Contemplative Bible Reading

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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Proverbs 11:24-25 (New Living Translation) 24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. We live in the sharing economy. Wikipedia is the world’s source of all knowledge. It costs nothing. It was and is being written by volunteers […]

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Proverbs 11:19 (New Living Translation) Godly people find life; evil people find death. Life and death. In the final reckoning, what else is there? This chapter runs through a number of ways to say this, but this is the summary. Do what God wants us to do, and good will come back to us. Ignore […]

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Proverbs 6:16-19 (New Living Translation) 16 There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in […]

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Proverbs 6:16-19 (New Living Translation) 16 There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in […]

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Proverbs 15:29 (New Living Translation) The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. What a curse. Does God hear the prayers of the wicked? Does God only hear the prayers of the righteous? I believe God hears the prayers of all who call on the name of the […]

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