A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face;
a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day. ~ Proverbs 15:13 (MSG)
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
God is the one who lifts us up.
PRAYER:
Kind God, you are the one who eases my load. I need to become better at channeling your comfort to others. I admit that sometimes I stress others out. I want to be able to appy your comfort to the people in my life. But I am going to need more of your guidance on that, please. Amen.
Be careful, or you will be fooled and will turn away to serve and worship other gods. ~ Deuteronomy 11:16 (NCV)
Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again. ~ Galatians 5:1
KEY IDEA:
Be careful so that you don't get tricked into slavery.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for setting us free. I confess that I am very casual about that freedom. Watch over me lest I misstep. I want to stick close to you so that I can continue to enjoy your freedom. Amen.
The Lord God said, “It isn’t good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.” ~ Genesis 2.:18 (CEV)
Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
Lord, I am your servant,
and now I can die in peace,
because you have kept
your promise to me. With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people...
~ Luke 2:28-30 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Gods doesn't leave us alone without necessary partners.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are a very relational being. You understand better than anyone how important it is to be in dynamic partnerships. You model healthy relationships in the Holy Trinity. And then through Christ you invite us participate in that partnership. Thank you for including me even though I don't value the partnership as much as I should. It feels so easy to try and do it all on my own. Thank you for not leaving me alone. I'm going to look to you as my most senior partner. Amen.
Christmas
I trust you (the Lord) completely.
You have helped me,
and I will celebrate
and thank you in song. ~ Psalm 28:7b (CEV)
As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said. ~ Luke 2:20 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Celebrate salvation!
PRAYER:
Lord, on this glorious day I want to celebrate your generosity. You sent salvation into the world through your son, Christ Jesus. And because I trust you and what you have done, I benefit. That is wonderful -- a glorious reason to join the Christmas celebration. Thank 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)
