God is generous
It is useless to get up early
and stay up late
in order to earn a living.
God takes care of his own,
even while they sleep. ~ Psalm 127:2 (CEV)
You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:19 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
God provides everthing we need.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God! While I ask for things which I think would be nice to have, you have already given me everything I need. Help me to see the difference. Sometimes I feel like I need things that I simply want. Of course,
in your generosity, you also give us some of the things we want. That is just a bonus pointing to your gracious nature. I'm going to quit wanting so much and focus more on what you have already given to us -- starting with the gift of new life in Christ Jesus. 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.)