God won’t let your foot slip.
Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job. ~ Psalm 121:3 (CEB)
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” ~ Matthew 14:31 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Don't give in to doubt because the Lord is a reliable protector.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you again, for watching out for me. I confess that sometimes I get distracted by the circumstances around me and lose sight of you. I begin to slip. But you always seem to intervene in some way. Save me from my doubts and refresh my faith so that I can continue walking on water. Amen.
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
There is hope for your future,” says the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 31:17a (NLT)
His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ~ John 9:8 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord gives us hope for the future.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm so grateful that you're concerned about the future. Like many of my neighbors, I live for today. But unlike them, I do it because the future scares me. I hear the crazy things that our leaders say and the way that people with money and responsibility act. Those things do not instill confidence about what is coming. Help me to rest in your promises and to trust that you are full of healing. We need it. I need it. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Who was it that made this happen?
Who has determined the course of history?
I, the Lord, was there at the beginning,
and I, the Lord, will be there at the end. ~ Isaiah 41:4 (GNT)
God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. ~ Ephesians 1:20-21 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
In spite of the craziness in our world, our powerful God is and will remain in control.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for raising Jesus from the dead. For me everything makes sense because of that. But I still struggle to have faith when I see how insane the world has become. I have difficulty in believing that given the direction things are going, that they will all work out well. But I am choosing to trust you anyway. Help me in my struggle. Amen.
The poor and the needy
will be treated with fairness
and with justice. ~ Isaiah 11:4a (CEV)
Jesus says: God will bless you people
who are poor.
His kingdom belongs to you! ~ Luke 6:20b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Don't worry so much about being mistreated. Eventually God will make things right.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for being fair. The world isn't fair. Life isn't fair. But you are and you will make things right. Sometimes I get really frustrated with the injustice of it all. Help me to calm down and trust you.
When your kingdom is fully established the poor and needy will have a good place at the table. And I will be happy to see it. In Jesus' name, Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 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)
