Tozer: the holy of holies

Saturday, July 5, 2014
Meditation:
    And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
    At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
    —Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 21 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 27:50-51; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Heb. 9:11-12,15; 10:19-22
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we enter Your holy presence through the blood of Jesus. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barth: by grace

Friday, July 4, 2014
Meditation:
    But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
    —Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    By grace you have been saved! Whatever else we do, praying and singing, is but an answer to this word spoken to us by God himself... The Bible alone contains this sentence. We do not read it in Kant or in Schopenhauer, or in any book of natural or secular history, and certainly not in any novel, but in the Bible alone.
    ... Karl Barth (1886-1968), Deliverance to the Captives, Harper, 1961, p. 36 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 2:4-9; Acts 15:11; Rom. 2:3-4; 3:22-24; 5:20-21; 11:5-6; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, the world has no salvation to offer apart from You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Butterfield: the problem of sin

Thursday, July 3, 2014
    Feast of Thomas the Apostle
Meditation:
    He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
    —Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It is not the mere existence of unusual criminals that has ravaged our world; for the arrangements of society (whether national or international) ought always to presume that some of these will be lurking somewhere. The gates have been opened to evil in part because of a terrible discrepancy between human ideals and actual possibilities—terrible heresies concerning the nature of man and the structure of the historical universe. Christianity, even if it cannot persuade men to rise to the contemplation of the spiritual things, embodies principles which may at least have the effect of bringing the dreamers down to earth. Because it confronts the problem of human sin, it can face our difficulties and dilemmas without evasions—without the fundamental evasiveness of those who believe that all would be well with the world if it were not for a few unspeakable criminals, always conveniently identified with the political enemy of the moment.
    ... Herbert Butterfield (1900-1979), Christianity, Diplomacy and War, London: Epworth Press, 1953, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1953, p. 75 (see the book)
    See also Luke 18:9-14; Matt. 7:1-5; John 3:19; Rom. 3:9-23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Col. 1:13-14; 2:13; 1 Pet. 2:25; 1 John 1:8-10; 2:16; 5:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, show me my pride, and do not allow me to ignore my own sin. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Augustine: letters from home

Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Meditation:
    Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
    —2 Corinthians 5:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.
    ... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Enarr. in Ps. xc, sermon 2
    See also 2 Cor. 5:1-3; John 14:2-3; Heb. 11:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, our true home is with You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: Jesus' joy

Tuesday, July 1, 2014
    Commemoration of John & Henry Venn, Priests, Evangelical Divines, 1813, 1873
Meditation:
    Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
    —Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Surely the heart of the matter is not my safety and my joy. It is Jesus’ joy. It is that he should have the joy of knowing that all for whom he died have come home.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Journey Into Joy, Christian Literature Society, 1972, reprint, Wm. B. Errdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1973, p. 125 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 12:2; Ps. 16:9-11; Isa. 53:10-12; Luke 24:26; John 13:31-32; Phil. 2:8-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your work has triumphed. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brooks: blessing or curse

Monday, June 30, 2014
Meditation:
    Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
    —1 Samuel 16:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We shall understand [the story of King Saul] best if we consider how wide the law of life is that it opens to us. The law is that: a beneficent power, if we obey it, blesses and helps us; but the same power, if we disobey it, curses and ruins us. That law runs everywhere... Was not Judas cursed by the same friendship with Jesus that perfected John?
    ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Visions and Tasks, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1910, p. 302,305 (see the book)
    See also 1 Sam. 16:14; Jonah 1:12; Matt. 27:5; John 13:23
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your friendship is surpassing blessing to me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Schaeffer: the living church

Sunday, June 29, 2014
    Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles
Meditation:
    [Jesus praying:] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
    —John 17:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The world looks, shrugs its shoulders and turns away. It has not seen even the beginning of a living church in the midst of a dying culture. It has not seen the beginning of what Jesus indicates is the final apologetic—observable oneness among true Christians who are truly brothers in Christ. Our sharp tongues, the lack of love between us—not the necessary statements of differences that may exist between true Christians—these are what properly trouble the world.
    ... Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984), The Mark of the Christian, Inter-Varsity Press, 1976, p. 40 (see the book)
    See also John 17:20-23; Ps. 133:1; Matt. 23:8; Acts 4:32; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 1:27-28; 2:1-2; 1 Pet. 3:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, restore our outward unity for Your name’s sake. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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