“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
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
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)
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.)
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)
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)
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.)