The first Sunday of Christmas
God said, "I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters..." Exodus 3:7a (MSG)
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. ~ John 3:16 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
God sent his Son to deliver us.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm most grateful for the Son you sent to deliver us from all that is associated with death.
I believe. But I need to believe more and more often. Help me grow in my belief. My commitment for 2018 is that I'm going to be open to trusting you more and expecting to experience your deliverance in more ways than I previously realized was possible. Amen.
Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him. ~ Psalm 103:15-17a (NLT)
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. ~ John 1:16 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
There is no end to the love that the Lord shows his people.
PRAYER:
Loving God, thank you for all the blessings in my life. There are lots of problems but your blessings truly overshadow the problems. Help me to keep things in perspective when I start to panic. I'm going to meditate on your promise to forever stay with those who fear you. Amen.
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.
*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)
