Saturday, March 17, 2018

God delievers

THE 5th SUNDAY IN LENT

Show us how much you love us, God! Give us the salvation we need! ~ Psalm 85:7 (MSG)

The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. ~ John 1:17 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:
Through Christ God continues to deliever all that we need.
PRAYER:
Amazing Lord, your love and grace are incredible. When I start to focus on how much I fail (and I fail a lot!) remind me again of how you are on my side and how you are loving me and helping me to succeed in my relationship with you -- even though I don't deserve it. I'm going to revel in your salvation. Amen.

Friday, March 16, 2018

God hears

ST PATRICK'S DAY

Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me. ~ Psalm 30:2 (CEB)

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. ~ Hebrews 5:7 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
God hears us when we cry out to him for help.
PRAYER:
Lord, you generously give us your attention. And you answer us -- even when we are not so good. Of course, you also use our moments of desperation to correct the sin problems in our lives. So, I guess you are giving us even deeper attention than we realize. I am asking that you would help me with some problems I am facing right now. I trust that you will hear me so I am going to worship you in anticipation. All honor and glory belong to you, faithful and merciful Savior. Amen.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

God walks us

LENT

Remember how the Lord your God has blessed you in everything that you have done. He has taken care of you as you wandered through this vast desert... ~ Deuteronomy 2:7a (GNT)

Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” ~ John 8:12 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:
God walks his people through the hard times.
PRAYER:
Lord, I don't know where I would be without you -- probably still out there wandering aimlessly in the middle of nowhere. Thank you for leading me through the difficult times that I have experienced in life. I should know by now that I don't need to panic when new problems arise. Somehow I just seem to forget and I go back to worrying. Please remind me again of your faithfulness and how you walk your people through the hard times. Because of you I am going to make it to the end of the journey. Amen.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Pay attention to Jesus

LENT

The judgments of the Lord are just; they are always fair. ~ Psalm 19:9b (GNT)

If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature." ~ John 15:10-11 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:
If you want to remain close to God pay attention to what Jesus says and does.
PRAYER:
Just God, I'm grateful that you are always fair. I have come to rely on your justice -- even though I'm not a consistent follower of Jesus. Continue to fill me with your love -- your direction -- and your joy. I want to become a mature, convinced, and convincing follower of Christ Jesus. Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*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)

EEB = EasyEnglish Bible (©2015, MissionAssist)

ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)

GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)

MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)

NCB = New Catholic Bible (©2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.)

NCV = New Century Version (©2005, Thomas Nelson Inc)

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)

NRSV = New Revised Standard Version (© 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)

Blog Archive