DECEMBER 2005
December 1, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1a, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
God’s great works in the world are not on the surface. They do not belong to the class of works which we call miracles. God’s great work is the manifestation of himself in human consciousness. And the quickening of the conscience, the dispersion of ignorance, the awakening of poor humanity to the fact that God is nigh with the blessings of care and love. What is the making of all worlds or the waging of all conflicts as compared to this?
P. F. Bresee
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord, end my winter, and let my spring begin. I cannot with all my longings raise my soul out of her death and dullness, but all things are possible with thee. I need celestial influences, the clear shinings of thy love, the beams of thy grace, the light of thy countenance.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
December 2, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—
he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.
Psalm 55:22, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Did the disciples forsake Christ, though they had such strong resolutions never to do it? Then we see that self-confidence is a sin too likely to the best of people.
John Flavel
A prayer to strengthen your day
Holy Enabler
In my life, I feel weak today.
Make me strong!
In my ministry, I am feeling frustrated today
Show me the big picture again!
In my relationships, I am feeling abandoned and disappointed.
Help me see people through your eyes again!
This day I take the promise of Jesus as my source of strength, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12, NIV).
Neil B. Wiseman
December 5, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Joshua 1:7, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The times are ripe for a body of Christian heroes to lead forth amid the rush and pull of the world today, where every one is doing his level best “to get to the front.” How many of the so-called children of God there are who cannot be of any real value or service to God and His Church because of the dominant desire in their hearts either “to rule or to ruin.”
P. F. Bresee
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord and Father of Us All
Today I pray for your church.
To the tottery, faltering human side of your church
give grace and protection and patience.
I am angry with her smallness,
power grabbing, and mediocrity
Forgive my ire and increase my acceptance and charity.
To the divine side of your church
give empowerment and courage and victory.
Through divinely enabled human instruments, give your church
certainty in her message,
fire in her focus,
adventure in her action,
and love in her fellowship. Amen
Neil B. Wiseman
December 6, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42:6-7, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
In this great struggle against sin and wrongdoing there is little to remind us daily of the fight. There are no bursting bombs, no roaring of artillery as the big guns belch forth death upon the enemy. But the warfare is nevertheless real.
Paul T. Culbertson
A prayer to strengthen your day
God give me work
Till my life shall end
And life
Till my work is done. Amen.
Yorkshire tombstone
December 7, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
God always does what he says, and is gracious in everything he does.
Psalm 145:13, TM
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Elijah lay under a juniper tree in the desert and requested that he might die. In answer to his prayer, an angel came with food that he might eat and lie down and sleep again, and getting up might go work in God’s service. Often when people are whining that they do not want to live, what they really need is food and sleep and exercise so that they may be ready to serve God.
John A. Broadus
A prayer to strengthen your day
Dear Lord Jesus, may my prayers this day be bounded by my deepest needs on one side and by your greatness on the other. And may their expression be in simple longings and words that would lift my soul into your presence. Amen.
Bob Benson
December 8, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19, CEV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
We must exercise ourselves to keep a devotional frame of mind. We should guard our tongues. We should seek to live in a heavenly atmosphere and to keep our minds continually stayed on God. In other words, take time to pray and systematically study the Bible from a devotional standpoint. We have the privilege of tarrying before God until our souls are really blessed.
E. O. Chalfant
A prayer to strengthen your day
Sweet will of God, still fold me closer, Till I am wholly lost in Thee.
Mrs. C. M. Morris
December 9, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The front line is always right next to you. The man who works next to you, the woman who sits at the next desk, the one who is sitting by you on the bus, train, or plane, the family living in the next apartment or next door—these are the front line for you. Right here is where we so often fail. We have our eyes on the needs far away. But the harvest field is right next to each of us.
V. H. Lewis
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord of the Church,
So that our team may replicate Your way of serving,
break our hearts with the needs around us. Amen.
Neil B. Wiseman
December 12, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
We are to plan and undertake great things for God, and we are to steadfastly expect great things from Him. Let us be specific, confident, expectant, until He opens heaven over us and pours us out a blessing there is not enough room to receive.
P. F. Bresee
A prayer to strengthen your day
Holy God,
Help us discern Your plans for the Church in this setting and time.
Saturate our labors with the power of Christ. Amen.
Neil B. Wiseman
December 13, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
Isaiah 9:6, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
There is a twofold humiliation of Christ. First, he humbled himself to come down into human nature and shed his blood for us. Secondly, being exalted, he humbles himself to come down into our hearts, our filthy hearts, and wash them in his blood.
Ralph Erskine
A prayer to strengthen your day
O God: Grant that as we joyfully receive Christ for our Redeemer, we may with sure confidence behold him when he shall come to be our Judge.
The Book of Common Prayer
December 14, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6b, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Over the years I’ve seen Christians shaping God in their own image—in each case a dreadfully small God.
Walter J. Burghardt
A prayer to strengthen your day
Come, Lord Jesus! You are my righteousness. You are my goodness. . . . You are my life and my light of life. You are my love and all my loving. Come and I shall be whole.
Walter Wangerin
December 15, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
From that time on and forever.
Isaiah 9:7, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Is the life I now live worthy of being perpetuated eternally? If I were God, would I want such a person as I, with a life like mine, to live on eternally? Eternal life is based on our relationship with Jesus Christ, whom to know aright is life eternal.
W. Shelburne Brown
A prayer to strengthen your day
God of the ages—save us from the fads of today and the empty traditions of the past and the spiritual sand castles of the future. Make us tough gentle realists about the opportunities present day ministry provide us. And help us seize this day as a great day for serving God. Amen.
Neil B. Wiseman
December 16, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The question for all of us to ask ourselves is this: Would I recognize God if He came in a way I was not prepared for?
Oswald Chambers
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord, sometimes you come quietly and with no disturbance. May my life bring Christ quietly into the circle of human need so those who need you will not be frightened by your presence but enveloped by it.
Calvin Miller
December 19, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:26-28, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Ah, Mary, but your reaction to a promise more impossible than Sarah’s was a sweet, complete obedience and faith: “Let it happen to me according to your word.” You, the first of all the disciples of Jesus, said, “Yes.”
Walter Wangerin
A prayer to strengthen your day
O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
And drive away the shaves of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel
Ancient hymn, tr. John M. Neale
December 20, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
Luke 1:35-37, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness.
Brennan Manning
A prayer to strengthen your day
Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
Robert Louis Stevenson
December 21, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!
Luke 1:45, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Have I allowed my life to become a Bethlehem for the Son of God? The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once Christ is formed in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
Oswald Chambers
A prayer to strengthen your day
Heavenly Father, Thank you for the faith of a maiden, in whose obedience your plan for the reconciliation of the whole world was begun. I beg you, too, that you might empower me in pure simplicity. Let it be to me according to your word.
Walter Wangerin
December 22, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”
Luke 1:46-48, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
Dr. Seuss
A prayer to strengthen your day
Lord, some of us are from pretty small towns. I know you don’t mind. Really, I don’t either. Help my submission to you be bigger than my own insignificant zip code.
Calvin Miller
December 23, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6-7, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
In the beginning, God wants us to know that the focus of the Christian movement is on the manger, not on the manager.
Kennon L. Callahan
A prayer to strengthen your day
O God, who caused this holy night to shine with the illumination of the true Light: Grant us, that as we have known the mystery of that Light on earth, we may also perfectly enjoy him in heaven.
The Book of Common Prayer
December 26, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.
Luke 2:14, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
The Father’s love is revealed in the Son’s. The Son has been given to us that we might give up fear.
Brennan Manning
A prayer to strengthen your day
O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us to-day.
Amen.
Phillip Brooks
December 27, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.
Luke 2:30-32, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Lord, in this holy season of prayer and song and laughter, we praise you for the great wonders you have sent us: for shining star and angel's song, for infant's cry in lowly manger. We praise you for the Word made flesh in a little Child. We behold his glory, and are bathed in its radiance.
Be with us as we sing the ironies of Christmas, the incomprehensible comprehended, the poetry made hard fact, the helpless Babe who cracks the world asunder. We kneel before you shepherds, innkeepers, wisemen. Help us to rise bigger than we are. Amen.
A Catholic prayer
A prayer to strengthen your day
Come, Desire of nations come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the Woman's conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the Serpent's head.
Adam's likeness, Lord efface:
Stamp Thy image in its place;
Second Adam, from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Carol, “Christ is Born in Bethlehem”
December 28, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Matthew 2:10-11, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
To fail to sing is to give darkness a place in your soul, to wallow in the defeat you are trying to escape.
Calvin Miller
A prayer to strengthen your day
As with gladness, men of old—Did the guiding star behold
As with joy they hailed its light—Leading onward, beaming bright
So, most glorious Lord, may we—Evermore be led to Thee.
William C. Dix
December 29, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
Sacred infant, all divine,
what a mighty love was thine,
thus to come from highest bliss
down to such a world as this!
Hail, thou ever blessed morn;
hail, redemption's happy dawn
sing through all Jerusalem.
Edward Caswall
A prayer to strengthen your day
Father God, When your precious Son became a tiny baby in a stable in Bethlehem in poverty and simplicity, you changed our world. As we imagine those surroundings, we join with the shepherds and the wise men in wonder and praise. We thank you for our material lives, praise you for our spiritual lives, and trust in you for our eternal life. Amen.
The Teal Trust
December 30, 2005
Good morning, ministry partner . . .
Be encouraged from the Word
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 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.
John 1:10-12, NIV
Wisdom from fellow pilgrims
“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing his hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
Charles Dickens
A prayer to strengthen your day
Oh, while the Star of heavenly grace
Invites us, Lord, to seek Thy face,
May we no more that grace repel,
Or quench the light which shines so well.
Charles Coffin
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