Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind,
and the powerful are not what they appear to be.
If you weigh them on the scales,
together they are lighter than a breath of air. ~ Psalm 62:9 (NLT)
The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost. ~ Luke 19:10 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus is seeking lost and "worthless" people to give them lives of significance in his kingdom.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm amazed that you'd build your kingdom using the lost and "worthless." Thank you for including me. I am such a person. I know that I'm important to you but I feel insignificant and worth no more that a breath of air. Forgive me for thinking that way. And help me to accept your attention as an affirmation of your desire and willingness to improve my life. I'm going to live as a person found by Jesus. Amen.
The Lord has stopped your punishment;
he has removed all your enemies.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is with you;
there is no reason now to be afraid. ~ Zephaniah 3:15 (GNT)
Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:13 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Stay on task because God is with you.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm thankful that you are with me. I'm not exactly where I want to be but I know that you are here with me anyway. My mind and sense of being tend to drift. I lose focus, grow weak, and get involved in things that have nothing to do with my faith. I'm not afraid of anyone right now -- apart from myself and my own weaknesses. Help me to stand firm with Jesus. I'm going to stay on task. Amen.
You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. ~ Psalm 119:73 (NLT)
Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
God has given us his incredible life-changing commandments.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for giving me directions for my life. But I'm not good at following directions.
Please give me the sense to follow your commands. I'm going to grow into living a life of free and open access to you --
that which has come through Jesus. Amen.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive. ~ Psalm 104:33 (CEB)
When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. ~ Ephesians 5:19 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Healthy Christians love to sing and praise the Lord.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for giving me a song worth singing. I may not be the best of singers -- and I might not sing as much as I should -- but I think you deserve a song from me and all the other believers. Help me to choose my songs wisely. I want to offer you the best music I can. 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)
