Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 30:18 (New International Version) Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! These three words are not often companions in today’s English. JUSTICE – yes with big bold letters – often means […]

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Isaiah 60:22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly.” (New International Version) What caught my attention in this verse is the highlighted phrase. There is a time when something works. That something won’t work at any other […]

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Print this page Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (New International Version) 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. A recent series […]

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Such a simple phrase: the Lord is my shepherd.  It can be the confession of a Christian. I am following God. He is my shepherd. Then comes the question: who are you following? An often heard answer to this question is, “I am going my own way.”  Some argue that no person goes his or […]

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Proverbs 1:19 (New International Version) Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it. I love this phrase, all who go after ill-gotten gain. In an unusual case, the NIV has a more poetic phrase than the King James Version. The King James […]

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1 Chronicles 13:8 (New International Version) David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets. Look at the title of this post. I would think the verse was talking about a battle with an enemy army or building the temple or […]

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Psalms 64:1 (New International Version) Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. Several weeks ago I read the above verse in a Bible class. I read it again just this morning. I paraphrase this as God, listen to me complain. What a request! How […]

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Proverbs 20:17 (New International Version) Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel. Ouch! How does that feel? A mouth full of gravel. The Bible contains great literature and some great phrases – this is one of the many in Proverbs. Literature aside, this […]

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Jonah 2:8 (New International Version) “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Wow, can you imagine forfeiting the grace of God. And all for the ability to cling to a worthless idol. Something fashioned by man. Well, maybe this is more understandable in the short term when I expand […]

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Exodus 14:13-14 (New International Version) 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” These verses were written […]

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