Sunday, June 7, 2020

Justice is coming!

Trinity Sunday

The Lord... is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness. ~ Psalm 98:9 (NLT)

And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. ~ Matthew 24:14 (NLT)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God's kingdom will make things right for all people.
PRAYER
Just and merciful God, I'm looking forward to the time when you will set all things straight. I confess that I let the injustices of the world eat at me until I become cranky. Reset my faith so that I can calmly and confidently anticipate your justice. I'm going to live now according to then. Amen.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

His kingdom

His signs are superb!
     His miracles so powerful!
His kingdom is everlasting.
     His rule is for all time.

~ Daniel 4:3 (CEB)

Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. ~ Hebrews 12:28 (MSG)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Align yourself with God's forever regime and reign.
PRAYER
God, you are worthy of all respect and worship. You are the ultimate king. Forgive me for my unthinking attempts to advance my own feeble kingdom. Save me from my delusions of grandeur and entitlement. Install your kingdom values deep within my soul so that I'm totally aligned with and allegiant to you. I want my life to brim over with praise and gratitude for you. Amen.

Friday, June 5, 2020

Sorrow and grace

I’m on a diet of tears—
     tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
     people knock at my door,
Pestering,
     “Where is this God of yours?”

~ Psalm 42:3 (MSG)

The Lord said: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God's grace is the only survival tool we need.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your undeserved grace. Forgive me when I slip into thinking that I need more power or control to overcome my problems. Stir again the deposit of grace that you have planted within me. I'm going to trust that the power of Christ will override all my weaknesses. Amen.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Make a stand

But David told the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel’s army, the one you’ve insulted." ~ 1 Samuel 17:45 (CEB)

So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. ~ Ephesians 6:14-15 (CEB)

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Make your stand with the Lord utilizing his weapons of choice.
PRAYER
Lord of heavenly forces, who can oppose you? I'm so glad that you call me to fight next to you. It's such a safe place to be. Forgive me when in the face of opposition I feel compelled to come up with my own plans -- battle strategies which rely on violence and violent words. When the stressful moments come and I feel compelled to do something reawaken me to your presence. I'm going to stand with you. 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.)

Blog Archive