Parental
For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. ~ Proverbs 3:12 (NLT)
We didn’t ask for special treatment from people -- not from you or from others -- although we could have thrown our weight around as Christ’s apostles. Instead, we were gentle with you like a nursing mother caring for her own children. We were glad to share not only God’s good news with you but also our very lives because we cared for you so much. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God's way is to gently and firmly care for people -- as parents lovingly care for their children.
PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being kind to us. Help me to receive your correction without resentment. Like a child, I often think I know more than I do. Help me to follow the lead of the apostles in imitating your kindness. I'm hoping that people will see your love through how I live. 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)
