Contemplative Bible Reading

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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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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