Machen: existence

Saturday, February 10, 2024
    Commemoration of Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
    —Matthew 6:28-30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The relation of Jesus to His heavenly Father was not a relation to a vague and impersonal goodness, it was not a relation which merely clothed itself in symbolic, personal form. On the contrary, it was a relation to a real Person, whose existence was just as definite and just as much a subject of theoretic knowledge as the existence of the lilies of the field that God had clothed. The very basis of the religion of Jesus was a triumphant belief in the real existence of a personal God.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, The Macmillan Company, 1923, p. 57 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 6:28-30; Deut. 32:6; Ps. 89:26; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:27-28; Rom. 8:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I rejoice that You are there. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Owen: love and grace to the max

Friday, February 9, 2024
Meditation:
    For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
    —Romans 5:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is a safe rule of interpreting Scripture, that in places mentioning the love and grace of God to us, the words are to be taken in their utmost significancy.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), from Vindiclae Evangelicae, Works of John Owen, v. XII, R. Carter, 1853, p. 144 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 5:17; Joel 2:28; John 7:37-39; 10:10; Rom. 5:20-21; 2 Cor. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:14; Tit. 3:4-7; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; 1 John 4:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your love and grace are inexhaustible. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ellul: fulfilling vocation

Thursday, February 8, 2024
Meditation:
    Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship [bearing Jonah] threatened to break up.
    —Jonah 1:4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jonah teaches us that this storm, whose physical causes are the same as those of all other storms, is there only for Jonah and because of Jonah. It has other effects. It sweeps the coasts, disperses fish, causes ships to founder. But its purpose is to smash inflexible Jonah. Thus the elements and many men, especially the sailors, are engaged in the adventure of Jonah with him and because of him. One sees here the weight and seriousness of vocation. God thinks his choice is so important, and takes the one elected so seriously, that he brings nature into play to see that this man fulfills his vocation.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Judgment of Jonah, tr. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1971, p. 25 (see the book)
    See also Jon. 1:1-4; Amos 7:14-15; Matt. 8:23-27; John 6:44; Acts 9:1-6; 13:2-3; Rom. 8:29-30; 1 Cor. 7:20; Eph. 4:4; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Heb. 11:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, turn me again toward my calling. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newton: the school of Christ

Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Meditation:
    The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
    —Psalm 69:32-33 (KJV)
Quotation:
    I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that he is indeed our master.
    ... John Newton (1725-1807), in a letter, 1757, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, v. II, New York: Williams and Whiting, 1810, p. 62 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 69:32-33; 25:9; Isa. 61:1-3; Matt. 5:5; John 13:34-35; 1 John 2:10; 4:20-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You enable Your church to follow You in love and humility. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Davidman: violating the tenth

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Meditation:
    [God:] “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
    —Exodus 20:17 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Can we reasonably expect happiness from an insatiable appetite which, no matter how it stuffs its belly, is still psychologically like Oliver Twist in the poorhouse, holding up an empty bowl and begging, “I want some more”? Isn’t it possible that our dream of the good society contained, from the beginning, a hidden violation of the Tenth Commandment—“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods”?
    ... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955, reprint, Westminster John Knox Press, 1985, p. 119 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 20:17; Ps. 119:36; Luke 12:15; Rom. 7:7; Phil. 3:18-19; Col. 3:5; 1 Tim. 6:6-10; Heb. 13:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, quell my hunger for things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Pinnock: new light

Monday, February 5, 2024
    Commemoration of Martyrs of Japan, 1597
Meditation:
    We live by faith, not by sight.
    —2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I have no remedy for those who wish to walk by sight because they find the way of faith too unnerving, or for those who wish to freeze theological development at some arbitrary point in past history. I have no comfort for those who, afraid of missing eternal truth, choose to identify it with some previous theological work and try to impose it unchanged on the present generation or desire to speak out of the past and not to come into contact with the modern situation. I have no answer for those who are frightened to think God may have more light to break forth from his holy Word.
    ... Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010), The Grace of God and the Will of Man, Zondervan, 1989, p. 28 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 5:7; Rom. 8:24-25; 1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 4:18; Gal. 2:20; Heb. 10:38; 11:1; 1 Pet. 1:8-9; 2 Pet. 3:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your word is trustworthy above that of any man. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kierkegaard: easy to understand

Sunday, February 4, 2024
    Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
    —Matthew 5:39 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is all too easy to understand the requirements contained in God’s Word (“Give all your goods to the poor.” “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left.” “Count it sheer joy when you meet various temptations” etc.)... The most limited poor creature cannot truthfully deny being able to understand the requirements—but it is tough for flesh and blood to will to understand it and to have to act accordingly.
    ... Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), For Self-examination: and, Judge for Yourselves! And Three Discourses [1851], Oxford University Press, 1941, p. 34 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 5:39; 11:30; 18:21; Rom. 7:18-19; 8:3; 1 Cor. 9:27; Gal. 5:16-17; Jas. 1:2-3; 1 John 5:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I confess my weakness to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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