Saturday, June 08, 2013

Allen: Gospel to the poor

Saturday, June 8, 2013
    Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711
    Commemoration of Roland Allen, Mission Strategist, 1947
Meditation:
    When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
    —Acts 4:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In the world to which the Apostles preached their new message, religion had not been the solace of the weary, the medicine of the sick, the strength of the sin-laden, the enlightenment of the ignorant: it was the privilege of the healthy and the instructed. The sick and the ignorant were excluded. They were under the bondage of evil demons. “This people which knoweth not the law are accursed,” was the common doctrine of Jews and Greeks. The philosophers addressed themselves only to the well-to-do, the intellectual, and the pure. To the mysteries were invited only those who had clean hands and sound understanding. It was a constant marvel to the heathen that the Christians called the sick and the sinful.
    ... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or ours?, London: World Dominion Press, 1927, reprinted, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1962, p. 46 (see the book)
    See also Acts 4:13; Ps. 112:9; Matt. 5:5; 9:12-13; 11:5; Mark 6:56; John 7:49; 1 Cor. 1:25-27; 2 Cor. 8:9; Jas. 2:5; 3:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have helped those who could not help themselves.
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Friday, June 07, 2013

Sanders: change of circumstances?

Friday, June 7, 2013
Meditation:
    ... godliness with contentment is great gain.
    —1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No other circumstances than those in which we find ourselves at this moment could achieve His highest purpose for our lives. Our need is not so much a change of circumstances as a change of attitude toward them.
    ... J. Oswald Sanders (1902-1992), In Pursuit of Maturity, Grand Rapids: Lamplighter Books, 1986 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 6:6; Ps. 23:4; Matt. 10:17-20; Luke 12:29-32; 18:29-30; 21:12-15; John 4:48-53; 20:29; Rom. 15:18-19; Heb. 13:5-6; Jas. 1:2-3; Rev. 2:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, whatever the circumstance, I look to You to guide me.
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Thursday, June 06, 2013

Torrey: we don't feel like praying

Thursday, June 6, 2013
    Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945
Meditation:
In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
    and he answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?
    —Psalm 118:5-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Oftentimes when we come to God in prayer, we do not feel like praying. What shall one do in such a case? cease praying until he does feel like it? Not at all. When we feel least like praying is the time when we most need to pray. We should wait quietly before God and tell Him how cold and prayerless our hearts are, and look up to Him and trust Him and expect Him to send the Holy Spirit to warm our hearts and draw them out in prayer. It will not be long before the glow of the Spirit’s presence will fill our hearts, and we will begin to pray with freedom, directness, earnestness and power. Many of the most blessed seasons of prayer I have ever known have begun with a feeling of utter deadness and prayerlessness; but in my helplessness and coldness I have cast myself upon God, and looked to Him to send His Holy Spirit to teach me to pray, and He has done it.
    ... R. A. Torrey (1856-1928), How to Pray, Fleming H. Revell, 1900, p. 59-60 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 118:5-6; 42:1-2; Matt. 26:36-39; Mark 14:34-36; John 16:23-24; Rom. 8:15,26; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 6:18; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your Spirit to teach me prayer.
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Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Brunner: pass it on

Wednesday, June 5, 2013
    Feast of Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754
Meditation:
    But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
    —2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Every one who receives this Word, and by it salvation, receives along with it the duty of passing this Word on... Where there is no mission, there is no Church, and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith.
    ... Emil Brunner (1889-1966), The Word and the World, London: Student Christian Movement Press, 1931, p. 108 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 2:14; Ps. 22:30-31; 98:3; 102:18; Matt. 24:14; 28:19; Mark 16:15; John 20:29; Rom. 10:18; 15:18-19; 16:25-26; 2 Cor. 2:15-17; Col. 1:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, increase our faith, that we may greatly desire to tell of Your mercy.
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Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Lewis: arduous love

Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Meditation:
    Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
    Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
    —John 13:36 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less.
    ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Problem of Pain, New York: Macmillan, 1944, p. 31 (see the book)
    See also John 13:36; Matt. 7:13-14; 16:24; 20:22; Mark 8:34-35; 10:15,23-27; Luke 9:23-24,62; John 13:33,37-38; 16:33; 21:18-19; 2 Pet. 1:10-11; 1 John 2:1; 4:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, only You can sustain me on the road where You have placed me.
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Monday, June 03, 2013

Ryle: useless prayer

Monday, June 3, 2013
    Feast of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Teacher, 1910
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & 1978
Meditation:
    In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
    “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
    The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
    —Acts 9:10-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of savages before their idols! Where there is no heart, there may be lip-work and tongue-work, but there is no prayer. Saul, I have no doubt, said many a long prayer before the Lord met him on the way to Damascus. But it was not until his heart was broken that the Lord said, “He prayeth.”
    ... J. C. Ryle (1816-1900), A Call to Prayer, published in the 1850’s as a pamphlet, American Tract Society, 1867, sec. III (see the book)
    See also Acts 9:10-12; Eccl. 5:2; Isa. 29:13; Jer. 12:2; Eze. 33:31; Matt. 6:7; Mark 12:38-40; Acts 8:1-3,20-21; 9:1-16; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:8; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Spirit of God, awaken me when I am just going through the motions.
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Sunday, June 02, 2013

Robertson: the Christian debating team

Sunday, June 2, 2013
Meditation:
    The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
    —1 John 2:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Christian life is action; not a speculating, not a debating, but a doing. One thing, and only one, in the world, has eternity stamped upon it. Feelings pass; resolves and thoughts pass; opinions change. What you have done lasts—lasts in you. Through ages, through eternity, what you have done for Christ, that, and only that, you are.
    ... Frederick W. Robertson (1816-1853), Sermons Preached at Trinity Chapel, Brighton, v. III, Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1859, p. 194 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 2:15-17; Ps. 143:10; Matt. 7:21; Mark 3:35; John 7:17; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 4:1-2; 5:4; Rev. 14:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I be a vessel for the expression of Your concern for people.
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