THE 5th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power. ~ Daniel 2:20 (NLT)
John (the Baptist) answered: "It’s not possible for a person to succeed—I’m talking about eternal success—without heaven’s help..." ~ John 3:27 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
Look only to the Lord for your success in life.
PRAYER:
All praise belongs to you, God, forever and ever. You are the source of all that is wise and successful. I do, though, put unnecessary pressure on myself to achieve success. I enjoy the recognition. Help me to tune out all of the competing theories and approaches to success. I want to major in the kind of success that you measure. Amen.
The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. ~ 1 Samuel 12:22a (NLT)
You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us -- in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. ~ 2 Corinthians 8:9 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord always takes care of his people -- even when he has to make sacrifices.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving up your safe place in heaven -- and then giving up your own life -- so that you could come to be with us. Our lives are richer because of your sacrifices. Forgive me for placing too much value on the material riches in the world. Show me again how rich I really am through you. I'm going to honor your name with my life. Amen.
City of Zion, sing and celebrate! The Lord has promised to come and live with you. ~ Zechariah 2:10 (CEV)
God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. ~ 1 John 4:9 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God shows us how much he loves us by being with us.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending your Son Jesus to live with us. His presence has made all the difference to me. And now he has sent his Holy Spirit to continue being with us. Even though you are always here I do not always pay attention to you. I am easily distracted by lesser things. So, please, help me to maintain my focus on your presence. I want to introduce others to you. Amen.
Lord of heavenly forces, those who trust in you are truly happy! ~ Psalm 84:12 (CEB)
And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God... ~ Romans 4:18a (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Our trust in God is what makes life satisfying.
PRAYER:
Lord of the heavenly armies, you have it all at your command. Yet you still choose to involve humble people in your business. Thank you for including a nobody like me. That helps me to realize that I am somebody in your eyes. Still, I have doubts when things get hard. I don't trust you as much as I should. Help me to be like Abraham with an unending faith. I'm going to trust you, too. 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)
