He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. ~ Psalm 103:10 (NLT)
We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. ~ Acts 15:11 (NLT)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God's way of forgiving is mind blowing.
PRAYER
Retribution. Revenge. Paybacks. Sometimes I even weave these longings into my understanding of justice. Jesus, thank you for revealing a way of forgiving that is beyond my imagination and the imagination of this old world. Surprise me with grace again and again. Give me the courage to recount to others your generosity of spirit in my life. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)
May God who is all good, pardon and forgive everyone who sincerely desires God, the God of our ancestors. ~ 2 Chronicles 30:18-19 (MSG)
There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus... ~ Luke 19:2-3 (MSG)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God has an open door for any kind of person who wants to meet with him.
PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for your warm welcome. Forgive me for thinking that I have to be functioning at a particular spiritual level in order to connect with you. Even worse, I communicate those same rigid expectations to others through my words and attitude. Expand my understanding of your hospitality so that I, and all with whom I share life, will feel welcome in your transforming presence. Amen.
And when your people meet,
I will praise you, LORD. ~ Psalm 26:12 (CEV)
My friends, when you meet to worship, you must do everything for the good of everyone there. That’s how it should be when someone sings or teaches or tells what God has said or speaks an unknown language or explains what the language means. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:26 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
When we meet the focus is on others and God.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for calling your people together. We confess that we're a little frustrated because we haven't been able to meet in the ways that we're used to. This pandemic has been rough. Show us how we can praise you and keep the needs of others first and foremost in mind as we gather in a more cautious manner. We know that nothing can stop your praise. We will continue to bless you no matter what. Amen.
The Lord is partial to humble people. ~ Proverbs 3:34 (ABP)
Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. ~ Philippians 2:3 (CEB)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Aspire to a position of humility.
PRAYER
God, you are great but you welcome the weak and broken. That's good because I'm not very strong or whole. Forgive me for all the times that I start thinking that I'm more than I am. Restore in me a healthy sense of humility so that I can better serve you and those around me. I'm no longer going to make everything about me. 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)
