Reformation Sunday
EZEKIEL 12:25 (MSG)
I, GOD, am doing the speaking. What I say happens.
1 CORINTHIANS 4:20 (MSG)
God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Let God do the talking. Ours is to live the word-empowered life.
PRAYER
Lord God, I appreciate what you say and that you back your words up with Spirit-empowered action. Forgive me for thinking that I can through my own clever and witty words somehow change things. I want to live according to the power which flows through your Word alone. Amen.
EXODUS 15:26 (MSG)
I am GOD your healer.
LUKE 4:40 (CEV)
After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is in the healing business.
PRAYER
God, I'm amazed that you don't shake your head and walk away from our broken world. Everything seems to fall apart -- even our health. Sometimes I allow my health issues to get me down and I forget that you are in the process of restoration. Heal me. I'm going to trust that eventually my life will be totally restored because that's your goal. Amen.
1 CHRONICLES 29:11 (CEV)
Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world.
HEBREWS 4:16 (NLT)
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God rules and his reign is characterized by his grace.
PRAYER
It's comforting to know, God, that you are on the throne -- the throne that is higher than all others. I let the chaos of the world get to me. It drags me down and I forget to turn toward you -- the source of the mercy that I need to live well. So, once again I am asking you to get me through another day. I am confident that your grace will be there when I most need it. Amen.
JEREMIAH 3:23 (MSG)
We’re back! Back to our true GOD,
the salvation of Israel.
MATTHEW 15:35-36 (CEV)
After Jesus had told the people to sit down, he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks. He then broke them and handed them to his disciples, who passed them around to the crowds.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Jesus is lifegiving.
PRAYER
Jesus, everything you offer me is life-giving and life-changing. Thank you! Forgive my choices and actions that seek fulfillment in anything or anyone but you. Though I fall short, you extend your hand and heart to lift me up and restore me to full life. Use me to restore and uplift someone today. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)
*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)
