The Lord said to Moses: All the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord. ~ Exodus 34:10 (CEB)
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues. He announced the good news of the kingdom and healed every disease and sickness among the people. ~ Matthew 4:23 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Jesus is revealing the work of God to people everywhere.
PRAYER:
God, thank you for revealing your power -- your love -- yourself -- to ordinary people. Forgive me for limiting my evangelistic concern to people who are just like me. Help me to find ways to share your good news among all who cross my path. I'm going to join you in revealing your healing power. Amen.
And it doesn’t matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don’t be afraid of anyone! No matter who shows up in your court, God will help you make a fair decision. ~ Deuteronomy 1:17 (CEV)
God will be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly as you treat them. ~ Matthew 7:2 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Treat others with extreme fairness and God will do the same for you.
PRAYER:
Merciful and gracious God, when I am quick to judge, slow me down. Give me patience and wisdom to listen to diverse views and the courage to face strong opposition. Then, when it comes time to make a judgment, fill me with your grace and mercy. I am grateful your judgment is imparted with great measures of love. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
The Second Sunday in Advent
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry. ~ Isaiah 58:11 (MSG)
Jesus said in a loud voice, ‘Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.’ ~ John 7:38 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
When we trust Jesus our lives become like well-watered gardens.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for the abundance of life-giving water. Forgive me for living like there is some kind of drought. I act like I need to hoard water and make excuses for the sorry state of the veggies that grow in my life. Help me to tap into the water that you have already sent my way and to dismantle all that is obstructing the fee-flow of your life-giving abundance. I'm going to step out and turn on the hose. Amen.
Send your light and truth—those will guide me!
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place. ~ Psalm 43:3 (CEB)
This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. ~ 1 John 1:5 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
Since God is light we need to live according to the light.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to be the light of the world. I confess that I still play in the dark sometimes. Make darkness such an uncomfortable place for me that whenever I veer that direction I will quickly move back into the light, where I belong. I am going to live in the light of Jesus. 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)
