Studd: the arms for doing battle

Saturday, October 14, 2017
Meditation:
    [Peter:] You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
    —Acts 10:37-38 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When in hand-to-hand conflict with the world and the devil, neat little Biblical confectionery is like shooting lions with a pea-shooter; one needs a man who will let go and deliver blows right and left as hard as he can hit, in the power of the Holy Ghost... Nothing but forked-lightning Christians will count.
    ... C. T. Studd (1860-1931), quoted in C. T. Studd—Cricketer and Pioneer [1933], Norman P. Grubb, World-Wide Revival Prayer Movement, 1947, p. 163 (see the book)
    See also Acts 10:37-38; Mic. 3:8; Zech. 4:6; Luke 10:18-20; Acts 1:8; Jude 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, energize Your people to carry out Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newton: patience in affliction

Friday, October 13, 2017
    Feast of Edward the Confessor, 1066
Meditation:
    But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
    —1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Lord afflicts us at times; but it is always a thousand times less than we deserve, and much less than many of our fellow-creatures are suffering around us. Let us therefore pray for grace to be humble, thankful, and patient.
    ... John Newton (1725-1807), in a letter, 1770, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, v. II, New York: Williams and Whiting, 1810, p. 151 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 11:31-32; Pr. 3:11-12; Rom. 8:16-18; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; Heb. 12:5-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, in my trials, You are always present. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Lewis: the Gospels

Thursday, October 12, 2017
    Commemoration of Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, Bishop of York, Missionary, 709
    Commemoration of Elizabeth Fry, Prison Reformer, 1845
Meditation:
    But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
    —1 Corinthians 15:12-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No nation, and few individuals, are really brought into [God’s] camp by the historical study of the biography of Jesus, simply as biography. Indeed, materials for a full biography have been withheld from men. The earliest converts were converted by a single historical fact (the Resurrection) and a single theological doctrine (the Redemption) operating on a sense of sin which they already had... The “Gospels” come later and were written not to make Christians but to edify Christians already made.
    ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Screwtape Letters, Macmillan, 1944, p. 119 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 15:12-14,17; Luke 1:1-4; Acts 17:31; Gal. 2:2; Jas. 2:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are forever risen! CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Selden: faith and works

Wednesday, October 11, 2017
    Commemoration of Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking, 675
Meditation:
    But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
    —James 2:18 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It was an unhappy division that has been made between faith and works; though in my Intellect I may divide them; just as in the candle I know there is both light and heat: but yet put out the candle, and they are both gone.
    ... John Selden (1584-1654), Table-Talk [1689], Whitefriars: Davidson, 1821, p. 56 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 2:14,17-18,26; Rom. 14:23; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:5-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, never let my faith be dead. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Carnell: evidence for belief

Tuesday, October 10, 2017
    Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.
    —Matthew 24:23-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    People make mistakes when they believe. They may even want something so badly that passion creates its own evidences. Reprehensible though these habits are, they nonetheless fall within the pale of man’s general effort to conform the self to things as they are. But when a person acknowledges the deficiency of evidences and yet goes right on believing, he defends a position that is large with the elements of its own destruction. Any brand of inanity can be defended on such a principle.
    ... Edward John Carnell (1919-1967), The Case for Orthodox Theology, Philadelphia: Westminister, 1959, p. 24 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 24:23-24; 24:5,11; 26:41; Mark 13:21-22; Luke 17:23-24; 21:8; 2 Pet. 2:1; 3:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the only reliable source of knowledge. Inform me, I pray, so that I might have knowledge of You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brother Lawrence: the sweetness of His presence

Monday, October 9, 2017
    Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258
    Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, 1253
Meditation:
    So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
    —Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual walk with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive.
    ... Brother Lawrence (c.1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, New York, Revell, 1895, Fifth Letter, p. 31 (see the book)
    See also Gal. 5:16-18; Ps. 119:103-104; Matt. 11:28-29; Rom. 8:12-14; Gal. 5:25; 6:8; 1 Pet. 4:6; 1 John 5:3-4; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your Spirit to me in my weakness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Oxenham: generations to come

Sunday, October 8, 2017
Meditation:
    Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
    —Mark 1:14-15 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Some people are reluctant to consider the future, arguing that it must be left to solve its own problems and to shape its own beliefs. In all right efforts for the future, religion must be given first place. No provision to secure peace or just social principles can be worth much unless the foremost aim be to establish the Kingdom of God. It is not the minds and bodies only of generations to come that have to be remembered, but their immortal souls.
    ... John Oxenham (1852-1941), Winds of the Dawn, London, New York: Longmans, Green, 1930
    See also Mark 1:14-15; Ps. 22:30-31; 78:5-6; 102:18; Matt. 4:17; 10:7; Luke 10:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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