All to worship
I will purify each language
and make those languages
acceptable for praising me.
Then, with hearts united,
everyone will serve
only me, the Lord.
~ Zephaniah 3:9 (CEV)
Every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:11 (NIV)
KEY IDEA:
The world will be united in acknowledging Christ Jesus as Lord over everything and everyone.
PRAYER:
Creator God, your people will eventually get together to recognize Christ Jesus. Help me to be open to learning about other cultures and peoples so that I can help in that process. I admit that this is hard because my focus is so narrow -- mostly on the people who are most like me. Still, I am looking forward to singing your praises with people representing every tribe, nation, and language. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2011 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.)