Jacob said, "We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone." ~ Genesis 35:3 (NLT)
Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ... ~ Ephesians 5:20 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Never miss an opportunity to thank God for his faithful presence and saving involvement in your life.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are the "portable altar" for your people. You grant access into your lovely presence -- I rejoice in you. You are with me whenever I go, right where I am planted in the daily challenges of life. Let me be your altar of spiritual communion so that I may offer your life, light, and love to the world. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
I sought the Lord and he answered me.
He delivered me from all my fears. ~ Psalm 34:4 (CEB)
Jesus told the people another story:
What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? ~ Luke 15:8 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Seek the Lord, for he has been seeking you.
PRAYER:
Lovingly God, you invite us to seek you and your agenda. I confess that I seek too many of the wrong things. Remind me of the benefits of living as a God-seeker. I'm going to be free from the fears that haunt me because you will save me. Amen.
He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior... ~ 2 Samuel 22:2 (NLT)
God saved us from the threat of death, and we are sure that he will do it again and again. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:10 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
We are confident that God will continue to save us.
PRAYER:
God, you are the solid ground where I can stand. You are the Savior and I look to Christ for my eternal salvation. But I too often try to tackle the daily challenges on my own. Keep reminding me of who you are and of your active presence in my life so that I look to you to handle the ongoing problems. Amen.
The 17th Sunday after Pentecost
This is what the LORD over al the army of heaven declares: "Through the temple of the future I will be giving my people peace." ~ Haggai 2:9 (ABP)
Paul wrote: Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you. ~ Philippians 4:9 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Look only to God as the source of enduring peace.
PRAYER:
Lord God, thank you for sending Jesus the Prince of Peace to challenge and defeat the war mongering forces of the devil. I confess that the relational and political climate stirs violent thoughts in me that occasional spill out as violent words. Forgive me and help me to put the Jesus-defined life into practice so that I can experience the peace of your presence without interruption. 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)
