Lewis: the letter killeth

Saturday, October 13, 2018
    Feast of Edward the Confessor, 1066
Meditation:
    It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
    —Romans 4:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    One mustn’t make the Christian life into a punctilious system of law, like the Jewish [for] two reasons. (1) It raises scruples when we don’t keep the routine. (2) It raises presumption when we do. Nothing gives one a more spuriously good conscience than keeping rules, even if there has been a total absence of all real charity and faith.
    ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Letters to an American Lady, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 4:13; John 6:36; Rom. 1:17; 8:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:6; 5:7; Gal. 2:20; 3:11; 1 John 1:1
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep love and faith alive within me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Stark & Glock: enemies within the citadel

Friday, October 12, 2018
    Commemoration of Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, Bishop of York, Missionary, 709
    Commemoration of Elizabeth Fry, Prison Reformer, 1845
Meditation:
    [Jesus] also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
    —Luke 6:39,40 (NIV)
Quotation:
    While many Americans are still firmly committed to the traditional, supernatural conceptions of a personal God, a Divine Savior, and the promise of eternal life, the trend is away from these convictions... The fact is that a demythologized modernism is overwhelming the traditional Christ-centered, mystical faith... For the modern skeptics are not the apostates, village atheists, or political revolutionaries of old. The leaders of today’s challenge to traditional beliefs are principally theologians—those in whose care the church entrusts its sacred teachings.
    ... Rodney Stark & Charles Glock, in Trans-action: social science and modern society, v. 5-6, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., Washington University, 1967, p. 7-8 (see the book)
    See also Luke 6:39-40; Isa. 9:16; 56:10; Matt. 7:15; 15:14; Mark 13:21,22; Luke 21:8; Acts 20:29-30; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; 4:1-4; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 John 4:2-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant Your people leaders who are faithful to Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hallesby: resting in His presence

Thursday, October 11, 2018
    Commemoration of Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking, 675
Meditation:
    In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
    —Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is not necessary to maintain a conversation when we are in the presence of God. We can come into His presence and rest our weary souls in quiet contemplation of Him. Our groanings, which cannot be uttered, rise to Him and tell Him better than words how dependent we are upon Him.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 148 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:26-27; Ps. 1:1-2; 10:17; 37:7; 46:10; 62:1,5; 88:1-3; 104:34; 119:11,15,81,97-99; 2 Cor. 5:2-4; Ga;. 4:6; Eph. 2:18
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me silence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Chambers: what we worship

Wednesday, October 10, 2018
    Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644
Meditation:
    As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
    —Acts 10:25,26 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Where would you be if God took away all your Christian work? Too often it is our Christian work that is worshiped and not God.
    ... Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
    See also Acts 10:25-26; Matt. 4:10; Acts 14:8-15; Rom. 11:17-18; 1 Cor. 1:28-31; 9:14-19; 10:17; 2 Cor. 11:30; 12:9; Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, turn my eyes away from myself towards You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Knight: Jesus the faithful

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
    Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258
    Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, 1253
Meditation:
    Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
    —Luke 4:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In a natural fear of lowering the Divine dignity of Christ, we often forget His true humanity. We think of His earthly life as moving on a plane so different from ours that no parallel can be drawn between them... What we forget is, that He too needed to walk by faith, needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, ... needed the sympathy of loving friends, needed the strengthening that is gained in private prayer. His strong and beautiful, serene and holy life so fills the eye that we lose sight of His secret intercourse with the Father, out of which came all its beauty, all its power.
    ... G. H. Knight (1835-1917), In the Secret of His Presence, Rock Island, Ill.: Augustana Book Concern, 1934, p. 44-45 (see the book)
    See also Luke 4:14; Matt. 14:23; 26:36-45; Mark 6:46; Luke 4:1; 6:12; John 15:15; 2 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 5:18; Heb. 4:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your needs were like our needs; strengthen us through Your Spirit, we pray. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: weakness

Monday, October 8, 2018
Meditation:
    When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
    —Mark 10:14-15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Weak and imperfect men shall, notwithstanding their frailties and defects, be received as having pleased God, if they have done their utmost to please Him.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 32 (see the book)
    See also Mark 10:14-15; Ps. 10:17-18; Matt. 8:8; 15:26-27; Luke 5:8; 7:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Am I constantly trying to prove myself? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Rutherford: infinite grace

Sunday, October 7, 2018
Meditation:
    But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
    —Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Millions of hells of sinners cannot come near to exhaust infinite grace.
    ... Samuel Rutherford (1600-1664), Letters of Samuel Rutherford, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1848, letter, Jan.30, 1646, p. 653 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 2:4-5; Ex. 33:19; Ps. 145:8; Isa. 55:6-7; Mic. 7:18; Rom. 10:12; Eph. 2:6-7; 1 Tim. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank You that there is always enough grace and mercy from You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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