Luther: faith is unshakable confidence

Saturday, October 30, 2021
    Commemoration of Martin Luther, Teacher, Reformer, 1546
Meditation:
    You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
    —Romans 8:9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God’s grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God’s grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace. It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and shining from fire.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), “Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans”, par. 15 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:9-10; John 3:3; Rom. 1:16-17; 3:21-22; Eph. 2:8-9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have granted Your people the liberty of faith. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Denney: the break in relations

Friday, October 29, 2021
    Commemoration of James Hannington, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Martyr in Uganda, 1885
Meditation:
    Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
    —James 4:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In the widest sense of the word, sin, as a disturbance of the personal relations between God and man, is a violence done to the constitution under which God and man form one moral community—share, as we may reverently express it, one life, have in view the same moral ends...
    No matter how sin originated, in the moral consciousness in which it has its being it is recognised as a derangement of the vital relations of man, a violation of that universal order outside of which he has no true good.
    ... James Denney (1856-1917), The Atonement and the Modern Mind, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903, p. 54-57 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 4:17; Rom. 14:23; 2 Tim. 3:13; Jas. 1:14-15; 1 John 3:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the only source of true good. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barclay: preparing for the coming of Christ

Thursday, October 28, 2021
    Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles
Meditation:
    And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
    —1 John 2:28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Letters of John and Jude, Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1960, p. 84 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 2:24-29; John 15:7; Col. 3:16; Rev. 3:3,11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Jesus, remain in me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Mooneyham: evangelism and social action

Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Meditation:
    James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
    —Galatians 2:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Evangelism and social action: one is not synonymous with the other. They are the twin mandates of the New Testament, and to neglect one is not only to cripple the Church and make its message less credible but to do violence to the New Testament teachings.
    ... Stan Mooneyham (1926-1991), former president, World Vision US, in a private communication from World Vision
    See also Gal. 2:9-10; Acts 3:4-8; 6:1-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, strengthen our resolve to follow You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ellul: any other authority

Tuesday, October 26, 2021
    Feast of Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, Scholar, 899
    Commemoration of Cedd, Founding Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons, 664
Meditation:
    Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
    —John 18:36 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world, he says clearly what he intends to say. He does not validate any worldly kingdom (even if the ruler be Christian). He puts us on guard against seeking any authority other than that of the Holy Spirit.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Subversion of Christianity, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986, p. 21 (see the book)
    See also John 18:36; Hos. 13:11; Mark 12:17; Rom. 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:26-29; 1 Tim.2:1-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep Your people from being enticed by the world’s power. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Fletcher: Drop, drop, slow tears

Monday, October 25, 2021
    Commemoration of Crispin & Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, c.285
Meditation:
    When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
    —Luke 7:37-38 (NIV)
Quotation:
Drop, drop, slow tears, and bathe those beauteous feet
Which brought from Heaven the news and Prince of Peace.
Cease not, wet eyes, His mercies to entreat;
To cry for vengeance sin doth never cease;
In your deep floods drown all my faults and fears,
Nor let His eye see sin, but through my tears.
    ... Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650), The Spenser of his Age, J. R. Totin, 1905, p. 46 (see the book)
    See also Luke 7:37-38; Isa. 9:6; Luke 18:10-13; 19:1-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Forgiveness, Lord, is my only hope. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Dunn: spiritually packaged

Sunday, October 24, 2021
Meditation:
    Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.
    —1 Corinthians 14:29 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The more highly valued a word of prophecy is by the church, the more open is that church to deception, the more liable is it to be led astray by false prophecy. Failure to recognize the role of discerning of spirits means failure to recognize the character of prophecy and prevents the gift of prophecy functioning properly. As in the worshipping assembly tongues without interpretation is in fact only half a gift, so prophecy without evaluation is in effect only half a gift.
    ... James D. G. Dunn (b. 1939), from “According to the Spirit of Jesus” in Theological Renewal, Bramcote, Nottingham [England] : Grove Books, 1975-1983, #5, 1977, p. 17 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 14:29-32; Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Cor. 14:26; 1 Thess. 5:19-21; 2 Pet. 1:21; 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1-3; Rev. 2:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant us wisdom to discern Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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