For Jesus
The Lord says:
“My thoughts and my ways
are not like yours. ~ Isaiah 55:8 (CEV)
John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But he wasn’t one of us, and we told him to stop.”
Jesus said to his disciples:
Don’t stop him!... Anyone who isn’t against us is for us. ~ Mark 9:38-39a, 40 (CEV)
Lord, it seems obvious that you see things in a way that is completely different from the way I see. Forgive me for being impatient and assertive. I know that I can't ruin your plans. They'll go on without me. But I can sure make a fool of myself along the way. Save me from my inclination to try and manage the way you operate and who you can use to get your work done. Expand my vision so that it lines up with yours. 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)
