Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! ~ Isaiah 64:1 (NLT)
Rescue us from the evil one. ~ Matthew 6:13
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God rescues.
PRAYER
God, thank you for rescuing your people. You've done it over and over again throughout the ages. You rescued Noah from the flood. You rescued the Hebrew people from slavery. And you sent Jesus from heaven to come down and rescue us from the powers of sin and death. I admit that I'm still in need of daily rescuing because I lean away from your agenda and into accomplishing the things which feel most important to me. Rescue me from myself. Transform my life so that it is in sync with your life. I'm going to live as someone who has been rescued from certain death. Amen.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord... ~ Isaiah 43:10 (CEB)
Then he said, "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all." ~ Mark 16:15 (MSG)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Through your words and actions say something about God's good news.
PRAYER
Lord, I know that I am a witness to one thing or another at every moment. I regret witnessing to the power of fear or greed. By your word and Spirit, re-create my heart today so that I may bear witness to your love for the person in front of me. Help me delight in those you have made. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
We’ll never completely understand how God does his miracles. Nor will we really comprehend what he is up to with all of his uncountable surprises. ~ Job 9:10 (ABP)
Then Jesus said, "God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain." ~ Mark 6:26-28 (MSG)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Accept the fact that God and his ways are full of mystery.
PRAYER
Thank you, God, for all that you are doing around me. I confess that I'm so full of myself that I don't even see what you're doing -- let alone begin to understand why. Help me to accept the fact that you are full of unexplainable mystery. I'm going to throw myself into your kingdom, the agenda that Jesus taught, even though I realize that I can't explain it all. Amen.
I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will talk about all your wonderful acts. ~ Psalm 9:1 (CEB)
Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Thank God.
PRAYER
God, thank you for the kindness you extend to us -- especially that which we receive through Christ Jesus. Because of him we are forgiven people. I confess that I can get pretty ho-hum about such a familiar and foundational truth. Stir thankfulness within me so that I am more fully aware of what I've been given and so that I can more faithfully talk about it. I'm going to live a life of gratitude. 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)
NRSV = New Revised Standard Version (© 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.) NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)