Sunday, February 15, 2015

Merciful shepherd

As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so will I seek out my sheep. ~ Ezekiel 34:12a (CEB)

Have mercy on those who doubt. ~ Jude 22 (CEB)

Great God, the good news is that even when I wander and indulge my doubts, you continue to watch over me. Your mercy is beyond my understanding. But it makes me want to stay close to you. My habit of wandering becomes less appealing in your vigilant and compassionate presence. With each doubt or frustration I experience today I'm going to picture Jesus the good shepherd standing next to me with a reassuring look on his face. Amen.

Challenging Words
  • Indulge -- To indulge is to give yourself permission -- to allow yourself to do something -- usually something pleasurable but not completely good or healthy.
  • Vigilant -- the state of being alert, watchful, and ready for action
  • Reassuring -- to restore assurance or confidence -- If something is reassuring it helps you to relax and trust. For example, the mother walked into the room, reassuring the troubled baby with her voice, and he immediately stopped crying.


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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 — 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)

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)

NRSVUE = New Revised Standard Version (© 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.)

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