Contemplative Bible Reading

Proverbs 18:18 (New International Version) Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. I read this week as well. It was another of those, “What does this say? This must be a misprint!” The writer of this proverb is telling me to “roll the dice” or “cut a deck of cards” to settle […]

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Proverbs 20:30 (New International Version) Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being. I read this passage just this week. Something must be wrong here, this must be a misprint. If nothing else, this passage can easily be misapplied. I mean look at it, if someone is sinning you take a […]

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Song of Solomon 1:16 (New International Version) How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. Verdant. People don’t use words like “verdant” anymore. I had to learn what this meant. Some definitions: Lacking experience or sophistication Naïve Unripe in knowledge or judgment Unsophisticated Raw Green As a verdant youth […]

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Romans 14:10 (New International Version) You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. This verse begins with two questions that simply irritate me. Why would someone judge his brother? Why would someone look down on his brother? […]

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Ephesians 2:19-22 (New International Version) 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy […]

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1 Kings 8:6 (New International Version) The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The ark of the covenant. That was made famous by the movie with Harrison Ford – […]

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Proverbs 26:20 (New International Version) Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. Religious quarrels tend to follow the same pattern: You and I disagree on the meaning of a part of the Bible You and I continue to disagree on the meaning of a part of the Bible “Studying” does […]

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Micah 7:18 (New International Version) Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. What a fundamental question. Who is a God like the one true God? God forgives sins and shows mercy. So […]

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Job 11:14 (New American Standard Bible) If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents; Romans 6:12 (New American Standard Bible) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, Genesis 4:7 (New American Standard Bible) “If you […]

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Psalms 15 (New International Version) 1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts […]

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