The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
but I’m declaring new things.
Before they even appear,
I tell you about them. ~ Isaiah 42:9 (CEB)
Here is the great mystery of our religion:
Christ came as a human.
The Spirit proved
that he pleased God,
and he was seen by angels.
Christ was preached
to the nations.
People in this world
put their faith in him,
and he was taken up to glory. ~ 1 Timothy 3:16 (CEV)
Lord, thank you for showing yourself and your message to us. There is a lot of change taking place in the world. I confess that sometimes it makes me afraid. Help me to trust the message of Jesus even more than I do now. Help me to live according to your message. I want my life to declare the message, too. Amen.
I will lie down and fall asleep in peace
because you alone, Lord, let me live in safety. ~ Psalm 4:8 (CEV)
Christ is our peace. ~ Ephesians 2:14a (CEB)
Lord:
THANKS: I'm grateful that you have made peace and that I benefit from it.
REGRETS: I let things get to me. I get riled up and doubt that your peace is going to make a difference.
INTERCESSION: Help me to live peacefully. Help me to live at peace in an unpeaceful world. Help me to advocate for the peace.
PURPOSE: I'm gong to live consistent with the peace of Christ.
Amen.
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Rip the heavens apart!
Come down, Lord;
make the mountains tremble. ~ Isaiah 64:1 (CEV)
Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ~ Mark 13:26 (CEV)
Come down, Lord! Even though I am not as ready as I should be, I am eager for your coming. I look forward to justice for the poor. I look forward to knowing you more fully. I look forward to living in greater harmony with you. And I want to start all of that even before you come to shake things up. Help me to prepare and to prepare others. I'm going to live in the shadow of your hope. Amen.
From dawn until dusk my name is praised by every nation on this earth... ~ Malachi 1:11 (CEV)
Many people will come from everywhere to enjoy the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ~ Matthew 8:11 (CEV)
Lord, thank you for including people from everywhere in your work and celebration. We all join together to daily praise you with our words and our lives. It's starting to happen. But I get too easily discouraged by the negative things in the world. Help me to focus on you and your coming feast. Things really are moving in a positive direction and with every ounce of energy I have I'm going to be a part of what you are doing. 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)
