The protector of Israel
never dozes or sleeps. ~ Psalm 121:4 (GNT)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. ~ 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Rely on God to take care of the problems.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for staying awake. I know that I need to trust you with all the problems. However, I like to hold onto them and find solutions on my own. That doesn't work out so well. Help me to get my strategy straight. I'm going to give all my worries and cares to you, for I know that you care about me. Amen.
When you are living in the land the Lord your God is giving you, there might be some poor people living among you. You must not be selfish. You must not refuse to give help to them. ~ Deuteronomy 15:7 (ERV)
If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. ~ 1 John 3:17 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
God thinks that it is important that we be helping those in need. It is a high priority.
PRAYER:
Lord,
THANKS: thank you for caring about me. I'm one of those needy people.
REGRETS: I'm confused about myself,
though. How is it that I'm so slow to show the kind of love that I have experienced?
INTERCESSION: Please give me a heart for the poor -- those who are broken and in need.
PURPOSE: I want to show the love of Jesus.
Amen.
I will appoint peace and justice
as your rulers and leaders. ~ Isaiah 6-:17 (CEV)
But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice. ~ James 3:17-18 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Peace and justice are important components of the Lord's agenda.
PRAYER:
Prince of Peace! Thank you for the justice and peace established through the cross of Christ Jesus.
I am so glad to receive the benefits of what you have done. And I want to be a part of what you are continuing to do.
I admit, though, that peace and justice are not high priorities in my life. I'm happy to just be "saved." Please expand my vision so that it lines up with your vision for the world and individual people. I want to get behind what you are doing. Amen.
You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. ~ Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
This is why it’s necessary for us to pay more attention to what we have heard, or else we may drift away from it. ~ Hebrews 2:1 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God's purpose prevails so it is important to stick close to him.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for planning a great future. I get too distracted by what is happening now. So I need your help to stay close to you. When you see me start to drift please pull me back in close to you. I want to be with you when you cross the finish line as the winner. 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)
