God issues a command to the earth,
and in a nanosecond the planet obeys him. ~ Psalm 147:15 (ABP)
God's word isn't shackled. ~ 2 Timothy 2:9b (ABP)
SUMMARY SENTENCE:Don't underestimate the power of God's word.
PRAYER
God, you send forth your living message to a struggling world. Sometimes the problems feel so overwhelming that I give in to discouragement. Help me to catch a fresh glimpse of the power of your word and what you are accomplishing in the midst of the craziness. I'm going to act with boldness, living according to your living word. Amen.
You bring the year to a close with huge crops. ~ Psalm 65:11a (NIRV)
Every good and perfect gift is from God. This kind of gift comes down from the Father who created the heavenly lights. These lights create shadows that move. But the Father does not change like these shadows. ~ James 1:17 (NIRV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE God is incredibly generous.
PRAYER Thank you God for being a giver. Your kind of generosity is so contrary to the human experience. Whenever I give I'm totally mindful of how I might benefit from my generosity. But you produce crops that you'll never eat. Help me to become selflessly generous so that my life is totally lined up with that of our all-giving Savior, Christ Jesus. Amen.
The 3rd Sunday after Pentecost
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening...
~ Psalm 92:1-2 (NLT)
God is the one who makes us patient and cheerful. I pray that he will help you live at peace with each other, as you follow Christ. Then all of you together will praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 15:5-6 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE Praise the Lord together, for he is the reason we are together.
PRAYER Most High God, your love never fails. It bubbles over until it saturates our lives and we start to love, too. Help me to enjoy my place off the stage singing your praises with all the others. I want to keep the focus on you. Amen.
Everything the Lord does
is glorious and majestic,
and his power to bring justice
will never end. ~ Psalm 111:3 (CEV)
So everyone who worships the Lord must turn away from evil. ~ 2 Timothy 2:19b (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE Evil actions are inconsistent with worshiping a righteous and just God.
PRAYER Thank you, God, for sending Christ into the world to establish a just and righteous regime. In spite of my rhetoric about all that he has done, I've been slow to fully embrace his approach to justice and rigtheousness. I think it's because I'm envisioning it all as a distant and future reality. Stir within me now a passion for your agenda. I'm going to worship you with integrity. 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)
