Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Peter 2:11 (American Standard Version) Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; It is easy to focus on the second part of the above verse—abstain from those things that are tugging at us from the flesh. Some of those things war against our […]

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Jeremiah 9:15-16 (New Living Translation) 15 So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. 16 I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I […]

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Proverbs 20:17 (New Living Translation) Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth. A generation or two ago, a counter culture hero in America wrote a book about how to steal everything needed to get by. There was some quote about how stolen food tastes better. Well, every culture, every generation […]

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Hosea 4:1-3 (New Living Translation) 1 Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. 2 You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— […]

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Proverbs 11:24-25 (New Living Translation) 24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. We live in the sharing economy. Wikipedia is the world’s source of all knowledge. It costs nothing. It was and is being written by volunteers […]

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Habakkuk 2:15 (New Living Translation) What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness. “Let’s get them drunk so they will embarrass themselves, and then we will have a good time!” So says the prophet speaking the words of God to […]

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Proverbs 11:19 (New Living Translation) Godly people find life; evil people find death. Life and death. In the final reckoning, what else is there? This chapter runs through a number of ways to say this, but this is the summary. Do what God wants us to do, and good will come back to us. Ignore […]

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Hosea 8:4 (New Living Translation) The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. This is the prophet relaying God’s words to His people. Consider that one for a moment. “Thus says the Lord…” What a blessing to have. The people, however, had their own ideas on who should be King […]

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Proverbs 6:16-19 (New Living Translation) 16 There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in […]

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