God gives his people peace. ~ Psalm 29:11b (MSG)
This is the same message that God gave to the people of Israel, when he sent Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, to offer peace to them. ~ Acts 10:36 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Jesus makes peace.
PRAYER:
Prince of Peace, we are in desperate need of your peace. Yet, I admit that I am the first person to get all riled up when people don't do things your way. I'm ready to go to war against them. I'm too much of a hot head. Calm me down so that I radiate your peace -- especially toward the people who stir up trouble. I need to learn how to respond differently -- to respond your way rather than the typical way. Thank you for offering peace to both your friends and your enemies. I'm excited about learning to become that kind of a peacemaker. Amen.
THE 8th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
But you were like a cloud,
protecting us from the sun.
You kept our enemies from singing
songs of victory. ~ Isaiah 25:5b (CEV)
God’s Son appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. ~ 1 John 3:8b
KEY IDEA:
Jesus destroys evil.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for being with me when I come up against evil. On my own, I'm seduced by voices that promise safety and the good life but produce emptiness and fear. Hold me fast and help me trust that you win the day. Let my song be your story of abundant life and mercy. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
The Lord is a God of justice;
happy are all who wait for him. ~ Isaiah 30:18b (CEB)
Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. ~ 1 John 2:29 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Christ is righteous and just. As his children we will practice righteousness and justice, too.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are worth waiting for. Your kindness exceeds all my expectations. Yet, I get impatient and push for quick results -- short-cuts. Help me to live a righteous and just life now as I patiently anticipate the fullness of your righteousness and justice. I'm going to happily play the long game -- your long game. Amen.
I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. ~ Isaiah 45:12a (NLT)
Yet God is actually not far from any one of us... ~ Acts 17:27b (GNT)
KEY IDEA:
God likes being with people.
PRAYER:
Holy God, you created people and you enjoy their company -- even though they don't respect you. I know how that works because I'm disrespectful of your agenda for the world and my life. Even though I am grateful for your salvation I don't allow your presence to fully change me. So, please, stay close and continue to transform me through your presence. Through my connection with Christ Jesus I'm going to grow into the person you want me to be -- and I am hopeful that I could become good company for you. 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)
