Think about how beautiful it will be to look up onto the mountainside and to see messengers with good news running our way -- messengers shouting out "Peace! God is still on the throne. He has saved us!" ~ Isaiah 52:7 (ABP)
And whenever you do enter a house, first say, "Peace be on this house." ~ Luke 10:5 (ABP)
KEY IDEA:
Live out your assignment as messengers of God-originated peace.
PRAYER:
Lord, you have called us to serve as messengers of your peace. What a beautiful assignment! Yet, I allow anxiety and fear to root themselves in my life. I need a peace refresher from the Prince of Peace. Send the messenger my way. Fill me with a new awareness of your sovereignty. I'm going to put on my running shoes. Amen.
God felt certain that Jerusalem
would learn to respect
and obey him.
Then he would hold back
from punishing the city
and not wipe it out.
But everyone there was eager
to start sinning again. ~ Zephaniah 3:7 (CEV)
Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.” ~ Matthew 4:17 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Time is short so turn to God, living out his agenda.
PRAYER:
Dear God, thank you for caring enough to call us back to yourself. I confess my indifference to you and your ways. Give me a fresh glimpse of your love and your kingdom where that love reigns supreme. I am going to be motivated to live for you. Amen.
You let me rest in fields
of green grass.
You lead me to streams
of peaceful water, and you refresh my life. ~ Psalm 23:2-3 (CEV)
Jesus: "I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." ~ John 10:10 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus came to give people full and rich lives.
PRAYER:
Loving Shepherd, you guide our lives and lead us through your fields of grace. Thank you for surrounding us with your shepherding love that leads us on the path of life. I am sorry for the moments when I am led or lead others astray. Show me how to share the promise of abundant life with others. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord:
“He is so good!
His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” ~ Ezra 3:11 (NLT)
...all those in the crowd rejoiced at all the extraordinary things Jesus was doing. ~ Luke 13:17 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Rejoice at all the great things Jesus is doing.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for the great things you are doing in and around me. I admit that much of the time I am so busy complaining about the negative things that I never get around to noticing, let alone acknowledging, the ways that you are shaping the world to house your kingdom. Give me eyes that see and a heart that cares so that I can rejoice in the restoration work that you are doing. 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)
