Thursday, August 11, 2022

GOD'S LOVE

PSALM 31:23 (CEV)
All who belong to the LORD,
show how you love him.


1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 (NCB)
Thus there are three things that endure: faith, hope, and love,
and the greatest of these is love.


SUMMARY SENTENCE
Make love your focus because love is the greatest of all that endures.

PRAYER
Patient God, you continue to love us even though we are so often disappointing to you. If you were not so loving you'd flush us all away. Yet, instead of gazing at all our failures, you look at the successes of Christ -- the one who draws us into a relationship with you. Thank you for this kind of love. Forgive our mediocre responses to something which changes everything. Pull me in closer to yourself so that your love rubs off on me and moves through me. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

A CALMING PRESENCE

ISAIAH 43:2 (NLT)
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.


MATTHEW 8:26 (NLT)
Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God carries us through the choppy waters.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your calming presence. I confess that my first inclination is to try to make it through the rough waters on my own. I don't even think that I should be turning to you -- until the panic sets in. But you're there in the midst of it all. Help me to learn how to turn to you first so as to avoid the panic stage altogether. I'm not going to let fear get the better of me. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

EVERYONE

PSALM 119:63 (MSG)
I’m a friend and companion of all who fear you,
of those committed to living by your rules.


ACTS 8:30-31 (NLT)
Philip ran over and heard the (Ethiopian) man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.


SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is eager to lead everyone from everywhere who is open to his direction.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your desire to guide even the most unlikely of people. I confess that I live as though your vision is small and limited to the people most like me.  Expand my horizons and give me the energy to move out of my small silo. I'm going to let you direct me with your good news toward even unlikely people. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name; your Kingdom come; your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Monday, August 8, 2022

MYSTERIOUS GOD

ISAIAH 9:6 (MSG)
His names will be:
Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.


1 JOHN 4:16 (NLT)
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Let the glorious mystery of who God is and what he does shape your life.

PRAYER
Glorious God, you are amazing. There is so much about you that I can't wrap my mind around. To ponder you is an eternal assignment. Yet, I'm drawn to lesser matters on a regular basis. Draw me back into contemplation so that I can continually keep you in mind. I want your character and energy to shape my life. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name; your Kingdom come; your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. 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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