Contemplative Bible Reading

John 4:10 (New Living Translation) 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” This is one of those sentences in scripture that puzzles me. In one case, “if you only knew the gift […]

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Luke 2:15 (New Living Translation) 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” This is part of the (hi)story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Angels visited shepherds in the […]

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John 1:51 (New Living Translation) 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” Jesus is talking to Nathanael. Jesus describes Himself as the stairway […]

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Luke 23:35 (New Living Translation) 35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” This is part of the (hi)story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. At this point, Jesus has been nailed to the cross and is […]

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Luke 23:8 (New Living Translation) 8 Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. This is part of the (hi)story of the crucifixion of Jesus. At one point, Jesus was sent to Herod Antipas […]

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Matthew 12:25-26 (New Living Translation) 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. Jesus had just removed […]

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Luke 2:8-14 (King James Version) 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel […]

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Galatians 3:22 (New Living Translation) 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia. We are all prisoners of sin. Picture that. Imagine that. There is a prison. I am not […]

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Mark 1:19-20 (New Living Translation) 19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men. There were times when it seemed that Jesus […]

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Mark 2:8 (New Living Translation) 8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? This is part of the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. “But some of the teachers of religious law” (verse 6) were questioning all of this. Whoa, wait a […]

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