Saturday, December 25, 2010

MacDonald: The Christmas Child

Saturday, December 25, 2010
    CHRISTMAS DAY
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
    —John 14:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
“Little one, who straight hast come
    Down the heavenly stair,
Tell us all about your home,
    And the father there.”

“He is such a one as I,
    Like as like can be.
Do his will, and, by and by,
    Home and him you'll see.”
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Poetical Works of George Macdonald, v. 2, London: Chatto & Windus, 1893, p. 190 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Hallelujah!

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Friday, December 24, 2010

Havergal: Christ is come to be thy Light

Friday, December 24, 2010
    Christmas Eve
Meditation:
    In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
    —John 1:4-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
Christ is come to be thy Light,
Shining through the darkest night;
He will make thy pilgrim way
Shine unto the perfect day.
Take the message! let it be
Full of Christmas joy to thee!
    ... Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), The Poetical Works of Frances Ridley Havergal, New York: E.P. Dutton & co., 1888, p. 168 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are light and life.
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Law: the second Adam

Thursday, December 23, 2010
Meditation:
    So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
    —1 Corinthians 15:45-47 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Christ of God was not then first crucified when the Jews brought Him to the Cross; but Adam and Eve were His first real murderers; for the death which happened to them, in the day that they did eat of the earthly tree was the death of the Christ of God, or the divine life in their souls. For Christ had never come into the world as a second Adam to redeem it, had He not been originally the life and perfection and glory of the first Adam.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), The Spirit of Love [1752-4], in Works of Rev. William Law, v. VIII, London: G. Moreton, 1893, p. 7 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the model for all mankind.
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Rossetti: Christmastide

Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Meditation:
    And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
    —Luke 2:10-12 (KJV)
Quotation:
Love came down at Christmas,
    Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
    Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
    Love Incarnate, Love Divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
    But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
    Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
    Love for plea and gift and sign.
    ... Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), Christina Rossetti: the complete poems, London: Penguin Classics, 2001, p. 423 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are known by love.

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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Markham: in Christ

Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Meditation:
    Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
    —Romans 13:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
Here is the Truth in a little creed,
    Enough for all the roads we go:
In Love is all the law we need,
    In Christ is all the God we know.
    ... Edwin Markham (1852-1940), included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 140 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Love and Christ are the foundations of reality.
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Monday, December 20, 2010

Bonhoeffer: timely self-exam

Monday, December 20, 2010
Meditation:
    Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
    —Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
Quotation:
    When the old Christianity spoke of the return of the Lord Jesus, they thought of a great day of judgment. Even though this thought may appear to us to be so unlike Christmas, it is original Christianity and to be taken extremely seriously. When we hear Jesus knocking, our conscience first of all pricks us: Are we rightly prepared? Is our heart capable of becoming God’s dwelling place? Thus Advent becomes a time of self-examination.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), A Testament to Freedom: the essential writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Geffrey B. Kelly, F. Burton Nelson, eds., HarperCollins, 1995, p. 185 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Dwell in me, Lord, and displace all that is worthless in my heart.
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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Machen: the foreordained steps

Sunday, December 19, 2010
    Advent IV
Meditation:
    And [the Lord] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
    —Colossians 1:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Straight through all the apparently tangled course of human history runs the accomplishment of God's eternal plan.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), The Christian View of Man, The Macmillan Company, 1937, p. 80 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have sent Your plan in a Man.
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