Forsyth: to seek God

Saturday, October 25, 2014
    Commemoration of Crispin & Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, c.285
Meditation:
I love those who love me,
    and those who seek me find me.
    —Proverbs 8:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If prayer is not a play of the religious fantasy, or a routine task, it must be the application of faith to a concrete actual and urgent situation. Only remember that prayer does not work by magic, and that stormy desire is not fervent, effectual prayer. You may be but exploiting a mighty power; whereas you must be in real contact with the real God. It is the man that most really has God that most really seeks God.
    ... P. T. Forsyth (1848-1921), The Soul of Prayer [1916], Regent College Publishing, 2002, p. 76 (see the book)
    See also Pr. 8:17; Deut. 4:29; Ps. 119:10; Jer. 29:12-14; Lam. 3:25; Matt. 6:33; 7:7-8; John 3:18-19; Heb. 4:2; 11:6; 1 John 1:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, draw me closer to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

McCabe: beside us

Friday, October 24, 2014
Meditation:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
    —Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Never again are we to look at the stars, as we did when we were children, and wonder how far it is to God. A being outside our world would be a spectator, looking on but taking no part in this life where we try to be brave despite all the bafflement. A God who created, and withdrew, could be mighty, but he could not be love. Who could love a God remote, when suffering is our lot? Our God is closer than our problems, for they are out there, to be faced; He is here, beside us, Emmanuel.
    ... Joseph E. McCabe (b. 1912), Handel’s Messiah, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978, p. 27 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 139:7-10; 46:7; 145:18; Isa. 9:6-7; 44:3; Jer. 13:24; Eze. 36:25-27; Joel 2:28-29; Matt. 1:23; John 1:14; 17:3; Acts 2:38-39; 8:17 Rom. 8:11; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 3:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are closer than my own thoughts. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Saphir: the humanity of Christ

Thursday, October 23, 2014
Meditation:
    Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
    —Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Let us not forget the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not think of it vaguely, and fall into the heretical fancy that the Son of God became man merely to transact certain things which were necessary to secure the salvation of men, and that after this object was achieved His human nature recedes into the background and impenetrable obscurity. No, it is not so; all-important as His work on earth was—the only foundation of our hope and blessedness—let us adore the revealed mystery that God gave us His Son, never to recall Him, as it were, and take Him away from us; He spared Him not and gave Him to us, allowing Him to become man, exalting Him as the Son of Man, enthroning Him because of his obedience unto death, and giving unto Him as the Son of Man all power in heaven and earth.
    ... Adolph Saphir (1831-1891), Christ and Israel, London: Morgan and Scott, 1911, p. 145-146 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 2:5-11; Ps. 22:1-5; Isa. 53:10; Matt. 4:1-2; 11:29; 28:18-20; Luke 24:41-43; John 1:14; 3:16-17; Rom. 5:8; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 12:2; 1 John 1:2-3; 4:2-3,10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we adore You that You have deigned to become one of us. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Bronnert: witness identification

Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Meditation:
    For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
    —Hebrews 2:17-18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The theology of incarnation is fundamental; Jesus came to live among those for whom he died to save. The Christian has always to be identified closely with those to whom he is called to witness. More than physical presence is needed, there needs to be a psychological presence too. It is possible to live in one area whilst having one’s children educated outside it, and for one’s thought-life and friendships to be in quite a different world. If the presence is to be real, it needs to be a committed and involved presence in the local church life and in the local community.
    ... David Bronnert, “The Gospel and Culture”, in The Changing World, Bruce Kaye, ed., vol. 3 of Obeying Christ in a Changing World, John Stott, gen. ed., 3 vol., London: Fountain, 1977, p. 127 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 2:17-18; Matt. 9:10-12; Luke 5:30-32; 15:1-2; 19:5; John 1:14; Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 2:11-12; 1 John 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to serve those whom I have been placed among. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Warren: spiritual adultery

Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
    —Mark 8:38 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about “having it all” on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery.
    ... Rick Warren (b.1954), The Purpose Driven Life [2002], Zondervan, 2012, p. 48 (see the book)
    See also Mark 8:38; Ps. 15; Hos. 1:2; Matt. 6:24; 12:39; 16:4; Luke 12:15-21; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 11:13; Jas. 4:1-2,4; 1 Pet. 1:1-2; 1 John 2:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, open my hands, that I may no longer hold on to things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Owen: no power of our own

Monday, October 20, 2014
Meditation:
    But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
    —2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We can have no power from Christ unless we live in a persuasion that we have none of our own.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), V.4 in A Discourse Concerning Holy Spirit, bk. I-V [1674], in Works of John Owen, v. III, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 619 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Acts 5:41; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:35-39; 2 Cor. 4:8-10,17; 13:4; Phil. 2:17; 1 Pet. 4:13-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, without You, I am helpless and condemned. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

ten Boom: praying in faith

Sunday, October 19, 2014
    Feast of Henry Martyn, Translator of the Scriptures, Missionary in India & Persia, 1812
Meditation:
    In [Christ Jesus our Lord] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
    —Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Praying in faith comes from an abiding faith in the Person prayed to—the confidence is in Him. It is based on a knowledge of who He is, and on a trusted conviction that He is worthy to be trusted. Praying in faith is the act of a simple-hearted child of God.
    ... Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983), Jesus is Victor, Revell, 1985, p. 201 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 3:3-4; Ps. 118:8-9; Acts 4:31; Eph. 3:12; Heb. 3:3; 4:16; 10:19-22; Rev. 4:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, increase my faith so that I might pray in full confidence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt