Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Authority

You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. You are so powerful that no one can oppose you. ~ 2 Chronicles 20:6b (CEB)

So Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world..." ~ Matthew 28:18–19a (ERV)

Jesus, there is no higher authority than yours. Nobody can fight against you -- unless you allow it. And your assignment is the most important one of all. Sometimes I get distracted by lesser authorities. But my attention deficit changes nothing. You are out to recruit followers -- people who will buy into your authority and your plan for the world. Nothing can stop you or slow you down. It will happen. And I want to be a part of it. So I am putting my faith in you. And as I'm going about my business today I'm going to enlist people to follow you. Amen.

Difficult Words
Attention Deficit -- This is a reference to a condition some people experience -- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). People with this problem have trouble focusing on a single task. They have trouble getting work done because their attention is constantly shifting or moving. Attention is the ability to concentrate on something. A deficit is when there is a shortage or loss of something. We can have attention deficit even if it is not a disorder. That is, at times we all fail to pay attention.

Buy Into -- This is an idiom which means that you believe in something so much that you will invest in it without question or hesitation.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS

The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 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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