Donne: a righteousness of his own

Saturday, March 31, 2012
    Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631
Meditation:
    For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
    —Romans 8:29-30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No man hath any such righteousness of his own, as can save him, for howsoever it be made his, by that application, or imputation, yet the righteousness that saves him, is the very righteousness of Christ himself. St. Hilary’s question then, hath a full answer, ... Were there any that needed not Christ’s coming? No; there were none.
    ... John Donne (1573-1631), Works of John Donne, vol. V, London: John W. Parker, 1839, p. 501 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I can rely on You alone. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Murray: the beauty of holiness

Friday, March 30, 2012
Meditation:
For this is what the high and lofty One says—
    he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
    but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
    —Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility.
    ... Andrew Murray (1828-1917), Humility: the Beauty of Holiness, New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Co., 1895, p. 74 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You provide the just restraint for my pride. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Trueblood: science and service

Thursday, March 29, 2012
    Commemoration of Jack Winslow, Missionary, Evangelist, 1974
Meditation:
    Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
    —1 Timothy 6:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When scientists are honest, as most of them are, they are well aware of the fact that their competence in science does not give them a clue to the problem of how their science should be used in the service of man. The sensitive visitor to the mesas of Los Alamos is almost sure to meditate on the experience of that gifted man, Klaus Fuchs. Though his work in the laboratories was outstanding, his decision concerning the use of what he knew was disastrous. What if, in addition to his scientific competence, the younger Fuchs had shared something of the Christian conviction of his father, Emil Fuchs? Much of the subsequent history of our earth might then have been different.
    ... Elton Trueblood (1900-1994), The Incendiary Fellowship, New York: Harper, 1967, p. 95 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may our children know You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Smith: discouragement

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Meditation:
Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the LORD upholds the righteous.
    —Psalm 37:16-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [The enemy] comes and whispers suggestions of evil to us,—doubts, blasphemies, jealousies, envyings, and pride,—and then turns round and says, “Oh, how wicked you must be to think of such things! It is very plain that you are not trusting the Lord; for if you were, it would have been impossible for these things to have entered your heart.” This reasoning sounds so very plausible that the soul often accepts it as true, and at once comes under condemnation, and is filled with discouragement. Then it is easy for Satan to lead it on into actual sin. One of the most fatal things in the life of faith is discouragement. One of the most helpful is cheerfulness.
    ... Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, London: F. E. Longley, 1876, p. 136 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep me from temptation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Luther: original sin

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Meditation:
“Your first father sinned;
    your spokesmen rebelled against me.
So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple,
    and I will consign Jacob to destruction
    and Israel to scorn.”
    —Isaiah 43:27-28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Original sin is in us, like the beard—we are shaved today and look clean, and have a smooth chin; tomorrow our beard has grown again, nor does it cease growing while we remain on earth. In like manner original sin cannot be extirpated from us as long as we exist. Nevertheless, we are bound to resist it to our utmost strength, and to cut it down unceasingly.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), in The Life of Luther, M. Michelet, London: David Bogue, 1846, p. 267 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, give me Your strength to defeat sin in my life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wilson: humility

Monday, March 26, 2012
    Feast of Harriet Monsell of Clewer, Religious, 1883
Meditation:
    As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
    —Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The more God raises and exalts good men, the more they abase and humble themselves. They remember with sorrow what they are of themselves, and what they are capable of becoming.
    ... Thomas Wilson (1663-1755), Maxims of Piety and of Christianity, London: Macmillan, 1898, p. 70 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, banish all pride from me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: essential opinions?

Sunday, March 25, 2012
    Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Virgin Mary
Meditation:
    Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
    —1 Peter 1:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I have no desire to change the opinion of man or woman. Let everyone for me hold what he pleases. But I would do my utmost to disable such as think correct opinion essential to salvation from laying any other burden on the shoulders of true men and women than the yoke of their Master; and such burden, if already oppressing any, I would gladly lift. Let the Lord himself teach them, I say. A man who has not the mind of Christ—and no man has the mind of Christ except him who makes it his business to obey him—cannot have correct opinions concerning him; neither, if he could, would they be of any value to him: he would be nothing the better, he would be the worse for having them. Our business is not to think correctly, but to live truly; then first will there be a possibility of our thinking correctly.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “Justice”, in Unspoken Sermons, Third Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1889, p. 134-135 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You empower Your people to follow Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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