Manley: how to promote Christian unity

Saturday, June 22, 2013
    Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209
Meditation:
    But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
    —Romans 10:8-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The fundamental doctrines of our evangelical belief are... the full inspiration and ruling authority of Holy Scripture, with its consequences, the Divinity of Christ, the finality of His Atonement, and salvation through faith alone. These basic truths should be studied as set forth in the New Testament, that they may be asserted or defended whenever occasion requires. If this be done in a humble and Christian spirit, we shall in the long run be promoting the cause of Christian unity, which must ultimately find its basis in the truth which God has revealed.
    ... G. T. Manley, Christian Unity, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1945, p. 74 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 10:8-11; John 3:16-17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:15-16; Jude 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, unite us in Your truth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Basil: tranquility

Friday, June 21, 2013
Meditation:
“Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
    He bustles about, but only in vain;
    he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in you.”
    —Psalm 39:6-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We must try to keep the mind in tranquility. For just as the eye which constantly shifts its gaze, now turning to the right or to the left, now incessantly peering up or down, cannot see distinctly what lies before it, but the sight must be fixed firmly on the object in view if one would make his vision of it clear; so too man’s mind when distracted by his countless worldly cares cannot focus itself distinctly on the truth.
    ... St. Basil the Great (330?-379), Saint Basil, the Letters, tr. Roy Joseph Deferrari, Martin Rawson, Patrick McGuire, London: William Heinemann, 1950, p. 9 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 39:6-7; Isa. 45:22; Matt. 6:24; 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14; John 1:29; 8:56; Phil. 3:20; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:4; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach the eyes of my heart constantly to gaze upon You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Milton: Christ used force

Thursday, June 20, 2013
Meditation:
    In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
    —John 2:14-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We read not that Christ ever exercised force but once; and that was to drive profane ones out of his Temple, not to force them in.
    ... John Milton (1608-1674), “A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes” [1659], in Prose Works, London: Westley and Davis, 1835, p. 421 (see the book)
    See also John 2:14-17; Ps. 69:9; Jer. 7:11; Zech. 4:6; Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; 2 Cor. 10:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, equip Your people to represent Your holiness before the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Sundar Singh: preparation by prayer

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
    Commemoration of Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu, Evangelist, Teacher, 1929
Meditation:
    When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
    —Acts 1:13-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    To pray does not imply that without prayer God would not give us anything or that He would be unaware of our needs, but it has this great advantage, that in the attitude of prayer the soul is best fitted to receive the Giver of blessing as well as those blessings He desires to bestow. Thus it was that the fullness of the Spirit was not poured out upon the Apostles on the first day, but after ten days of special preparation.
    ... Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929), At the Master’s Feet, Fleming H. Revell, 1922, p. 46 (see the book)
    See also Acts 1:13-14; Matt. 6:6-8; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Thess. 5:17; Heb. 4:16; Rev. 4:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, use my prayer to prepare me for Your blessings. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: simply Lord

Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Meditation:
    As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
    “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
    “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
    The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
    —Acts 9:3-8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No one but God has the right and the power to contradict my devotion to God. “Who are you?” is Paul’s trembling question. It is the same as Moses’ question at the burning bush: “What is your name?” The answer, “I am Jesus,” means that from henceforth Saul knows Jesus as simply and absolutely Lord.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Foolishness to the Greeks: the Gospel and Western culture, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986, p. 5 (see the book)
    See also Acts 9:3-8; Ex. 3:13-14; Acts 26:9,14-18; Rom. 10:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Jesus is Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Jones: written in reality

Monday, June 17, 2013
    Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936
Meditation:
    Test everything. Hold on to the good.
    —1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If we believe that the Christian faith is written into the structure of reality, as well as in the pages of Scripture, then we will not only allow men to think freely but will urge them to do so. For the facts, wherever discovered, will bring men out to the same place—at the fact of Christ.
    ... E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), The Christ of the American Road, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1944, p. 91 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 5:21; Ps. 19:1-4; 34:8; 119:103; Eccl. 7:29; 8:16-17; Luke 12:57; Rom. 1:18-22; 2 Cor. 13:5-6; 1 Pet. 2:2-3; 1 John 4:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You even make doubts serve You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Richard of Chichester: each day

Sunday, June 16, 2013
    Feast of Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253
    Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Moral Philosopher, 1752
Meditation:
    All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
    —2 Corinthians 4:15-16 (NIV)
Quotation:
Thanks be to thee,
My Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which Thou hast given us;
for all the pains and insults which Thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful redeemer,
friend and brother,
may we know thee more clearly,
love Thee more dearly,
and follow Thee more nearly;
For Thine own sake.
    ... St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253), attributed (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 4:15-16; Mark 12:30; Luke 11:3; John 15:15; 20:17; Gal. 4:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, receive my prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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