But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk
There’s always this rock foundation: Fear God! ~ Ecclesiastes 5:7 (MSG)
If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. ~ James 1:5 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Those who respect God are given access to his insights.
PRAYER:
No one, God, has more wisdom and insight than you. But I lack the patience needed to receive what you offer. I gravitate toward whatever is quick and simple. God, grant me the patience to wait for your wisdom. I want to become a person of divine insight. Amen.
The Lord your God is testing you to see if you love the Lord your God with all your mind and all your being. ~ Deuteronomy 13:3b (CEB)
But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ~ Romans 5:3-4 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
In God's scheme of things, even the trying times have good outcomes.
PRAYER:
God, I am grateful because I know that you are working things out so that I am experiencing the best of what is possible. Forgive me for trying to circumvent things which are hard. It is so tempting to believe that your best should be simple and easy. Help me to trust in your goodness and power. I know that life is hard but because you make yourself known to me I am going to expect good outcomes. Amen.
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Put new life into us,
and we will worship you. ~ Psalm 80:18 (CEV)
Jesus replied (to the blind man), “Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” Right away the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. When the crowds saw what happened, they praised God. ~ Luke 18:42-43 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Respond with praise to what God is doing!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I am grateful for what you are doing in the world -- and in my life. I don't express enough appreciation or wonder. My praise is perfunctory -- which is okay. But that doesn't go far enough. Open my eyes so that I burst with worship. I'm going to celebrate your grace. Amen.
Who do you think you are —
getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
you can get away with this? ~ Habakkuk 2:6 (MSG)
Then Jesus said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” ~ Luke 12:15 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Don't get too attached to the good life, it will drag you down.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, you have called us to trust you and only you. And you have given us good reason for such faith. But I am easily distracted by the possibility of wealth. It affects the decisions I make and keeps me from noticing those who are in need. Restore your vision in me so that I'm measuring things by your standards. 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)
