Contemplative Bible Reading

Genesis 3:8 (New English Translation) Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. Adam and Eve were pretty smart; Adam and Eve were close to […]

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Genesis 14:22-23 (New English Translation) 22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 23 that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can […]

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Romans 7:24 (American Standard Version) Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I love the wonderful, horrible wording found in this translation. Paul calls himself a wretched man. One definition of wretched is in a very unhappy or unfortunate state The word “unfortunate” is an understatement. […]

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1 Corinthians 12:7 (New Living Translation) A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. It is easy to accept a gift and use it for my own pleasure. Someone gives me a gift certificate for my birthday. I enjoy the meal. Natural right? Perhaps this natural use of […]

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Galatians 4:8 (New Living Translation) Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. This summarizes the state of the Gentiles in Galatia before the Gospel. They had enslaved themselves to things that didn’t exist. Let’s try to understand that principle. Think of something that does not exist. […]

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Galatians 1:4 (New Living Translation) Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. I can’t add anything. God, please keep my pride from having me attempt to add.

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Acts 13:39a  (New Living Translation) Everyone who believes in him (Jesus) is declared right with God… Pretty simple, huh. This is yet another example of how brevity and clarity often go together. Why is it that we make this so complicated? Perhaps to show how smart I am. God, help me to remove myself and […]

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Isaiah 37:7 (New English Translation) Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land. In this verse, the LORD is speaking about the king of an invading army. The LORD will convince the […]

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Isaiah 48:17 (New Living Translation) This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Jehovah God, the creator and Holy One of Israel, isn’t hard to follow. Jehovah […]

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John 4:48-49 (New Living Translation) 48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” 49 The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.” This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus healing the official’s son (from a great distance). Jesus asks if the man would […]

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