I, the Lord God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. ~ Ezekiel 34:2b (CEV)
Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. ~ Philippians 2:4 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
Pour your life into caring for others.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for guiding my life. I wish that I could be better at caring for others in the way you have cared for me. But I'm influenced by the cultural priority of self-first. I repent of that ungodly nonsense and ask that you would shape me to be a good "shepherd" of all the people within my realm of influence. Using the loving heart that you give me I'm going to focus more on caring for others. Amen.
The 19th Sunday after Pentecost
I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not even think of turning away from me. ~ Jeremiah 32:40
Everything then depends on God’s mercy and not on what people want or do. ~ Romans 9:16 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
The good news for us is that our relationship with God is based entirely on what he does for us and not at all on what we do or want to do.
PRAYER:
Merciful God, thank you for your promises and how you have been faithful in fulfilling them. Even though I know in my mind that our relationship rests on you, I still get caught up in trying to prove my worthiness. Help me to lean soley on your faithfulness so that as you change me I'll be totally focused on obeying you. Amen.
Arise, O Lord!
Do not let mere mortals defy you! ~ Psalm 9:19 (NLT)
Jesus prayed: "Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one." ~ John 17:15 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
We can expect that God will protect his children.
PRAYER:
Thak you, Jesus, for praying for us. I worry too much about problems. Help me to trust that you have the power and will to look out for me and my longterm best interests. I'm going to rely on you. Amen.
Those who pursue justice and kindness
will find what they seek -- along with life and honor. ~ Proverbs 21:21 (ABP)
God’s kingdom isn’t about eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ~ Romans 14:17 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
If you really want to live a full life pursue the things which are consistent with God's agenda.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for the gift of new life which is ours when we are connected to Christ the Life. I confess that I often pursue a lot of weird things to try and make my life better. Help me to narrow my focus so that I am pursuing only those things which are consistent with your agenda for the world and for my life. I'm going to make my life about pursuing righteousness and kindness. 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)
