Henry: discontent

Saturday, November 15, 2014
Meditation:
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:
    and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
    —Psalm 50:23 (KJV)
Quotation:
    No condition of life will of itself make a man content, without the grace of God; for we find Haman discontented in the court, Ahab discontented on the throne, Adam discontented in paradise; nay, and higher we cannot go, the angels that fell discontented in heaven itself.
    ... Matthew Henry (1662-1714), The life of the Rev. Philip Henry, A.M. [1697], London: B. J. Holdsworth, 1825, p. 237 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 50:23; 145:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:8; 1 Tim. 6:6; Heb. 13:5; 2 Pet. 1:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, let Your contentment descend upon me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Grant: how to study the Bible

Friday, November 14, 2014
    Commemoration of Samuel Seabury, First Anglican Bishop in North America, 1796
Meditation:
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
    —Psalm 63:5-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We are frequently advised to read the Bible with our own personal needs in mind, and to look for answers to our private questions. That is good, as far as it goes... But better still is the advice to study the Bible objectively, ... without regard, first of all, to our own subjective needs. Let the great passages fix themselves in our memory. Let them stay there permanently, like bright beacons, launching their powerful shafts of light upon life’s problems—our own and everyone’s—as they illumine now one, now another dark area of human life... Following such a method, we discover that the Bible does “speak to our condition” and meet our needs, not just occasionally or when some emergency arises, but continually.
    ... Frederick C. Grant (1891-1974), How to Read the Bible, London: Thomas Nelson, 1959, p. 8-9 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 63:5-7; Deut. 8:3; Ps. 1:2-3; 23; John 3:16; Rom. 8:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 3:14-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Feed me, Lord, with Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wesley: this is it

Thursday, November 13, 2014
    Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836
Meditation:
    We love because he first loved us.
    —1 John 4:19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This [1 John 4:19] is the sum of all religion, the genuine model of Christianity. None can say more: why should any one say less? or less intelligibly?
    ... John Wesley (1703-1791), 1 John 4:19, in loc., Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, v. II, London: Thomas Cordeux, 1813, p. 342 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 4:19; Luke 7:47; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Eph. 2:3-5; Tit. 3:3-5; 1 John 4:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    You, Lord, have been the Initiator of all goodness and salvation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Willard: the eternal kingdom

Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Meditation:
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
    and loving toward all he has made.
    —Psalm 145:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We will not doubt that that kingdom has existed from the moment of creation and will never end. It cannot be “shaken” and it is totally good. It has never been in trouble and never will be. It is not something that human beings produce or, ultimately, can hinder. We do have an invitation to be a part of it, but if we refuse we only hurt ourselves.
    ... Dallas Willard (1935-2013), The Divine Conspiracy, HarperCollins, 1997, p. 25 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 145:13; Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 7:14; Matt. 25:34; Luke 1:32-33; Heb. 12:27-29; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, receive me into You kingdom. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gordon: are miracles unnatural?

Tuesday, November 11, 2014
    Feast of Martin, Monk, Bishop of Tours, 397
Meditation:
    When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to [Jesus], and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
    —Matthew 8:16 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Miracles of healing and dispossession are reminiscences of an unfallen Paradise and prophecies of a Paradise regained. Though we call them supernatural, they are not contranatural.
    ... A. J. Gordon (1836-1895), The Ministry of Healing, Boston: H. Gannett, 1883, p. 44 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 8:16; 9:20-22; 12:43-45; Luke 8:28; Jas. 2:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, there is more in Your creation than we know. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: indulgence

Monday, November 10, 2014
    Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461
Meditation:
    Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
    —Colossians 3:2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    You must not deceive yourself with saying, Where can be the harm of clothes? for the covetous man might as well say, Where can be the harm of gold or silver? but you must consider, that it is a great deal of harm to want that wise, and reasonable, and humble state of heart, which is according to the spirit of religion, and which no one can have in the manner that he ought to have it, who indulges himself either in the vanity of dress, or the desire of riches.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 124-125 (see the book)
    See also Col. 3:2; Ex. 20:17; Matt. 6:19-21,28-30; 13:22; 19:23-24; 23:5; Luke 12:15,33-34; 18:24-25; John 6:27; Eph. 5:5; 1 Tim. 2:9-10; Heb. 13:5; 1 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 2:15-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, free me from my self-indulgence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cecil: ministers need a devotional habit

Sunday, November 9, 2014
    Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433
Meditation:
    Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
    —Titus 1:7-9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is a manifest want of spiritual influence on the ministry of the present day. I feel it in my own case, and I see it in that of others. I am afraid that there is too much of a low, managing, contriving, maneuvering temper of mind among us. We are laying ourselves out, more than is expedient, to meet one man’s taste, and another man’s prejudices. The ministry is a grand and holy affair; and it should find in us a simple habit of spirit, and a holy but humble indifference to all consequences.
    The leading defect in Christian ministers is want of a devotional habit.
    ... Richard Cecil (1748-1810), The Works of the Rev. Richard Cecil, v. III, Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1825, p. 308-309 (see the book)
    See also Tit. 1:7-9; Pr. 28:1; 1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 1:27-28; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant my minister the spirit of devotion. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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