Thursday, February 15, 2018

God helps

Lent

Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble; I will deliver you, then you will honor me. ~ Psalm 50:15 (CEB)

So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. ~ Hebrews 4:16 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:
God graciously responds with help when we ask for it.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for caring about me. Sometimes I worry that your help is not enough. That's probably because I already have preconceived ideas about how you should do your helping. So I am asking you to save me from my small ideas. I need to trust that you are always going to do what is the very best for me. Amen.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Integrity

Lent

I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. ~ 1 Chronicles 29:17 (NLT)

Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head... ~ Ephesians 4:15 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:
Integrity and Christ-likeness go together.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm relieved that you totally understand what is going on in my heart. You know my problems so you can work with them to transform me into a person of integrity. That is what I'm asking you to do. I want to become a totally honest Christ-like person of integrity. And by your grace, it will be so. Amen.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Obedience and Freedom

Ash Wednesday -- the First Day of Lent

Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. ~ Jeremiah 7:23 (NLT)

Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” ~ John 8:31-32 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
If we persevere in living out what Jesus calls us to do we will experience true freedom.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedom that you give to us. I love you but I also take a lot of short-cuts when it comes to living your way. I realize that this approach eats away at the freedom that you give to your people. Empower me to be a narrowly focused disciple who finds freedom in obeying you. I'm going to live free. Amen.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Gaining God Knowledge

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God... ~ Proverbs 1:7 (MSG)

Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. ~ Colossians 1:9 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
God gives to receptive people a thorough understanding of his ways.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for teaching me. You are generous with your wisdom. I, however, am slow to learn. I think it is because I don't feel like I am in a rush. Please grant to me a sense of urgency so that I can develop deep godly wisdom during my life. I want what you want -- that I'd become wise -- filled with the knowledge of Christ. Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*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)

EEB = EasyEnglish Bible (©2015, MissionAssist)

ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)

GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)

MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)

NCB = New Catholic Bible (©2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.)

NCV = New Century Version (©2005, Thomas Nelson Inc)

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.)

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