Return to the one whom you have deeply betrayed! ~ Isaiah 51:6 (CEB)
Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. ~ Revelation 3:20 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Even though we have treated God wrong he is still eager to have a relationship with us.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are amazing. Even though we have betrayed you and sinned against you... Even though we have treated you wrong in all our thoughts, words, and deeds... You still want to be with us. Help me to turn more fully to you because up to this piont my responses to you have been half-hearted. I am eager to start enjoying your invitation for fellowship. Amen.
The LORD speaking to Issac: "All of the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants." ~ Genesis 26:4 (CEB)
Many people will come from everywhere to enjoy the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ~ Matthew 8:11 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord is using his people to bless the world.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for noticing us and using your people to include us in your global party. Thank you especially for Issac's main descendent who is making it all happen. Help me to find my joy in your blessing and to help others find their place at the table. I'm going to share the blessing of Jesus with the whole world. Amen.
THE 9th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Some people trust the power
of chariots or horses,
but we trust you, Lord God. ~ Psalm 20:7 (CEV)
Christ Jesus is kind, and you must let him make you strong. ~ 2 Timothy 2:1b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Trust in Christ rather than strategic advantage.
PRAYER:
Almighty -- yet kind -- God, my goal is to trust in your great grace. I'm tempted to trust in other things -- and sometimes I do -- power, wit, brains, even weapons... Retrain me to disregard all those things so that I'm looking only to you to get me through the challenges that life throws at me. I'm going to trust Christ -- day in and day out -- always. Amen.
Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. ~ Genesis 2:7 (NLT)
Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. ~ Ephesians 2:10 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God created us and gave us life so we can live according to his plan.
PRAYER:
Creator God, you have breathed life into us a second time through Christ Jesus. Thank you for giving me life. Now, guide me so that I'm truly living and doing the things you want me to do. I confess that I've got my own agenda for my life. Help me to line my agenda up with your agenda so that I am living according to your plan and purpose. 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)
