JEREMIAH 31:8 (CEB)
I’m going to bring them back from the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the disabled,
expectant mothers and those in labor;
a great throng will return here.
LUKE 14:16-17 (MSG)
Jesus followed up. "Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’"
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is inviting you, regardless of who you are, what you've done, or where you've been, to his great dinner party.
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord, for inviting me to your great feast. Forgive my narrow point of view for not wanting some people to be invited. I think I have a special right to be there. Open my heart to want those you want. Help me to reach out to those who would love to join your feast. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)
PSALM 130:3 (CEB)
If you kept track of sins, LORD—
my Lord, who would stand a chance?
2 CORINTHIANS 5:19 (CEB)
In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Through Christ God is eliminating his record-keeping office.
PRAYER
Gracious God, how can it be that you'd not count my sins against me. Forgive me for my failure to let go of the mindset which sets you up as the sin cop. Free me from both my sins and my fears. I'm going to live a reconciled life. Amen.
ISAIAH 61:1-2 (MSG)
GOD sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies...
LUKE 1:30 (CEB)
The angel said, "Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you."
SUMMARY SENTENCE
The time is coming when we'll more fully experience God's grace.
PRAYER
Generous God, what I've experienced with you has been a joy! But it appears that there is more coming. Forgive me for living as though your grace has limitations. Help me to recognize in my everyday life how you are ramping creation up for the big reveal that is coming through Christ. Amen.
GENESIS 3:19 (CEV)
You will have to sweat
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.
2 TIMOTHY 1:10 (CEV)
Now Christ Jesus has come
to show us the kindness
of God.
Christ our Savior defeated death
and brought us
the good news.
It shines like a light
and offers life
that never ends.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Life is hard, but God's kindness is greater than all the trauma we endure.
PRAYER
Gracious God, you're there for us -- a friend through the thick and thin. Forgive me for worrying over all the bad things which happen -- as though I have to figure out how to get through it all on my own. Wrap your loving arms around me and help me to see that I'm not alone. You sent Christ into the world to save us, I'm going to let his light shine into the dark times. 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)
