Leighton: clear conscience

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Meditation:
    So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
    —Acts 24:16 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Now this is the great rule, not only for servants, but for all the servants of God, in what state soever, to set the Lord always before them, and to study with St. Paul, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men; to eye, and to apply constantly to their actions and their inward thoughts, the command of God; to walk by that rule abroad, and at home in their houses, and in the several ways of their calling; (as an exact workman is ever and anon laying his rule to his work, and squaring it;) and for the conscience they have towards God, to do and suffer His will cheerfully in every thing, being content that He choose their condition and their trials for them; only desirous to be assured, that He hath chosen them for His own, and given them a right to the glorious liberty of the children of God.
    ... Robert Leighton (1611-1684), A Practical Commentary Upon the First Epistle of St. Peter, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1849, p. 397-398 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I am content within Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ambrose: only through the Son

Friday, December 7, 2012
    Feast of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher, 397
Meditation:
    Then [the Pharisees] asked him, “Where is your father?”
    “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
    —John 8:19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Whatsoever thou dost conceive concerning the Father—yea, be it even His eternity—thou canst not conceive aught concerning Him save by the Son’s aid, nor can any understanding ascend to the Father save through the Son.
    ... St. Ambrose of Milan (Aurelius Ambrosius) (339-397), Exposition of the Christian Faith, tr. H. de Romestin, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, second series, v. X, Philip Schaff & Henry Wace, ed., New York: Christian Literature Company, 1896, I.x, par. 63, p. 211 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, through Your Son alone may I know You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Inge: heaven

Thursday, December 6, 2012
    Feast of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c.326
Meditation:
    Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
    —Deuteronomy 4:39 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Heaven is not a far-away place to which we hope to go; it is the presence of God in which we ought to live.
    ... William R. Inge (1860-1954), Personal Religion and the Life of Devotion, London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1924, p. 85 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord God, You are fully present here. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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de Sales: humility

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Meditation:
The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled
    and the pride of men brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
The LORD Almighty has a day in store
    for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
    (and they will be humbled)...
    —Isaiah 2:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    True humility does not affect to be humble, and is not given to make a display in lowly words.
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622), Introduction to the Devout Life [1609], London: Rivingtons, 1876, III.v, p. 149 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep my eyes on Jesus. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: the winsome God

Tuesday, December 4, 2012
    Commemoration of Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, Founder of the Little Gidding Community, 1637
Meditation:
Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the LORD.
    —Psalm 27:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and in our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), Whatever Happened to Worship?, Christian Publications, 1985, p. 28 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You lift Your people into joy. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hallesby: a quiet waiting

Monday, December 3, 2012
    Commemoration of Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Missionary, 1552
Meditation:
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
    —Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No matter what we pray for, whether it be temporal or spiritual things, little things or great things, gifts for ourselves or for others, our prayers should really resolve themselves into a quiet waiting for the Lord in order to hear what it is that the Spirit desires to have us pray for at that particular time.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 99 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me to listen for Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Woolman: silence the love of money

Sunday, December 2, 2012
    Advent I
Meditation:
    I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
    —Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Silence, as to every motion proceeding from the love of money, and an humble waiting upon God, to know his will concerning us, hath now appeared necessary: he alone is able to strengthen us to dig deep, to remove all which lies between us and the safe foundation, and so direct us in our outward employments, that pure universal love may shine forth in our proceedings.
    ... John Woolman (1720-1772), The Works of John Woolman, Philadelphia: Benjamin & Jacob Johnson, 1800, p. 231 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I acknowledge the extent of Your love, and so fill my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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