Wednesday, August 14, 2024

GET MOVING AGAIN!

DEUTERONOMY 2:7 (MSG)
GOD, your God, has ...guarded you in your travels through this immense wilderness.

HEBREWS 12:12 (MSG)
So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
You know God's history of protecting you along the way; so don't fart around and dillydally when he sends you to do something new.

DAILY FODDER
Where and to whom is God sending you these days?

PRAYER
Eternal God, help me to remember that all things pass and that times of loss will give way to fullness of joy and thanksgiving through your loving power. Forgive my unbelief and strengthen me to live this day in faith, hope, and above all love. In Jesus' name. Amen. (Daily TextsGround Up Grace edition)

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

NEW SONG

PSALM 96:1 (MSG)
Sing GOD a brand-new song!
Earth and everyone in it, sing!
Sing to GOD—worship GOD!


LUKE 19:37-38 (MSG)
The whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:
   Blessed is he who comes,
      the king in God’s name!
   All’s well in heaven!
   Glory in the high places!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We join the psalmist in singing a brand new song.

DAILY FODDER
Assuming that this new song is more than a literal piece of music, what exactly is the new song? How do you sing it if you are not particularly musical?

PRAYER
You, O God, are worthy of fresh new music; for you are constantly refreshing our receptive hearts. But there are times when I am less than receptive to new music. I'm stuck in the oldies and the old familar ways that revolve around me and my antiquated tastes. Give me a new song that is so compelling I can't help but join the crowd of disciples who welcomed you into Jerusalem. Glory in the high places! Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Monday, August 12, 2024

LIVE EXPECTANTLY

PSALM 119:166 (MSG)
I wait expectantly for your salvation;
GOD, I do what you tell me.


REVELATION 22:20 (NCV)
Jesus, the One who says these things are true, says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Our calling is to live expectantly.

DAILY FODDER
The second half of Revelation 22:20 contains a phrase which appears to be a translation of the Aramaic phrase maranatha! It appears without translation in 1 Corinthians 16:22. And it can be either a prayer ("Come soon, Lord Jesus.") or a declaration ("The Lord Jesus is coming soon."). Either way it is a call for us to live expectantly of the second grand appearance of Christ Jesus.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for your promised return to finish setting the world right. I admit that I get so caught up in the current drama that I'm not living expectantly. I'm satisfied with temporary cultural wins. Shift my focus back on to you and your ultimate agenda. I'm going to live expectantly today and from now on. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

THE GIFT OF TRUST

The 12th Sunday after Pentecost

EZEKIEL 20:41-42 (NLT)
I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch. Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised with a solemn oath to give to your ancestors, you will know that I am the LORD.

HEBREWS 11:8 (CEB)
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out without knowing where he was going.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We live to demonstrate God's faithfulness to the world.

DAILY FODDER
How does your life display God's faithfulness?

PRAYER
Lord, the older I get, the less I seem to know for sure. Thank you for the gift of trust. I rejoice that a time for knowing is coming when I will stand in the company of the redeemed in your presence. How I long for that day's arrival. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen. (Daily TextsGround Up Grace edition)

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
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 -- 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)

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)

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.)

Blog Archive