Williams: one true God

Saturday, November 12, 2022
Meditation:
    [The Lord:] “You shall have no other gods before me.”
    —Exodus 20:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The first article of Christian faith is that man has one and only one true object of worship. There is one Holy God, creator of heaven and earth. He is Lord of all life. To Him we are beholden for our life in all its meaning and its hope. Monotheism for the Christian means that anything else which is put in the place of our loyalty to God is an idol. The worship of national power, or racial prestige, or financial success, or cultural tradition, is a violation of the one truth about our life, that all created things come from God. To commit life to the one true God is to refuse to have any other gods at all. Values there are in abundance, interests, plans, programs, loyalties to family and nation. But these are not gods. They do not save us. They are not holy in themselves.
    ... Daniel Day Williams (1910-1973), Interpreting Theology, 1918-1952, Daniel Day Williams, London: SCM Press, 1953, ed. 3, under alternative title, New York: Harper, 1959, p. 21 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 20:3; 1 Kings 18:21-40; Isa. 45:21-22; Jer. 25:6; Matt. 4:10; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Col. 3:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the one true God. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: dying to self

Friday, November 11, 2022
    Feast of Martin, Monk, Bishop of Tours, 397
Meditation:
    For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
    —Romans 6:6-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves; not from injustice, far less from justice, but from being unjust. He died that we might live—but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself that he might live unto God. If we do not die to ourselves, we cannot live to God, and he that does not live to God, is dead.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “Freedom”, in Unspoken Sermons, Third Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1889, p. 96 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 6:6-7; John 8:32-36; Rom. 8:9,13-14; Gal. 2:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the true reason for my life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barclay: the final proof

Thursday, November 10, 2022
    Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461
Meditation:
    For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
    —Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The fact of Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), in Presbyterian Survey, v. 55 (see the book)
    See also Col. 1:13-15; John 3:16-17; 6:38; Rom. 5:8; Gal. 4:3-5; Phil. 2:5-8; Tit. 3:4-7; 1 John 4:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have shown Your love to me while I am unworthy. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Peterson: ducking responsibility

Wednesday, November 9, 2022
    Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433
Meditation:
    Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
    —2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    People like to make their pastoral leaders feel necessary so that they can cop out of their responsibilities in the “priesthood of all believers.” If we rediscover our pastoral call, however, we know that we are merely equippers, prodders, encouragers, and promoters of all the people so that each one fulfills his or her vocation in the Church. Then no one is more “necessary” than any others, but all are set free to “be Church,” to live in a way corresponding to the priesthood to which each Christian has been called.
    ... Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018), The Unnecessary Pastor, Marva J. Dawn, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, p. 228 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 4:2; Rom. 12:6-8; 15:4-5; Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Thess. 5:11; Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant Your people growth into the measure of our priesthood. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Moody: the one thing lacking

Tuesday, November 8, 2022
    Feast of Saints & Martyrs of England
Meditation:
    Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
    —Mark 10:21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The “one thing” that the rich young ruler lacked was eternal life. The only thing a dead man lacks is life. The only thing a sick man lacks is health. The only thing a beggar lacks is money... The “one thing” a man lacks who is not a Christian is eternal life. Believe in Christ, and then go to work.
    ... Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899), from “Five ‘One Things’,” in Homiletic Review, v. XXXIII, I. K. Funk & D. S. Gregory, eds., New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1897, p. 236 (see the book)
    See also Mark 10:21; Matt. 16:24-26; Luke 9:23-25; 18:22; Jas. 2:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, what You have is what I need. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Chadwick: learning without the Spirit

Monday, November 7, 2022
    Feast of Willibrord of York, Archbishop of Utrecht, Apostle of Frisia, 739
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
    —Matthew 23:23-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Learning without the Holy Ghost blinds men to the realities of Divine truth.
    ... Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932), The Way to Pentecost, Hodder and Stoughton, 1932, p. 36 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 23:23-24; Isa. 9:16; Mal. 2:8; Matt. 15:13-14; Luke 6:39; John 5:39-40
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Spirit teaches me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Temple: my contribution

Sunday, November 6, 2022
    Feast of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1944
Meditation:
    For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit...
    —1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    All is of God; the only thing of my very own which I can contribute to my own redemption is the sin from which I need to be redeemed.
    ... William Temple (1881-1944), Nature, Man and God, London: Macmillan, 1934, 1949, p. 401 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 3:18; Matt. 20:26-28; Luke 21:28; Rom. 3:22-24; Eph. 1:7-8; Col. 1:13-14; Tit. 2:12-14; 1 John 2:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I place my sins at the foot of the Cross. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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