Contemplative Bible Reading

Ezekiel 18:31 (New Living Translation) 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? There is a sermon in every phrase in this sentence. Let’s consider the second phrase and a new heart. “The heart” are the words […]

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Genesis 6:5 (New Living Translation) 5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. What a world. Can you imagine such a place with such an extent of human wickedness? Everything thought or imagined was evil. We are […]

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Ezekiel 18:31 (New Living Translation) 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? There is a sermon in every phrase in this sentence. Let’s consider the first one. God is talking to the people through the prophet […]

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Ezekiel 2:6 (New Living Translation) 6 “Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. God is speaking to the prophet Ezekiel. Words can hurt. […]

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Genesis 6:9 (New Living Translation) 9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. So begins the (hi)story of Noah, the ark, the flood, the rainbow, and all that goes with […]

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Lamentations 1:3 (New Living Translation) She (Judah) lives among foreign nationsand has no place of rest. The writer is lamenting or mourning the fate of Judah. Hauled away from home, the Judeans live in other countries. They never rest. They mourn continuously. In what country do Christians live today? Oh, well, uh, just about every […]

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Ezekiel 33:11 (New Living Translation) 11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? God is speaking […]

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Hosea 13:6 (New Living Translation) 6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied,you became proud and forgot me. God is talking to the people through the prophet Hosea. God delivered the people through the desert—a dry and thirsty land. The people depended on God for daily sustenance. Once settled in a land with good […]

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Hosea 14:9 (New Living Translation) 9 Let those who are wise understand these things.Let those with discernment listen carefully.The paths of the Lord are true and right,and righteous people live by walking in them.But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. When I was a child, someone read to me The Pilgrim’s Progress. This book […]

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Psalm 19: 12-13 (New Living Translation) 12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?Cleanse me from these hidden faults.13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!Don’t let them control me.Then I will be free of guiltand innocent of great sin. The writer is praying. I am only human and not all knowing. […]

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