Contemplative Bible Reading

Job 2:8-9 (New Living Translation) 8 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job’s misery. Yikes, that sounds painful. Job’s faithful wife chimes in with some advice. She […]

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Isaiah 37:7 (New Living Translation) “Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’” The prophet Isaiah is speaking to King Hezekiah about the King of Assyria. The […]

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Esther 6:6 (New Living Translation) So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” I love to read the (hi)story of Esther and those around her in the royal court. […]

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2 Samuel 18:6-8 (New Living Translation) 6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of […]

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Isaiah 58:6-7 (New Living Translation) 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. […]

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Exodus 15:11 (New Living Translation) “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? Set the scene: the people have just walked out of Egypt with lots of goodies. The charioteers—the elite of the Egyptian army—was destroyed in the Red Sea. Time to sing and dance […]

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Exodus 31:14 (New Living Translation) You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Let’s correct a common fallacy. The Sabbath day was NOT a day that the […]

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Exodus 14:14 (New Living Translation) The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Everyone has their own version of the “Stay Calm and…” saying these days. Here is one from when the people were about to be pushed to their deaths in the Red Sea. So we have… Keep Calm and Let the […]

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Exodus 32:5-6 (New Living Translation) 5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with […]

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2 Samuel 12:29-30 (New Living Translation) 29 So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and […]

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