Quarles: Eternal God! O thou that only art

Saturday, October 9, 2021
    Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258
    Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, 1253
Meditation:
    I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.
    —Song of Solomon 7:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
Eternal God! O thou that only art
    The sacred fountain of eternal light,
And blessed loadstone of my better part,
    O thou, my heart’s desire, my soul’s delight!
Reflect upon my soul, and touch my heart,
    And then my heart shall prize no good above thee;
And then my soul shall know thee; knowing, love thee;
    And then my trembling thoughts shall never start
    From thy commands, or swerve the least degree,
Or once presume to move, but as they move in thee.
    ... Francis Quarles (1592-1644), Quarles’ Emblems, London: James Nisbet and Co., 1861, p. 272 (see the book)
    See also Song of Solomon 7:10; John 14:15; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You outshine all treasures. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Schaeffer: washing feet

Friday, October 8, 2021
Meditation:
    When [Jesus] had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
    —John 13:12-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    To the extent that we want power we are in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit has no part in us. Christ put a towel around himself and washed his disciple’s feet. We should ask ourselves from time to time, “Whose feet am I washing?”
    ... Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984), No Little People, Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1974, reprint, Crossway, 2003, p. 68 (see the book)
    See also John 13:4-14; Luke 12:35-36; Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet. 2:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, renew my mind, and so keep the needs of the saints in front of my own. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Moody: unbelief

Thursday, October 7, 2021
Meditation:
    “‘If you can [help us]’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
    Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
    —Mark 9:23-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Unbelief is as much an enemy to the Christian as it is to the unconverted. It will keep back the blessing now as much as it did in the days of Christ. We read that in one place Christ could not do many mighty works because of their unbelief. If Christ could not do this, how can we expect to accomplish anything if the people of God are unbelieving?
    ... Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899), “To the work! To the work!”: Exhortations to Christians, Chicago: F. H. Revell, 1884, p. 41 (see the book)
    See also Mark 9:23-24; Matt. 9:22; 13:57-58; 14:31; Mark 6:4-5; John 20:24-28; 2 Thess. 3:2; Tit. 1:15-16; Heb. 3:12; Jas. 1:5-8; 1 John 5:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, plant Your faith within me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: greatness

Wednesday, October 6, 2021
    Feast of William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr, 1536
Meditation:
    Then [Jesus] said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
    —Luke 9:48 (NIV)
Quotation:
    He only is truly great, who hath great charity. He is truly great who deemeth himself small, and counteth all height of honour as nothing. He is the truly wise man, who counteth all earthly things as dung that he may win Christ. And he is the truly learned man, who doeth the will of God, and forsaketh his own will.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.iii,. p. 35 (see the book)
    See also Luke 9:48; 14:9-10; Rom. 1:21; Phil. 3:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to drive away all desires except the desire to follow Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brent: are we listening?

Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “He who has ears, let him hear.”
    —Matthew 13:9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    ... God is always speaking; He is never still. Just as in prayer it is not we who momentarily catch His attention but He ours, so when we fail to hear His voice it is not because He is not speaking so much as that we are not listening.
    ... Charles H. Brent (1862-1929), With God in the World [1899], London: Longmans Green, 1914, p. 34 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 13:9; 1 Kings 19:11-13; Ps. 85:8; Matt. 13:14-15; John 12:40; Rom. 10:17-18
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, sharpen my ears, that I may hear Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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St. Francis: simplicity and humility

Monday, October 4, 2021
    Feast of Francis of Assisi, Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor, 1226
Meditation:
    He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
    —Matthew 18:2-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Lord called me by the way of simplicity and humility, and this way He hath shown me in truth for me and those who will believe and imitate me. And therefore I would that ye name not to me any rule, neither of St. Augustine, nor St. Benedict, nor of Bernard, nor any way or form of living, but that which was mercifully shown and given me by the Lord.
    ... St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), The Mirror of Perfection [c. 1280], tr. Robert Steele, London: J.M. Dent, 1903, p. 97 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 18:2-4; Ps. 19:7; 116:6; Mic. 6:8; Matt. 11:25; Luke 14:11; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Pet. 5:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to cast away foolish pride. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Traherne: the context of all meaning

Sunday, October 3, 2021
    Commemoration of William Morris, Artist, Writer, 1896
    Commemoration of George Kennedy Bell, Bishop of Chichester, Ecumenist, Peacemaker, 1958
Meditation:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
    —Psalm 90:1-2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    He knoweth nothing as he ought to know [it], who thinks he knoweth anything without seeing its place and the manner how it relateth to God, angels, and men, and to all the creatures in earth, heaven and hell, time and eternity.
    ... Thomas Traherne (1637?-1674), Christian Ethicks, Cornell University Press, 1968, p. 69 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 90:1-2; 1 Cor. 8:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:2-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I may see Your face mirrored in all that surrounds me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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