Pay attention
Pay close attention!
Come to me and live. ~ Isaiah 55:3a (CEV)
If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~ John 8:31b–32 (CEV)
Lord, you are full of truth and if we tune into you, we will experience free and full lives. Please help me to pay close attention. So much of what comes to me goes in one ear -- and quickly out the other. I'm not good at paying attention. Grant me the power to focus on what you are saying -- especially what you are saying about Jesus through the Bible. I'm going to listen for that so that I can continue in obedience. Amen.
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)
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)
