Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 56:1 (New Living Translation) This is what the Lord says: “Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you. Life can be complicated. I can make my life complicated. Life can be simple. Look at what […]

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Isaiah 55:8-9 (New Living Translation) “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. How much higher are […]

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Ezekiel 43:12 (New Living Translation) And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple. My eyes focus on verses like this one. Verses that proclaim things like this is the basic […]

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2 Chronicles 36:21 (New Living Translation) So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said. The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon. No one was left to farm. What happened to the […]

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Micah 6:8 (New Living Translation) No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I ran across it again in the annual […]

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Jeremiah 22:1-3 (New Living Translation) This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him,2 ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. 3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do […]

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Ezekiel 9:9 (New Living Translation) Then he said to me, “The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very, very great. The entire land is full of murder; the city is filled with injustice. They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see it! The Lord has abandoned the land!’ The situation: the sins of the people are […]

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Psalms 51:4 (New Living Translation) Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just This is from David’s famous prayer asking for forgiveness. He sinned by cheating with Bathsheba and having […]

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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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Psalms 130:3-4 (New Living Translation) 3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. God doesn’t keep a record of my sins. That is a relief. God could keep such a record; He is capable of […]

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