Tuesday, August 21, 2018

God remembers

But you are merciful and kind, and so you never forgot them or let them be destroyed. ~ Nehemiah 9:31 (CEV)

Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Colossians 1:3 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:
God will not forget you.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for your mercy and kindness. You have not forgotten me. Although, sometimes I begin to doubt when there are difficult times in my life. Forgive me for my short memory. And help me to remember that you remember -- and that you are quietly working things out behind the scenes. I'm going to trust your memory even when mine is not so good. Amen.

Monday, August 20, 2018

With us

May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us. ~ 1 Kings 8:57 (CEB)

Then the disciples left and preached everywhere. The Lord was with them, and the miracles they worked proved that their message was true. ~ Mark 16:20 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:
The Lord is with his people -- always.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for your promise to never leave or abandon us. Walk with me when I drift or feel as if I'm alone. You have become one of us so that we might belong to you, live with you, share your joy, and serve wtih you in an abundant life. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Joy 2

The Lord had made them joyful. ~ Ezra 6: 22 (CEB)(part)

Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. ~ Acts 2:46 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:
There is joy in serving the Lord.
PRAYER:
Lord God, the source of true and lasting happiness, thank you for hanging out with us people. When you are around our happy meter goes ways up -- even while you are revealing our sin and weaknesses. That is so ironic. I admit that I try to make my own happiness. That is a part of my own sin and weakness. But I know deep inside that you are the source of true and lasting joy. I want to serve you. Amen.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Joy

THE 13th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The Sovereign Lord has ... sent me to proclaim that the time has come when the Lord will save his people and defeat their enemies. ~ Isaiah 61:1 (part), 2a (GNT)

Paul writes: We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy... ~ 2 Corinthians 1:24 (part) (NLT)

KEY IDEA:
God's salvation and schedule fills us with joy.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Sovereign Lord, for rescuing us from the hold of sin and death. Continue to save me from thinking that I am the source of my salvation -- that if I just work a little harder I will become one of your good and happy people. That burden sucks all the joy out of me. I am going to look to you -- and you alone to fill my life with joy. Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*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)

EEB = EasyEnglish Bible (©2015, MissionAssist)

ERV = Easy-To-Read Version (©2006, World Bible Translation Center)

GNT = Good News Translation (©1992, American Bible Society)

MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)

NCB = New Catholic Bible (©2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.)

NCV = New Century Version (©2005, Thomas Nelson Inc)

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)

NRSV = New Revised Standard Version (© 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)

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