God says, "Because you are devoted to me,
I’ll rescue you." ~ Psalm 91:14a (CEB)
Jesus says: I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. ~ John 15:9 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God's love and devotion freely extended to us provides the basis of our love and devotion extended to him.
PRAYER:
Lord, it really is ALL about you and what you do for us. You faithfully love us even when we are very unloveable. I'm not so good at loving you or others. I want to see immediate results in every relationship or I lose interest. Still, you are faithful. Help me to live into that love. I know that this has to happen through my connection with Jesus. So keep me focused on him. Amen.
THE 2nd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
They will be so kind and merciful and good, that they will be a light in the dark for others who do the right thing. ~ Psalm 112:4 (CEV)
I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. ~ Colossians 1:12 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus' followers have a major stake in the kingdom of light.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for shining your light into the darkness that drags me down. I confess that I take the light for granted. Help me to live a life of gratitude and through that gratitude shine the light of Christ even further into the darkest of places. Amen.
God, you're the one who saves me; so I am going to continue to wait patiently for you to finish putting things right -- no matter how long it takes! ~ Psalm 25:5 (ABP)
But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. ~ Romans 8:25 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Hope is a matter of waiting patiently.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are my Savior so I know that you are the one in whom I need to trust. However, I still find it hard to be patient. There are so many decisions that need to be made -- so many wrongs that need to be made right. I feel internal pressure to push forward even when you haven't given me clear direction, yet. Help me to relax and wait. I know that you are going to come through -- and probably in some surprising way. I'm eager to see what your plan is. Amen.
My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. ~ Psalm 57:3 (NLT)
God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. ~ 1 John 4:14 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God, forever loving and trustworthy, sent Jesus to save us.
PRAYER:
Loving and true God, thank you for the gift of salvation which has come to us through your Son Jesus. I want to be free to tell others about what he has done. But it all sounds wild and crazy to many people so I'm a bit reluctant. I'm worried that people will not take me seriously. Free me from this preoccupation with what people might think so that others will meet Jesus through 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)
