Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. ~ Habakkuk 2:4 (NLT)
Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. ~ Matthew 11:29 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Allow Jesus to guide your life and you'll end up in a restful place.
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, thank you for offering your "yoke" to direct my life. I want to move in sync with you and your direction but I am easily distracted by all the other people and things which tug at me to follow their instructions. Teach me how to tune out those distractions so that I can faithfully focus on the direction you are giving to me. I'm going to allow you to guide me. Amen.
Look at how good and pleasing it is
when families live together as one!... It is there that the Lord has commanded the blessing:
everlasting life. ~ Psalm 133:1,3 (CEB)
Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. ~ Romans 12:10 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Honor everyone in the community of Christ as family members, for that is what we are.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for adopting me into your family. I acknowledge that I don't get along with all the people in your family. Some of them are real jerks. Help me to not judge them and to embrace them all in spite of our differences. I'm am going to avoid criticizing people and I'm going to honor even the people with whom I disagree so that Christ will be honored. Amen.
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand. ~ Isaiah 64:8 (NLT)
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
KEY THOUGHT:
God has a plan for us.
PRAYER:
Hello God, I'm glad that we can talk. I'm also glad that you have included me in your masterplan to bring reconciliation to the world. I confess that I fall back on doing my own planning too much of the time. I don't really consult your plan when I'm making mine. Create within me a vision for your plan that burns so hot that it drives everything I think and do. I'm going to live as a person created anew in Christ Jesus. Amen.
These are things we learned
from our ancestors,
and we will tell them
to the next generation.
We won’t keep secret
the glorious deeds
and the mighty miracles
of the Lord. ~ Psalm 78:3-4 (CEV)
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ~ Matthew 5:15 (NLT)
KEY THOUGHT:
Make known what God has done and is doing.
PRAYER:
Jesus, you are the light of the world. You are what God is doing. Thank you for the way that you have rescued us from the realm of darkness. I admit to being shy about telling your story. Help me to figure out ways to share the good news through both my words and my actions. I'm going to keep the light visible. 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)
