The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. ~ Proverbs 11:24 (MSG)
Be sure to welcome people whom you don't know into your life -- even if they are not like you. ~ Hebrews 13:2a (ABP)
KEY IDEA:
The life defined by Jesus is a life of generosity and hospitality.
PRAYER:
Lord God, I'm so thankful that you welcome strangers into your life. I'm definitely strange -- especially compared to you. I'm slow to welcome others and suspicious of all who are different. Free me from my paranoia and the desire to hold tightly onto everything I own. Transform me into a gracious and generous follower of Jesus. I'm going to draw on the abundant life that you provide to live generously. Amen.
The LORD loves justice. ~ Psalm 37:28a (CEB)
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. ~ Ephesians 5:1 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
Watch how God looks out for the marginalized and mistreated people. Then do what he does.
PRAYER:
God, thank you for caring for mistreated people. I wish that I was not so indifferent to the needs of such people. Please change me so that I become eager to stand up for the people who are pushed out of the way and mistreated. I want to imitate your just ways so that people will honor you for your justice. Amen.
THE 7th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth... ~ Psalm 104:14 (NLT)
Give us each day the food we need. ~ Luke 11:3 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God is the source of all that we need.
PRAYER:
Generous God, you provide all that I need. Of course, there are things I think I need that I'm waiting for. But really... I don't need them. And my wants distract me from recognizing your daily generosity. Help me to look beyond my desires and to focus on the many ways which you provide. I want to start by thanking you for Jesus and the new life that he has provided -- and which is available to all who will trust him and receive what you give. Generous God, you provide all that I need. Amen.
I am your servant.
Don’t try me in your court,
because no one is innocent
by your standards. ~ Psalm 143:2 (CEV)
Notice how God is both kind and severe. ~ Romans 11:22a (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
We are fortunate that God is not only severe but he is kind, too.
PRAYER:
Dear God, you have your standards. I don't measure up to them. So, I am eternally thankful for your kindness. You sent your Son into the world to work out mercy for all of us undeserving people. Yet, sometimes I act like I am better than I am. Help me to constantly tune into your kindness and to live in the humility that comes with recognizing your mercy. 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)
