Packer: the intolerance of the logical

Saturday, March 9, 2019
Meditation:
    For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
    —Romans 9:15-16 (NIV)
Quotation:
    All Christians believe in divine sovereignty, but some are not aware that they do, and mistakenly imagine and insist that they reject it. What causes this odd state of affairs? The root cause is the same as in most cases of error in the Church—the intruding of rationalistic speculations, the passion for systematic consistency, a reluctance to recognize the existence of mystery and to let God be wiser than men, and a consequent subjecting of Scripture to the supposed demands of human logic. People see that the Bible teaches man’s responsibility for his actions; they do not see how this is consistent with the sovereign Lordship of God over those actions. They are not content to let the two truths live side by side, as they do in the Scriptures, but jump to the conclusion that, in order to uphold the biblical truth of human responsibility, they are bound to reject the equally biblical and equally true doctrine of divine sovereignty, and to explain away the great number of texts that teach it. The desire to over-simplify the Bible by cutting out the mysteries is natural to our perverse minds, and it is not surprising, that even good men should fall victim to it.
    ... James I. Packer (b. 1926), Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God [1961], Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1991, p. 16-17 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 9:15-16; Isa. 41:9; Jer. 6:13-15; Matt. 12:35-36; John 16:7-11; Rom. 8:29-30; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 4:6; 2 Cor. 4:1-2; Eph. 1:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your wisdom makes a fool of me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Studdert Kennedy: workers together with God

Friday, March 8, 2019
    Commemoration of Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, Priest, Poet, 1929
Meditation:
    God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
    —Genesis 1:28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    He that hath seen Christ has seen the Father, and Christ not only died, but conquered death and rose again. God the Father is suffering, striving, crucified, but unconquerable. We see His triumph now in Nature’s glory, and we hear Him calling to us to join Him in the task of conquering the evils which arise from the necessities of creation. He calls us to combat floods and famine and pestilence and disease. He hates them, and wills with us to overcome them, and they shall be overcome. The Doctor, the Pioneer, the Scientist, are workers with God like the Priest. All good work is God’s work, and all good workers do God’s will. They are labouring to make a world.
    ... G. A. Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), The Hardest Part, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919, p. 28-29 (see the book)
    See also Gen. 1:28; John 6:27; 1 Cor. 15:58; 1 Thess. 4:11; Rev. 14:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are visible in Your creation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Phillips: the pity of Christ

Thursday, March 7, 2019
    Feast of Perpetua, Felicity & their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203
Meditation:
    He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
    —Isaiah 53:3-5 (KJV)
Quotation:
    God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man, suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized—finally dying a criminal’s death—and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Your God is Too Small [1953], Simon and Schuster, 2004, p. 109 (see the book)
    See also Isa. 53:3-5; Ex. 20:2-18; Jer. 5:1-2; Matt. 27:54-55; Mark 15:39-41; Luke 23:47-49; John 11:35-36
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me compassion for those who are suffering. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Pascal: beginning with God

Wednesday, March 6, 2019
    Ash Wednesday
Meditation:
    “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
    —Revelation 1:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is impossible that God should ever be the end, if He is not the beginning. We lift our eyes on high, but lean upon the sand; and the earth will dissolve, and we shall fall while looking at the heavens.
    ... Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (Thoughts) [1660], P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, #488, p. 163-164 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 1:8; Gen. 1:1; Ps. 46:6,10; Isa. 43:10; 44:6; 48:12; John 1:1; Rev. 1:17; 21:6; 22:13
Quiet time reflection:
    All things begin and end in You, Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

de Sales: the useful virtues

Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Meditation:
    For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
    —Rom. 12:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We do not very often come across opportunities for exercising strength, magnanimity, or magnificence; but gentleness, temperance, modesty, and humility, are graces which ought to colour everything we do. There may be virtues of a more exalted mould, but... these are the most continually called for in daily life.
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622), Introduction to the Devout Life [1609], London: Rivingtons, 1876, III.i, p. 125 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 12:3; Pr. 15:1; Matt. 11:29; Rom. 12:15-16; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:2; Phil. 4:5; 1 Pet. 5:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me gentleness, and humble my spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Underhill: the use of formal prayer

Monday, March 4, 2019
    Commemoration of Felix, Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles, 647
Meditation:
Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth,
    and teach me your laws.
    —Ps. 119:108 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Formal prayer is a practical device, not a spiritual necessity. It makes direct suggestions to our souls: it reminds us of realities which we always tend to forget.
    ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), Concerning the Inner Life, London: Methuen, 1927, p. 61 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 119:108; 116:17-19; Isa. 12:1-2; Hos. 14:2; Eph. 5:19-20; Col. 3:16; Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 4:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You alone fill the liturgy with meaning. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Thomas a Kempis: safety in the opposite quality

Sunday, March 3, 2019
Meditation:
I remember the days of long ago;
    I meditate on all your works
    and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
    —Psalm 143:5-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No man safely goeth abroad who loveth not to rest at home. No man safely talketh but he who loveth to hold his peace. No man safely ruleth but he who loveth to be subject. No man safely commandeth but he who loveth to obey.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.xx.2, p. 60 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 143:5-6; 42:1-2; 63:1; 84:2; Isa. 55:1; Matt. 5:6; John 7:37
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me contentment in the task You have set before me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth