Contemplative Bible Reading

Acts 4:13 (New International Version) When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. People looked at Peter and John, listened to Peter and John, and came to an amazing conclusion: these men […]

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Acts 4:8-10 (New International Version) 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: […]

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Acts 3: 1-5 (New International Version) 1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple […]

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Acts 28:4-6 (New International Version) 4When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6The […]

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Acts 16:16-18 (New International Version) 16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These […]

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Acts 17:30 (New International Version) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Paul said this while speaking to the general public in Athens. This is a masterful way to speak with people who don’t know what Paul knows. He tells them, You didn’t know any better. […]

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Acts 14 (New International Version) 11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, […]

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This post is out of the ordinary in several ways: I am posting it the day I write it It is neither a Saturday nor a Sunday It is not based on a single passage Yesterday, my 12-month-old grandson James fell ten or twelve feet from the loft in the apartment where he lives with […]

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Acts 4:25-26 (New International Version) from Psalms 2 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ” ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed […]

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Proverbs 18:18 (New International Version) Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. I read this week as well. It was another of those, “What does this say? This must be a misprint!” The writer of this proverb is telling me to “roll the dice” or “cut a deck of cards” to settle […]

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