CQOD: 05/13/06 -- St. John Chrysostom: comprehension of God

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 13, 2006Meditation:
    God thunders wondrously with his voice;
        he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
    -- Job 37:5 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    A comprehended god is no god.
    ... St. John Chrysostom (345?-407)

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep me from the worship of the works of men's hands or minds, but to save my worship for You alone.

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CQOD: 05/12/06 -- Butterfield: the problem of sin

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 12, 2006

Commemoration of Aiden Wilson Tozer, spiritual writer, 1963

Meditation:
    He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
    -- Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    It is not the mere existence of unusual criminals that [has] ravaged our world; for the arrangements of society (whether national or international) ought always to presume that some of these will be lurking somewhere. The gates have been opened to evil in part because of a terrible discrepancy between human ideals and actual possibilities—terrible heresies concerning the nature of man and the structure of the historical universe. Christianity, even if it cannot persuade men to rise to the contemplation of the spiritual things, embodies principles which may at least have the effect of bringing the dreamers down to earth. Because it confronts the problem of human sin, it can face our difficulties and dilemmas without evasions—without the fundamental evasiveness of those who believe that all would be well with the world if it were not for a few unspeakable criminals, always conveniently identified with the political enemy of the moment.
    ... Herbert Butterfield (1900-1979), Christianity, Diplomacy and War [1953]

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, show me my pride and do not allow me to ignore my own sin.

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CQOD Compilation Copyright 2006, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator
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CQOD: 05/11/06 -- Pascal: seeking Him

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 11, 2006Meditation:
    And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that

    'they may indeed see but not perceive,
        and may indeed hear but not understand,
    lest they should turn and be forgiven.'"
    -- Mark 4:11-12 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    God wanted to redeem men and open the way of salvation to those who seek Him. But men make themselves so unworthy of it that it is only just that God should refuse to some because of the hardness of heart what He gives to others from a compassion that they do not deserve. If He had wanted to overcome the obstinacy of the most hardened, He could have done so by revealing Himself to them so obviously that they could not have doubted the truth of His Being—just as He will appear at the last day with such a clap of thunder and such an upheaval of nature that the dead will revive and the blindest will see. It is not in this way, however, that He willed to appear at His gentle coming: because so many men had made themselves unworthy of His mercy, He willed to leave them deprived of the good which they did not desire. And so it would not have been fair for Him to have appeared in an obviously divine manner, absolutely capable of convincing all men. But also it would not have been fair for Him to appear in a manner so hidden that even those who were sincerely seeking Him should not be able to recognize Him... So He has tempered His knowledge, by giving marks of Himself which were visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not.
    ... Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées [1660]

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I pray that the blindness be lifted from ____ and ____, that they may see Your truth.

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CQOD: 05/10/06 -- Fénelon: shrinking from health

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 10, 2006Meditation:
    "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" --he said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home."
    -- Mark 2:9-11 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    The more we fear crosses, the more reason we have to think that we stand in need of them: let us not be discouraged when the hand of God layeth heavy ones upon us. We ought to judge of the violence of our disease by the violence of the remedies which our spiritual physician prescribes for us. It is a great argument of our wretchedness and of God’s mercy, that, notwithstanding the difficulty of our recovery, He vouchsafes to undertake our cure.
    ... François Fénelon (1651-1715)

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Jesus, You are the Messiah, the great Physician.

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CQOD: 05/09/06 -- Bonhoeffer: no belief without obedience

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 9, 2006Meditation:
    Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
    -- Mark 1:16-18 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    But when once Christ had called him, Peter had no alternative he must leave the ship and come to Him. In the end, the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we were to suppose that there was no need to take the first-step, because faith was already there. Against that, we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship [1964]

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I hear Your call. Grant me faith to follow you.

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CQOD: 05/08/06 -- Davidman: spiritual pride

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 8, 2006

Feast of Juliana of Norwich, Mystic, Teacher, c.1417

Meditation:
    On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
    -- Matthew 7:22,23

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Quotation:
    We of the churches often gather our robes away from contamination, and thank God that we are not as other men. We don’t despise God’s name; in fact, we call upon it constantly to justify ourselves... If we object to meat-eating, we declare that God is vegetarian; if we abhor war, we proclaim a pacifist Deity. He who turned water into wine to gladden a wedding is now accused by many of favoring that abominable fluid grape juice. There can hardly be a more evil way of taking God’s name in vain than this way of presuming to speak in it. For here is spiritual pride, the ultimate sin, in action—the sin of believing in one’s own righteousness. The true prophet says humbly, “To me, a sinful man, God spoke.” But the scribes and Pharisees declare, “When we speak, God agrees.” They feel no need of a special revelation, for they are always, in their own view, infallible. It is this self-righteousness of the pious that most breeds atheism, by inspiring all decent, ordinary men with loathing of the enormous lie.
    ... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain [1955]

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that Your Holy Spirit may begin to extinguish the Pharisee in me.

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See Believer's Desktop Companion 2004
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CQOD: 05/07/06 -- de Sales: devotion of the will

Christian Quotation of the Day

May 7, 2006Meditation:
    I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
    -- 2 Corinthians 11:2,3 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    Devotion is neither more nor less than a prompt, fervent, loving service to God. And the difference between an ordinarily good man and one that is devout lies herein, that the first observes God’s commands without any special fervor or promptitude; whereas the latter not only keeps them, but does it willingly, earnestly, and resolutely
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622)

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a willing heart to obey Your commands.

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See Believer's Desktop Companion 2004
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CQOD Compilation Copyright 2006, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator
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