“My wayward children,” says the Lord,
“come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”
“Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply,
“for you are the Lord our God. ~ Jeremiah 3:22 (NLT)
Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. ~ James 4:8 (CEB)
God, you are calling us to return to you. I have not been very close to you recently. I have done things which are wrong -- which are against your will. Some of those things happen only in my mind. Some of them come out of my mouth. Some of them are things I have done with my body. They have all done damage to my soul. I, like everyone else, am in need of your healing. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead that saved us from the consequences of sin. He also healed our wayward hearts. That is a good reason to go back to you, God. My assignment today is to turn to you. Amen.
Difficult Words
Wayward -- a stubborn person, someone who does not do what he or she knows they are supposed to do
Purify -- to wash clean, to remove dirt, to get rid of things which are not good
Double-minded -- someone who changes his or her mind, someone who is uncertain, someone who is inconsistent -- saying one thing and then doing the opposite
Soul -- the center of a person, that which ties together the body, the mind, the will, and the heart
Since 2006, I've been modeling one way of using the MORAVIAN DAILY TEXTS* to maintain a daily conversation with God.
– Brad Boydston
How this works
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DAILYTEXTS.ORG
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own 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)
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)
NRSVue = New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (© 2021 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.)
REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press)
TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)
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)
EXB = The Expanded Bible (©2011, Thomas Nelson Publishing)
GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)
ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)
EXB = The Expanded Bible (©2011, Thomas Nelson Publishing)
GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, 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)
NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)
REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press)
TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)