Church: the renewing Spirit

Saturday, December 15, 2012
Meditation:
    We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
    —1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If our knowledge of God is clearer than that of heathen; if prophecies which were dark to Jews are plain to us; if a fellowship and communion with our Father in heaven are granted to us which they could not claim; if the mystery of our sins and our forgiveness is declared to us in the Cross of Jesus Christ; if the hope of what is to come is opened to us, as not even good and holy men under the old covenant were allowed to have it; if we know more of heaven, if we see clearer through death, if we can trust more surely in trials and temptations—it is because for us the Spirit of God has been given.
    ... R. W. Church (1815-1890), Village Sermons, New York: Macmillan Company, 1897, p. 119-120 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Spirit teaches me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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John of the Cross: God touching us

Friday, December 14, 2012
    Feast of John of the Cross, Mystic, Poet, Teacher, 1591
Meditation:
    But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
    —John 14:26 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Sometimes, when the soul least thinks of it, and when it least desires it, God touches it divinely causing certain recollections of Himself.
    ... St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), The Ascent of Mount Carmel, London: Thomas Baker, 1906, p. 208 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, re-enter my thoughts. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Johnson: living the Sermon on the Mount

Thursday, December 13, 2012
    Feast of Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304
    Commemoration of Samuel Johnson, Writer, Moralist, 1784
Meditation:
    But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
    —1 Peter 2:20 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
    ... Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), from The Rambler, #79, Dec. 18, 1750, The Works of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D., v. V, New York: William Durell, 1811, p. 66 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a trusting spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Maclaren: trust God

Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
    —Luke 6:46 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Trust no emotions, no religious experiences, but only Him to whom they turn.
    ... Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910), The Holy of Holies, London: Alexander & Shepheard, 1890, p. 365 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, spare me from deceit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Machen: brotherhood of the redeemed

Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Meditation:
    Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
    —Hebrews 2:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    All men have the same Creator and the same nature. The Christian man can accept all that the modern liberal means by the brotherhood of man. But the Christian knows also of a relationship far more intimate than that general relationship of man to man and it is for this more intimate relationship that he reserves the term “brother.” The true brotherhood, according to Christian teaching, is the brotherhood of the redeemed.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, The Macmillan Company, 1923, p. 157-158 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have granted me inclusion in Your family. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Merton: work known only to God

Monday, December 10, 2012
    Commemoration of Thomas Merton, Monk, Spiritual Writer, 1968
Meditation:
    May [the Lord] strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
    —1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Too often, people who take the spiritual life seriously may waste all their efforts on the scaffolding, making it more and more solid, permanent and secure, and paying no attention to the building itself. They do so out of a kind of unconscious fear of the real responsibilities of the Christian life, which are solitary and interior. These are difficult to express, even obliquely. They are almost impossible to communicate to anyone else. Hence one can never be “sure” whether he is right or wrong. One has very little evidence of progress or perfection in this interior sphere—while in the exterior, progress can be more easily measured and results can be seen. They can also be shown to others for their approval and admiration. The most important, the most real, and lasting work of the Christian is accomplished in the depths of his own soul. It cannot be seen by anyone, even by himself. It is known only to God.
    ... Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Life and Holiness, Herder and Herder, 1963, p. 68 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, from the depths I look to You in hope. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newton: one like us

Sunday, December 9, 2012
    Advent II
Meditation:
    For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
    —Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Jesus] knows our sorrows, not merely as he knows all things, but as one who has been in our situation, and who, though without sin himself, endured when upon earth inexpressibly more for us than he will ever lay upon us. He has sanctified poverty, pain, disgrace, temptation, and death, by passing through these states; and in whatever states his people are, they may by faith have fellowship with him in their sufferings, and he will by sympathy and love have fellowship and interest with them in theirs.
    ... John Newton (1725-1807), letter, Nov. 29, 1776, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, v. II, New York: Williams and Whiting, 1810, p. 20 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You know me more than I know myself. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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