Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,
walk away from their only true love. ~ Jonah 2:8 (MSG)
Jesus said: No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ~ Matthew 6:24 (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
The only pathway to success in life is to serve only God.
PRAYER:
God, I want to serve you and you alone. I am grateful for your kindness and mercy. I suspect, though, that I'm serving other masters, too. I let comfort and security function as primary shapers of my actions.
Help me to discern how this issue is working itself out in my life so that I can genuinely repent and serv you alone. I'm going to live a life shaped by your agenda for everything. Amen.
Those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand. ~ Daniel 11:32 (MSG)
Jesus said: "Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven." ~ Matthew 5:16 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Be bright lights.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending your light into my life through Jesus. He really is the light of the world. But I am a failure when it comes to mirroring that light. Help me to think less about myself and what people are thinking of me. Embolden me to be a bold and courageous light pole. I am going to reflect the light of Jesus in an often dark world. Amen.
The 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Our Lord, you are the one
who makes us rich or poor.
You put some in high positions
and bring disgrace on others. ~ 1 Samuel 2:7 (CEV)
We always carry Jesus’ death around in our bodies so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:10 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
We gladly put up with the suffering and inconvenience that appears to be dragging us into an early grave so that the glorious life of the risen Christ can be seen through us.
PRAYER:
Our Lord, thank you for putting me in a position of responsibility. It's not big or flashy but I want to take your call seriously. Forgive me for whining when I have to put up with problems. Reshape my perspective and attitude so that people will see the life of Christ through the pain I endure. Amen.
Out of all the nations on this earth, the Lord your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the Lord, so don’t behave like those who worship other gods. ~ Deuteronomy 14:2 (CEV)
There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. ~ Romans 3:30 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
We relate to the one God through faith.
PRAYER:
Faithful God, thank you for recognizing my imperfect faith. Lead me into deeper and more mature faith so that I can live a life that is exclusively and fully dedicated to you. 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)
