Saturday, January 02, 2010

Kirk: fools for Christ

Saturday, January 2, 2010
    Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389
    Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, Staretz, 1833
Meditation:
    Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
    —1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The fool for Christ holds a prophetic role in Christianity, from the early church to Russian Orthodox “pilgrims” and such later fools as Luther, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky, who were seekers after the true, the good, the holy, the beautiful. They were insane—not in a clinical sense, but in the madness of the Holy, an insanity which ordinary sanity refuses to admit.
    ... David Kirk (1935-2007), Quotations from Chairman Jesus, Springfield, Ill.: Templegate Publishers, 1969, p. 132-133 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me boldness to speak the word of truth, regardless of my standing in the community.
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Friday, January 01, 2010

Luther: reading the Bible

Friday, January 1, 2010
    Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus
Meditation:
    So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
    —Nehemiah 8:2-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), Preface to the Prophets [1532], in What Luther Says: an anthology, v. I, Ewald Martin Plass, ed., Concordia Pub. House, 1959, p. 83 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Your word is precious to me, Lord.
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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wycliffe: the source of ordination

Thursday, December 31, 2009
    Commemoration of John Wycliffe, Reformer, 1384
Meditation:
    But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
    —2 Corinthians 11:5-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In order to the existence of such a ministry in the Church, there is requisite an authority received from God, and consequently power and knowledge imparted from God for the exercise of such ministry; and where a man possesses these, although the bishop has not laid hands upon him according to his traditions, God has Himself appointed him.
    ... John Wycliffe (1320?-1384), from a late sermon
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You alone call Your servants.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Martyn: the forerunner

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Meditation:
    Pointing to his disciples, [Jesus] said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
    —Matthew 12:49-50 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I am born for God only. Christ is nearer to me than father, or mother, or sister,—a near relation, a more affectionate friend; and I rejoice to follow Him, and to love Him. Blessed Jesus! thou art all I want—a forerunner to me in all I ever shall go through, as a Christian, a minister, or a missionary.
    ... Henry Martyn (1781-1812), Life and letters of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D., with John Sargent, London: Seeley, Jackson & Halliday, 1862, p. 140 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have shown me my true family.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Pink: the Savior from sin

Tuesday, December 29, 2009
    Feast of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170
Meditation:
    But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
    —Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist.” He announces a Saviour from hell rather than a Saviour from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness.
    ... A. W. Pink (1886-1952), Studies on Saving Faith, Swengel, Pa.: Reiner Publications, 1932, p. 9-10 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people long for that day when they shall sin no more.
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Monday, December 28, 2009

Though Christ a thousand times

Monday, December 28, 2009
    Feast of the Holy Innocents
Meditation:
    I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
    —Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
Quotation:
Though Christ a thousand times
In Bethlehem be born,
If he’s not born in thee
Thy soul is still forlorn.

The cross on Golgotha
Will never save thy soul;
The cross in thy own heart
Alone can make thee whole.
    ... Anonymous, 3rd century, from the German of Angelus Silesius, included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 148 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me, so that I may nail my sinful self to the Cross.

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Law: assurance

Sunday, December 27, 2009
    Feast of John, Apostle & Evangelist
Meditation:
    By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
    —Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This is true Christian resignation to God, which requires no more to the support of it, than such a plain assurance of the goodness of God, as Abraham had of His veracity. And if you ask yourself what greater reason Abraham had to depend upon the Divine veracity, than you have to depend upon the Divine goodness, you will find that none can be given.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 449 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have given us enough so that we may believe.
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