30 Days of Mark

By Amy Wellner

Engage your heart and mind as you read the word of God and learn about the life of Christ through the Gospel of Mark. This 30 day devotional offers a short scripture reading, reflection question with space to journal, and a daily prayer. If you've never read the Bible, or if you have a daily routine estab

• Language: English
• Publisher: Union Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798986568614

Book preview

30 DAYS OF MARK

WHO CHRIST IS AND HOW HE LIVED

Amy Wellner

Copyright © 2023 Amy Wellner

All scripture references are taken from the    Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

All rights reserved.

ISBN:  9798986568614

DEDICATION

To my family and friends- thank you for your support and encouragement to see this project through.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

INTRODUCTION

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7

DAY 8

DAY 9

DAY 10

DAY 11

DAY 12

DAY 13

DAY 14

DAY 15

DAY 16

DAY 17

DAY 18

DAY 19

DAY 20

DAY 21

DAY 22

DAY 23

DAY 24

DAY 25

DAY 26

DAY 27

DAY 28

DAY 29

DAY 30

Acknowledgements

About The Author

INTRODUCTION

I’m not a Bible scholar. I don’t have a seminary degree. I struggle to spend regular time reading the Bible each day. But, I have met God through studying scripture and he has changed my life as a result. I know the transformation that’s possible when someone reads scripture, internalizes it, and begins to live it out. It’s not about gaining knowledge or wisdom, or obeying the Bible’s rules, but allowing God access to your heart and mind, and being open-handed with how the Holy Spirit might work in your life.

This devotional is the result of simple study and reflection on the Gospel of Mark. Each day includes a passage of scripture, reflection question with space to write out your thoughts, and a brief prayer in response to the reading. Many days also have optional Scripture to read. If you only do the daily scripture reading you will get a great overview of the book of Mark. If you do the optional readings, you will read the entire book of Mark by the end of the 30 days. It’s my hope and prayer that this devotional will challenge and encourage you as you read scripture and consider who Jesus is, and how that reality impacts how we live our lives.

Background on Mark

There are four books of the bible written about Jesus’ life and ministry on earth, called the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Mark was written first, by a guy named John Mark, who got an account of the life and times of Jesus and his disciples from Peter. Mark is an action-oriented account and the shortest of the four Gospels. John Mark writes in a matter-of-fact way, which I love. He gets to the point- and quickly! Because of this, the book of Mark can easily be read and digested in a 30 day span. ­

There are several themes present in the book of Mark, including (but not limited to): the identity and authority of Jesus, faith as a change of heart instead of following a set of rules, and the coming kingdom of God. These are themes I have noted and many of the reflection questions that follow are related to them.

The Gospels offer us a window into the life of Jesus. They detail who he was, how he lived and how the world responded to him. He healed people, performed miracles, shut down hypocrites and displayed the glory of God. Out of all world religions, Christianity is the only one that claims their god lived on earth, died, came back to life and is still living today. Jesus is one-of-a-kind. It is through him that we are given access to God and can have a relationship with him (Ephesians 2:18). Christianity is about this relationship, not about following the rules.

Devotional format

I’ve left verse references in the scripture passages but have removed chapter titles, subheadings and many of the paragraph breaks. In my opinion, this allows for smoother reading of the passage. Throughout the devotional, I use the New Living Translation (NLT) version of the Bible. Personally, I often use different translations for different methods of studying scripture. I will often first read a passage in the NLT version, as it is more of a thought for thought translation of passages, compared to a literal word for word translation (like the ESV, for example). I find it is easier for me to read and digest scripture from the NLT, at least my first time reading through a passage. There are many different translations available, so feel free to grab your own paper Bible or Bible app to read along in another version.

Each time you pull out this devotional, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. Ask God to quiet your heart and mind, to help you understand the passage and to speak to you however he might want to. I truly believe if you ask God to speak to you and make space to hear his voice, he will show you what it is he wants you to learn about himself, or even about yourself. I can get very easily distracted when I sit down to read (not just the Bible, but any book!) You may find that things pop into your head that you need to remember, or to do later. Sometimes I will keep a scrap piece of paper in my Bible or devotional book to use to write down stuff that comes to mind that I need to remember later. That way I don’t forget it, but I free my brain up to think about what I’m reading.

Final thoughts

The times I have experienced the most growth in my life and the deepest connection with God have primarily occurred when I have been consistently immersed in scripture: reading it, listening to it, meditating on it, memorizing it. I often learn more when reading the Bible with other people and discussing what I’m learning or questions I might have, as opposed to reading or studying scripture alone. You may want to do this devotional with a friend and share what you’re learning every few days or on a weekly basis. An added benefit to this is a little accountability; I like to start new books and devotionals, but sometimes have a hard time finishing them!

My devotion to reading scripture rises and falls with the varying seasons of