Contemplative Bible Reading

John 20:22-23 (New Living Translation) 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus changes the world. He imparts the ability for a bunch of average Joes to forgive sins. Up to […]

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John 15:14-15 (New Living Translation) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. An acquaintance of mine grew up on a farm, […]

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John 15:7 (New Living Translation) But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! I remain in God and His words remain in me. I pray that my mother will be healed, but she isn’t. So, what’s the deal with […]

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John 17:25 (New Living Translation) 25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.” Except for […]

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John 5:39-40 (New Living Translation) 39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. Jesus was chastising a crowd of people. In verse 39, He points to the shortcoming of the scriptures—they don’t […]

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John 12:3-5 (New Living Translation) 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume […]

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John 4:48-49 (New Living Translation) 48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” 49 The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.” This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus healing the official’s son (from a great distance). Jesus asks if the man would […]

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John 11:45-48 (New Living Translation) 45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they […]

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John 8:12 (New Living Translation) Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Here and there in the Bible I find one-sentence summaries of the Gospel. […]

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John 7:24 (New Living Translation) Jesus replied,…”Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” Sometimes the words of Jesus are so simple they smash me into a wall. The Bible is full of examples of how people judge on the surface by human and worldly standards. How childish am I? Go past the superficial, […]

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