Saturday, December 17, 2022

Sayers: the unreality of the Bible

Saturday, December 17, 2022
    Commemoration of Dorothy Sayers, Teacher and Spiritual Writer, 1957
    Commemoration of Eglantyne Jebb, Social Reformer, Founder of ‘Save the Children’, 1928
Meditation:
    If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
    —1 Timothy 6:3-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Bible is appointed to be read in churches, where the voice struggles helplessly against the handicaps of an Elizabethan vocabulary, a solemn occasion, an overpowering background, a mute assembly, and acoustics with a two-second echo. The more “beautifully and impressively” it is read, the more unreal it sounds. Most unreal of all is the speech of the story’s central character—every word a “familiar quotation,” pulpit-dissected, sifted, weighed, burdened with a heavy accretion of prophetic and exegetical importance. In a sense not contemplated by the Evangelist, we feel it to be true that never man spake as this man, for by this time the words have lost all likeness to the speech of a living person.
    ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (1893-1957), Unpopular Opinions, London: Gollancz, 1946, New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1947, p. 19-20 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 6:3-5; Matt. 23:23,37; Luke 11:48; Acts 7:51-53; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; Tit. 3:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I seek Your living word.
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Friday, December 16, 2022

Forsyth: the miraculous Incarnation

Friday, December 16, 2022
Meditation:
    “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
    —Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Incarnation would be equally a miracle however Jesus entered the world.
    ... P. T. Forsyth (1848-1921), The Holy Father and the Living Christ, Dodd, Mead and Co., 1898, p. 19 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 1:20-23; Isa. 7:14; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 4:2-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I praise the miracle of Your coming.
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Thursday, December 15, 2022

Brent: as little children

Thursday, December 15, 2022
Meditation:
    But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
    —Luke 18:16-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It seems to me, as time goes on, that the only thing that is worth seeking for is to know and to be known by Christ—a privilege open alone to the childlike, who, with receptivity, guilelessness, and humility, move Godward. The Babe on your Christmas card says this to me.
    ... Charles H. Brent (1862-1929), from a letter, Dec. 26, 1913, Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, v. 26, Church Historical Society., 1957, p. 131 (see the book)
    See also Luke 18:16-17; Ps. 131:1-2; Matt. 18:3; Mark 10:14-15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, restore the child in me.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022

John of the Cross: God touching us

Wednesday, December 14, 2022
    Feast of John of the Cross, Mystic, Poet, Teacher, 1591
Meditation:
    But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
    —John 14:26 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Sometimes, when the soul least thinks of it, and when it least desires it, God touches it divinely causing certain recollections of Himself.
    ... St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), The Ascent of Mount Carmel, London: Thomas Baker, 1906, p. 208 (see the book)
    See also John 14:26; Ps. 77:11; Matt. 26:74-75; Luke 22:19; John 2:22; 12:16; 1 Cor. 11:23-25
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, re-enter my thoughts.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Johnson: living the Sermon on the Mount

Tuesday, December 13, 2022
    Feast of Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304
    Commemoration of Samuel Johnson, Writer, Moralist, 1784
Meditation:
    But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
    —1 Peter 2:20 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
    ... Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), from The Rambler, #79, Dec. 18, 1750, The Works of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D., v. V, New York: William Durell, 1811, p. 66 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 2:20; Ps. 38:19; 69:4; Matt. 5:10-12,46-47; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 4:11; 1 Pet. 3:13-14; 4:14-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a trusting spirit.
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Monday, December 12, 2022

Maclaren: trust God

Monday, December 12, 2022
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
    —Luke 6:46 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Trust no emotions, no religious experiences, but only Him to whom they turn.
    ... Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910), The Holy of Holies, London: Alexander & Shepheard, 1890, p. 365 (see the book)
    See also Luke 6:46; Ps. 62:8; Matt. 7:21-22; 13:20-21; Phil. 3:18-19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, spare me from deceit.
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Sunday, December 11, 2022

Machen: brotherhood of the redeemed

Sunday, December 11, 2022
    Advent III
Meditation:
    Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
    —Hebrews 2:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    All men have the same Creator and the same nature. The Christian man can accept all that the modern liberal means by the brotherhood of man. But the Christian knows also of a relationship far more intimate than that general relationship of man to man and it is for this more intimate relationship that he reserves the term “brother.” The true brotherhood, according to Christian teaching, is the brotherhood of the redeemed.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, The Macmillan Company, 1923, p. 157-158 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 2:11-12; Ps. 22:22; Matt. 12:50; Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:22
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have granted me inclusion in Your family.
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