AUGUST 2005
August 1, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Revelation 21:5, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
“The future has come. God has given us a new time. We have arrived at a new shore. We have come to a new world. The morning sun has shone on a new day. There is a time for new beginnings. There is a time for old ways. This is a time for new beginnings. Welcome to a new age.”
Kennon Callahan
A prayer to strengthen your day
Let your grace follow after us,
That we may ever be
Protected by your power,
Upheld by your kindness,
Warmed by your love.
William Barclay
August 2, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:11-12, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Commit to Him the past; He can blot out its guilt and torment. Commit the present with its shortcomings and human weakness. Commit the future with its threats of evil. You are turning them over to understanding sympathy, to loving willingness, to power unlimited, to infinite wisdom.
Bertha Munro
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me, anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity, or the amount of its yearly offering.
A. W. Tozer
August 3, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
He paid the ransom for his people,
He ordered his Covenant kept forever.
He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.
The good life begins in the fear of God—
Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.
His Hallelujah lasts forever!
Psalm 111:9-10, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Against the entire sanctification of the soul born of God, there is a trinity of foes: the devil, the world, and the flesh. When the soul is sanctified, one of these is destroyed, namely the flesh. But against the enlargement of the soul’s experience there remains the devil and the world.
Phineas Bresee
A prayer to strengthen your day
O Thou who lovest a cheerful heart, forgive our dreariness of spirit. If we have confused gloominess with goodness, open our eyes that we may see that in Thy Presence is fullness of joy. And thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ralph Spaulding Cushman
August 4, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 1:11-13 NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The leader serves the sheep by casting vision, maintaining mission focus, and modeling risk so the sheep will be excited and challenged to resist the enemy, who deserves the metaphor of a roaring lion. Congregations where sheep take on lions and win are congregations filled with excitement that motivates sheep to multiply.
Paul Borden
A prayer to strengthen your day
O Lord my God, thank you
for bringing this day to a close;
Thank you for giving me rest
in body and soul.
Your hand has been over me
and has guarded and preserved me.
Forgive my lack of faith
and any wrong that I have done today,
and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
August 5, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
To that soul that has tasted of Christ, the jaunty laugh, the taunting music of mingled voices, and the haunting appeal of smiling eyes—all these lack flavor—and I would drink deeply of Him. Fill me, O Spirit of Christ, with the fullness of God.
Jim Elliott
A prayer to strengthen your day
Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church or closet, nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that everywhere I am in Thy presence. So may my every word and action have a moral content.
Susanna Wesley
August 8, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
But you, Israel: put your trust in God!
—trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
Clan of Aaron, trust in God!
—trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
You who fear God, trust in God!
—trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
Psalm 115:8, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
A prayer to strengthen your day
Father, I thank Thee that the sweetest thing in life—fellowship—is the very center of Thy revelation in Jesus. In Him we have fellowship with Thee, with others, with ourselves, and with nature. We have fellowship, pure, unadulterated, and unlimited. Amen.
E. Stanley Jones
August 9, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:9, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
He became a peasant so that we could become priests and kings in the spiritual kingdom. He became what we are, so we could become what He is.
Mendell Taylor
A prayer to strengthen your day
Whether we walk by green pastures and still waters, or in dangerous, dismal places, O God, may we be sustained by thy word and thy companionship. In the name of our Lord. Amen.
Halford E. Luccock
August 10, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Acts 4:8, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Before Pentecost, the disciples could only ask questions. After Pentecost, throughout the record in the book of Acts, they stood in the authority of the Spirit and answered all of the questions of the people concerning God’s plan of salvation through the crucified and risen Christ!
A. W. Tozer
A prayer to strengthen your day
God—I want to center my whole life on You. Teach me how to simplify my life, how to eliminate clutter, how to distrust my first reactions, and how to love people. Teach me how to pray with passion and understanding and confidence.
Neil B. Wiseman
August 11, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Nehemiah 9:5-6, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Christ knew the secret of happy, effectual, and harmonious living, both for individuals and for nations. It is simply this—to love God first with the whole of our powers and personalities, and then to extend to others the deep-seated love we have for ourselves.
J. B. Phillips
A prayer to strengthen your day
We seek a clear light to shine upon our troubled way.
We ask Thee to give us clearer directions.
Where we have missed the way and wandered far,
bring us back at whatever cost to our pride.
Peter Marshall
August 12, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
Acts 10:34-35, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing, that He is preparing and fitting us for some extraordinary thing by and bye, but as we go on in grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, in the present minute. If we have God’s say-so behind us, the most amazing strength comes, and we learn to sing in the ordinary days and ways.
Oswald Chambers
A prayer to strengthen your day
I, a pilgrim of eternity, stand before Thee, O eternal One…Make me wise to see all things today under the form of eternity, and make me brave to face all the changes in my life which such a vision may entail; through the grace of Christ my Savior. Amen.
John Baillie
August 15, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall,
when God grabbed and held me.
God’s my strength, he’s also my song,
and now he’s my salvation.
Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs
in the camp of the saved?
“The hand of God has turned the tide!
The hand of God is raised in victory!
The hand of God has turned the tide!”
Psalm 188:13-16, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
“No worship is wholly pleasing to God until there’s nothing in us that is displeasing to God.”
A. W. Tozer
A prayer to strengthen your day
Now, Lord, look upon me. Your gaze can turn my nothingness into newness, my darkness into light, my misery into joy, my death into life. When I become nothing, I discover both myself and you. . . . You are my salvation, my power, my strength.
Thomas à Kempis
August 16, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
God is all mercy and grace—
not quick to anger, is rich in love.
God is good to one and all;
everything he does is suffused with grace.
Creation and creatures applaud you, God;
your holy people bless you.
Psalm 145:8-10, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
“The universe is God’s sacramental sign. The immensity of the universe is God’s way of teaching us the immensity of God’s love with and for us. God wants us to know how immense God’s love is for us. God creates the universe as immense as God does so that we will be confident, be assured of the rich, full immensity of God’s love for us.”
Kennon Callahan
A prayer to strengthen your day
Grant me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm hope, and a fervent love, that I may desire only that which gives You pleasure and conforms to Your will. And, above all, look upon me with Your love and Your favor.
Thomas Moore
August 17, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:14-15, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
In congregational life our declining institutions think that shepherds take care of the sheep for the sheep’s benefit, rather than to benefit the Chief Shepherd by accomplishing God’s mission. The paradox of Christianity is that sheep are most fulfilled when they are risking life for the Chief Shepherd rather than being pampered by appointed shepherds.
Paul Borden
A prayer to strengthen your day
Help me to boldly take a beachhead of Satan for the kingdom of God. To banish his forces. And to be brave in the knowledge that though they are legion, you are Lord.
Ken Gire
August 18, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.
Psalm 37:7ff, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Meditation is the necessary prelude to intercession.
Richard J. Foster
A prayer to strengthen your day
My Lord, you listen even to my thoughts.
Teach me to listen,
that I may hear when you speak
in the wind, in music,
and in love.
Frank Topping
August 19, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.
Psalm 46:8-10, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Discarded loyalties and faith thrown overboard may look like gestures of freedom at the time. But look around and see what happens in the years that follow to the people who despise faith and loyalty.
J. B. Phillips
A prayer to strengthen your day
I do need thee, Lord. I need thee now. I know that I can do without many of the things that once I thought were necessities, but without thee I cannot live, and I dare not die.
Peter Marshall
August 22, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Hebrews 1:3-4, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
If you will make the purity of God your indefatigable quest, the God of purity will give himself to you in such fullness, that your questions will be transcended in the splendor of the experience which has overtaken you.
Albert E. Day
A prayer to strengthen your day
Almighty God, take from me all desire for worldly praise, and all emotions of anger and revenge. Give me a humble, lowly, quiet, peaceable, patient, generous, kind, tender, and compassionate mind.
Thomas Moore
August 23, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
A crucifixion of the natural self is the passport to everlasting life. Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.
C. S. Lewis
A prayer to strengthen your day
Father, You know how much I need to be filled with Your strength. You know how weak I am in myself. Thank You, that it is possible to be strong in You.
Corrie ten Boom
August 24, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone, and to no other yoke whatever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers
A prayer to strengthen your day
O Jesus of the Joyous Heart, I bury my sadness in Thy Joy. I leave my gloom at the foot of the cross. I drink deep of Thy Resurrection. Victory and I am whole again. I thank Thee, thank Thee for this Joy that passes understanding. Amen.
E. Stanley Jones
August 25, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Psalm 51:16, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Don’t expect too much of life, for life is tricky, undependable. Expect everything of God. He is the one permanency in a changing world.
Vance Havner
A prayer to strengthen your day
Set me free from all evil passions, and heal my heart of all inordinate affections; that, being inwardly cured and thoroughly cleansed, I may be made fit to love, courageous to suffer, steady to persevere.
Thomas à Kempis
August 26, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
God, listen to me shout,
bend an ear to my prayer.
When I’m far from anywhere,
down to my last gasp,
I call out, “Guide me
up High Rock Mountain!”
You’ve always given me breathing room,
a place to get away from it all,
A lifetime pass to your safe-house,
an open invitation as your guest.
You’ve always taken me seriously, God,
made me welcome among those who know and love you.
Psalm 61:1, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Life from the center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple, it is amazing, it is triumphant, it is radiant. It takes not time, but it occupies all our time.
Thomas Kelley
A prayer to strengthen your day
Speak to me, that I may hear Thee giving me courage for hard times and strength for difficult places; giving me determination for challenging tasks. I ask of Thee no easy way, but just Thy grace that is sufficient for every need, so that no matter how hard the way, how challenging the hour, how dark the sky, I may be enabled to overcome.
Peter Marshall
August 29, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
or later, loaded with guilt,
Our sins too much for us—
but you get rid of them once and for all.
Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest
at home in your place!
Psalm 65:2-4, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Unless there is continued thoughtful, sacrificial devotement to Him, our previous consecration becomes not only useless, but a stench in the nostrils of heaven and earth, like every other dead thing.
Phineas Bresee
A prayer to strengthen your day
Good Jesus, the water of Your teaching flows in silence. . . . Your voice never strains nor shouts. You do not force us to hear you. You ask only that we open our hearts to you, and in tranquility your love enters our souls.
Aelred of Rievaulx
August 30, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord,
and nothing to compare with your works.
All the nations you made are on their way,
ready to give honor to you, O Lord,
Ready to put your beauty on display,
parading your greatness,
And the great things you do—
God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!
Psalm 86:8-10, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The movement begins in a manger, not a mansion. The movement begins in a stable, not a castle, in a cattle stall, not a cathedral. This is not accidental. God intends that the movement begin with the grass roots. God intends the movement to begin in a humble way, not hierarchically.
Kennon Callahan
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord Jesus, Direct our hearts that we may all be kindly affectioned one to another, abounding love and sympathy, keep back the unkind word, checking the hasty judgment, in all things being gentle and full of compassion in a world of hate. So may we walk softly before Thee and deal gently with one another, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Peter Marshall
August 31, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
Psalm 103:13, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
In Jesus the service of God and the service of the least of the brethren are one.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord of my heart, save me from vain knowledge, that I may always study your word. Heart of my own heart, whatever may befall me, rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and action.
Celtic Prayer
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