Spurgeon: hidden for a season

Saturday, June 9, 2012
    Feast of Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597
    Commemoration of Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymnographer, Teacher, 373
Meditation:
You are my lamp, O LORD;
    the LORD turns my darkness into light.
    —2 Samuel 22:29 (NIV)
Quotation:
    O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when He shines forth in all the lustre of His grace.
    ... Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), Morning by Morning, New York: Sheldon & Co., 1867, p. 106 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, shine in my life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Allen: communion is a spiritual fact

Friday, June 8, 2012
    Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711
    Commemoration of Roland Allen, Mission Strategist, 1947
Meditation:
    The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
    —1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The whole point of the story of Cornelius and of the admission of the Gentiles lies in the fact that these people had not accepted what up to that moment had been considered a necessary part of the Christian teaching. The question was whether they could be admitted without accepting the teaching and undergoing the rite [of circumcision]. It was that question which was settled by the acknowledgement that they had received the Holy Spirit... The difficulty today is that Christians acknowledge that others have the Spirit, and yet do not recognize that they ought to be, and must be—because spiritually they are—in communion with one another. Men who hold a theory of the Church which excludes from communion those whom they admit to have the Spirit of Christ simply proclaim that their theory is in flat contradiction to the spiritual fact.
    ... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Pentecost and the World, London: Oxford University Press, 1917, included in The Ministry of the Spirit, David M. Paton, ed., London: World Dominion Press, 1960, p. 57 fn. (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help us to know that we are one through Your Spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Donne: the quality of rejoicing

Thursday, June 7, 2012
Meditation:
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
    her salvation like a blazing torch.
    —Isaiah 62:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Joy is peace for having done that which we ought to have done: and therefore it is well expressed... To have something to do, to do it, and then to rejoice in having done it, to embrace a calling, to perform the duties of that calling, to joy and rest in the peaceful testimony of having done so; this is christianly done, Christ did it; angelically done, angels do it; godly done, God does it.
    ... John Donne (1573-1631), Works of John Donne, vol. V, London: John W. Parker, 1839, p. 346 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead my heart to desire Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barclay: one way

Wednesday, June 6, 2012
    Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
    —Matthew 13:45-46 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is only one way to bring peace to the heart, joy to the mind, beauty to the life, and that is to accept and to do the will of God.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Gospel of Matthew, v. 2, Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1958, p. 97 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have provided all joy within Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wesley: But lo' the snare is broke

Tuesday, June 5, 2012
    Feast of Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754
Meditation:
    So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
    —Genesis 3:14-15 (NIV)
Quotation:
But lo’ the snare is broke, the captive’s freed,
By faith on all the hostile powers we tread,
And crush through Jesus’ strength the Serpent’s head.
Jesus hath cast the cursed Accuser down,
Hath rooted up the tares by Satan sown:
...
All nature bows to His benign command,
And two are one in His almighty hand.

One in His hand, O may we still remain,
Fast bound with love’s indissoluble chain;
(That adamant which time and death defies,
That golden chain which draws us to the skies!)
His love the tie that binds us to His throne,
His love the bond that perfects us in one,
...
His only love constrains our hearts t’ agree,
And gives the rivet of Eternity.
    ... Charles Wesley (1707-1788), from “An Epistle to the Rev. Mr. G. Whitefield,” in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, v. VI, John Wesley, London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870, p. 70 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your victory is eternal.

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Law: Love one another

Monday, June 4, 2012
Meditation:
    [God] has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
    —2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    A frequent intercession with God, earnestly beseeching Him to forgive the sins of all mankind, to bless them with His providence, enlighten them with His Spirit, and bring them to everlasting happiness, is the divinest exercise that the heart of man can be engaged in.
    Be daily therefore on your knees, in a solemn, deliberate performance of this devotion, praying for others in such forms, with such length, importunity, and earnestness, as you use for yourself; and you will find all little, ill-natured passions die away, your heart grow great and generous, delighting in the common happiness of others, as you used only to delight in your own...
    It was this holy intercession that raised Christians to such a state of mutual love, as far exceeded all that had been praised and admired in human friendship. And when the same spirit of intercession is again in the world, when Christianity has the same power over the hearts of people, that it then had, this holy friendship will be again in fashion, and Christians will be again the wonder of the world, for that exceeding love which they bear to one another.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 413 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I invest my heart in those You would have me pray for. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Owen: the burden of sin

Sunday, June 3, 2012
    Trinity Sunday
    Feast of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Teacher, 1910
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & 1978
Meditation:
Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
    and wickedness as with cart ropes...
    —Isaiah 5:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I do not understand how a man can be a sincere believer unto whom sin is not the greatest burden and sorrow.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), I.4 in The Grace and Duty of being Spiritually Minded [1681], in Works of John Owen, v. VII, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 333 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I cast my burden upon You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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