“Calm down!” the Lord told Gideon. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re not going to die.”
Gideon built an altar for worshiping the Lord and called it “The Lord Calms Our Fears.” ~ Judges 6:23-24a (CEV)
So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. ~ Hebrews 4:16 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Calm down!
PRAYER:
Gracious Lord, thank you for being in charge. When I slip into thinking that I am in charge I start to panic. Calm me down so that I can begin to see that you'll take care of things. I'm going to look toward you and your help. Amen.
God said to Cain, "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” ~ Genesis 4:7 NLT)
Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11b (NLT)
KEY THOUGHT:
Do the right thing.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for being the faithful, loving, persistent, and gentle God. Forgive me for pursuing short term benefits that have little to do with the kind of god you are. Help me to discover a life that is rooted in godliness. I am going to do the right thing -- always. Amen.
All who leave you end up as fools,
Deserters with nothing to show for their lives,
who walk off from God, fountain of living waters—
and wind up dead! ~ Jeremiah 17:13b (MSG)
Jesus said: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” ~ Mark 1:15 (MSG)
KEY THOUGHT:
Follow Jesus!
PRAYER:
God, thank you for the good news of new life coming through Christ Jesus. There are lots of competing versions of good news. Sometimes I pay too much attention to the competitors. Help me to stick close to you. I'm going to turn from everyting else and trust you alone to make life worthwhile. Amen.
The First Sunday after the Epiphany
God is the one who uncovers what lies deeply hidden;
he knows what hides in darkness... ~ Daniel 2:22a (CEB)
Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. ~ Romans 11:33 (MSG)
KEY THOUGHT:
God's understanding of things is beyond what we can imagine.
PRAYER:
God, thank you for understanding me. Your wisdom is superior to everything else. Why do I then worry over things? Why do I try to come up with solutions apart from you? I can't answer those questions. But I know that you can. Pour out your grace and some of your wisdom so that I can relax in 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 -- a 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)
