Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom,
and Insight means shunning evil. ~ Job 28:28 (MSG)
God has called you to peace. ~ 1 Corinthians 7:15 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God is calling you to shun everything that is evil so that you can embrace a life characterized by peace.
PRAYER:
Lord, your wisdom is deeper than I can ever go. But I would like to have more of it. And I realize that only by staying close to you will I ever have access to it. Yet, it is really hard to live in this world. Even my responses to the evil around me are not characterized by the kind of peace that comes with your wisdom. Help me to do your will in your way -- to shun that which is evil so that I can embrace peace. Amen.
The holy Lord God of Israel
had told all of you,
“I will keep you safe
if you turn back to me
and calm down.
I will make you strong
if you quietly trust me.” ~ Isaiah 30:15 (CEV)
Can worry make you live longer? ~ Matthew 6:27 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Worry will get you nowhere.
PRAYER:
Holy Lord God, you are faithful and reliable. But I still get caught up in worrying over even little things. Help me to chill and to trust that you will work things out. I'm going to learn how to quietly trust you. Amen.
The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. ~ Exodus 14:14 (NLT)
But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. ~ Romans 8:37 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
Ultimately, we expect that God and his ways will come out on top -- and that means we will be victorious if we stay close to him.
PRAYER:
Powerful God, thank you for looking out for me -- even though I try too hard. I get anxious and forget to trust that you win! Please grant me the inner calmness that comes from being close to you. I am going to relax and let you prevail. Amen.
Bring us back to you!
Give us a fresh start. ~ Lamentations 5:21 (CEV)
Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you. ~ John 14:16-17 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God has positioned himself to renew his people.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, I am grateful that you remain involved in my life and that the Holy Spirit is eager to refresh and to renew me. I, on the other hand, admit that I am not always so open to refreshment. Keep poking me God, and showing me the benefits of change. Eventually, I'll get it. I'm looking forward to living life as a series of fresh starts. 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)
