1 SAMUEL 3:9 (NLT)
Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.
ACTS 16:14 (MSG)
One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart—and she believed!
SUMMARY SENTENCE
The greatest thing we can do is listen to God with a trusting heart.
PRAYER
Thank you, God, for speaking into a chaotic world. It's incredibly hard to hear you because I've filled my life with so much competing noise. Guide me so that I can seek out the quiet space needed to hear you. And give me a trusting heart so that I can respond to your voice. I'm going to listen and respond. Amen.
EZEKIEL 36:36 (MSG)
The nations around you that are still in existence will realize that I, GOD, rebuild ruins and replant empty waste places. I, GOD, said so, and I’ll do it.
ACTS 11:20-21 (MSG)
Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
The good news of Jesus is a global thing.
PRAYER
Saving God, I thank you that you ignore the judgmental distinctions I make in all my relationships. I must confess that I weigh and measure each person according to my standards, which I claim are yours. Forgive me, Lord, and fill me with your Spirit of bold love that I may serve your good purpose today. Amen.
The 25th Sunday after Pentecost
ISAIAH 58:1 (MSG)
Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives...
GALATIANS 4:9 (CEV)
But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers?
SUMMARY SENTENCE
In light of the great way that God is treating you, how can you turn away from him?
PRAYER
God, when I think about it, I realize that you have treated me well. The problem is that I don't think about it. I get caught up in the stuff life throws at me and I lose perspective. Please keep me focused so that I remember you and follow you, in the way of Christ Jesus. I'm going to turn away from all but you. Amen.
ISAIAH 45:15 (CEV)
People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
though he alone can save.
EPHESIANS 3:20-21 (CEV)
I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is doing way more than we can imagine.
PRAYER
Glorious God, the world is such a chaotic place. You are the only explanation as to why things continue to hold together as well as they do. Forgive me for giving in to despair when a lot of bad things happen. I need a faith booster. I'm going to trust that you are at work behind the scenes. 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)
