Skelton: O radiant luminary of light interminable

Saturday, August 16, 2014
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
    —John 9:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
O radiant luminary of light interminable,
    Celestial Father, potential God of might,
Of heaven and earth, O Lord incomparable,
    Of all perfections the essential most perfite!
    O Maker of mankind, that formëd day and night,
Whose power imperial comprehendeth every place:
    Mine heart, my mind, my thought, my whole delight
Is after this life, to see thy glorious face.

Whose magnificence is incomprehensible,
    All arguments of reason, which far doth exceed,
Whose deity doubtless is indivisible,
    From whom all goodness and virtue doth proceed;
    Of thy support all creätures have need:
Assist me, good Lord, and grant me of thy grace
    To live to thy pleasure in word, thought, and deed,
And after this life to see thy glorious face.
    ... John Skelton (1460-1529), Pithy, Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, London: C. Davis, 1736, p. 121-122 (see the book)
    See also John 9:5; Gen. 1:5; Matt. 4:15-16; John 1:4-5; 8:12; 2 Cor. 10:5; Eph. 5:13-14; Col. 1:27; Jas. 1:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the only true source of light.

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Yaconelli: unfinished

Friday, August 15, 2014
Meditation:
    Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
    —1 Peter 2:2-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jesus understood unfinishedness very well, which is why he was comfortable leaving eleven unfinished disciples. When he died, the disciples were confused, depressed, afraid, and doubtful. They faced a lifetime of finishing, just like you and me. Messy spirituality not only reminds us we will always be a work in progress; it also reminds us that the unfinished life is a lot more spiritual than we imagined.
    ... Mike Yaconelli (1942-2003), Messy Spirituality [2002], Zondervan, 2007, p. 30 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 2:2-3; Matt. 16:15-23; 28:17; Mark 8:29-33; John 20:25; Rom. 8:5-8; 1 Cor. 2:14-15; 3:1-2; 14:20; Eph. 4:11-15; Col. 1:28; 3:2; Heb. 5:12-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, increase my growth in You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Colson: the metaphorical kingdom?

Thursday, August 14, 2014
    Commemoration of Maximilian Kolbe, Franciscan Friar, Priest, Martyr, 1941
Meditation:
    The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
    —Revelation 11:15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    One reason I, like many others, missed the deeper meaning of Christ’s radical declaration is that I had always read the term kingdom metaphorically. Like the Jews in that Nazareth synagogue, most of us think of kingdoms as geographic entities, physical realms with boundaries and defenses and treasuries. But the Kingdom of God is a rule, not a realm. It is the declaration of God’s absolute sovereignty, of His total order of life in this world and the next.
    ... Charles W. Colson (1931-2012), Kingdoms in Conflict, HarperCollins Canada, Limited, 1990, p. 120-121 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 11:15; Ps. 45:6; Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 2:44; 7:13-14; Luke 17:20-21; John 18:36; Rom. 14:17-18; Col. 1:10-14; Heb. 1:8-9; Rev. 5:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, wherever You lead Your people is Your kingdom. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Taylor: the seeds of praise

Wednesday, August 13, 2014
    Feast of Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down & Connor, Priest, Teacher, 1667
    Commemoration of Florence Nightingale, Social Reformer, 1910
    Commemoration of Octavia Hill, Worker for the Poor, 1912
Meditation:
The LORD upholds all those who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.
    —Psalm 145:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Every furrow in the book of the Psalms is sown with such seeds [of praise and thanksgiving]. I know nothing more certain, more constant, to expel the sadness of the world, than to sound out the praises of the Lord as with a trumpet: and when the heart is cast down, it will make it rebound from earth to heaven.
    ... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D., v. I, London: Ogle, Duncan and Company, 1822 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 81:1; 135:3; 145:14; 147:1; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we lift Your psalms in praise to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Davidman: making the day holy

Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Meditation:
    Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
    —Exodus 20:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    How do you make a day holy? By stopping work—that is, by stopping all the pursuits we engage in for necessity not for pleasure, all our struggles with the world conceived as an enemy that is trying to starve us to death. By looking at that world and seeing that it is good. By entering into all its good and friendly and loving activities, and rejoicing in them. And, above all, by looking beyond the world to the Love that sustains it.
    ... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955, reprint, Westminster John Knox Press, 1985, p. 58 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 20:8; Gen. 1:31; 2:3; Ex. 31:13; Lev. 23:3; Ps. 75:3; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your love is the foundation of our existence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newman: patience

Monday, August 11, 2014
    Feast of Clare of Assisi, Founder of the Order of Minoresses (Poor Clares), 1253
    Commemoration of John Henry Newman, Priest, Teacher, Tractarian, 1890
Meditation:
    Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
    —James 5:7-8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    May I be patient! It is so difficult to realise what one believes, and to make these trials, as they are intended, real blessings.
    ... John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), in a letter, 1828, Letters and Correspondence of John Henry Newman, v. I, London: Longmans, Green, 1903, p. 160 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 5:7-8; Ps. 37:7; Hab. 2:3-4; Luke 21:19; Rom. 8:18; Gal. 5:22-23; 6:9; Col. 1:10-11; 3:12; Jas. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me patience as You form me to Your likeness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Clark: becoming common

Sunday, August 10, 2014
    Feast of Lawrence, Deacon at Rome, Martyr, 258
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’”
    —Luke 7:33-34 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Must we then have strange music... unlike the world’s music, and a special language with an imagery that illuminates the minds only of the religious? Or dare we do what our Lord did, and see the Name hallowed in all life that is real and honest and good? Indeed, it was a scandal to the religious men of Jesus’ day when they saw what He did with sacred things. With Jesus all life was sacred and nothing was profane until sin entered in. And so it was that the word “common,” which used to mean profane and unclean, became the New Testament word for the Communion of Saints and for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
    ... Howard Hewlett Clark (1903-1983), “Sermon at the Opening Service,” included in Anglican Congress 1963: Report of Proceedings, Eugene Rathbone Fairweather, ed., Editorial Committee, Anglican Congress, 1963, p. 11 (see the book)
    See also Luke 7:33-34; Ps. 101:2-3; Matt. 9:10; 11:18-19; Mark 2:15; 12:38-40; Luke 5:29; 15:1; 19:5; John 14:23; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 1 John 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your touch makes the profane sacred. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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