Contemplative Bible Reading

1 John 2:16 (New Living Translation) For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. This is in the first letter from John to different churches. In these sentences, John […]

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1 John 3:7-8 (New Living Translation) 7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. […]

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1 John 2:7-8 (New Living Translation) 7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this […]

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1 John 2:2 (New Living Translation) He (Jesus) himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. The sacrifice of Jesus atones for my sins. Wow! That is a lot. Amazing grace, as the song says. And wait, there is more: the sacrifice of […]

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1 John 5:21 (New Living Translation) Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. John ends his first letter with a simple bit of advice. Keep away from that stuff. That stuff is anything that might take over our hearts. Well, certainly John could be a bit more specific […]

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1 John 1:4 (New Living Translation) We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. John writes a letter to fellow Christians. Why? Well, to teach, I guess. That is what all these writings in the Bible are about, right? Yes. To some degree, but look at the above sentence. John […]

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1 John 3:11-13 (New Living Translation) 11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his […]

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1 John 3:1b (New Living Translation) But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. God is…let the world fill in the blanks here. Vengeful is often one of the answers; so is hateful. No wonder these folks don’t recognize me as a loving […]

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1 John 4:18 (New Living Translation) Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. Take note, as I did, of the second sentence—particularly the last phrase. I believe this sentence […]

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1 John 4:12 (New Living Translation) No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. The second sentence of this verse is a bit unsettling. For God to live in me, I have to love those about me. […]

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