Contemplative Bible Reading

Ezekiel 20:12 (New Living Translation)

And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.

The prophet is relaying the words of the LORD. God gave his people days of rest.

Rest.

I guess children the world over don’t appreciate fatigue and rest. Those things exist with children, but they don’t seem to be important.

Adults, some of us at least, understand the value of rest. The source? God. Yes, He invented that one, too.

Just add that to the list of wonderful things the LORD God Creator gave us. One more thing to thank God for each day.

(And maybe on day I will learn how to spell Ezekial or Ezekiel.)

John 2:23-25 (New Living Translation)

²³ Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. ²⁴ But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. ²⁵ No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.

Verse 24 is a great big OUCH to us all. Jesus didn’t trust people because He knew human nature.

Are we all distrustful? No one can trust anyone?

Perhaps the sinful nature of man just renders us that way. That is a deep topic, and I won’t delve into it at this place at this time.

Does trust come when God’s grace saves us? Is the sinful nature still in us so that no one can trust us? Another deep topic.

Maybe one day I will have some answers to some of these questions. For now, again, a great big O U C H.

And to think, Jesus still died for us, for me. That is grace, certainly unmerited favor.

John 1:9-13 (New Living Translation)

⁹ The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

I like the words used in the New Living Translation. They are plain, simple, and summarize several thousand years of man’s history and God’s influence. In bullet form:

• Jesus came
• His people, and just about everyone else, rejected Him
• Those who accepted Jesus became children of God
• Those are reborn by God

That’s the summary. Excellent passage and wording or an amazing story. Thank you God.

John 3:1-2 (New Living Translation)

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

I love the way the New Living Translation translates verse 2. Nicodemus admits to the mission of Jesus,

God has sent you to teach us.

Oh that I would shut up, stop what I am doing, follow, listen, and learn from the teacher.

Acts 17:27-28 (New Living Translation)

His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ For in him we live and move and exist.

Paul is speaking to the learned people of Athens. He discusses how man often searches and searches and searches for the Creator, the God of Heavens and Earth, and we search and search and search (did I mention that we search?).

The answer?

God is not far from any one of us.

Such is part of the human condition: we want to accomplish great things. Instead of looking in a mirror or looking into the eyes of an infant, we climb mountains and cross deserts and sail the oceans searching for God.

Take a moment, breathe, and see God in the miracle of air and breathing and a beating heart. Please God, help me to stop trying so hard.

Ezra 9:9 (New Living Translation)

For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

This verse is from a prayer of Ezra. Note that Ezra notes the favor of the kings of Persia.

• Has anyone treated me favorably in my life? Yes, many people at many times.
• How often have I considered this treatment as a gift from God? Uh, ooops, do I have to answer?

God blesses us daily. He blesses us in ways that we often don’t understand or notice or express thanks. Yet, He continues to bless us, care for us, forgive us, and the list goes on and my ignorance goes on.

2 Chronicles 31:10 (New Living Translation)

And Azariah the high priest, from the family of Zadok, replied, “Since the people began bringing their gifts to the Lord’s Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare. The Lord has blessed his people, and all this is left over.”

In this instance, the people brought gifts to the Temple, and God blessed the people. So, a few questions:

• If I give to God, will He bless me (in the way I expect)?
• If I give to God, will He bless me at all?
• If life is tough, is that because I am not giving enough?
• If life is good, is that because I am good to God?

I think the answer to most of these questions most of the time is, “No.”

Still, the high priests mentions this cause-and-effect situation as a cause-and-effect situation. What am I to conclude (for today with the right to change my mind tomorrow)?

Luke 7:15-16 (New Living Translation)

¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”

The people saw Jesus raise a boy from the dead. They proclaimed that Jesus must be a prophet – someone who God speaks with directly.

Their error is understandable. For all of their history with Jehovah God, the prophets were the ones who could perform miracles like raising someone from the dead. None of the Kings could do that, not even David. None of the Priests could do that. Only the prophets could.

Still, the people missed on this one. Jesus was the Messiah, not a prophet. Yes, they have a good excuse for their mistake. No, they didn’t have a perfect excuse as the Messiah was prophesied.

Philippians 2:5-8 (New Living Translation)

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Matthew 10:28 (New Living Translation)

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Most people I know – somewhere above 99% – fear death. If they say they don’t, put them in a swimming pool and try to hold their head under the water. I guess they will struggle to free themselves from death.

God created us with a will to live and a fight against death.

Okay, we fight death, but should we fear those who can only kill our bodies? When viewed from an eternal perspective, 70 years or so of life on earth in mortal bodies doesn’t seem like much.

Perhaps it is our inability to view things from an eternal perspective that is one of our great weaknesses. Satan exploits that weakness and wins when he has us say,

Join fill-in-the-blank now and ask for forgiveness later.

(I heard that line some movie.)

So what do we do? Give in to the short-term perspective? The other perspective is so difficult, really impossible without God’s help. Ooops, maybe that it is. Maybe we should ask for God’s help to achieve the directive of the above verse.

Excuse me while I go pray.