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Thursday, September 18, 2025

RECEIVE THE BEST; GIVE THE BEST

ISAIAH 55:2 (MSG)
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
fill yourself with only the finest.


MARK 12:44 (CEB)
But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.

THE ESSENCE
Receive the best; give the best you can.

DAILY FODDER
How do you know if you're consuming spiritual junk food? One way to measure the quality of the spiritual food you are receiving is by measuring the level of sacrifice you're making when you're giving. 

PRAYER 
Generous God, you have already given the ultimate gift by sacrifing your Son to tackle and defeat death. I've failed to recognize the extent of your giving. Help me to grasp the extravagance of your generousity so I can follow suit in my situation, thus drawing attention to your bigheartedness. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

TRANSLATIONS

ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own 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)

EEB = EasyEnglish Bible (©2015, MissionAssist)

ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)

EXB = The Expanded Bible (©2011, Thomas Nelson Publishing)

GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)

MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)

NCB = New Catholic Bible (©2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.)

NCV = New Century Version (©2005, Thomas Nelson Inc)

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)

NRSVue = New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (© 2021 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.)

REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press)

TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)

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