Let my whole being bless the Lord! Let everything inside me bless his holy name! ~ Psalm 103:1 (CEB)
The whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed... ~ Luke 19:37 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
Our purpose in life is to join the choir of those praising God.
PRAYER:
Glorious God, thank you for giving me a significant purpose in life. Even though I like the idea of my purpose I am slow to let loose and burst into enthusiastic praise. Please give me a fresh glimpse of the incredilbe things that you are doing so that I can fully join the praise choir. I'm going to praise you with my soul -- the entirety of my being. Amen.
What can I give back to the Lord
for all the good things he has done for me? ~ Psalm 116:12 (CEB)
But Jesus wouldn’t allow it. “Go home to your own people,” Jesus said, “and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he has shown you mercy.” ~ Mark 5:19 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
How to honor the Lord? Go and tell.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am grateful for all the kindness that you have shown to me. I am especially thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus which secured new unending life for all who embrace it. The gifts from you continue on and on. But I am not very good at acknowledging those gifts in a natural and ordinary way. I get all nervous and I don't know why. So please help me to be able to tell people about what you have done for me. I want to see other people accept your mercy because they have heard about it from me. Amen.
You have given me life and constant love,
and your care has kept me alive. ~ Job 10:12 (GNT)
Epaphroditus nearly died, as you know, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him—he had mercy on me, too. His death would have been one huge grief piled on top of all the others. ~ Philippians 2:27 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord mercifully keeps us going.
PRAYER:
Kind and loving God, thank you for Jesus who clearly shows us how merciful you are. Through him, we discover what it truly means to be alive. I confess that I take my life for granted. Help me to thank you for each breath and each companion -- for each thing which makes life rich and wonderful. I'm going to live with gratitude by showing your mercy to others. Amen.
THE 6th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
I punished you in my anger;
now I will be kind
and treat you with mercy. ~ Isaiah 60:10b (CEV)
Get ready for the great gift that is coming your way when Jesus is revealed. Get ready for him through the practice of clear thinking and faithful action. ~ 1 Peter 1:13 (ABP)
KEY IDEA:
Enjoy God's grace and mercy!
PRAYER:
Thank you, Savior, for making yourself known to me. My frailty and many errors make me fearful, but you surprise me with your mercy and love. In you, my hope becomes powerful. Open my eyes today, Jesus. Make me alert to a world that needs you badly. Let me share your grace freely in words and actions. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
*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)
