Tuesday, October 1, 2024

HONORING GOD


PSALM 18:49 (CEV)
I will praise you, LORD,
and I will honor you
   among the nations.


REVELATION 15:4 (CEV)
Lord, who doesn't honor
   and praise your name?
You alone are holy,
   and all nations will come
   and worship you...

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Honoring and praising God is trending among the nations; so get with it.

DAILY FODDER
What is the single most important way you honor God? 

PRAYER
Glorious God, even on the most chaotic of days you are worthy of all praise and honor. I admit that I'm not very exuberant in my woship until the conditions all feel perfect. The music has to be just right and the gathering time perfect — and I have to be feeling really good. Teach me to worship in a way that will fully honor you even if it's not convienent or my style or I'm not feeling well. Perhaps the honor I extend to you during the off moments is the best received. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Monday, September 30, 2024

NO SWORDS

2 SAMUEL 2:26 (MSG)
Abner called out to Joab, "Are we going to keep killing each other till doomsday? Don’t you know that nothing but bitterness will come from this?"

MATTHEW 26:52 (MSG)
Jesus said, "Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords."

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Jesus calls his followers to op-out of the cycle of violence that does nothing to advance his Kingdom.

DAILY FODDER
Words can be as violent as swords. And if we want to eliminate the violent actions we can start by eliminating cutting words.

PRAYER
Prince of Peace, thank you for invading the world to establish a regime defined by shalom. Forgive my failure to fully embrace your peace agenda. Transform my heart and mind so that non-violent peace becomes my default response to evil. Grant me, too, practical assistance in implementing shalom. I'm putting away all my swords so I can tune in to how you're working this out. I want to become a weapon of your peace. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

NO SECOND-CLASS

The 19th Sunday after Pentecost

LEVITICUS 19:34 (CEB)
Any immigrant who lives with you must be treated as if they were one of your citizens. You must love them as yourself...

COLOSSIANS 3:11 (CEB)
In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
In God's prescribed method of living, there is no pecking order and all are welcomed. 

DAILY FODDER
Why is God so concerned about the plight of immigrants?

PRAYER
You've created a world, God, with tremendous diversity. Forgive me for the subtle ways I treat people who are different from me as second-class. Light a fire within me to serve the displaced of the world — the immigrants who are the brunt of so much political rhetoric. Show me how to stand up for them. I recognize that everyone receives a warm welcome when you're around — even sinners like me. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

Saturday, September 28, 2024

CONTEMPLATION

PSALM 19:14 (ABP)
Let the words that flow from my mouth
and the thoughts I allow to occupy my mind
   please you, GOD,
for you are my rock and my defender.


LUKE 2:19 (CEB)
Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Deep contemplation of what God says and does is worth the energy to do it.  

DAILY FODDER
How important is contemplation in your life? How do you arrange for space to engage in regular contemplation of God's actions and words? 

PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for defending me. Forgive me for my failure to give it all a second thought. Teach me to meditate and noodle on your words, activity, presence, and being. I know that's a lot to ask for my short attention span but I'm trusting the Spirit to do what can be done. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.
Give us enough food for today.
Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. 
Amen.

DAILYTEXTS.ORG

*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS

The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 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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