Be encouraged by God’s Word:
As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process (Hebrews 10:12-14, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
True greatness, true leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost. Often it comes with a painful baptism of suffering. But the true spiritual leader is focused on the service he and she can render.

— J. Oswald Sanders

Pray together with us:
God, I’m confused about rushing and waiting
I’m confused about fast and slow.
Coach me on when to hurry . . .
to give a cup of cold water,
to speak an encouraging word,
to organize a march for righteousness.
Coach me on when to wait . . .
like a seed in springtime,
like a potential being touched with possibility,
like an ordinary person becoming a saint.
Above all—help me to know the difference so I don’t mess up.

— NBW

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.
So—answer! Bend your ear! Listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.
Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers (Psalm 17:6-8, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
I think that all human systems require continuous renewal. They rigidify. They get stiff in the joints. They forget what they cared about. The forces against it are nostalgia and the enormous appeal of having things the way they have always been, appeals to the supposedly happy past. But we’ve got to move on.

— John Gardner

Pray together with us:
Give me a good digestion, Lord, and also something to digest;
Give me a healthy body, Lord, and sense to keep it at its best.
Give me a healthy mind, good Lord, to keep the good and pure in sight,
Which, seeing sin, is not appalled, but finds a way to set it right.

Give me a mind that is not bound, that does not whimper, whine or sigh.
Don’t let me worry overmuch about the fussy thing called I.
Give me a sense of humor, Lord; give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life and pass it on to other folk.

— Thomas H. B. Webb

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I’ll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.
(Psalm 17:15, TM)

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Why do we shun the grand doors of entrance unto God? Busyness is the best answer. Though sometimes we may doubt that prayer really does any good. Sometimes we’re angry with God in our hearts, and our refusal to pray is our way of saying, “I’ll fix Him. I won’t pray.” How much wiser we would be to shuck our temper tantrum and head directly into the depths.

— Emilie Griffin

Pray together with us:
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.
When I admit I deserve only punishment,
you shower me with blessings.
You are my salvation, my power, my strength.

— Thomas á Kempis

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn—Zion! God in full view! (Psalm 84:5-7, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
The pressures of life and the assaults of the fallen world constantly blur our focus and tend to shift us away from our center in God. Worship is the means by which we recover our focus and return to our center.

— Robert Mulholland

Pray together with us:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace, now like a fetter,
Bind my yielded heart to Thee.
Let me know Thee in Thy fullness;
Guide me by Thy mighty hand
Till, transformed in Thine own image,
In Thy presence I shall stand.

— Robert Robinson

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
You’re my God; have mercy on me.
I count on you from morning to night.
Give your servant a happy life;
I put myself in your hands!
You’re well-known as good and forgiving,
bighearted to all who ask for help.
Pay attention, GOD, to my prayer;
bend down and listen to my cry for help (Psalm 86:3-6, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Three pastoral acts are so basic, so critical, that they determine the shape of everything else. The acts are praying, reading scripture, and giving spiritual direction.

— Eugene Peterson

Pray together with us:
Lord of my heart,
give me wisdom to direct me, that thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.
give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.
give me trust to console me, that hungry or well-fed, I may always rely on your mercy.
save me from empty praise, that I may always boast of you.
save me from worldly wealth, that I may always look to the riches of heaven.
save me from military prowess, that I may always seek your protection.
save me from vain knowledge, that I may always study your word.
save me from unnatural pleasures, that I may always find joy in your wonderful creation.
Heart of my own heart,
whatever may befall me,
rule over my thoughts and feelings,
my words and action.

— Celtic Prayer

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
Close the book on Evil, God,
but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
you probe for our soft spots,
you knock off our rough edges.
And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:
made right, kept right (Psalm 7:9-10, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Leaders need to be so committed to their own spiritual journeys, and the truth telling it involves, that they can learn to be centered and still be in the middle of raging storms.

— Alan Jones

Pray together with us:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

— The Lord’s Prayer

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions (Psalm 84:10-11, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Ministers are famous for neglecting their selves, with the result that they are apt to become in their own way as hopeless and crippled as the people they are trying to care for, and thus no longer selves who can be of much help to others.

— Frederick Buechner

Pray together with us:
Thank you for the privilege of scrubbing this floor.
Thank you for the health and the strength to do it.
That my back is straight and my hands are whole.
I can push the mop.
I can feel the hard surface under my knees when I kneel.
I can grasp the brush and let my energy flow down into it as I erase the dirt and make this floor bright and clean.
If I were blind I couldn’t see the soil or the patterns of the tile or the slippery circles shining.
If I were deaf I couldn’t hear the homely cheerful sounds of suds in the bucket, the crisp little whisper of brush
or mop.
I would miss the music of doors banging and children shouting and the steps of people coming to walk across
this bright expanse of floor.
Lord, thank you for everything that has to do with scrubbing this floor.

— Marjorie Holmes

 — David Day

Pray together with us
Give me a holy life, spotless and free,

Cleansed by the crystal flow coming from Thee.

Purge the dark halls of thought; Here let Thy work be wrought,

Each wish and feeling brought captive to Thee (Hymn # 515).

— Leslie Taylor-Hunt

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
Enter with the password: “Thank you!”

Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.
For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever (Psalm 100, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Let’s choose today to quench our thirst for the “Good life” we think others lead by acknowledging the good that already exists in our own lives.

— Sarah Breathnach

Pray together with us:
O Father, light up
the small duties of this day's life;
may they shine
with the beauty of your countenance.
May we believe that glory can dwell
in the commonest task of every day.

— St. Augustine

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.
They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.
God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
If I keep my eyes on GOD,
I won’t trip over my own feet (Psalm 25:12-15, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Spiritual fitness for a pastor, like everyone else, requires frequent, fresh encounters with God. Without freshness, spiritual vigor and ministry stamina burn low or go out altogether.

— Neil B. Wiseman

Pray together with us:
Teach me to seek you . . .
For I cannot seek you unless you teach me
or find you unless you show yourself to me.
Let me seek you in my desire,
let me desire you in my seeking.
Let me find you by loving you,
let me love you when I find you.

— Anselm of Canterbury

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death (Romans 8:2, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
The Bible doesn’t answer all our questions; in fact, it may leave us with even more questions. But the Bible does put us in the proper frame of mind whereby we may learn to ask new questions and to be prepared for new and startling answers.

— William Willimon

Pray together with us:
Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.” Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of the earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.

— A. W. Tozer

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become (2 Cor. 12:10 TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response.

— Henri Nouwen

Pray together with us:
God in heaven, you have helped my life to grow like a tree. Now something has happened. Satan, like a bird, has carried in one twig of his own choosing after another. Before I knew it he had built a dwelling place and was living in it. Tonight, my Father, I am throwing out both the bird and the nest.

— Anonymous Nigerian Christian

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone (Ephesians 1:11-12, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Warp speed can warp the soul. You can’t increase life’s speed and stress without affecting the body. You can’t increase life’s pace and pressures without their threatening to shake the soul apart. We say wistfully, “Things will eventually slow down.” How? Spontaneously? The only spontaneous slow-down likely is . . . breakdown, crackup, cave-in, or burnout.

— Leonard Sweet

Pray together with us:
From my depths I praise you, Lord, for people who make my life rich;
for those who love me-
mate, parents, and children;
for those who challenge me-
colleagues, critics, and cynics;
for those who believe in me-
children, friends, and partners;
for those who show me God-
saints, writers, and common folks.
Help me know how . . .
to cherish them more,
to learn from them more,
to see You in them more.

— NBW

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
Bravo, God, bravo!
Gods and all angels shout, “Encore!”

In awe before the glory,
in awe before God’s visible power.
Stand at attention!
Dress your best to honor him! (Psalm 29:1-2 TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
The cure for too-much-to-do is solitude and silence, for there you find you are safely more than what you do. And the cure of loneliness is solitude and silence, for there you discover how many ways you are never alone.

— Dallas Willard

Pray together with us:
When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand.
Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

— Thomas A. Dorsey

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.

— Frederick Buechner

Pray together with us:
You take the pen,
and the lines dance.
You take the flute,
and the notes shimmer.
You take the brush,
and the colours sing.
So all things have meaning and beauty
In that space beyond time where you are.
How, then, can I hold back anything from you?

— Dag Hammarskjold

Be encouraged by God’s Word:
We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise (Romans 5:2, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
I never made a sacrifice. We ought not to talk of “sacrifice” when we remember the great sacrifice which he made who left his Father’s throne on high to give himself up for us.

— David Livingstone

Pray together with us:
Teach me how powerful your love is
and how insubstantial my fears.
Like the pupil of the eye protect me;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Cover me with your mercy;
rock me to sleep in the dark.
And let me, when I awaken,
see nothing but the light of your face.

— Psalm 17

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
We can never anticipate God’s ways of dealing with us. But if my life is bent to the loving acknowledgment of His will, He will assuredly find a way to make His will known. The light will always reach the willing mind.

— John Henry Jowett

Pray together with us:
Almighty Lord our God, direct our steps into the way of peace, and strengthen our hearts to obey your commands; may the Day-spring visit us from on high, and give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; that they may adore you for your mercy, follow you for your truth, desire you for your sweetness, who are the blessed Lord God of Israel. Amen.

— Ancient Collect

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
If a man believes and knows God, he can no longer ask, “What is the meaning of my life?” But by believing he actually lives the meaning of his life.

— Karl Barth

Pray together with us:
Give me the listening ear.
I seek this day the ear that will not shrink from the word that corrects and admonishes
-the word that holds up before me the image of myself that causes me to pause and reconsider
-the word that challenges me to deeper consecration and higher resolve
-the word that lays bare needs that make my own days uneasy, that seizes upon every good decent impulse of my nature, channeling it into paths of healing in the lives of others. . . .

— Howard Thurman

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
When some hope of yours flickers out, can’t you look yonder and tighten your belt, and say, “Well, that hasn’t upset any of God’s plans!”

— Paul Scherer

Pray together with us:
O God, my Father, thanks for allowing me the joys of parenthood;
for ecstasy of embracing our newborns,
for fascination of hearing our babies’ first words,
for exciting sadness of their first day of school,
for frustrating wonders of their turning thirteen,
for wisdom to keep from clinging when they left home,
for exciting birthdays and sentimental weddings,
for joyful satisfactions of their adult friendship,
for extraordinary pleasure of grandchildren, and
for the strong confidence my children will be my friends until the end.
Thanks for children.

— NBW

I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing:
To live with him in his house my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet (Psalm 27:1, 4, TM).

Wisdom from fellow pilgrims:
Christ’s character was more wonderful than the greatest miracle.

— Alfred Tennyson

Pray together with us:
O God, stay with me;
let no word cross my lips that is not your word,
no thoughts enter my mind that are not your thoughts,
no deed ever be done or entertained by me that is not your deed.

— Malcolm Muggeridge