The Bemenderfers - Mark's Personal Devotions

October 2, 2026

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:01:00 +0000

Passage Read: Romans 2-3 Meditation Verses: 2:1-2 Thought It is easy to look at unbelievers and think that they are so repulsive because of their evil deeds, to consider them beyond hope and utterly lost. That is, in effect, how Jews saw Gentiles, even if the Gentiles hadn't done anything notably wrong. Gentiles were just unclean in their eyes because of all the unclean things they did and ate.

October 1, 2026

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:26:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 28 - Romans 1 Meditation Verses: Acts 28:24-26 Thought "Some were being persuaded..., but others would not believe." It amazes me how quickly Paul expected a response, and how quickly he turned to a rebuke and, in effect, a warning of judgment. Some were being persuaded, yet he wasn't afraid to quote Isaiah about the hardness of their hearts and the impossibility of their hearing and seeing and understanding and believing!

September 30, 2026

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:16:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 26-27 Meditation Verses: 27:23-25 Thought The Lord had promised to Paul that he would testify in Rome. That was enough for Paul to have great confidence through this whole ordeal. He wasn't trying to be cocky or flippant as they faced trial after challenge, he was just fully confident that he would make it to Rome.

September 29, 2026

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:43:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 24-25 Meditation Verses: 24:24-25 Thought Felix was interested in hearing about faith in Jesus, until he discovered that faith in Jesus included righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment. That means that the first time Paul has to explain the Gospel in detail to someone, he includes all those aspects!

September 28, 2026

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:13:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 22-23 Meditation Verse: 23:11 Thought Paul's witness in Jerusalem was not very detailed. To the Sanhedrin, he declared that he was on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead. To the crowd that tried to kill him, he mentioned Jesus' name and commission, but little more. That was not much of a testimony, beyond mentioning Jesus as alive and as Lord.

September 27, 2026

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:04:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 20-21 Meditation Verses: 20:29-30 Thought There is selfish ambition, and there is ambition for the kingdom of God. They are not the same. Paul warns that in time false teachers will come, and some will arise even from within the body of elders. They will see the crowd of believers, how they worship and seek God and hang on His every word, to know Him better and serve Him better, and they will desire that attention, respect and honor for themselves.

September 26, 2026

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:21:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 18-19 Meditation Verses: 19:8-10 Thought I wish Luke had gone into greater detail here. What exactly did Paul teach? Was it just the Gospel over and over again in different ways and with different proofs, or was it the whole Christian life, taught from the pages of the Old Testament? Who attended these daily reasonings?

September 25, 2026

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:03:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 16-17 Meditation Verses: 16:27-31 Thought It is interesting how Paul and Silas respond to the jailer, seeking to spare his life and being so quick and willing to share the Gospel with him and his household. There is no similar concern for the policemen who come later or for the officials who beat them, at least according to what is written here.

September 24, 2026

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:50:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 14-15 Meditation Verses: 15:19-20 Thought There is an interesting contrast that jumps out to me in these two chapters. Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in each city where they preached and made disciples, and they do so "having prayed with fasting." Then they get back to Antioch, and some Jewish believers start this whole debate about circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses.

September 23, 2026

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:03:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 12-13 Meditation Verses: 13:49-51 Thought This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 10, how to discern a man of peace and those who refuse to receive the Gospel. It's not so mysterious, just preach the Gospel and see who responds and how they respond. The man of peace will receive the message with gladness. Those who reject will do so vigorously.

September 22, 2026

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 15:13:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 10-11 Meditation Verse: 11:17 Thought There is a humility here that is worth emulating. How hard this truth must have been for Peter, a lifelong, faithful Jew, to fully embrace. It changed everything, it undid everything he believed to be inviolable from childhood. Paul got it, but Paul lived among Gentiles.

September 21, 2026

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:33:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 8-9 Meditation Verses: 8:38-40 Thought Philip brought the gospel to Samaria, but not the Spirit. He baptized the people, but they did not receive the Spirit. The apostles came down from Jerusalem, laid hands on the people and imparted the Spirit. It was so obvious, that Simon, the former sorcerer, offered money to purchase this authority.

September 20, 2026

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:03:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 6-7 Meditation Verse: 6:8 Thought Up to this point it seems that the signs and wonders, apart from tongues, were all performed by the original apostles. Stephen and Philip and the rest of the Seven were chosen because they were of good reputation and full of the Spirit and wisdom. But there was no mention of them performing signs and wonders until after their selection and the apostles prayed for them and laid their hands on them.

September 19, 2026

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:45:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 4-5 Meditation Verses: 5:30-31 Thought There it is again: God raised up Jesus to appoint Him a Prince and Savior, and to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins. Jesus is both Lord and Savior. Through Him God grants to any who are willing to believe both repentance and forgiveness of sins. The true sign of salvation is a recognition and rejection of our former sinful ways.

September 18, 2026

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:59:00 +0000

Passage Read: Acts 2-3 Meditation Verse: 3:26 Thought God raised up Jesus and sent Him to bless all people by turning every one of them from their evil ways! That is why God sent Jesus. That's why Jesus had to die and be raised to life again. The purpose was to turn every one of us from our wicked ways—that is the blessing of God, that is the Good News!

September 17, 2026

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:05:00 +0000

Passage Read: John 21 - Acts 1 Meditation Verses: John 21:18-22 Thought Peter received his restoration and personal commission, but with it, some hard news about the future. He would get his chance to prove his ultimate devotion to Christ by dying for Him. In the moment, though, whether out of curiosity or a bit of rivalry or a desire for equality, when he noticed John following them, he asked about John's future.

September 16, 2026

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:33:00 +0000

Passage Read: John 19-20 Meditation Verse: 19:11 Thought Pilate was appointed governor by Rome, not by God, yet Jesus says here that Pilate's authority—even over Jesus—had been given by God. Therefore, Jesus submitted to Pilate and whatever Pilate decided. And whatever sin Pilate committed in condemning Jesus to death, it was less than those who had falsely accused Him in order to have Pilate put Him to death.

September 15, 2026

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:41:00 +0000

Passage Read: John 17-18 Meditation Verse: 18:37 Thought "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." Jesus isn't simply saying that only those who belong to the truth can hear what He is saying; anyone near enough to Him heard what He was saying. But not everyone who heard Him accepted and believed what He said. Jesus means here that those who are of the truth hear and accept His words as the truth.

September 14, 2026

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:26:00 +0000

Passage Read: John 15-16 Meditation Verses: 16:31-32 Thought "Do you now believe?" The disciples think they finally have it. Then Jesus says they will shortly be scattered, each to his own home. They don't yet have it. They are perhaps closer to true faith than ever before, but they're not there yet. They still have testing to undergo.

September 13, 2026

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 14:05:00 +0000

Passage Read: John 13-14 Meditation Verses: 14:23-24 Thought The one who loves Jesus keeps His word, and the Father sees that and loves the one who so honors His Son. Because of his honor of the Son, both the Son and the Father come to dwell in him. But the person who does not keep Jesus' words, that one does not truly love Jesus; both the Father and the Son recognize that, and so should I.