Contemplative Bible Reading

Matthew 5:21-22 (New Living Translation) 21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being […]

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Leviticus 26:13 (English Standard Version) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. God is talking to His people. God reminds them of their recent past as […]

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1 Samuel 7:10 (New Living Translation) Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. This verse was written during the time of […]

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Exodus 9:16 (New Living Translation) But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth. God is talking to Moses. God is talking about Pharoah. God was going to bring His people out of Egypt. There were many ways to do this. One simple way […]

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John 1:31-34 (New Living Translation) 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the […]

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John 20:13 (New Living Translation) “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” This is on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection. Mary Magdalene finds an empty tomb. Jesus is gone. She doesn’t assume that Jesus […]

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1 Kings 6:35 (New Living Translation) These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold. People understand symbols. See the outline of an apple with a bite taken out of it? What does that symbolize? We all know. The verse above is describing part of the interior […]

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Exodus 6:9 (English Standard Version) Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. Moses is speaking to his relatives, the Israelites who are slaves in Egypt. They have been in Egypt 400 years. For the most recent few generations, they […]

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2 Corinthians 5:21 (New Living Translation) For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. There are a few places in the Bible where one sentence summarizes the entire thing. We should take note of these sentences. There are […]

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John 20:8-9 (New Living Translation) Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Jesus has been crucified and buried in the tomb. On the first day of the week […]

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