I am the Lord God... I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will heal you... ~ 2 Kings 20:5 (CEV)
Lazarus was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” ~ John 11:2b-3 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus cares when we are sick.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, you are the great doctor who cares for and heals the sick. Your compassion and ability to heal is amazing. I can be pretty casual about the suffering of others. Give me your compassion -- and senesitivity so I can invite others to experience your healing. Amen.
TRINITY SUNDAY
Though you are far from home, think about me, your Lord, and remember Jerusalem. ~ Jeremiah 51:50b (GNT)
Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people. ~ Ephesians 6:18
KEY IDEA:
No matter where you are or the circumstances you're in, keep in touch with the Lord.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for loving us even when we are far away. Life is messy and sometimes we just end up in places where we don't want to be. Forgive me for letting my guard down when things are not going well. I confess that I don't maintain close communication. Help me to step up with that. I'm going to keep going with the conversation that you start. Amen.
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep close watch over the door that is my lips. ~ Psalm 141:3 (CEB)
So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. ~ Galatians 5:13b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Be on guard lest you say or do something that is unloving.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for sending your Son Christ Jesus to set us free. I am enjoying my freedom. But sometimes I get careless about it. I say things and do things that do not reflect the loving way of Christ. I lash out at my enemies rather than loving them. Set a guard over my mouth, Lord. And while you're at it, have the guard watch over the rest of me lest I do something inconsistent with Christ-character. My goal is to serve in love. Amen.
The Lord All-Powerful
has chosen a day
when those who are proud
and conceited
will be put down. ~ Isaiah 2:12 (CEV)
John the Baptist said: "Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’" ~ Luke 3:8a (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
God is going to bring down the smug and arrogant.
PRAYER:
Lord All-Powerful, I'm eager for the day when you will humble the people who are ruining our lives. Help me to live with true humility so that I don't end up going down with them. It is really easy to over-estimate how important I am. I want to walk humbly with you and to be on your side on the day of reckoning -- when Jesus, the humble king, returns. 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)
