Forgiveness
The Third Sunday in Advent
Our terrible sins get us down,
but you forgive us. ~ Psalm 65:3 (CEV)
Zechariah said,
"You, my son, will be called
a prophet of God
in heaven above.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to get everything ready
for him.
You will tell his people
that they can be saved
when their sins
are forgiven.
God’s love and kindness
will shine upon us
like the sun that rises
in the sky."
~ Luke 1:76-78 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Forgiveness flows from God's love.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending Jesus into the world to show us how much you love us and forgive us. It's a good thing because I need forgiving -- even at this time of the year. Help me to give up my sins and sinfulness. Help me to see the love and kindness of Christ as was pointed out by John the Baptist. I'm going to live out your forgiveness. 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)
