Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
You are the ones who have rebelled,”
says the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 2:29 (NLT)
How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. ~ Luke 19:42 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Rebellion against the Lord always ends badly.
PRAYER:
Lord, you love and embrace us. And I'm thankful for that because sometimes I have a rebellious spirit that pushes you away. I'm sorry for that. It eats away at the peace in my life and in the lives of those who have to deal with me. But I know that I can count on your love to change me. That's my request -- that the love of Christ would engulf me and that I would be able to welcome the embrace. I don't want to live a rebellious life.
Amen.
If you love Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
because of the city,
you can now be glad. ~ Isaiah 66:10 (CEV)
But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. ~ Matthew 13:43a (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God promises a great future for the active citizens of his kingdom.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for the hope that you have given us through Christ Jesus. Thank you for initiating the Kingdom of God. I count myself as a citizen of that kingdom because I am trusting in what Christ has done and is doing. But I'm not sure that I'm yet to the point where I'm shining like the sun. Please do what it takes in my life to get me to that point. I'm eager to become a full participant in the celebration. Amen.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
to something we’ve made or made up. ~ Hosea 14:3 (MSG)
Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:22b-23 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Because we are connected to Christ our allegiance is only to the one true God.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are the one God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No other beings, forces, or powers are even in your league. So why is it that I fall prey to fake gods -- posers? I have no good answer for that. But I know that I need a strengthened connection to Christ Jesus. And only you can make that happen. So I am expressing my desire that my life would be all about Jesus -- and him alone. Amen.
When they call to me, I will answer them... ~ Psalm 91:15a (GNT)
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. ~ Romans 8:26-27 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
God graciously answers even when we don't know how or what to ask.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for hearing us, even when we don't have the ideas or words to say. You know our hearts and your Spirit intercedes on our behalf. Help me to trust you when I feel discouraged -- trust that you know and understand -- even better than I. 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 — 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)
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)
