The 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Then the Lord said to Moses:
In answer to your prayer, I do forgive them. ~ Numbers 14:20 (CEV)
Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. ~ Colossians 3:13 (CEV)
Gracious God, you have been quick to forgive. I'm not so quick in extending forgiveness. I keep looking for evidence that people deserve forgiveness. This means that I probably don't really understand your gracious nature. Teach me about grace and forgiveness so that I become eager to forgive -- as quickly as I have been forgiven. I'm going to think about all that Christ has done to make sure that your forgiveness is available to all. Amen.
Understanding your word
brings light
to the minds
of ordinary people. ~ Psalm 119:130 (CEV)
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. ~ Romans 15:4 (NCV)
Lord,
THANKS: Thank you for your message to us -- your written word -- the Bible. I'm so grateful for the way that those words have already formed my life.
REGRETS: Yet, there is still much to be done and in spite of my love of the scriptures I don't read them consistently enough.
INTERCESSION: Renew my passion for your word so that I can continue to grow in your light and hope.
PURPOSE: I'm going to read and listen.
Amen.
After a while the people of Joshua’s generation died, and the next generation did not know the Lord or any of the things he had done for Israel. ~ Joshua 2:10 (CEV)
With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people,
and foreign nations
will also see this. Your mighty power is a light
for all nations,
and it will bring honor
to your people Israel. ~ Luke 2:30-23 (CEV)
Lord, you have acted on behalf of those near and far. You are the most honorable of all beings. Yet, we shame ourselves when we forget you and lose ourselves in our own worlds. Help me to get past my shame. Through the cross Jesus took my shame and removed any power it had. So I need to move on and help shine your light to the nations. Amen.
We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives. ~ Proverbs 21:2 (MSG)
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT)
Lord,
THANKS: You understand us at the deepest level. You understand my motives and you see what others don't see. Even though that is scary I'm grateful to be known by you and I am counting on your grace.
REGRETS: I'm more concerned about appearances than the substance of who I am.
INTERCESSION: Please help me to adjust my definitions of success so that they line up with the things that are important to you.
PURPOSE: I'm wanting to become a person of spiritual depth. By your grace I am sure that I can grow that way.
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)
