Contemplative Bible Reading

Micah 4:2 (New Living Translation) People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word […]

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Amos 2:4 (New Living Translation) This is what the Lord says: “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They have rejected the instruction of the Lord, refusing to obey his decrees. They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors. In […]

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Esther 4:15-16 (New Living Translation) 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I […]

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Esther 3:8 (New Living Translation) Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So […]

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Zechariah 7:10 (New Living Translation) Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. Notice the “do not” items mentioned in the first sentence. They are horrible—oppressing the helpless. These are obviously bad. How did the second sentence come right after the first. “Scheming against one another.” First, […]

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Haggai 1:14-15 (New Living Translation) 14 So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s […]

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Ezra 1:1-2 (New Living Translation) 1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: 2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, […]

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Lamentations 3:44 (New Living Translation) You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you. The writer is lamenting the sorrowful state of God’s people. This verse gives one of the more awful things that has happened. The prayers of the people cannot reach God. Imagine we all have a new revelation […]

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Ezekiel 21:21 (New Living Translation) The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He calls his magicians to look for omens. They cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They inspect the livers of animal sacrifices. The King of Babylon needed advice from his advisors, a.k.a., […]

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Psalm 119:73 (New Living Translation) You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. Why is it that I struggle to do what I know is right? The Apostle Paul, among many,  wrote about this. I suppose this is part of the life of a person stained by sin […]

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