Merton: the great thing

Saturday, February 11, 2017
Meditation:
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
    —Psalm 95:1-6 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The great thing, and the only thing, is to adore and praise God.
    ... Thomas Merton (1915-1968), from the entry for Aug. 28-29, 1956, A Search for Solitude: pursuing the monk’s true life, HarperSanFrancisco, 1996, p. 75 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 95:1-6; 30:4; 86:8-10; 100:2-4; 103:1-2; 145:3; Jer. 31:12-13; Matt. 5:16; Rom. 15:11; Rev. 5:12
Quiet time reflection:
    My highest act is the praise of my Savior. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hamill: God we can know

Friday, February 10, 2017
    Commemoration of Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543
Meditation:
    ... the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!’
    —Deuteronomy 5:28b-29 (ESV)
Quotation:
    God is not a power or principle or law, but he is a living, creating, communicating person—a mind who thinks, a heart who feels, a will who acts, whose best name is Father.
    ... Robert Hamill (1912-1975)
    See also Deut. 5:28-29; Gen. 6:6; Ex. 3:14; Ps. 95:8-11; Isa. 1:18; Hos. 14:4; John 3:16,35; Eph. 4:30
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are my true Father. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Eckhart: more blessed than joy

Thursday, February 9, 2017
Meditation:
    But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
    —2 Corinthians 10:17-18 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Love ... is very noticeable as fervour and devotion and jubilation, and is yet not always the best thing; for sometimes it is not from love but is caused by nature that one has such taste and sweetness; or it may be a heavenly impression or it may be produced by the senses, and those who have most of this are not always the best. For even if it should be from God, our Lord gives this to such men in order to attract and charm them, and also to detach them from others. But if these same people later grow in love, they may not have so many feelings, and then it will become clear that they have love, if they remain wholly faithful to God without any such support.
    ... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Works of Meister Eckhart, London: J. M. Watkins, 1924, p. 14 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 10:17-18; John 12:42-43; Rom. 2:29; 1 Cor. 4:5; Phil. 1:15-18; 1 Pet. 1:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, let me not celebrate too much, ignoring Your call to do and be more. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: Christ's yoke is easy

Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
    —Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When the Bible speaks of “following Jesus,” it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. If they follow Jesus, men escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus Christ. But does this mean that we ignore the seriousness of His commands? Far from it! We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when His command, His call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety. Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets His yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, Simon and Schuster, 1959, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:29-30; Ps. 119:45; Isa. 61:1-2; John 16:33; Rom. 8:20-21; 2 Cor. 3:17; 12:9-10; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 4:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I cast away my last reluctance in following You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Trench: If we with earnest effort could succeed

Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Meditation:
    Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.
    —Exodus 24:9-10 (ESV)
Quotation:
If we with earnest effort could succeed
To make our life one long, connected prayer,
As lives of some perhaps have been and are,
If never leaving Thee, we have no need
Our wandering spirits back again to lead
Into Thy presence, but continued there
Like angels standing on the highest stair
Of the Sapphire Throne: this were to pray indeed!
But if distractions manifold prevail,
And if in this we must confess we fail,
Grant us to keep at least a prompt desire,
Continual readiness for prayer and praise,
An altar heaped and waiting to take fire
With the least spark, and leap into a blaze.
    ... Richard Chenevix Trench (1807-1886), Poems, London: Macmillan, 1874, p. 141 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 24:9-10; Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Pet. 4:7; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I want to pray without ceasing. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Luther: the burden of sin

Monday, February 6, 2017
Meditation:
    Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
    —Matthew 11:28 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), What Luther Says: an anthology, v. II, Ewald Martin Plass, ed., Concordia Pub. House, 1959, p. 607 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:28; Ps. 38:4; Isa. 66:2; Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 23:2-4; John 8:31-32; 16:33; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Gal. 5:1
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I acknowledge that I cannot bear my burden of sin, and I praise you for taking it from me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Allen: recognizing unity

Sunday, February 5, 2017
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Japan, 1597
Meditation:
    Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
    —1 Corinthians 12:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is not true that the assertion of spiritual principle is vain because we can not see at the moment how to express that principle in action. It would assuredly make a difference if Christians, in their approach one to another, realized that, in spite of appearances, they were in fact one. If, in their seeking after external reunion, they realized that they were seeking not to create a unity which does not yet exist, but to find an expression for a unity which does exist, which is indeed the one elemental reality, they would approach one another in a better frame of mind. The common recognition of the principle would in itself be a unifying force of great value, and would dispose those who shared it to approach questions of difference in a spirit of unity which would immensely assist their deliberations.
    ... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Pentecost and the World, London: Oxford University Press, 1917, included in The Ministry of the Spirit, David M. Paton, ed., London: World Dominion Press, 1960, p. 58 fn. (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 12:3-6; Matt. 16:16-17; John 13:13; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; 1 John 4:2-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send the knowledge of Your Spirit into every part of the Body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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