Saturday, July 04, 2015

Bell: Christianity and America

Saturday, July 4, 2015
Meditation:
Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
    and the rulers gather together
    against the LORD and against his Anointed One.
“Let us break their chains,” they say,
    “and throw off their fetters.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
    —Psalm 2:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As for what the Church thinks and says, what influence does that have on the handling of American politics, the conduct of American education, the regulation of marriage and divorce, on sex and drink, on how industrial disputes are settled, on how we carry on business? As a plain matter of fact, religion in this country is generally regarded as a tolerated pastime for such people as happen to like to indulge in occasional godly exercises—as a strictly private matter in an increasingly close-knit and socially acting society—in other words, as something that does not count. I should like to see the Church recognize that it has been pushed into the realm of the non-essentials, and to persuade it to fight like fury for the right and the duty to bring every act of America and Americans before the bar of God’s judgment.
    [Christian leaders] are making valiant claim to such a right and duty; but the great mass ! of Church members are content to regard the Church as a conglomerate of private culture clubs, nice for christenings, weddings and funerals. Most Church members readily agree with the unchurched majority that it is not the proper business of the Church to criticize America or Americans.
    ... Bernard Iddings Bell (1886-1958), God is Not Dead, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945, p. 121 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 2:1-4; 9:17,19-20; 33:10-11; 46:10; 50:7-10; 82:8; Isa. 1:13-17; 42:1; Amos 5:21-24; Phil. 2:9-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You alone are the righteous Judge.
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Friday, July 03, 2015

Merton: the bells speak

Friday, July 3, 2015
    Feast of Thomas the Apostle
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
    —Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The bells say: we have spoken for centuries from the towers of great Churches. We have spoken to the saints your fathers, in their land. We called them, as we call you, to sanctity. What is the word with which we called them?
    We did not merely say “Be good, come to church.” We did not merely say “Keep the commandments” but above all, “Christ is risen, Christ is risen!” And we said: “Come with us, God is good, salvation is not hard, His love has made it easy!” And this, our message, has always been for everyone, for those who came and for those who did not come, for our song is perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, and we pour our charity out upon all.
    ... Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Thoughts in Solitude [1958], Macmillan, 1999, p. 62 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:29-30; 28:5-6; Luke 2:10; 24:6-7; Rom. 5:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may our hearts ring out with joy.
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Thursday, July 02, 2015

Buechner: downside up

Thursday, July 2, 2015
Meditation:
The LORD is my shepherd,
    I shall not be in want.
    —Psalm 23:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If the Lord is indeed our shepherd, then everything goes topsy-turvy. Losing becomes finding and crying becomes laughing. The last become first and the weak become strong. Instead of life being done in by death in the end as we always supposed, death is done in finally by life in the end. If the Lord is our host at the great feast, then the sky is the limit.
    ... Frederick Buechner (b. 1926), Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, Zondervan, 2007, p. 130 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 23:1; Matt. 10:39; 20:16; John 10:11; 1 Cor. 15:54-55
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, our hope is solely in You.
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Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Brother Lawrence: seeing troubles rightly

Wednesday, July 1, 2015
    Commemoration of John & Henry Venn, Priests, Evangelical Divines, 1813, 1873
Meditation:
    I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
    —Romans 8:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, except when we see them in the wrong light. When we see them as dispensed by the hand of God, when we know that it is our loving Father who abases and distresses us, our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even a matter of consolation.
    ... Brother Lawrence (c.1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, New York, Revell, 1895, Fifteenth Letter, p. 43-44 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17-18; 1 Pet. 1:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You support me in all difficulties.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Machen: miracles

Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Meditation:
    When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
    —Matthew 14:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    According to the Christian conception, a miracle is wrought by the immediate power of God... by the very God to whom the regularity of nature itself is due—by the God, moreover, whose character is known through the Bible... It is not an uncaused event, but an event that is caused by the very source of all the order that is in the world. It is dependent altogether upon the least arbitrary and most firmly fixed of all the things that are—namely upon the character of God.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, The Macmillan Company, 1923, p. 87 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 14:14; Gen. 1:1; Matt. 12:38-39; Mark 16:20; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; 12:7; Heb. 2:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are merciful and compassionate.
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Monday, June 29, 2015

Barth: the final victory

Monday, June 29, 2015
    Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles
Meditation:
    God made [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
    —2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Kingdom of God in the New Testament is both the life and the purpose of the world according as they agree with the intentions of the Creator. It is the efficacious and definitive shield against the threat which followed and had to follow sin, against the fatal danger, the annihilation which lay in wait for the world because the world is only a creature. The Kingdom of God is the final victory over sin.
    ... Karl Barth (1886-1968), Prayer, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, p. 35 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Luke 17:20-21; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; 3:13; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:10; 5:3-4; Rev. 21:1
Quiet time reflection:
    May Your Kingdom come, Lord.
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Sunday, June 28, 2015

Irenaeus: the good from God

Sunday, June 28, 2015
    Feast of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200
Meditation:
    So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
    —Romans 2:3-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is no coercion with God, but a good will [towards us] is present with Him continually. And therefore does He give good counsel to all. And in man, as well as in angels, He has placed the power of choice (for angels are rational beings), so that those who had yielded obedience might justly possess what is good, given indeed by God, but preserved by themselves. On the other hand, they who have not obeyed shall, with justice, be not found in possession of the good, and shall receive condign punishment: for God did kindly bestow on them what was good; but they themselves did not diligently keep it, nor deem it something precious, but poured contempt upon His supereminent goodness.
    ... Irenaeus (c.130-c.200), from Adversus Haereses, The Writings of Irenaeus, v. II, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1869, IV.xxxvii.1, p. 36 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 2:3-4; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 8:11-12; 23:37; 25:41; Rom. 2:5,7; Rev. 12:7-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to honor Your grace.
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