MacDonald: O Jesus Christ, babe, man, eternal son

Saturday, December 11, 2021
Meditation:
    But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
    —Titus 3:4-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
O Jesus Christ, babe, man, eternal son,
    Take pity! we are poor where thou art rich:
Our hearts are small; and yet there is not one
    In all thy father’s noisy nursery which,
    Merry, or mourning in its narrow niche,
        Needs not thy father’s heart, this very now,
        With all his being’s being, even as thou!
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Poetical Works of George MacDonald, v. 2, London: Chatto & Windus, 1893, p. 336 (see the book)
    See also Tit. 3:4-7; Luke 1:50; 1 Pet. 1:3-4; 2:10; 2 Pet. 3:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, enlarge my heart to receive You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Merton: chilling faith

Friday, December 10, 2021
    Commemoration of Thomas Merton, Monk, Spiritual Writer, 1968
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.”
    —Luke 6:32 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God: for it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and sensuality and selfishness that have killed his faith.
    ... Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Seeds of Contemplation, London: Hollis & Carter, 1949, New Directions. 1949, p. 105 (see the book)
    See also Luke 6:32-34; Prov. 18:19; Zech. 7:5-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, forbid that I should lead another astray. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Schaeffer: pilot plant

Thursday, December 9, 2021
Meditation:
    Is Christ divided?
    —1 Corinthians 1:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Church ought to be a “pilot plant” where men can see in our congregations and missions a substantial healing of all the divisions, the alienations which man’s rebellion has produced.
    ... Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984), Pollution and the Death of Man [1970], reprint, Good News Publishers, 1992, p. 80 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 1:10-13; John 10:16; 13:34; Rev. 22:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You healing presence is uniting the body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Coverdale: The blessed son of God only

Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Meditation:
    Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
    —Psalm 85:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
The blessed son of God only
In a crib full poor did lie;
With our poor flesh and our poor blood
Was clothed that everlasting good

The Lord Christ Jesu, God’s son dear,
Was a guest and a stranger here;
Us for to bring from misery,
That we might live eternally.

All this did he for us freely,
For to declare his great mercy;
All Christendom be merry therefore,
And give him thanks for evermore.
    ... Miles Coverdale (ca.1488-1568), Ancient English Christmas Carols, 1400-1700, Edith Rickert, New York: Duffield & Co., 1915, p. 192-193 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 85:10; Matt. 8:20; Luke 2:6-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Thank You, Lord, for coming to us.

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Ambrose: true repentance

Tuesday, December 7, 2021
    Feast of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher, 397
Meditation:
    What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
    —Romans 6:21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    True repentance is to cease from sin.
    ... St. Ambrose of Milan (Aurelius Ambrosius) (339-397), attributed
    See also Rom. 6:21; Matt. 9:13; Mark 2:17; Rom. 2:3-4; Jas. 4:8-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me the heart to flee from sin. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: true devotion

Monday, December 6, 2021
    Feast of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c.326
Meditation:
    Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
    Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
    —Luke 9:61-62 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If therefore we desire to live unto God, it is necessary to bring our whole life under this law, to make His glory the sole rule and measure of our acting in every employment of life. For there is no other true devotion, but this of living devoted to God in the common business of our lives.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 59 (see the book)
    See also Luke 9:59-62; Matt. 16:24; Mark 10:21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your will is my sole law. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: the story for us

Sunday, December 5, 2021
    Advent II
Meditation:
    And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
    —Hebrews 3:18-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    History is to be understood as the patient wrestling of God with a stupid, deluded, and rebellious people—stupid and rebellious precisely because they insist on seeing themselves as the center of the story.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Truth and Authority in Modernity, Gracewing Publishing, 1996, p. 38-39 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 3:15-19; Ex. 32:7-9; Deut. 9:6; Ps. 95:7-11; Acts 7:51-53
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to cast away my unbelief. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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