord by ignoring His commands and learning the ways of the pagans around them and the ways of their gods, and in time, God overthrew them.
Feb 19, 2024, 8:19 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15
Meditation Verse: 14:10
Thought
It is so easy to give way to pride. Amaziah had success against Edom, then thought he could take on Israel. Perhaps he thought God was with him to bless whatever he decided to do, but that wasn't the case. When he insisted on facing Israel, he was humiliated and Judah suffered for it. It is not the job of a leader to show off his own might or superiority. It is his job to do what is best in the eyes of the Lord for his people.
Feb 18, 2024, 8:21 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11
Meditation Verse: 8:19
Thought
The Lord made this promise to David, knowing full well that some of his sons would not walk in David's righteous ways. Solomon himself was the first to fall away; it didn't take long for the sons of David to fail. But the Lord was patient with them, for the sake of his promise to David and to His people. He didn't want to destroy Judah; He didn't want to put out the only lamp that shone for Him. There would be no other source of knowledge about Him in the world!
Feb 17, 2024, 8:22 AM
Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7
Meditation Verse: 5:26
Thought
Gehazi didn't like that Naaman, an enemy of Israel, had received blessing from God, and Elisha didn't take any payment from him. He wanted the foreigner at least to leave a blessing in return. And of course, he had brought a lot as a gift to the prophet, if he could help him. It was too much for Gehazi, the temptation and the justification. But he should have trusted his master and left off his greed.
Feb 16, 2024, 8:23 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3
Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 1:9-12
Thought
Elijah and Elisha are a lot more cavalier about the lives of others than seems right. Elijah seems to casually say that if he is a man of God, then let fire come down and consume the soldiers and their commander. And he does so twice! Then not long after, Elisha curses some boys who mock him, and they are mauled by a bear! Where is the love and compassion of God? Either this is out of character for God, or we don't correctly understand the character of God.
Feb 15, 2024, 6:49 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21
Meditation Verse: 21:29
Thought
It is hard to tell whether Ahab himself is so evil or is it all his wife? He seems like such a child at times, vexed and sullen, pouting on his bed. Every now and then he seems like a king, but so often he doesn't. His wife, however, is very decisive and quick to action, though very cruel. She doesn't hesitate to condemn innocent men and kill them. Then here, Ahab humbles himself and the Lord decides to delay His condemnation of Ahab and his family.
Feb 14, 2024, 6:50 AM
Feb 12, 2024, 6:52 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13
Meditation Verses: 11:6-10
Thought
The Law of God for Israel did not allow for freedom of religion in the sense that people could worship any god they desired. God commanded that Israel as a nation and a people worship only the Lord. Any foreigner who chose to dwell among them was also required to worship the Lord only. There was one law, for native and alien who dwelt in Israel. The Lord is the only true God, so He did not permit His people to worship any other god.
Feb 11, 2024, 6:53 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:4-7
Thought
The obedience of Solomon and his sons allows the Lord to keep His promise to David, and allows Him to bless the nation. But if he or his sons disobey, the Lord will bring trouble on them and on the nation, even casting the nation out of their land. God honors obedience and curses disobedience. We may receive extra grace because of the obedience of our fathers or leaders, but if we will not walk in the Lord's ways, we cannot expect blessing and favor, but trial and tribulation.
Feb 9, 2024, 6:55 AM
Passage Read: 1 Kings 2-5
Meditation Verses: 2:40-43
Thought
After the years of living in Jerusalem, knowing he wasn't to leave under penalty of death, Shimei left the city in pursuit of two runaway slaves. Solomon's men knew when he had gone and knew when he returned. Was it gate guards who recognized him or were there regular patrols that checked in on him? Somehow Solomon knew that he had left the city. No one reminded Shimei before he left that he would violate the terms of his parole, not his friends and not the men who might have seen him packing for a journey.