Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 4:22 (New Living Translation) Everyone spoke well of him (Jesus) and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus had just begun the time in His life when we went to the local religious schools (synagogues) to teach. That was […]

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Luke 14:1 (New Living Translation) One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. The people were consumed with thoughts of Jesus—this fellow from Nazareth who walked around talking to people and doing things that were not believable if you […]

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Luke 1:17 (New Living Translation) He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly. In […]

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Luke 8:35 (New Living Translation) People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Fear filled the crowd of people. What brought […]

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Luke 7:28 (New Living Translation) Pray for those who hurt you. Jesus is teaching large crowds of people. He tells them many simple yet powerful things—like the short sentence above. And I pause while I consider this. Pretty good advice. How often have I followed it? Not often. There is much to consider here. Praying—taking […]

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Luke 2:17 (New Living Translation) After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. The Messiah had been born in a stable and lay in a manger. Sheep herders, who were supposed to be working but had abandoned their jobs, were telling everyone […]

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Luke 21:36 (New Living Translation) Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man. Bad times will come. Bad things will happen in life. This verse is talking about a specific event. Allow me to extend it to life […]

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Luke 20:20 (New Living Translation) Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. There is much happening in this (hi)story. Let’s focus on the spies. A group of respected […]

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Luke 20:20 (New Living Translation) Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. Jesus had told a story to illustrate what God wanted and didn’t want in our lives. […]

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Luke 2:8-9 (New Living Translation) 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, This is part of the familiar (hi)story of the birth of Jesus […]

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