Translate

Saturday, April 22, 2023

HOME

PSALM 39:4 (NLT)
Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:1 (ABP)
We live as nomads now with deterorating bodies that will evetually collapse. But we know that once that happens God has a permanent place for us to live. Our new homes aren't like the human-made buildings which give way to entropy. Our new homes will be heavenly and eternally permanent.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Live in light of the fact that your days on earth are quickly coming to an end.

DAILY FODDER
If you knew that your earthly life was going to come to an end tomorrow what would you do differently?

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for the gift of my life. Forgive me for living as though everything is destined to stay the same and without eternal perspective. Show me how to live each day aware of my eternal destination which is secured by Christ. I'm looking forward to something more stable. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.


Friday, April 21, 2023

WORDS

EXODUS 20:16 (CEV)
Do not tell lies about others.

EPHESIANS 4:29 (ABP)
Eliminate all sharp or foul language. Let only helpful and edifying words flow from your lips. In that way your listeners will actually benefit from what you say.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Rather than talking to advance your personal agenda or to vent your frusration, carefully speak in ways that benefit others.

DAILY FODDER
If you had to assign numberical values to your speech, what percentage of your words are spoken to benefit yourself and what percentage are spoken to lift up others?

PRAYER
God, your words are life-giving. Too often, though, my works suck life out of others. And I'm not even aware of it until they come out of my mouth, if at all. Grant me, please, the wisdom to recognize what's going on before I speak and the humility to apologize when I speak too quickly. Because I'm attached to you through Jesus, the Living Word, I'm going to pay more attention to my words. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

FOMO

2 KINGS 19:34 (MSG)
The Lord says, "I’ll shield this city, I’ll save this city,
for my sake and for David’s sake."


LUKE 12:32 (MSG)
Jesus says, "Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself."

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Don't be afraid because you aren't in power but be ready to share in Jesus' reign.

DAILY FODDER
Over what do you feel powerless? How do people typically respond to their lack of power in a given situation? How does Jesus advise his followers to respond in situations where they don't have control?

PRAYER
God, over and over again you remind us that we don't need to be afraid. Yet, we let fear inch into our lives and end up making ungodly decisions in our attempts to take control of desperate situations. Calm me down and teach me how to live without panic. Because of you, I'm going to maintain a non-anxious presence, no matter what happens. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

BLESSED TO BLESS

ZECHARIAH 8:13 (NLT)
Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:5 (CEV)
We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is the source of all the good that flows through us.

DAILY FODDER
How does an overestimation or an underestimation of the good flowing through us obstruct the flow?

PRAYER
Generous God, thank you for all the ways that you have blessed us. I confess that I sometimes feel prideful about how talented and gifted I am -- as though I've brought it all on myself. But I am looking to you to keep me straight on that matter. I want to acknowledge that you are the sole source of all the good I have and to look for ways of passing those blessings on to others. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. 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.)

Blog Archive