Our many conversations led me to the inner conviction that the words “You are my Beloved” revealed the most intimate truth about all human beings, whether they belong to any particular tradition or not. All I want to say to you is “You are the Beloved,” and all I hope is that you can hear these words as spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being – “You are the Beloved.” — Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World
Christian leadership is accomplished only through service. This service requires the willingness to enter into a situation, with all the human vulnerabilities…. This is a painful and self-denying experience, but an experience which can indeed lead man out of his prison of confusion and fear. Indeed, the paradox of Christian leadership is that the way out is the way in, that only by entering into communion with human suffering can relief be found. — The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society
Verse of the day
Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the Lord and not for humans, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.
– Colossians 3:23-24
Voice of the day
I find myself most alone / When I believe I am striving for glory.
– Tracy K. Smith, “Everybody’s Autobiography”
Prayer of the day
Victorious One, remind your children that the truest wins aren’t rooted in earning accolades, but in tender acceptance of each other.
We pray to know not only in our head, but in our heart, and in the center of our being that we are fully loved. That is why we pray. We pray so we can walk around this world and not be so needy, not be wounding others, and not be giving so we can get something in return. We pray to be free. — Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety
“I am not divine. But I am of the divine. And through that connection to the one who created me, I am connected to the rest of Creation. So, while I may not be cosmic myself, I am part of the cosmos. I am part of the sacred flow of time, not just in this moment of time. We are all part of sacred time.”
—John Valters Paintner, Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
How do you find connection with the rest of humanity, creation, and the cosmos?
Hope makes it possible to look beyond the fulfillment of urgent wishes and pressing desires and offers a vision beyond human suffering and even death. A Christian leader is a person of hope whose strength in the final analysis is based neither on self-confidence derived from his personality, nor on specific expectations for the future, but on a promise given to him.
This promise not only made Abraham travel to unknown territory; it not only inspired Moses to lead his people out of slavery; it is also the guiding motive for any Christian who keeps pointing to new life even in the face of corruption and death.
Verse of the day
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
– 2 Timothy 2:15
Voice of the day
We have to do it because we can no longer stay invisible. We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are. We have to show the world that we are numerous.
– Sylvia Rivera
Prayer of the day
Source of All Love, help us welcome the fullness of who we are, so we can affirm others in turn.
Verse of the day
And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever.
– 1 John 2:17
Voice of the day
From those centuries we human beings bring with us / The simple solutions and songs, / The river bridges and star charts and song harmonies / All in service to a simple idea: / That we can make a house called tomorrow.
– Alberto Ríos, “A House Called Tomorrow”
Prayer of the day
God who meets us in the margins, breathe in us a will that lingers so we can build beyond our present strife.
Verse of the day
Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name.
– Philippians 2:9
Voice of the day
When you name a thing, you are giving a future. But you are also giving a past. A place in the order of things.
– Hala Alyan, I’ll Tell You When I’m Home(2025)
Prayer of the day
Give us the courage to wrestle with the weight of consequence, to name the things plaguing our world as contexts to what came before.
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 