Bonhoeffer: each his own cross

Saturday, July 20, 2013
    Commemoration of Bartolomè de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
    —Luke 14:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The cross is there, right from the beginning, he has only got to pick it up; there is no need for him to go out and look for a cross for himself, no need for him deliberately to run after suffering. Jesus says that every Christian has his own cross waiting for him, a cross destined and appointed by God. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, Simon and Schuster, 1959, p. 89 (see the book)
    See also Luke 14:27; Matt. 5:10-12; 10:37-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:23-25; John 15:19-21; 16:33; 1 Thess. 3:4; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:20-21; Rev. 7:13-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I can prevail only in Your strength. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: God the only standard

Friday, July 19, 2013
    Feast of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, & his sister Macrina, Teachers, c.394 & c.379
Meditation:
    Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
    —Matthew 26:39 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We readily acknowledge, that God alone is to be the rule and measure of our prayers, that in them we are to look wholly unto Him, and act wholly for Him, that we are only to pray in such a manner, for such things, and such ends, as are suitable to His glory.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 2 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 26:39; Ps. 40:8; Matt. 6:10; 26:42; Mark 3:35; John 4:34; Rom. 12:2; Col. 1:13-14; 1 Thess. 5:17-18; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 2:15; 4:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I ever pray for Your will to be done. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hallesby: an attitude

Thursday, July 18, 2013
Meditation:
I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands
    and my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
    I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
    —Psalm 77:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Prayer is something deeper than words. It is present in the soul before it has been formulated into words. And it abides in the soul after the last words of prayer have passed over our lips.
    Prayer is an attitude of our hearts, an attitude of mind. Prayer is a definite attitude of our hearts toward God, an attitude which He in heaven immediately recognizes as prayer, as an appeal to His heart. Whether it takes the form of words or not, does not mean anything to God, only to ourselves.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 16 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 77:1-3; 5:1; 10:17-18; 42:1-2; 69:3; 88:1-2; Isa. 26:16; Matt. 6:8; Luke 22:44; Rom. 8:15,26-27; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; Heb. 5:7; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant within me an attitude of prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cowper: Jesus! where'er thy people meet

Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
    —John 10:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
Jesus! where’er thy people meet,
There they behold thy mercy-seat;
Where’er they seek thee, thou art found,
And every place is hallow’d ground.

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!
Thy former mercies here renew;
Here to our waiting hearts proclaim
The sweetness of thy saving name.
    ... William Cowper (1731-1800), The Works of William Cowper: his life, letters, and poems, New York: R. Carter & Brothers, 1851, p. 676 (see the book)
    See also John 10:11-15; Ex. 3:5; 25:17-18; Ps. 85:6; Matt. 18:20; Rom. 9:15-16; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Heb. 10:25; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 2:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, renew us once more.

CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Pascal: humble, without despair

Tuesday, July 16, 2013
    Commemoration of Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099
Meditation:
    Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
    —Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.
    ... Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (Thoughts) [1660], P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, #528, p. 173 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 10:19-22; Ps. 118:22,23; Isa. 65:6-7; Matt. 7:7-11; 9:20-22; Luke 7:37-48; Rom. 8:15-17; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Eph. 3:12; Heb. 4:16; 1 Pet. 2:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your grace upholds me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hoskyns: it actually happened

Monday, July 15, 2013
    Commemoration of Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, c.862
    Commemoration of Bonaventure, Franciscan Friar, Bishop, Peacemaker, 1274
Meditation:
    While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
    —Matthew 17:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The scandal of the Bible does not lie so much in its claim to record the Word of God, as in its insistence that the Word of God is to be heard in a particular historical happening, in a particular locality—and only there. To put it in a provocative manner: the Bible is theology. It is historical theology. It can reveal its meaning only to those who regard it as the Word of God, and are able to preserve a strict confidence in the universal significance of particular historical occasions.
    ... Sir Edwyn C. Hoskyns (1884-1937), We are the Pharisees, London: SPCK, 1960, p. 58 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 17:5; Gen. 15:9-21; 16:13-14; 17:7-8; Ex. 3:7-8; Num. 13:17-20; Ps. 25:12-13; 37:9-11; Matt. 2:1-2; Luke 2:10-11; 3:1-2; Acts 17:1,14-15; 18:1; 20:1; 25:1-2; 27:1-3; 28:14-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your intervention in history is powerful and gracious. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Keble: Would'st thou the life of souls discern?

Sunday, July 14, 2013
    Feast of John Keble, Priest, Poet, Tractarian, 1866
Meditation:
    Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
    —1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
Would’st thou the life of souls discern?
    Nor human wisdom nor divine
Helps thee by aught beside to learn:
    Love is life’s only sign.
The spring of the regenerate heart,
The pulse, the glow of every part,
Is the true love of Christ our Lord,
As man embrac’d, as God ador’d.
    ... John Keble (1792-1866), The Christian Year [1827], G. W. Doane, ed., Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1842, p. 159 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 4:9-10; Lev. 19:18; John 13:34-35; 15:17; Rom. 12:10; 1 Cor. 13:4-7; Gal. 5:14; Eph. 5:1-2; Phil. 2:1-2; Heb. 13:1; Jas. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 2:5; 4:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may Your love course throughout the fellowship. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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