Good Morning, Ministry Partner!

June 9, 2020

Be Encouraged by God's Word
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

— 1 Timothy 1:12-16, NRSV

Wisdom from Fellow Pilgrims

Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that thou mayest treat them as sharers in common with thee in the produce of nature, which brings forth the fruits of the earth for use to all.

— Ambrose

Pray Together with Us

O God, our true Life, in whom and by whom all things live, you command us to seek you, and you are ready to be found.
You command us to knock, and open when we do so.
To know you is life, to serve you is freedom, to enjoy you is a kingdom, to praise you is the joy and happiness of the soul.
I praise, bless, and adore you, I worship you, I glorify you, I give thanks to you for your great glory.
I humbly ask you to remain with me, to reign in me, to make my heart your holy temple, a fit habitation for your Divine majesty.
Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible, preserve the work of your own hands, your people who trust in your mercy alone for safety and protection.
Guard me with the power of your grace, here and in all places, now and at all times, forevermore. Amen.

— Augustine, 4th century

New Every Morning: a daily (M-F) encouragement resource for clergy that includes a scriptural start for the day, a thought from a brother/sister of the faith, and a prayer to enrich the service of the minister. It is an inner life component of the Soul Care ministry of the Church of the Nazarene's Global Clergy Development Office.
— Dr. Klaus Arnold, director