Pike: pagan words for Christian thoughts

Saturday, October 3, 2015
    Commemoration of William Morris, Artist, Writer, 1896
    Commemoration of George Kennedy Bell, Bishop of Chichester, Ecumenist, Peacemaker, 1958
Meditation:
    When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
    —Acts 2:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Upon a little reflection one can see that no concepts which are restricted to Christianity could possibly be found in a language spoken only by pagans. How could pagans have developed words for Christian ideas which have never occurred to them? This identical situation existed when the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament. At that time many pagan words, with pagan-thought background, were used in Christian contexts; by the contexts the present Christian meaning eventually built up, until it was possible to express all the Christian meaning in the pagan terms.
    ... Kenneth L. Pike (1912-2001), With Heart and Mind, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962, p. 129 (see the book)
    See also Acts 2:6; Gen. 11:6-8; 2 Tim. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have made language Your tool. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Faber: to Whom we pray

Friday, October 2, 2015
Meditation:
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
    —Psalm 103:2-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We must consider who it is to whom we pray. The infinitely blessed Majesty of God, than which nothing can be conceived more good, more holy, more pure, more august, more adorable, more compassionate, more incomprehensible, or more unutterable. The very thought of God takes away our breath. He is Three living Persons. We live and move and breathe in Him. He can do what He wills with us. He is no further bound to us than He has graciously and piteously chosen to bind Himself. He knows every thing without our telling Him or asking Him. Yet it is to Him we pray. Next, let us think where it is we pray. Whether it be a consecrated place or not. It is in God Himself. We are in the midst of Him, as fishes are in the sea. His immensity is our temple.
    ... Frederick William Faber (1814-1863), Thoughts on Great Mysteries, London: Suttaby and Co., 1884, p. 203-204 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 103:2-5; Deut. 5:24; 1 Chr. 16:27; Isa. 6:1-5; Matt. 6:8; Acts 17:28
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your greatness is beyond my comprehension. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bayne: the Church's mission?

Thursday, October 1, 2015
    Commemoration of Remigius, Bishop of Rheims, Apostle of the Franks, 533
    Commemoration of Thérèse of Lisieux, Carmelite Nun, Spiritual Writer, 1897
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
    —John 6:44 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Church has no mission of its own. All we can have by ourselves is a club or a debating society; and our only hope, left to ourselves, is to win as many members for our own club and away from other clubs as we can. And whatever this is, it is not Mission. Mission belongs to God. The Mission was His from the beginning; it is His; it will always be His. He has His purposes from the foundation of the world, and the means to fulfill them; and the only part the Church has in this is obedience—a share in the eternal and life-giving obedience of the Son of God... And the most terrible judgment on the Church comes when God leaves us to our own devices because He is tired of waiting for our obedience—leaves us to be the domestic chaplains to a comfortable secular world—and goes Himself into the wilderness of human need and injustice and pain. This judgment does come on churches and nations, when they forget that God is in command, that! He does the choosing.
    ... Stephen F. Bayne, Jr. (1908-1974), An Anglican Turning Point, Austin: Church Historical Society, 1964 (see the book)
    See also John 6:44; 1 Chr. 16:23-24; Ps. 96; Isa. 43:7; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 13:2-4,47; Rev. 14:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your church must follow You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Trench: He might have reared a palace at a word

Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Meditation:
    Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
    —Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
He might have reared a palace at a word,
Who sometimes had not where to lay his head:
Time was, and He who nourished crowds with bread
Would not one meal unto Himself afford:
Twelve legions girded with angelic sword
Were at his beck, the scorned and buffeted:
He healed another’s scratch, his own side bled,
Side, feet, and hands, with cruel piercings gored.
Oh wonderful the wonders left undone!
And scarce less wonderful than those He wrought;
Oh self-restraint, passing all human thought,
To have all power, and be as having none;
Oh self-denying Love, which felt alone
For needs of others, never for its own!
    ... Richard Chenevix Trench (1807-1886), Poems, London: Macmillan, 1874, p. 142 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 2:5-7; Matt. 8:20; 26:53; John 20:25-27
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, empty me of all but Your Spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Mother Teresa: kindness and mercy

Tuesday, September 29, 2015
    Feast of Michael & All Angels
Meditation:
    Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
    —1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness—kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. In the slums we are the light of God’s kindness to the poor. To children, to the poor, to all who suffer and are lonely, give always a happy smile. Give them not only your care but also your heart. Because of God’s goodness and love every moment of our life can be the beginning of great things. Be open, ready to receive and you will find him everywhere. Every work of love brings a person face to face with God.
    ... Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) (1910-1997), In the Silence of the Heart: Meditations by Mother Teresa, compiled by Kathryn Spink, SPCK Publishing, 1983, ISIS Large Print, 1985, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 3:16; John 15:16; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:19-22; Gal. 5:22-23; 1 Pet. 2:4-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me Your messenger of love to those You send my way. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cowper: God moves in a mysterious way

Monday, September 28, 2015
Meditation:
    Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
    —Romans 11:33 (NIV)
Quotation:
God moves in a mysterious way,
    His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
    And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
    Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
    And works his sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
    The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
    But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
    He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
    Unfolding ev’ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
    But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
    And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
    And he will make it plain.
    ... William Cowper (1731-1800), Olney Hymns [1779], John Newton, Edinburgh: Murray & Cochrane, 1797, fifth edition, p. 255 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 11:33; Isa. 55:8-9; John 13:7; Rom. 8:28; 1 Tim. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I place my trust in You.

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Hallesby: helplessness

Sunday, September 27, 2015
    Feast of Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists), 1660
Meditation:
For [God] will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
    —Psalm 72:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 17 (see the book)
    See also Deut. 32:36; Ps. 72:12; 142:4-6; Matt. 9:2-8,36; Mark 2:2-12; Luke 5:18-26; John 5:2-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are faithful. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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