Saturday, May 30, 2020

Sincere

Balaam answered, “Even if Balak offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I wouldn’t do anything to disobey the Lord my God. ~ Numbers 22:18 (CEV)

We aren’t like so many people who hustle the word of God to make a profit. We are speaking through Christ in the presence of God, as those who are sincere and as those who are sent from God. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:17 (CEB)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We handle God's message with total sincerity.
PRAYER
Lord, your Word is a great gift to us. Please forgive me for using my limited knowledge to make myself look good or for other forms of personal gain. Shape me into a sincere and accurate communicator of your message -- for the sake of my neighbor and myself. I'm going to allow Christ to speak and live through me. Amen.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Praising

I’ll tell the world how great and good you are, I’ll shout Hallelujah all day, every day. ~ Psalm 35:28 (MSG)

After his disciples had worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem and were very happy. They spent their time in the temple, praising God. ~ Luke 24:52-53 (CEV)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Praise is the natural response to seeing God at work.
PRAYER
Living God, today I want to focus on praising you. You are clearly at work here and you've taken me along for the ride. The least I can do is honor you with my words. Reduce the clutter in my mind so that I can sincerely focus on praising you. Amen.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

God notices and helps

    Look at me and help me! I’m all alone and in big trouble. ~ Psalm 25:16 (MSG)

    The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”
    Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.
~ John 5:7,8 (MSG)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God notices and helps us through the troubles.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for noticing. I feel alone a lot of the time. If only I had the right kind of help at the right moment, things would be different. Help me to realize that you are here and helping in ways unexpected. Help me to notice the help I'm getting so that I can get up and walk with you. Amen.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

God at work!

The Lord will work out his plans for my life... ~ Psalm 138:8a (NLT)

Paul wrote: God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns. ~ Philippians 1:6 (CEV)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We can bank on God finishing what he has started to do in our midst and in our lives.
PRAYER
Lord God, I'm grateful that you have a plan that you're working out. Sometimes the world seems to be spinning out of control and I start to panic. Save me from such irrational thoughts and behaviors. Instill again a sense of confidence renewing my hope that through Christ you are still working out your plan for my life. I'm going to act with certainty even when I'm facing some really hard times. 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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