Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food. ~ Isaiah 55:2 (NLT)
Don’t work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food...” ~ John 6:27a (CEV)
Lord, thank you for providing for me so well. I have a lot of food for both my body and my spirit. Maybe I even have too much food for the body. Renew my enthusiasm for lasting food -- the kind that feeds my soul and nurtures the eternal life I've begun through the work of Christ Jesus. Amen.
His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. ~ Daniel 7:14b (NLT)
God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ. And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again—things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross. ~ Colossians 1:19-20 (NCV)
Eternal God,
THANKS: I really appreciate your peacemaking. And I'm looking forward to an eternal kingdom of peace.
REGRETS: I get caught up in conflict. It's like I get sucked into the problems and I stop living the kingdom way.
INTERCESSION: Help me to live peacefully in the midst of war and chaos.
PURPOSE: I intend to live according to what you have done rather than what the rest of the world is doing.
Amen.
The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” ~ Exodus 33:14 (NLT)
Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:12 (NLT)
Lord,
THANKS: Thank you for making the trip with me. I feel so much more confident knowing that you are with me along my journey.
REGRETS: Even with the confidence that you give me, sometimes I am shy. I don't want to make mistakes and I'm afraid that I could really mess things up if I were to be too forward about my faith in you.
INTERCESSION: Correct that. Please give me vision to see how close you are, and how you will use whatever I do for your glory.
PURPOSE: I'm going to rest and relax in the knowledge of your guiding presence.
Amen.
We will obey the Lord and do everything he has commanded! ~ Exodus 24:7b (CEV)
Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. ~ Romans 12:11 (CEV)
Lord, you have done so much for us -- for me -- that I want to do everything you command. I want to follow your Spirit and serve you -- and you alone. But what I do, and what I want to do, are often two different things. Strengthen me so that I can eagerly follow you and your plan. 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)
