Glanville: the disparaging of reason

Saturday, November 2, 2013
    Feast of All Souls
Meditation:
    Every Sabbath [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
    —Acts 18:4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is not anything I know [which] hath done more mischief to Christianity, as the disparagement of Reason, under pretence of respect and favour to Religion; since hereby the very Foundations of Christian Faith have been undermined, and the World prepared for Atheism. For if Reason must not be heard, the Being of a GOD, and the Authority of Scripture, can neither be proved nor defended; and so our Faith drops to the ground like a house that hath no foundation.
    ... Joseph Glanvill (1636-1680), Philosophia Pia, London: James Collins, 1671, p. 147-148 (see the book)
    See also Acts 18:4; Ps. 46:1-3; 62:2; Pr. 3:5; Isa. 1:18; Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:25; 1 Pet. 3:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You strengthen the reason of those who trust You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Emmons: comfort under affliction

Friday, November 1, 2013
    Feast of All Saints
Meditation:
Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
    —Lamentations 3:37-38 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We are apt to overlook the hand and heart of God in our afflictions, and to consider them as mere accidents, and unavoidable evils. This view makes them absolute and positive evils, which admit of no remedy or relief. If we view our troubles and trials aside from the divine design and agency in them, we cannot be comforted.
    ... Nathaniel Emmons (1745-1840) (see the book)
    See also Lam. 3:37-38; Ex. 19:5-6; 1 Sam. 2:6-8; Isa. 51:12-13; Jer. 23:24; Amos 4:6-10; 1 Cor. 10:26
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I acknowledge that you are the author of all that is. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Whately: accustomed to blessings

Thursday, October 31, 2013
Meditation:
    Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
    —Deuteronomy 8:11-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is generally true that all that is required to make men unmindful of what they owe God for any blessing is that they should receive that blessing often and regularly.
    ... Richard Whately (1787-1863), New Penny Magazine, v. 1, n. 1, J. Crockford, 1861, p. 50 (see the book)
    See also Deut. 8:11-17; 6:10-16; Matt. 6:11; Luke 12:15-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me ever mindful of Your daily provision. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Luther: faith from God

Wednesday, October 30, 2013
    Commemoration of Martin Luther, Teacher, Reformer, 1546
Meditation:
    For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
    —Romans 1:16-17 (KJV)
Quotation:
    It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and shining from fire. Be on guard against your own false ideas and against the chatterers who think they are clever enough to make judgements about faith and good works but who are in reality the biggest fools. Ask God to work faith in you; otherwise you will remain eternally without faith, no matter what you try to do or fabricate.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), “Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans”, par. 15 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 1:16-17; Matt. 7:7-8; John 3:3; Rom. 3:21-22; 8:9-10; 1 Cor. 8:2; 2 Cor. 10:5; Eph. 2:8-9; Col. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:23-24; Tit. 3:9; Jas. 2:20-22
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, increase my faith. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wayland: preaching

Tuesday, October 29, 2013
    Commemoration of James Hannington, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Martyr in Uganda, 1885
Meditation:
    It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
    —Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As the great test of medical practice is that it heals the patient, so the great test of preaching is that it converts and builds up the hearers.
    ... Herman L. Wayland (1830-1898) (see the book)
    See also Eph. 4:11-12; John 2:23; 8:30; 21:17; Acts 2:40-41; 4:4; 5:14; 8:12; 11:28; 13:48; 14:1; 20:28,32; 1 Cor. 1:17-18; 1 Thess. 2:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, strengthen the preaching of _____, so that many more may know You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Owen: not with pardon only

Monday, October 28, 2013
    Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles
Meditation:
    For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
    —2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Pardon comes not to the soul alone, or rather, Christ comes not to the soul with pardon only; it is that which He opens the door and enters by, but He comes with a Spirit of life and power.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), An Exposition upon Psalm CXXX [1668], in Works of John Owen, v. VI, New York: R. Carter & Bros., 1851, p. 535 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 1:7; Ps. 130:4; Acts 1:8; 2:38; 10:38; 1 Cor. 2:4-5,12-13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your salvation has healed my life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Lawrence: light

Sunday, October 27, 2013
Meditation:
    For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
    —Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God always gave us light in our doubts, when we had no other design but to please Him.
    ... Brother Lawrence (c.1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, New York, Revell, 1895, p. 16 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 5:8-10; Matt. 11:2-6; 14:29-31; Mark 9:21-25; John 10:24-26; 14:8-11; 20:25-29; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 1:5-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the Light. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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