Hovey: the Comforter

Saturday, March 16, 2024
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
    —John 14:16-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The word “Comforter” as applied to the Holy Spirit needs to be translated by some vigorous term. Literally, it means “with strength.” Jesus promised His followers that “The Strengthener” would be with them forever. This promise is no lullaby for the faint-hearted. It is a blood transfusion for courageous living.
    ... E. Paul Hovey (1908-1996), The Treasury of Inspirational Anecdotes, Quotations, and Illustrations, Revell, 1959, p. 211 (see the book)
    See also John 14:16-17; Ps. 138:3; Isa. 40:31; Luke 21:14-15; Acts 2:4; 4:31; 1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Cor. 1:8-11; 12:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Have I asked for the Strengthener? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kurosaki: Christ the Head

Friday, March 15, 2024
Meditation:
    We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
    —1 John 1:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Continued from yesterday]
    If we will practice this living union with Christ, loving each other without any concern about sects and denominations, doctrines or forms, then we shall have the Body of Christ with Him as Head. This is the Ekklesia in its truest and purest sense. Therefore, the Ekklesia is not an institution, not a system, not theology, not the words of the Bible, and not any ritual or ceremony. The Ekklesia exists where there is this life union with God through Christ.
    ... Kokichi Kurosaki (1886-1970), One Body in Christ, Kobe, Japan: Eternal Life Press, 1954, ch. 4 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 1:3; Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:29-30; Col. 1:18-20; 1 Tim. 3:14-15; Heb. 12:22-24
Quiet time reflection:
    Have I valued something else above my union with Christ in the church? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kurosaki: direct fellowship with God

Thursday, March 14, 2024
Meditation:
    For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
    —1 Corinthians 15:22 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Fellowship between God and man, interrupted by the sin of the first Adam, was reopened by redemption bought with the blood of the last Adam. Now anyone can have direct koinonia with God and share His very life—anyone can live a life of love and unity with Christ. This is really the center of Christianity, and “faith” is nothing other than the state of having this life union with God. To be justified by faith means that God has access to repentant sinners through Christ and is thus able to enjoy this koinonia with them. [Continued tomorrow]
    ... Kokichi Kurosaki (1886-1970), One Body in Christ, Kobe, Japan: Eternal Life Press, 1954, ch. 4 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 15:22; John 1:4; 3:6; 5:21; Acts 2:42; Rom. 5:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:9; Gal. 3:24; Phil. 2:1-2; 3:10-11; 1 John 1:3; 5:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Have I grasped fellowship with God as above all other relationships? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hammarskjold: dead to self

Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Meditation:
    If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 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 6:5-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There is a pride of faith, more unforgivable and dangerous than the pride of the intellect. It reveals a split personality in which faith is “observed” and appraised, thus negating that unity born of a dying-unto-self, which is the definition of faith. To “value” faith is to turn it into a metaphysical magic, the advantages of which ought to be reserved for a spiritual elite.
    ... Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961), Markings, tr. Leif Sjöberg & W. H. Auden, (q.v.), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 (post.), p. 106 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 6:5-7; Mic. 6:8; Matt. 7:1-5; 2 Cor. 4:10; Gal. 2:20; 5:24; Phil. 3:8; Col. 2:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Have I ranked my faith above that of others? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: simply God

Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Meditation:
O God, you are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
    my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
    where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
    —Psalm 63:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    What heart in the kingdom of heaven would ever dream of constructing a metaphysical system of what we owed to God and why we owed it? The light of our life, our sole, eternal, and infinite joy, is simply God—God—God—nothing but God, and all his creatures in him. He is all and in all, and the children of the kingdom know it. He includes all things; not to be true to anything he has made is to be untrue to him.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “Righteousness”, in Unspoken Sermons, Third Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1889, p. 221-222 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 63:1-4; 27:8; 42:1-3; 84:10; 143:6; 105:3-4; Pr. 8:17; Isa. 44:3; Matt. 7:7-8; John 4:13-14; 6:35; 7:37-39; Heb. 11:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Can I be satisfied with any less than God’s presence? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: following Jesus

Monday, March 11, 2024
Meditation:
    They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
    —Mark 14:32-34 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If anyone tells you that the life of prayer is one uninterrupted experience of being happy with Jesus, do not follow him. He is not a safe guide. Those who follow the Lamb know that there are stretches of darkness and loneliness and perplexity along the way, and they know that Jesus himself went that way.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Journey Into Joy, Christian Literature Society, 1972, reprint, Wm. B. Errdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1973, p. 124 (see the book)
    See also Mark 14:33-34; Ps. 22:1; 23:4; 27:1; 46:1-3; 69:13-15; 88:6-7; 118:6; 130:1-2; Matt. 26:37-38; Rom. 8:18; 1 Cor. 15:55-57; Heb. 5:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Am I walking where Jesus walked? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Monro: experience agrees with the Bible

Sunday, March 10, 2024
Meditation:
    ... he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
    —Matthew 4:4 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Our Christian experience must agree with the Bible. We will be taught by the Bible and fed by the Bible. But we do not believe in Christ because He is in the Bible: we believe in the Bible because Christ is in us.
    ... Claxton Monro (1914-1991)
    See also Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3; Luke 4:4; 17:20-21; 24:45; John 5:39; 6:32-35; 14:20; 15:4-5; 17:26; Rom. 8:10; Eph. 2:22; Col. 1:27; 3:11; 1 John 4:4; Rev. 3:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I rely on Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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