When you sell something to or buy something from your fellow citizen, you must not cheat each other. ~ Leviticus 25:14 (CEB)
Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about. ~ Matthew 7:12 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Treat others as you want them to treat you.
PRAYER:
God, through the gift of your Son you have treated us even better than we could imagine. I confess that I make a lot of decisions based on how I'd benefit without giving a whole lot of consideration to how my decisions might benefit or affect others. I need your help in changing so that I'm treating everyone else in the same exact way I want to be treated. I'm going to live by this golden rule. Amen.
But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.” ~ Genesis 24:56 (NLT)
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. ~ Matthew 9:9 (NLT)
KEY THOUGHT:
I don't want to leave the Lord waiting.
PRAYER:
Lord God, thank you for the call to follow you. I wish I could say that I am as responsive as Matthew. But I am not. I lolly gag and dilly dally. I take my time. Have patience with me while I grow hands and feet. I'm going to follow Jesus! Amen.
Hence, I will also appoint you as light to the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. ~ Isaiah 49:6 (CEB)
Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names... ~ Philippians 2:9 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Christ is the greatest because he lights the way for all.
PRAYER:
Lord God, when darkness surrounds me, grant light in my dwelling and my personal thoughts. Help me to see your purposes as larger than life itself, that I may walk in confidence and faith before you. Keep me from indulging any fearful thoughts, and teach me the power and security that is found in calling upon your name. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries)
I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. ~ Ezekiel 36:29 (NLT)
There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. ~ Romans 8:1 (GNT)
KEY THOUGHT:
Our connection with Christ Jesus saves us out of trashy living.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending Christ Jesus to rescue us. I don't live my life as close to him as I should. Help me to pay attention to that ongoing connection so that it's clear where I stand. 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)
