King of Kings
Lord God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. ~ 2 Kings 19:15 (CEV)
You alone are holy, and all nations will come and worship you, because you have shown that you judge with fairness.” ~ Revelation 15:4b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Since God is the only true ruler, and eventually the world will figure this out, it would be wise to live in his service starting now!
PRAYER:
Almighty God, you are the one and only totally unique ruler. And while I know that it would make sense to start serving you and you alone, it is so easy to get caught up in the politics of the moment and to expect that the eternal future of the world rests with whomever claims power. This creates anxiety in me because I am really unhappy with the people who have been given leadership responsibility. Help me to Chill out and trust in you, the King of Kings, and the power and authority which uniquely flow from you. I am going to talk about the hope I have in you. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2011 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase -- a freestyle biblical adaptation -- somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
NRSV = New Revised Standard Version (© 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.) NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)