Contemplative Bible Reading

Romans 8:10 (New Living Translation) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. Why does a human body die? I have heard medical doctors say that they really don’t know a reason. I have […]

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Romans 8:16-17a (New Living Translation) 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. Simple statement. I struggle to understand it. There seems to be a great promise here. The Spirit of God affirms that we the believers […]

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Romans 12:21 (New Living Translation) 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome. Paul spends a few paragraphs on the subject of love and loving others. He concludes with this statement. Conquer evil with love. Recently in America, someone was killed. Some Americans […]

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Romans 14:1 (New Living Translation) 1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. There is something about much of the writings of the New Testament and how they are translated into English. This little something bothers me. This sentence is one […]

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Romans 10:3-4 (New Living Translation) 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As […]

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Romans 9:11b-12a (New Living Translation) 11 (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) I am quoting an odd scripture or an odd translation of scripture. This is a phrase in parentheses that spans two verses. Odd way […]

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Romans 8:12 (New Living Translation) 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. Hear ye! Hear ye! You (we) are not obligated to your sinful nature. The word obligated (oblige) means to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract. If […]

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Romans 6:12 (New Living Translation) 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. What controls the way I live? One simple thing is the fatigue that this body experiences. I sleep about a third of the day. Another simple thing is this body requires energy. I […]

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Romans 1:32 (New Living Translation) 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. There is a system of justice from God. Certain acts require the punishment of death. Some are listed prior to the […]

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Romans 12:12 (Christian Standard Bible) 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. This short statement is from Paul in the letter to the church in Rome. Many of today’s Bibles attach a heading to this section titled “Christian Ethics.” One Internet definition of ethics is: Ethics is based on well-founded […]

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