God's big invite
The Lord treats all who recognize and honor him as really kind parents treat their children -- with great compassion and lavish love. ~ Psalm 103:13 (ABP)
Jesus said: "The Kingdom of Heaven isn't going to be an exclusively Jewish event. Take my word on this, the Hebrew ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will be dining alongside non-Jews who have come from the remotest places on earth. That's how broad God's love and compassion are." ~ Matthew 8:11 (ABP)
KEY THOUGHT:
While our natural inclination is to try and figure out who is beyond God's touch, he's busy welcoming as many people and as diverse of a crowd as will come to be with him.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for the invitation to the kingdom feast that you sent with Jesus. I want to RSVP. Forgive me for my lack of vision regarding all those other people you love and invite. Help me to learn how to love them, too, so that I become as welcoming as 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)
