Calvin: persevering

Saturday, September 14, 2019
    Feast of the Holy Cross
Meditation:
    All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
    —Matthew 10:22 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It behooves us to accomplish what God requires of us, even when we are in the greatest despair respecting the results.
    ... John Calvin (1509-1564), in a letter to Philip Melanchthon, March 5, 1555, Letters of John Calvin, v. III, Jules Bonnet, ed., New York: B. Franklin, 1972, p. 158 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 10:22; Luke 22:31-32; Heb. 2:1; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 2 Pet. 1:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I cannot see the end, but Your blessing finds me along the way. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

John Chrysostom: the mind of the Scriptures

Friday, September 13, 2019
    Feast of John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher, 407
Meditation:
    When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
    —1 Corinthians 2:1,2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is not possible ever to exhaust the mind of the Scriptures. It is a well that has no bottom.
    ... St. John Chrysostom (345?-407), The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom on Acts, v. I, Oxford: J. Parker, 1851, XIX, p. 281 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 21:42; Rom. 15:4; Acts 8:26,27; 1 Cor. 2:1,2; 1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Gospel is unending. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Tozer: scribes vs. prophets

Thursday, September 12, 2019
Meditation:
    O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
    —Song of Solomon 2:14 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Hearts that are “fit to break” with love for the Godhead are those who have been in the Presence and have looked with opened eye upon the majesty of Deity. Men of the breaking hearts had a quality about them not known to or understood by common men. They habitually spoke with spiritual authority. They had been in the Presence of God and they reported what they saw there. They were prophets, not scribes: for the scribe tells us what he has read, and the prophet tells us what he has seen.
    The distinction is not an imaginary one. Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen, there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are today overrun with orthodox scribes; but the prophets, where are they? The hard voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the Church waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 40 (see the book)
    See also Song of Solomon 2:14; Isa. 6:1-7; 1 Cor. 13:12; 14:1; 1 Tim. 6:13-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, banish the scribe in me, and nourish my soul with your Presence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Owen: false wisdom

Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Meditation:
    Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
    —1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    That wisdom which cannot teach me that God is love, shall ever pass for folly.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), Of Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost [1657], in Works of John Owen, v. II, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1851, p. 82 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 4:8; 1 Cor. 1:18,21,26-28; 2:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your love is the only true wisdom. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Hummel: doing what God wants

Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Meditation:
    When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
    —John 19:20 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Jesus] did not finish all the urgent tasks in Palestine or all the things He would have liked to do, but He did finish the work which God gave Him to do. The only alternative to frustration is to be sure that we are doing what God wants. Nothing substitutes for knowing that this day, this hour, in this place, we are doing the will of the Father. Then and only then can we think of all the other unfinished tasks with equanimity and leave them with God.
    ... Charles E. Hummel (1923-2004), The Tyranny of the Urgent, Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1967, included in Discipline Yourself for Godliness, John Barnett, BFM Books, 2004, p. 254 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 7:21; 15:24-28; 26:39; Mark 7:25-28; John 14:12; 19:30
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have completed the work of salvation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Grou: absolute importance

Monday, September 9, 2019
Meditation:
    Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
    —James 1:21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Nothing is small or great in God’s sight; whatever He wills becomes great to us, however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice of conscience tells us that He requires anything of us, we have no right to measure its importance.
    ... Jean Nicolas Grou (1731-1803), The Hidden Life of the Soul, London: Rivingtons, 1870, p. 217 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 1:21; Dan. 1:8; 3; Matt. 17:20; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 19:17; 21:1-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, cleanse my heart, Your dwelling place. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth

Kierkegaard: praying in Jesus' name

Sunday, September 8, 2019
    Commemoration of Søren Kierkegaard, Teacher and Philosopher, 1855
Meditation:
    And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
    —Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I cannot pray in the name of Jesus to have my own will; the name of Jesus is not a signature of no importance, but the decisive factor. The fact that the name of Jesus Christ comes at the beginning does not make it a prayer in the name of Jesus; but it means to pray in such a manner that I dare name Jesus in it, that is to say, [dare to] think of Him, think of His holy will together with whatever I am praying for.
    ... Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Journals, ed. Alexander Dru, Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 336-337 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 1:2; John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24; Eph. 5:19-20; Phil. 2:9,10; Col. 3:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to know Your mind better. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt    Jonah    Ruth