Hallesby: a quiet waiting

Saturday, December 3, 2022
    Commemoration of Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Missionary, 1552
Meditation:
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
    —Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No matter what we pray for, whether it be temporal or spiritual things, little things or great things, gifts for ourselves or for others, our prayers should really resolve themselves into a quiet waiting for the Lord in order to hear what it is that the Spirit desires to have us pray for at that particular time.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 99 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 130:5; 37:7; 85:8; Isa. 40:31; Rom. 8:26; Eph. 6:18; Heb. 12:25
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me to listen for Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Woolman: silence the love of money

Friday, December 2, 2022
Meditation:
    I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
    —Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Silence, as to every motion proceeding from the love of money, and an humble waiting upon God, to know his will concerning us, hath now appeared necessary: he alone is able to strengthen us to dig deep, to remove all which lies between us and the safe foundation, and so direct us in our outward employments, that pure universal love may shine forth in our proceedings.
    ... John Woolman (1720-1772), The Works of John Woolman, Philadelphia: Benjamin & Jacob Johnson, 1800, p. 231 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 3:16-19; Isa. 40:31; Matt. 6:24; Luke 6:48; 16:13; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Phil. 4:13; 1 Tim. 6:10-11; Jas. 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I acknowledge the extent of Your love, and so fill my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Taylor: laws of nature and laws of God

Thursday, December 1, 2022
    Commemoration of Charles de Foucauld, Hermit, Servant of the Poor, 1916
Meditation:
When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
    the son of man that you care for him?
    —Psalm 8:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The law of nature is nothing but the law of God, given to mankind for the conservation of his nature, and the promotion of his perfective end. A law of which a man sees a reason and feels a necessity: God is the lawgiver.
    ... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), The Rule of Conscience, bk. 2, in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D., v. XII, London: Ogle, Duncan & Co., 1822, p. 213 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 8:1-9; Gen. 1:11-12,28; 2:19-20; Job 12:7-10; Ps. 19:1-6; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:18-20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have spoken. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wilson: forgive

Wednesday, November 30, 2022
    Feast of Andrew the Apostle
Meditation:
    Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
    —Romans 12:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [On his experiences during internment by the Japanese during WWII] When I muttered “Forgive them,” I wondered how far I was being dramatic, and if I really meant it; because I looked at their faces as they stood round, taking it in turn to flog me, and their faces were hard and cruel, and some of them were evidently enjoying their cruelty. But, by the Grace of God, I saw those men not as they were, but as they had been. Once they were little children playing with their brothers and sisters—happy in their parents’ love, in those far-off days before they had been conditioned by their false nationalist ideals, and it is hard to hate little children. So I saw them not as they were, but as they were capable of becoming, redeemed by the power of Christ, and I knew that I should say “Forgive.”
    ... Leonard Wilson (1897-1970), from a broadcast address, 1946, in A Treasury of the Kingdom: an anthology, Emmeline Alethea Blackburn, ed., Oxford University Press, 1954 (see the book)
    See also Rom.12:14; Matt. 5:7; 6:14-15; 18:21-22; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:27-28; 23:34; Phlmn. 1:18; 1 Pet. 3:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a heart to forgive my enemies. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Baxter: an unsanctified preacher

Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Meditation:
    Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
    —James 3:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is a fearful case to be an unsanctified professor, but much more to be an unsanctified preacher. Doth it not make you tremble when you open the Bible, lest you should read there the sentence of your own condemnation? When you pen your sermons, little do you think that you are drawing up indictments against your own souls! ... Oh what an aggravated misery is this, to perish in the midst of plenty, and to famish with the bread of life in our hands, while we offer it to others, and urge it on them!
    ... Richard Baxter (1615-1691), The Reformed Pastor [1655], in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, v. IV, G. Virtue, 1838, p. 423 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 3:1; Ps. 32:1-2; Matt. 25:45; John 3:18-19; 6:35,48-51; Rom. 5:1-2; 8:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, rescue those trapped in error. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: each has its purpose

Monday, November 28, 2022
Meditation:
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
    may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
    O LORD, come quickly to help me.
    —Psalm 40:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If religion calleth us to a life of watching and prayer, it is because we live amongst a crowd of enemies, and are always in need of the assistance of God. If we are to confess and bewail our sins, it is because such confessions relieve the mind, and restore it to ease; as burdens and weights taken off the shoulders, relieve the body, and make it easier to itself. If we are to be frequent and fervent in holy petitions, it is to keep us steady in the sight of our true good, and that we may never want the happiness of a lively faith, a joyful hope, and well-grounded trust in God. If we are to pray often, it is that we may be often happy in such secret joys as only prayer can give; in such communications of the Divine Presence, as will fill our minds with all the happiness, that beings not in Heaven are capable of.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 180 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 40:11-13; 32:5; 51:7; Luke 11:5-8; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; Heb. 5:7; Jas. 5:16; 1 John 1:9; 2 John 1:8; Rev. 3:11; 16:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, be my first recourse. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Steen: lacks that one thing

Sunday, November 27, 2022
    Advent I
Meditation:
    All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
    —Acts 4:32-33 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The church had magnificent buildings, superb equipment, trained leadership, excellent teaching materials, organizational ability, and yet lacked that one thing that could take all these tools and make them the channel of God’s will. In spite of its ever-increasing membership, the church lacks the spirit of God’s growing love and understanding that can transform it from an efficient organization into a loving, dynamic fellowship where men and women become vitally alive with faith, love, and hope.
    ... Thomas M. Steen, “Renewal in the Church”, in Spiritual Renewal through Personal Groups, John L. Casteel, ed., NY: Association Press, 1957, p. 30 (see the book)
    See also Acts 4:32-35; Isa. 9:6-7; John 13:34-35; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:24; 1 John 2:10; 2 John 1:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, give grace and strengthen Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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