Friday, August 17, 2018

Stay the course

The people answered, "We’d never forsake God! Never! We’d never leave God to worship other gods." ~ Joshua 24:16 (MSG)

You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. ~ Colossians 2:7 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
Stay the course with God by putting your faith into practice.
PRAYER:
Thanks be to God for roots that give life and love that makes life worth living! May I remember the source of those gifts and not imagine I can build a better life on my own. May gratitude grow as I recall the strong grounding in Christ of earlier generations. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Others first

God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?” ~ Jonah 4:10-11 (MSG)

We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:24 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
God is calling us to be concerned about others.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for loving us even before we understood that you exist. You are concerned for people -- even those who are lost and aimless. I, on the other hand, tend to be concerned about such people only when it benefits me. Even in my compassion, I'm trying to get others to recognize me as a compassionate person. Help me to stop thinking of how others see me and to think first of others so that I am loving them as you love them. I want to find joy in seeing others do well. Amen.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Good teacher

I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. ~ Isaiah 48:17b (NLT)

... The Lord will give you the understanding necessary to deal with these matters. ~ 2 Timothy 2:7b (ABP)

KEY IDEA:
The Lord is our teacher.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are so awesome! You don't just save us from the grip of evil but you also give us good teaching that leads us in a healthy direction. Whether I listen and pay enough attention is another matter. I don't. I'm too content with my own limited understanding. Help me to better understand your grace toward us inattentive people so that we can live grace defined lives. I'm going to grow in understanding. Amen.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Powerful presence

God’s name is a place of protection— good people can run there and be safe. ~ Proverbs 18:10 (MSG)

The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.” ~ Revelation 1:8 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
Lean on God because there is no safer place than his powerful presence.
PRAYER:
God, I'm calmed by the awareness of who you are. Too often I forget about you and let the insanity of world events stir anxiety in me. Refresh my memory so that I can once again function as a hopeful and confident follower 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.)

Blog Archive