I am a loyal friend to all who honor the Lord God, and who follow his instructions. ~ Psalm 119:63 (ABP)
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. ~ Colossians 3:16a (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Let the message of Christ define your life.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am grateful that you have become a constant companion. Even so, I fail to value your friendship. Stick with me so that my life is reshaped according to the plan spelled out in your instructions. I want to become a wise person whose life is totally defined by your message. Amen.
I’m celebrating your rescue. ~ Psalm 13:5 (MSG)
If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. ~ James 5:13 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
When things are going well it is important to celebrate with praise for God.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am praising you today because so many things are going well. Forgive me for holding back my praise and thanksgiving because I tend to focus on the things which are not going right. Help me to refocus so that you always receive the praise to which you are due. I'm going to celebrate your rescue. Amen.
Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife. ~ Deuteronomy 5:21 (CEB)
Love doesn’t do anything wrong to a neighbor... ~ Romans 13:10 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Godly love prioritizes the well-being of neighbor.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for giving good neighbors to me. Even with good neighbors, though, I don't usually make them a priority. Flip my priorites so that my wants and needs become secondary to those of my neighbors. I'm going to learn how to love my neighbor with the same kind of energy that I put into my own self. Amen.
The First Sunday in Lent
When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away... Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me... Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt. ~ Psalm 32:3a,4a,5a (NLT)
There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. ~ Luke 15:10 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Things get better when we stop doing things God dislikes, turn to him, and start thinking and doing what pleases him.
PRAYER:
Gracious God, you welcome us when we turn to you. I confess, though, that I try to hold out as long as possible. My thinking is twisted and I need your help in straightening up the tangled mess I have created for myself. Help me to repent so that I can enjoy the full and rich life to which I have been called. In Jesus' name, 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)
