Change
Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Certainly not! If they change their ways, they will live. ~ Ezekiel 18:23 (CEB)
Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life? ~ Romans 2:4b (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God is patient with us because he wants to see us change directions and be transformed into people living according to his plan.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for being so patient with me -- even when I am slow to change. Your patience causes me to desire even more
change. I feel excited about the possibility and ask that you would continue to show me exactly what needs to be changed and the best way to do it. I want to become a mature, convinced, and convincing follower of Christ Jesus. And I'm certain that that's what you want of me, too. Amen.
*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)
