Cogdell: the joy set before him

Saturday, April 22, 2017
Meditation:
All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the LORD
    and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness
    to a people yet unborn—
    for he has done it.
    —Psalm 22:27-31 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This last section of Psalm 22 [i.e., verses 27-31] reminds us of Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” The “joy” that was set before Jesus was, we feel, knowing of the riches which would come to his brethren out of his death. In short, we are his joy, set before him when on the cross. As we have seen, only as the circle of the love of Jesus becomes world wide and as big as history will it be complete.
    ... John R. Cogdell, “The humanity of Jesus Christ, as revealed in certain Psalms”, section IV (see the book)
    See also Ps. 22:27-31; Isa. 53:10-12; Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:8-11; Heb. 12:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You suffered and died for me. Show me how I can become the joy that You saw on the Cross. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Vockler: the necessity of Christian unity

Friday, April 21, 2017
    Feast of Anselm, Abbot of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1109
Meditation:
Sing to the LORD a new song;
    sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
    —Psalm 96:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    For us in the Pacific, in Asia, in India, and in Africa, Christian unity is not an optional extra. It is an urgent necessity, for our divisions are a real stumbling-block to the proclamation of the Gospel...
    Mission is at the heart of the divine reality. It is the will of God and the Kingdom of God which are to be made known. Wherever we are, our purpose is not to propagate the Church as an end in itself, but to proclaim Christ as Lord of all life and as Saviour of all men.
    ... John C. Vockler (1924-2014), “Sermon at the Mass Meeting of Missionary Witness,” included in Anglican Congress 1963: Report of Proceedings, Eugene Rathbone Fairweather, ed., Editorial Committee, Anglican Congress, 1963, p. 148-149 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 96:1-4; John 17:22-23; Rom. 15:5-6; Eph. 4:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, unite Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Denney: the diagnostic understanding

Thursday, April 20, 2017
Meditation:
    Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
    But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
    —Romans 3:20-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is the recognition of this divine necessity—not to forgive, but to forgive in a way which shows that God is irreconcilable to evil, and can never treat it as other or less than it is—it is the recognition of this divine necessity, or the failure to recognise it, which ultimately divides interpreters of Christianity into evangelical and non-evangelical, those who are true to the New Testament and those who cannot digest it.
    ... James Denney (1856-1917), The Atonement and the Modern Mind, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903, p. 82 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 3:20-24; Matt. 6:12,14-15; Luke 17:3-4; Rom. 10:4; Phil. 3:8-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, restore forgiveness in the center of my life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Carmichael: the definite utterances

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
    Commemoration of Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012
Meditation:
    For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
    —Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Someone gave me a bit of brick and a little slab of marble from Rome. It was wonderful to touch one of them and think, Perhaps the Apostle Paul or one of the martyrs touched this as they passed. But how much more wonderful is it to think that we have, for our own use, the very same sword our Lord used when the Devil attacked Him. [Brooke Foss] Westcott says “the Word of God” in Ephesians 6:17 means “a definite utterance of God.” We know these “definite utterances”—we have the same Book that He had, and we can do as He did. So let us learn the “definite utterances” that they may be ready in our minds; ready for use at the moment of need—our sword which never grows dull and rusty, but is always keen and bright. So once more I say, let us not expect defeat but victory. Let us take fast hold and keep fast hold of our sword, and we shall win in any assault of the enemy.
    ... Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), Edges of His Ways [1955], London: SPCK, 1957, p. 39-40 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 4:12; Num. 15:40,41; Eph. 6:17 2 Tim. 2:15; Jas. 1:21-23
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I praise You for your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: conforming to Him

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Meditation:
    But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
    —1 Peter 4:13-14 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The Son of God... suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “The Consuming Fire”, in Unspoken Sermons [First Series], London: A. Strahan, 1867, p. 41 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 4:13-14; Rom. 8:17-18; 2 Cor. 4:10; Phil. 3:10-11; Col. 1:24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, all that I suffer is nothing compared with what You suffered for me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Anderson: undeniable and undenied

Monday, April 17, 2017
Meditation:
    Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
    —John 20:8-9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    All the references to the empty tomb come in the Gospels, which were written for Christians who wanted to know the facts. In the public preaching, to those who were not yet convinced, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, there was an insistent emphasis on the resurrection, but not a single reference to the tomb. For this I can see only one explanation. There was no point in speaking of the empty tomb, for everyone—friend and foe alike—knew that it was empty. The only points worth arguing about were why it was empty, and what its emptiness proved.
    ... J. N. D. Anderson (1908-1994), Christianity: the Witness of History, Tyndale Press, 1969, p. 96 (see the book)
    See also John 20:8-9; Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:29-32; 13:34-37; Rom. 6:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Father, I acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and believe that You raised Him from the dead. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Vaughan: I greet Thy sepulcher

Sunday, April 16, 2017
    Easter
Meditation:
    Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
    —John 20:17 (ESV)
Quotation:
I greet Thy sepulchre, salute Thy grave,
That blest enclosure, where the angels gave
The first glad tidings of Thy early light,
And resurrection from the earth and night.
I see that morning in Thy convert’s tears,
Fresh as the dew, which but this dawning wears.
I smell her spices; and her ointment yields
As rich a scent as the now primros’d fields:
The Day-star smiles, and light, with the deceased,
Now shines in all the chambers of the East.
    ... Henry Vaughan (1622-1695), The Poetical Works of Henry Vaughan, Boston: Osgood, 1871, p. 179-180 (see the book)
    See also John 20:11-18; Matt. 28:1-7; Luke 24:1-7; John 20:1-8; 1 Cor. 15:13-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the Light of the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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