The 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
I will protect those who trust in my name. ~ Psalm 91:14b (NLT)
All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God... ~ Revelation 3:12a (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Those who trust in the name of the Lord will wear his name forever.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for being trustworthy. Great is your name. I don't deserve to be a pillar in your temple. I'm weak. I stumble. But if need be, I will stumble across the finish line. It's because you are a God who graciously empowers the weak people who trust you. You write your name on us and we can be with you forever. Amen.
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.
*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)
