Contemplative Bible Reading

Proverbs 22:29 (New Living Translation) Do you see any truly competent workers?They will serve kingsrather than working for ordinary people. This section of Proverbs begins with, “Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction.” Next are a series of “Don’t do this and don’t do that” as those things go […]

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Proverbs 18:17 (New Living Translation) 17 The first to speak in court sounds right—until the cross-examination begins. Ah, the cross-examination. That is when someone stands and says, “Let’s look at this again and consider some other things.” In my career, this was called a “hostile audience.” That was a group of persons who were skeptical […]

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Proverbs 1:11, 14 (New Living Translation) 11 They may say, “Come and join us.Let’s hide and kill someone!Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent! 14 Come, throw in your lot with us;we’ll all share the loot.” These words are so foolish they are almost comical. “Just for fun.” Whoa. “Let’s do something terrible, just for […]

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Proverbs 1:10 (New Living Translation) 10 My child, if sinners entice you,turn your back on them! Simple advice. Oh I wish we would follow this. “Hey, come on, get behind this latest social cause. It is right!” I hear this too often. Then someone in the ruling elite chimes in. “Yes, let’s do that.” But […]

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Proverbs 3:27-28 (New Living Translation) 27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve itwhen it’s in your power to help them.28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say,“Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” Years ago, Nike had the ad campaign of “just do it.” They found that ad campaign in […]

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Proverbs 1:18 (New Living Translation) 18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;they are trying to get themselves killed. This is one conclusion to a tale of how sinners entice the righteous to plunge into sin with them. It has to do with setting an ambush to attack innocent people and steal all their […]

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Proverbs 4:25-27 (New Living Translation) 25 Look straight ahead,and fix your eyes on what lies before you.26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;stay on the safe path.27 Don’t get sidetracked;keep your feet from following evil. There is an old expression (I heard it 40 years ago), “Plan your work; work your plan.” The […]

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Proverbs 6:12-13 (New Living Translation) 12 What are worthless and wicked people like?They are constant liars,13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. Yikes! Here is a description of worthless and wicked people. First and foremost, they are constant liars. For some reason, they […]

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Proverbs 22:2 (New Living Translation) The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both. The two phrases in this sentence seem to be opposite. God created us all equal in His sight (the second phrase). There are unequal people—some rich, some poor (the first phrase). Hmmm, doesn’t make sense to me. […]

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Proverbs 20:17 (New Living Translation) Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth. A generation or two ago, a counter culture hero in America wrote a book about how to steal everything needed to get by. There was some quote about how stolen food tastes better. Well, every culture, every generation […]

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