shaping
Then I will purify them
and put them to the test,
just as gold and silver
are purified and tested. ~ Zechariah 13:9a (CEV)
But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope. ~ Romans 5:3b-4 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Difficulties can be a part of the process of shaping our character.
PRAYER:
Lord, I really struggle with the idea that hard times are good for me. I'm tempted to shut down when there is trouble. Help me to embrace the challenges and receive them as tools for shaping my character. I'm looking forward to becoming more godly. 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.)