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
Jun 16, 2023, 1:46 PM
Passage Read: Daniel 8-11
Meditation Verse: 11:35
Thought
God allows hard things to come upon even the faithful servants of God, even on the wise. He allows them to be pressed and tempted and even fall, so that they can be refined, purified and made spotless. The great thing about the truly wise is that they know humility and are willing to repent when they discover their sin, when they recognize they gave way to temptation and chose sin. That is why the Lord loves them, and why there is no need to fear temptation and trial.
Jun 15, 2023, 1:47 PM
Passage Read: Daniel 4-7
Meditation Verses: 5:19-20
Thought
When God makes a man king, that man has complete authority over those entrusted to him. He can either use that authority for good or for evil, for his own selfish ends or for the good of his people. That man will have to give account to Him who gave him that authority, for how he used this God-given authority. Nevertheless, while he reigns, he has complete authority to carry out justice as he sees fit. So obviously, it is best to know the Lord and understand how He wants His authority used.
Jun 14, 2023, 1:48 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 48 - Daniel 3
Meditation Verse: Daniel 2:30
Thought
Daniel is trying to match Moses for title of most humble man on earth! Daniel understood that he was no great wise man, but merely a servant of the Lord and of the king. He was given the dream and its interpretation by God, because God wanted to reveal these things to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel benefited from being selected by God as His messenger, but Daniel didn't forget that he was just a messenger. He didn't let God's choosing to use him in this amazing way inflate his ego. What a powerful lesson.
Jun 13, 2023, 5:25 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 44-47
Meditation Verse: 47:12
Thought
This is a clue that suggests all this about the sanctuary and the sacrifices and the coming division of the land take place during the reign of Christ. There will be Israelites who survive the wrath of God at the end of this age, and there will be gentiles too who survive and make it into Christ's kingdom. The Lord will give the Jews this final chance to make their kingdom successful and to enjoy all the blessings God originally intended, and they will do well, because Jesus will enforce God's law strictly.
Jun 12, 2023, 5:26 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 40-43
Meditation Verse: 42:20
Thought
This idea of the holy and common still needing a separation has come up several times in Ezekiel. Today we want to eliminate the difference, but this is about the future, either during the reign of Christ or after. That means there must still even today be a distinction between the common and the holy. The idea the distinctions and differences must be eliminated from life, that lines must be blurred is a human, worldly idea.
Jun 11, 2023, 5:27 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 36-39
Meditation Verse: 36:32
Thought
The Lord was put to shame by the conduct of the Israelites. When he drove them out of the land, the people where they went all recognized that they were the people of the Lord, but had to leave their land. It made the Lord look weak, like He couldn't protect His people, or else He couldn't lead them to live righteously. They were an embarrassment to Him, because of their conduct and His need to discipline them.
Jun 10, 2023, 5:29 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 32-35
Meditation Verses: 33:18-20
Thought
The Israelites wanted people to be established as either wicked or good, with no possibility of change. That was far easier than having to continually evaluate people to determine if they were evil or good. That was especially good for those determined to be good, because then they could carry on however they like in the assurance that they would be safe. They could also have those who were evil without ever having to worry about forgiveness.
Jun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 28-31
Meditation Verses: 31:10-12
Thought
It doesn't matter how powerful a nation may become, how great it may be on the earth. It is still subject to the Lord and expected to honor Him. The nation or people who become proud, thinking they made themselves and they alone rule over the nations, they are doomed to destruction. This is why every great empire collapses, because the do not acknowledge God, they do not humble themselves before the Lord of all Creation.
Jun 8, 2023, 5:31 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 24-27
Meditation Verses: 24:13-14
Thought
Judah refused to be cleansed of their impurity, their sin, but God would not give up on the nation. He would pour out His wrath on them until they were finally cleansed. They resisted and refused to repent and change their ways, but He would have His way. Sadly it would require them to endure the fullness of His wrath. But once He finished His wrath, they would then be cleansed of their wickedness and impurity.
Jun 7, 2023, 5:32 PM
Passage Read: Ezekiel 20-23
Meditation Verse: 20:49
Thought
No matter how clearly Ezekiel preaches, no matter how clearly the Lord prophesies through him, the people have a ready excuse to protect themselves from the Lord's message: He's just speaking parables! That way no one can know for sure what he means! Everyone can obscure the meaning of Ezekiel's message. The Lord's message is not unclear. He speaks clearly, but we deliberately confuse the message so we think we have an excuse for not obeying.