Contemplative Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 (New Living Translation) 18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under […]

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Ecclesiastes 2:11 (New Living Translation) But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. Several translations use the phrase “under the sun” where the above states “anywhere.” The idea can be stated “without God.” Hence, there is […]

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Deuteronomy 29:24-25 (New Living Translation) 24 And all the surrounding nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was he so angry?’ 25 And the answer will be, ‘This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, made with them […]

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Deuteronomy 28:30 (New Living Translation) You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her… This is one of the curses promised to the people if they did not obey God’s commandments. Some 36 years ago I became engaged to be married to the woman who has been my wife for […]

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Deuteronomy 1:22-23 (New Living Translation) 22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’ 23 “This seemed like a good idea to me… Moses is telling a new […]

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Numbers 29:1 (Holman Christian Bible) You are to hold a sacred assembly in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, and you are not to do any daily work. This will be a day of joyful shouting for you. God is telling the people about the special holidays during the year. This […]

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Zephaniah 3:13 (New Living Translation) The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will never tell lies or deceive one another. They will eat and sleep in safety, and no one will make them afraid. Once again, (I wrote of this verse recently) the prophet is telling the people what God has said. There […]

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Zephaniah 3:13 (New Living Translation) The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will never tell lies or deceive one another. They will eat and sleep in safety, and no one will make them afraid. The prophet is speaking to the people from God. There is a day coming. That day will be safe, […]

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Jonah 2:10 (New Living Translation) Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. God speaks to a great fish. “Spit Jonah out onto the beach,” says God. The following verses indicated that the great fish listens and obeys God. Let’s consider that last phrase for a moment. A “stupid fish” […]

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Amos 8:11-12 (New Living Translation) 11 “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border[c] searching for […]

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