Our holy God lives forever
in the highest heavens,
and this is what he says:
Though I live high above
in the holy place,
I am here to help those
who are humble
and depend only on me.
~ Isaiah 57:15b (CEV)
The Good News is being preached to the poor. ~ Matthew 11:5b (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
God is here to help those who realize that they are needy.
PRAYER:
Lord, I need some good news and you have brought it. I am too needy to make it on my own.
When I am overwhelmed help me to actively trust in your good news. I am going to continue to depend on you. Amen.
The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants. ~ Isaiah 11:1 (GNT)
But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God’s children. ~ Galatians 4:4-5 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God sent his Son.
PRAYER:
Generous Father -- thank you for sending your Son to live among us so that he could set us free from the things which keep us away from you. In spite of such a great gift, though, I continue to return to the things which no longer really have any claim on my life. As I look forward to a new year I want to grow into the freedom that belongs to me as a child of God. I know that I can only do that as you motivate me and give me the power to truly be free. So please help me. Amen.
He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. ~ Isaiah 32:3a (GNT)
This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger. ~ Luke 2:12 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus is God present and he gently meets our troubled hearts.
PRAYER:
Father, the thought of coming into your presence can terrify me. Then I remember that you have already come to me -- as a baby in a manger. Let your birth story become a home for my frightened heart, so I may live for the day when everyone will know your great mercy and love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel MInistries edition, 172)
The Lord is our God,
bringing justice
everywhere on earth. ~ Psalm 105:7 (CEV)
The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty... ~ John 3:19a (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
There is nowhere that people can go to escape God's justice. And there is nowhere to go where his justice will not look out for you.
PRAYER:
Indeed, Lord, you are our God. I know that I can count on you and your justice. Save me from the feeling that injustice is so powerful that justice will never win out. That is a faithless way of looking at things.
But I am going to trust that your light is powerful enough to illumine all that needs to be illumined. Shine your light of justice on all -- even me. 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)
