Contemplative Bible Reading

Revelation 2:2 (New Living Translation) I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. John is writing to the (angel or messenger of) church of Ephesus. John commends them for not tolerating evil people. Good. There […]

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Revelation 1:9 (New Living Translation) 9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. This sentence is early in […]

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Ephesians 2:9 (New Living Translation) 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Here we have a sentence I hate and love. I mean, I’m a good guy—always have been. I have always done good things. Look at me. (Seriously.) Being saved […]

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Galatians 1:11 (New Living Translation) 11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. This is taken from a letter that Paul wrote to Christians living in Galatia. Paul was a reasonable and reasoning person. The text of the Acts of […]

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Romans 7:25 (New Living Translation) Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. Paul has been writing about the miserable state that he and us […]

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Acts 17:30 (New Living Translation) “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him…” In the sentences preceding this, the readers are informed of God’s history with mankind. In this sentence, we read the prior ignorance was overlooked. No […]

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Luke 1:80 (New Living Translation) John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel. John (the Baptist) was born the son of a Priest of the tribe of Levi. His father was a Priest. John was to be a Priest. We find […]

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Luke 4:22 (New Living Translation) Everyone spoke well of him (Jesus) and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus had just begun the time in His life when we went to the local religious schools (synagogues) to teach. That was […]

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Matthew 9:36 (New Living Translation) When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus saw the crowds. He felt compassion. Let’s examine the dictionary and try to understand the amazing meaning of this sentence and how it describes our Savior. Compassion […]

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Hebrews 2:16-18 (New Living Translation) 16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High […]

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