Rutherford: better than the world's best

Saturday, October 22, 2022
Meditation:
    But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
    —Philippians 3:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The worst of Christ, even his chaff, is better than the world’s corn.
    ... Samuel Rutherford (1600-1664), Letters of Samuel Rutherford, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1848, letter, Feb. 23, 1637, p. 197 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 3:7-8; Matt. 16:26; John 15:18-19; Acts 20:24; Rom. 8:18; 1 Cor. 4:10; Jas. 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me not to love the things of the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Eliot: the silence required

Friday, October 21, 2022
Meditation:
Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.
    —Psalm 47:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
Where shall the world be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.
    ... T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), from Ash Wednesday, in The Complete Poems and Plays, 1909-1950, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1952, p. 65 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 47:1; 4:4; 46:10; 66:1; Eccl. 3:7; Hab. 2:20; Matt. 11:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make Your word known to this generation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bloesch: the use of prayer

Thursday, October 20, 2022
Meditation:
Praise the LORD.
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
    who finds great delight in his commands.
    —Psalm 112:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Christian prayer is personal, loving address. One does not seek to use God for one’s own ends but instead to find out the will of God for one’s life. One does not passively resign oneself to the will of God but actively seeks to discover this will and then to apply it to the whole of life.
    ... Donald G. Bloesch (1928-2010), The Struggle of Prayer, Harper & Row, 1980, p. 53 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 112:1; Matt. 6:31-33; 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 18:10-14; John 13:17; Heb. 5:7-10; Jas. 1:22-25
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I seek Your will for me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: faith and works?

Wednesday, October 19, 2022
    Feast of Henry Martyn, Translator of the Scriptures, Missionary in India & Persia, 1812
Meditation:
    Nothing impure will ever enter [the Holy City], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
    —Revelation 21:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Ask not, therefore, whether we are saved by faith, or by works; for we are saved by neither of them: faith and works are at first only preparatory to the new birth; afterwards they are the true genuine fruits and effects of it. But the new birth, a life from heaven, the new creature, called Christ in us, is the one only salvation of the fallen soul. Nothing can enter into heaven, but this life which is born of, and comes from heaven.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), The Spirit of Prayer [1749], London: E. Justins for Ogles, Duncan, and Cochran, 1816, p. 32 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 21:27; John 1:12-13; 3:5-7; Rom. 3:22-24; 11:5-6; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:4-5,8-9; 4:22-24; Tit. 3:4-7; 1 John 5:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You alone have chosen Your people for salvation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brother Lawrence: business and prayer

Tuesday, October 18, 2022
    Feast of Luke the Evangelist
Meditation:
    And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
    —Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    “The time of business,” said he, “does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”
    ... Brother Lawrence (c.1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, New York, Revell, 1895, Fourth Conversation, p. 20 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 6:18; Ps. 27:8; 80:18; Luke 18:1; John 4:22-24; 15:16; Rom. 8:15; 12:12; Eph. 2:18; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 10:19-22; 1 John 5:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are by my side every moment. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Sundar Singh: the time for service

Monday, October 17, 2022
    Feast of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Martyr, c.107
Meditation:
My days are like the evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.
But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;
    your renown endures through all generations.
    —Psalm 102:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The present life is the only opportunity that will be given me for helping others in this world. That is a privilege which even Angels are not allowed. We shall have Heaven for ever, but we have only a short time for service here, and therefore must not waste the one opportunity.
    ... Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929), The Message of Sadhu Sundar Singh, B. H. Streeter & A. J. Appasamy, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 102:11-12; 39:4-5; Isa. 40:7-8; Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; 1 Pet. 1:23-25
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I serve You the remainder of my days on earth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cranmer: reading the Scriptures

Sunday, October 16, 2022
    Commemoration of the Oxford Martyrs, Hugh Latimer, Nicolas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer, bishops and martyrs, 1555
Meditation:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.
    —Psalm 111:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I would advise you all, that cometh to the reading or hearing of this book, which is the word of God, the most precious jewel, and most holy relic that remaineth upon earth, that ye bring with you the fear of God, and that ye do it with all due reverence, and use your knowledge thereof, not to vainglory of frivolous disputation, but to the honour of God, increase of virtue, and edification both of yourselves and other.
    ... Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556), “Preface to the Bible”, The Works of Thomas Cranmer, Cambridge: The University Press, 1846, p. 122 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 111:10; 19:9; 119:74; Luke 11:28; Eph. 6:17; Phil. 2:12-13; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 4:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You speak eternal truth through Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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