Eckhart: God's devotion to you

Saturday, June 6, 2015
    Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945
Meditation:
    The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
    —1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    For however devoted you are to [God], you can rest assured that He is immeasurably more devoted to you and He trusts you far more, for He is loyalty itself.
    ... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Treatises and Sermons, Harper, 1958, p. 83 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 5:24; Ps. 9:10; 100:5; 111:5; 121:3-4; Neh. 9:7-8; Jer. 32:40; Matt. 23:37; John 8:26; 1 Cor. 1:9; Heb. 10:23
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You watch over my every step. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Bonhoeffer: the impiety of the pious

Friday, June 5, 2015
    Feast of Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754
Meditation:
No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.
    —Psalm 101:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The pious community permits no one to be a sinner. Hence all have to conceal their sins from themselves and from the community. We are not allowed to be sinners. Many Christians would be unimaginably horrified if a real sinner were suddenly to turn up among the pious. So we remain alone with our sin, trapped in lies and hypocrisy, for we are in fact sinners.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together [1954], tr. Daniel W. Bloesch & James H. Burtness, Fortress Press, 2004, p. 108 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 101:7; Isa. 7:12; Matt. 23:5-6; 27:24; Luke 20:21-25; John 15:6; 18:28; Acts 5:1-10; Rom. 16:17-18; Gal. 6:3; 1 Pet. 5:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, tear the veil away that hides our sin. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Aragon: the true light

Thursday, June 4, 2015
Meditation:
    In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
    —John 1:4-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Any lights shining on the wrong subject will mislead you. I focus on my Lord Jesus, the true light that enlightens every man. He does not blind me, dazzle me, or confuse me. He shines on my path to show me the way, shines on my thoughts to show me the truth, and shines on my life to lead me to Life, because He is the way, the truth, and the life. His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot resist it.
    ... Luis Fernando Aragón, Pilgrim: One Thousand Days on the Road, Enumclaw, WA: WinePress Publishing, 2010, p. 98 (see the book)
    See also John 1:4-5; Ps. 16:11; 18:28; 119:105; John 14:6; Heb. 12:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I always see You ahead in my pathway. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Law: the Christian life

Wednesday, June 3, 2015
    Feast of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Teacher, 1910
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & 1978
Meditation:
    Then [Jesus] said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
    —Luke 9:23 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If our common life is not a common course of humility, self-denial, renunciation of the world, poverty of spirit, and heavenly affection, we don’t live the lives of Christians.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 10-11 (see the book)
    See also Luke 9:23; Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; John 13:34-35; Acts 2:40; 1 Cor. 7:29-31; Gal. 6:14; Jas. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, conform me to Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Phillips: God's slowness

Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Meditation:
    He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
    —Matthew 26:42 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Most Christians are affected far more than they know by the standards and methods of the surrounding world. In these days when power and size and speed are almost universally admired, it seems to me particularly important to study afresh the “weakness,” the “smallness of entry,” and the “slowness” of God as He begins His vast work of reconstructing His disordered world. We are all tempted to take short cuts, to work for quick results, and to evade painful sacrifice. It is therefore essential that we should look again at love incarnate in a human being, to see God Himself at work within the limitations of human personality, and to base our methods on what we see Him do.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Making Men Whole, London: Highway Press, 1952, p. 7-8 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 26:42; Isa. 42:1-4; 52:14; 53:2-7; Matt. 7:13; 18:2-3; 27:26-32; Luke 13:24; 14:33; John 10;9; 14:6; 19:1-3; 1 Cor. 1:27; Gal. 5:24; Phil. 3:7-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me Your imitator. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Jones: the party vs. the Kingdom

Monday, June 1, 2015
    Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165
    Commemoration of Angela de Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
    —Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It seems to me that the only way out is for the Christian movement to renounce party allegiance as primary and make the Kingdom of God primary. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God...and all these things shall be added unto you.” But if we seek first the party, then all these things shall be subtracted from us—as now. After making the Kingdom first we could say to the parties: “We will stand with you to the degree that you stand for the Kingdom. When you break with that Kingdom, we break with you. For to us the Kingdom loyalty is first, last, and always.”
    ... E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), The Christ of the American Road, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1944, p. 186-187 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 6:33; Isa. 29:13-14; Matt. 5:6; 15:7-9; Luke 12:31; John 6:27; 1 Cor. 1:10-13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead Your people out of division. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah

Rushdoony: the Biblical smorgasbord

Sunday, May 31, 2015
    Trinity Sunday
Meditation:
    They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”
    —Isaiah 30:10-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Theology belongs in the pulpit, the school, the work-place, the family, and everywhere. Society as a whole is weakened when theology is neglected. Without a systematic application of theology, too often people approach the Bible with a smorgasbord mentality, picking and choosing that which pleases them.
    ... Rousas J. Rushdoony (1916-2001), Systematic Theology, v. I, Ross House Books, 2003, v.1, p. xv (see the book)
    See also Isa. 30:10-11; Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Jer. 6:13-14; Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; Luke 21:8; Gal. 1:6-9; Eph. 5:6; Phil. 3:1-3; 1 Tim. 4:1,16; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Tit. 1:9; 2:1; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 John 2:26; 2 John 1:7-10; Jude 1:3-4; Rev. 22:18-19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have granted us Your whole counsel. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah