Mercy
PALM SUNDAYFor our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. ~ Isaiah 59: 12,13 (NLT)
God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. ~ Titus 3:4-5a (CEV)
Dear God,
THANKS: Thank you for being so kind to me and my family. We don't deserve your mercy -- especially me. I could never do enough to warrant your kindness.
REGRETS: And even though I know this, I still try to impress you. I make a case to show you how good I am -- how deserving I am of your attention. I try to prove to you that I am worth blessing.
INTERCEISSION: Save me from my vain and silly ideas. Help me to tell others about how freely you give mercy through Christ Jesus.
PURPOSE: I'm going to serve you -- not because I expect anything in return but because I am grateful for your mercy.
Amen.
CHALLENGING WORDS
- warrant -- deserve, justify
- make a case -- idiomatic expression meaning -- to explain why something should happen, to prove that what you are saying is true
*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)
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)
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.)