The 19th Sunday after Pentecost
I was stressed out and squeezed when I called out to the Lord. He answered and dealt with the issue for me; so now I'm refreshed and in a relaxing open space. ~ Psalm 118:5 (ABP)
Because of our connection with Christ Jesus we have access to God. That means we can exercise our faith by confidently and boldly approaching God with whatever is on our minds. ~ Ephesians 3:12 (ABP)
KEY IDEA:
Trust God with your problems.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for giving us total access to God. Forgive me for trying to fix everything on my own. That adds unnecessary stress to my life and shows that I lack faith. Reset my faith button so that I turn first to you. I'm not going to let the world put the squeeze on me any more. Amen.
Don’t fear, but be strong. ~ Zechariah 8:13b (CEB)
Paul said to his fellow travelers: ... I belong to God, and I worship him. Last night he sent an angel to tell me, “Paul, don’t be afraid! You will stand trial before the Emperor. And because of you, God will save the lives of everyone on the ship.” ~ Acts 27:23-24 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Don't be afraid. God has our backs.
PRAYER:
Lord, I'm always so taken by the amazing way that you protect your people in the biblical stories. I believe that you protect your people -- except when I don't believe. I get so caught up in the drama that I forget that you are there taking care of us. Help me to trust you in those intense moments where I let fear take over. You are trustworthy. Amen.
Let’s praise God!
He listened when I prayed,
and he is always kind. ~ Psalm 66:20 (CEV)
...your Father knows what you need before you ask. ~ Matthew 6:8 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God is very responsive to our needs.
PRAYER:
Kind and gracious God, you always know exactly what we need. Thank you for being so responsive. Forgive me for thinking that you are stingy and unresponsive when your response is different from what I expect. Help me to embrace your bigger picture responses. I'm going to trust that you know better than I what my real needs are. Amen.
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
No, I will not unleash my fierce anger...
for I am God and not a mere mortal.
I am the Holy One living among you... ~ Hosea 11:8b-9 (NLT/parts)
... the increase in the amount of sin could not outpace the flow of God's incredible grace... ~ Romans 5:20 (ABP/part)
KEY IDEA:
God's grace is always greater than our sin.
PRAYER:
God, you are gracious in a way that is beyond what we can possibly understand. Perhaps that is why I doubt that you could continue to love me in spite of my many failures. Help me to move beyond doubting your grace and into fully embracing the magnitude of what Christ has done for me -- even though I will never fully understand his love. 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)
