You sent war chariots
to crush our skulls.
We traveled through fire
and through floods,
but you brought us
to a land of plenty. ~ Psalm 66:12 (CEV)
Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” ~ Luke 21:36 (NLT)
Lord, there are way too many scary things out there -- terrorists, wars, disasters... At some point you're going to wrap up history as we know it. However, I'm not afraid of that because you have kindly led me to this point. So I trust that you will continue to deliver me to a safe place. Thank you that I don't have to be afraid. Hope removes fear. Amen.
Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. ~ Deuteronomy 15:10 (NLT)
And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded. ~ Matthew 10:42 (NLT)
Giving God, in light of all that you have given, it is not a surprise that you expect your people to be generous, too. You value generosity. Sometimes, though, generosity is the last thing on my mind. If I get even a little extra I'm eager to find a way to better myself rather than others. So, please continue to remind me of your generosity. I want to bless others in the same way that you have blessed me. Amen.
Know that the Lord is God—
he made us; we belong to him.
We are his people,
the sheep of his own pasture. ~ Psalm 100:3 (CEB)
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.” ~ 1 Peter 2:10 (NLT)
Lord God, Thank you for giving us an identity. In your mercy you continue to round up strays to form a new flock. Admittedly I don't always take that identity very seriously. In doing so I short-change the value of your mercy. Help me to catch a fresh glimpse of who I am -- who we are -- because of your mercy. I'm going to live as a valued member of your flock. Amen.
With praises from children
and from tiny infants,
you have built a fortress. ~ Psalm 8:2a (CEV)
Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. ~ Mark 10:14b (NLT)
Lord King!
THANKS: Thank you for including me in your kingdom where people of simple faith are more important than the powerful and successful.
REGRETS: Sometimes, though, I still buy into the values of other kingdoms. I am easily fooled into trying to impress powerful people.
INTERCESSION: I pray that you would use the children -- and all people of simple faith -- to overturn the kingdoms of power and control.
PURPOSE: I'm going to follow the lead of the children and go with Jesus.
Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2011 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)
