When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the Lord God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won’t forget them. ~ Isaiah 41:17 (CEV)
To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life-giving spring. ~ Revelation 21:6 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
God generously refreshes those in need of refreshment.
PRAYER:
God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world to serve refreshment. I confess my dehydration, although I am in denial about how bad it is. Drench my life with a fresh outpouring of living water so that I can move forward quenched. Amen.
They will admit that I alone
can bring about justice.
Everyone who is angry with me
will be terribly ashamed
and will turn to me. ~ Isaiah 45:24 (CEV)
And to the glory
of God the Father
everyone will openly agree,
“Jesus Christ is Lord!” ~ Philippians 2:11 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Eventually everyone will have to admit that Jesus is the boss.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I recognize that you are Lord -- at least most of the time. I sometimes live for myself rather than for you. Help me to set aside my personal opinions and agendas so that I can fully embrace yours. Then my life will bellow out that "Jesus is Lord." Amen.
The 4th Sunday after the Epiphany
The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced. ~ Isaiah 50:7 (NRSV)
God has stood by me, just as he promised, and I’m standing here saying what I’ve been saying to anyone, whether king or child, who will listen. ~ Acts 26:22 (MSG)
KEY THOUGHT:
God is faithful to us so we can act boldly.
PRAYER:
Thank you, gracious God, for being faithful and loyal to us. You don't ever let us down, although I admit that way at times when things don't go the way I want them to go. Help me to catch a glimpse of you standing here by me. I'm going to allow your faithfulness to change me so that I am standing by you. Amen.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea. ~ Isaiah 48:18 (NLT)
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NLT)
KEY THOUGHT:
God gave us Christ for our well-being.
PRAYER:
Thank you, dear God, for the peace and wholeness that you gently pour into my life. You sent Christ to make our lives better. But we still don't "get it." We've turned him into a weapon to use in wars advancing our personal or political agendas. Help me to avoid all that craziness so that through my connection with Christ I experience his total peace and everything that flows with it. 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)
