Newton: talk about Christ

Saturday, September 5, 2020
Meditation:
    I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
    —Romans 16:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I endeavour to keep all Shibboleths, and forms and terms of distinction out of sight, as we keep knives and razors out of the way of children; and if my hearers had not some other means of information, I think they would not know from me that there are such creatures as Arminians and Calvinists in the world. But we [would] talk a good deal about Christ.
    ... John Newton (1725-1807), in a letter quoted in John Newton: a biography, Bernard Martin, Heinemann, 1950, p. 275 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 16:17; John 17:21-23; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 3:1-7; 11:16-19; Heb. 12:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help us to fix our focus on You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: gazing upon God

Friday, September 4, 2020
    Commemoration of Birinus, Bishop of Dorchester (Oxon), Apostle of Wessex, 650
Meditation:
    I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
    —Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Constantly practice [the] habit of inwardly gazing upon God. You know that something inside your heart sees God. Even when you are compelled to withdraw your conscious attention in order to engage in earthly affairs, there is within you a secret communion always going on.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 90 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 1:18-19; Isa. 6:1-8; John 14:23; 2 Cor. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, draw me closer to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: wisdom and anger

Thursday, September 3, 2020
    Feast of Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher, 604
Meditation:
    A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
    —Proverbs 29:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When anger enters the mind, wisdom departs.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Hortulus Rosarum, quoted in The Story of the “Imitatio Christi”, Leonard Abercrombie Wheatley, London: Elliot Stock, 1891, IV.ii, p. 212 (see the book)
    See also Prov. 29:11; Ps. 4:4; Rom. 12:19-21; Eph. 4:26
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me the wisdom to govern my tongue. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ellul: no recipe

Wednesday, September 2, 2020
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Papua New Guinea, 1942
Meditation:
    And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
    —Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Christian ethic ... is not a recipe for righteousness; it is not a synthesis of Christian faith and the world’s values; it is not a way of enabling Christians to live without the Holy Spirit. It is the very opposite of all this.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Presence of the Kingdom, tr. Olive Wyon, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1951, p. 23 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 4:29-30; Song of Solomon 8:7; 1 Thess. 5:19; Heb. 6:4-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people depend on Your continual grace. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Mascall: nothing has changed

Tuesday, September 1, 2020
    Commemoration of Giles of Provence, Hermit, c.710
Meditation:
    See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
    —Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It has been a frequent trait in Christian theologians down the ages to commit themselves whole-heartedly to the fashionable philosophies of their day, while passing severe judgments on their predecessors for adopting precisely the same attitude.
    ... E. L. Mascall (1905-1993), The Secularization of Christianity, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1966, p. 103 (see the book)
    See also Col. 2:8; Acts 17:32; 1 Cor. 1:19-23; 2:6-10,13; 3:18-19; 2 Cor. 4:4; 10:5; 1 Tim. 6:20; Jas. 3:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, block the fashions of culture with the teaching and prompting of Your Spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bunyan: the benefits of jail

Monday, August 31, 2020
    Feast of Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 651
    Commemoration of Cuthburga, Founding Abbess of Wimborne, c.725
    Commemoration of John Bunyan, Spiritual Writer, 1688
Meditation:
    And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
    —1 John 5:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I never knew all there was in the Bible until I spent those years in jail. I was constantly finding new treasures.
    ... John Bunyan (1628-1688), quoted in A Treasury of Sermon Illustrations, Charles Langworthy Wallis, ed., Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1950, p. 27 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 5:11-13; Matt. 13:52; 1 Cor. 15:3; Col. 2:2-3; 1 Thess. 2:13; 5:27; 2 Pet. 3:2,15-16; Heb. 4:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your word is precious. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barth: waiting

Sunday, August 30, 2020
Meditation:
    For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
    —Romans 8:24-25 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Day of Jesus Christ is the Day of all days; the brilliant and visible light of this one point is the hidden invisible light of all points; to perceive the righteousness of God once and for all here is the hope of righteousness (Gal. 5:5) everywhere and at all times. By the knowledge of Jesus Christ all human waiting is guaranteed, authorized and established; for He makes it known that it is not men who wait, but God—in His faithfulness.
    ... Karl Barth (1886-1968), The Epistle to the Romans, translated from the 6th edition by Edwyn C. Hoskyns, London: Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1933, 6th ed., Oxford University Press US, 1968, p. 96 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:24-25; Lam. 3:24; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Gal. 5:5; Heb. 11:1
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people await Your coming. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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