The least likely
Ascension Day
People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. ~ Zechariah 6:15a (MSG)
Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man (Saul) and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem!.. But the Master said, "Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews..." ~ Acts 9:13, 15
KEY IDEA:
God chooses to use the least likely to advance his agenda.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm grateful that you have included me on your mission. But I'm confused at all those other people you have picked to serve you. Some of them are downright criminal. Many are haters -- bigots and racists.
These are not my kind of people! Or are they? Save me from my smug arrogance. Please give me a heart for the least likely and a vision for the unusual way that you choose to do things. I'm not going to argue with you anymore. 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)
