Contemplative Bible Reading

Mark 2:17 (New Living Translation) When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” There are several (dozen) things I could write about these couple of sentences. Let’s consider the […]

[Read more →]

Mark 2:4 (New Living Translation) They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. In this (hi)story, “they” are friends of a paralyzed man. They have faith that Jesus […]

[Read more →]

John 2:19-20 (New Living Translation) 19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” Some very important persons were upset with how Jesus was behaving in […]

[Read more →]

John 1:26b (New Living Translation) John told them, “…right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize…” The word “recognize” has at least two meanings that could apply here. One is, “acknowledge the existence, validity, or legality of.” John is saying, “You don’t acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, i.e., the […]

[Read more →]

Philemon 1:21 (New Living Translation) I am confident as I write this letter that you will do what I ask and even more! Note the quiet, easy-to-miss charge Paul states here. Paul has told the person what he wants the person to do. Paul then tosses in this extra statement. I am sure you will […]

[Read more →]

Luke 7:11-16 (New Living Translation) 11 …Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]