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Friday, August 28, 2020

Refreshment

You are my God. I worship you.
In my heart, I long for you,
     as I would long for a stream 
          in a scorching desert.
~ Psalm 63:1 (CEV)

Jesus stood up and shouted,
     "All who are thirsty should come to me!"
~ John 7:37 (CEB)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Jesus is the source of life-giving refreshment.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for refreshing us when we get worn down and parched. I confess that I contribute to my own depletion. I've opted in to a world system that pushes us into wanting more and fearing that we're going to miss out on some experience. Reset my desires so that I'm looking only to you for fulfillment. I'm going to find refreshment and satisfaction in you. Amen.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

God present

Even though other nations were all around us, the Lord protected us wherever we went. ~ Joshua 24:17 (CEV)

I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. ~ Matthew 28:20 (CEV)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is with his people through thick and thin.

PRAYER
God, thank you for being here for me. I confess that I'm a worrier. I get worked up over what is happening and what it all means and all the possible bad things that could happen. Forgive me for taking all this on myself and help me to trust you. I know that we'll get through this because you are here for us even when things look bad. Amen.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Dying love

You burden me down
     with your terrible sins.
But I wipe away your sins
     because of who I am.
And so, I will forget
     the wrongs you have done.

~ Isaiah 43:24-25 (CEV)

At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. ~ Colossians 1:21-22 (MSG)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God takes the initiative to restore our relationship with him.

PRAYER
It is hard to fathom the depths of your patience with me, loving Father. I keep making the same mistakes, showing you my imperfections time and again. Daily the cross reminds me that your Son Jesus considers me worth dying for. Assured of his dying love, may I act confidently in my service to you. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Humblest of people

My heart rejoices in the Lord! ~ 1 Samuel 2:1 (NLT)

Mary said,
     "With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
      In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
      He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant."

~ Luke 1:46-48 (CEB)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Delight in the Lord, for he takes delight in using the humblest of people.

PRAYER
Gracious God, I marvel at the way you work and whom you choose to use to make it all happen. I confess to being overly ambitious at times and frustrated because I haven't risen as high as I feel that I could go. Help me to keep things in perspective and my personal ambitions in check. I'm going to delight in how you use me -- even if it is in seemingly simple ways. Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*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)

EEB = EasyEnglish Bible (©2015, MissionAssist)

ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)

GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)

MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)

NCB = New Catholic Bible (©2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.)

NCV = New Century Version (©2005, Thomas Nelson Inc)

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)

NRSVUE = New Revised Standard Version (© 2021 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.)

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