Bonhoeffer: no belief without obedience

Saturday, November 18, 2017
Meditation:
    “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
    “Come,” he said.
    Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
    But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
    Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
    “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
    —Matthew 14:28-31 (NIV)
Quotation:
    But when once Christ has called him, Peter has no alternative—he must leave the ship and come to Him. In the end, the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we were to suppose that there was no need to take the first step, because faith was already there. Against that, we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, Simon and Schuster, 1959, p. 66 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 14:28-31; Mark 1:16-18; Luke 17:6; 2 Cor. 9:13; 2 John 1:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I hear Your call. Grant me faith to follow you. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Henderlite: irresponsible spending

Friday, November 17, 2017
    Feast of Hugh, Carthusian Monk, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200
Meditation:
    If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
    —1 John 3:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Irresponsible spending is the scandal of Christian America, in the face of the world’s need. The American standard of living has risen to unprecedented heights, although a large portion of the world exists on a sub-human level. Philanthropy, as we practice it, is not enough—although the word philanthropy actually means brotherhood. Our stewardship of God’s goods requires that we administer in God’s name—that is, with full awareness that the world is His and that His love is directed toward us no more fully than toward every man.
    ... Rachel Henderlite (1905-1991), A Call to Faith, Richmond: John Knox Press, 1955, p. 192 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 3:17; Isa. 58:7-10; Rom. 12:13; 2 Cor. 9:5-9; 1 Tim. 5:3; 6:17-18; Heb. 13:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant in me a generous heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Fuller: the unity of the Bible

Thursday, November 16, 2017
    Feast of Margaret, Queen of Scotland, Philanthropist, Reformer of the Church, 1093
    Commemoration of Edmund Rich of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1240
Meditation:
    “The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
    —Isaiah 40:7-8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This idea of the Bible’s unity is not a concept which is imposed upon the Bible because of the dogmatic assertion that it is verbally inspired. To the contrary, it is inherent in the Bible, for the Bible declares itself to be the Word of God. If it be the Word of God, its various teachings should all form a coherent unity. This presupposition of the Bible’s unity provides a test for the validity of a system of interpretation: if the system is not able to demonstrate the Bible’s unity, it must be an inadequate system.
    ... Daniel P. Fuller (b. 1925), Gospel and law: contrast or continuum? : The hermeneutics of dispensationalism and covenant theology, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 (see the book)
    See also Isa. 40:7-8; Ps. 119:89-91; Isa. 55:11; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; Mark 13:31; Rom. 3:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:24-25
Quiet time reflection:
    Your word, Lord, is true and righteous. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Maurice: waking up

Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Meditation:
    Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
    —Ezekiel 37:4-6 (KJV)
Quotation:
    When the bones have become most dry, when they are lying most scattered and separate from each other, there is still a word going forth— ... from Him who liveth for ever and ever—the voice which says, “These bones shall rise.” ... All struggles after union, though they may be of the most abortive kind, though they may produce fresh sects and fresh divisions, though they must do so as long as they rest on the notion that unity is something visible and material, yet indicate a deep and divine necessity which men could not be conscious of in their dreams if they were not beginning to awake.
    ... Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872), Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament, Cambridge: Macmillan, 1853; Boston: Crosby, Nichols, 1853, p. 448-449 (see the book)
    See also Eze. 37:4-6; John 17:22-23; Eph. 4:11-13; Col. 2:2; 3:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You breathe life into all the dead things in the universe. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Pike: logic

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
    Commemoration of Samuel Seabury, First Anglican Bishop in North America, 1796
Meditation:
    But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
    —1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Logic may be viewed, perhaps, as a machine which is designed, at best, to be such that when we feed into it certain data and turn the logic crank, we inevitably get certain conclusions out the other end. Logic is designed to give inevitably true results starting from known true—or assumed-to-be-true—premises. Logic is a wonderful tool when we want only logical conclusions. We should not reject such a machine merely because it is not equipped to handle all of reality. The scientist who commits himself to use a logic machine is doing wisely, qua scientist, for use on data of science. But if he feeds into that machine convictions that there is no God, or ignores God because He is not in his corpus of data, and then draws from his logic the conclusion that God does not exist, his conclusion is irrelevant. Logic is a tool; it should not be made into a religion.
    ... Kenneth L. Pike (1912-2001), With Heart and Mind, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962, p. 6-7 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 1:27-29; Isa. 29:14; Matt. 11:25; 18:3-4; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:16-17; 21:15; Acts 6:9-10; 17:18; 2 Cor. 10:4-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make my mind submit to Your truth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: evaluating the church

Monday, November 13, 2017
    Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836
Meditation:
    “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
    —Revelation 2:1-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Church seems to have lost heart somewhat, has allowed the old assurance and enthusiasm to cool below the temperature at which big things get done, is always whimpering and complaining about something, has developed a foolish trick of gathering into corners in discouraged groups and bleating disconsolately that God seems to be strangely little in our day, the very mood that so maddened the Hebrew prophets that they itched to lay violent hands upon their countrymen, and literally shake it out of them. We Church people have become so prone to loud and abusive self-depreciation that the thing amounts to a disease... and though these doleful spirits are not altogether serious, ... the world is listening, and takes us, not unnaturally, at our own dismal and unflattering valuation.
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), The Galilean Accent, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1926, p. 286 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 2:1-5; Ps. 85:6; Jer. 17:7; Matt. 24:12-13; Rom. 10:11-12; Phil. 3:13-16; 1 Thess. 4:9-10; Heb. 6:10-11; 1 Pet. 2:6;
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, encourage Your church with Your presence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Fox: the Author of our faith

Sunday, November 12, 2017
Meditation:
    During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
    —Hebrews 5:7-9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Why should any man have power over any other man’s faith, seeing Christ is the author of it?
    ... George Fox (1624-1691), Journal, v. II, Philadelphia: B. & T. Kite, 1808, p. 118 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 5:7-9; Ps. 51:6; Rom. 1:16-17; Heb. 9:15; 2 Thess. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:10; 1 John 5:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have all authority. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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