Contemplative Bible Reading

2 John 1:5 (New Living Translation) I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Just a reminder: love one another. We have all heard this one before. We probably heard it way back near the […]

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1 John 3:1b (New Living Translation) But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. God is…let the world fill in the blanks here. Vengeful is often one of the answers; so is hateful. No wonder these folks don’t recognize me as a loving […]

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Hebrews 10:35a (New Living Translation) So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. The verses preceding the above discuss the blessings of trusting in the Lord. The letter to Jews showed how they were now in Christ and how that brought unprecedented blessings. They, and we today, were given a confident trust […]

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James 1:27 (New Living Translation) Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. This is one of those sentences in the Bible…I read the opening phrase…and…here it comes. Write this one on the wall or […]

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Philippians 4:5 (New Living Translation) Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. considerate: adjective, careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others. If I love my neighbor (goes with the “everyone” in the above verse), how will I act? Will I be careful not […]

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John 7:25 (New Living Translation) Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they (our leaders) are trying to kill?…” The leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill Jesus of Nazareth. What is a little surprising is that lots of just plain folks seemed […]

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John 7:14-15 (New Living Translation) 14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked. Could Jesus read? I Googled that question and found a large number […]

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Luke 10:41-42 (Holman Standard Christian Bible) 41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” Here is the story of the admirable Mary and that Martha who just […]

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Mark 14:33 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. I find the words used in this translation to be fascinating. Jesus was distressed and horrified. Horrified? Jesus? He had all power. What horrified Him? I think we could write a dissertation […]

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Mark 11:24 (New Living Translation) I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. I’ll pray for a million dollars (maybe ten or a hundred times that for good measure) and believe that I have received it. It will be mine, right? Perhaps that […]

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