Gore: anthropomorphism

Sunday, July 7, 2024
Meditation:
[The LORD:]
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
    or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?
    —Job 38:4-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The fact is that whatever man thinks or imagines he must think or imagine ‘anthropomorphically,’ for he can think only human thoughts. It follows that if human thoughts are necessarily limited and imperfect, the highest thought that man can think of God is inadequate to its subject.
    ... Charles Gore (1853-1932), The New Theology and the Old Religion, E.P. Dutton, 1907, p. 58 (see the book)
    See also Job 38:4-7; Eccl. 3:11; Isa. 40:12-14; 55:8-9; John 1:18; 6:46; Rom. 11:33-34; 1 Cor. 2:9-11,16; 1 John 4:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we can only know You through Your Son. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Machen: the creative God

Saturday, July 6, 2024
    Feast of John Huss, Reformer, Martyr, 1415
    Feast of Thomas More, Scholar & Martyr, &
    John Fisher, Bishop & Martyr, 1535
Meditation:
    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
    —Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The possibility of miracle, then, is indissolubly joined with “theism.” Once admit the existence of a personal God, maker and Ruler of the world, and no limits, temporal or otherwise, can be set to the creative powers of such a God. Admit that God once created the world, and you cannot deny that He might engage in creation again.
    ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), Christianity and Liberalism, The Macmillan Company, 1923, p. 87 (see the book)
    See also Gen. 1:1; Ex. 3:19-20; 1 Kings 18:37-39; Isa. 40:28; Jon. 1:14-16; Matt. 11:3-5; Luke 5:26; John 4:48; 9:3; 11:42; Acts 2:22
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, all nature exists by Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: the holy of holies

Friday, July 5, 2024
Meditation:
    And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
    At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
    —Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 31 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 27:50-51; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Heb. 9:11-12,15; 10:19-22
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we enter Your holy presence through the blood of Jesus. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Lincoln: the maker governs

Thursday, July 4, 2024
Meditation:
Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
    and you be destroyed in your way,
    for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
    —Psalm 2:10-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that he who made the world still governs it.
    ... Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), letter to Eliza Gurney, 1862, in Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, Ronald C. White, Simon and Schuster, 2006, p. 142 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 2:7-12; Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1-2; 72:11; Matt. 13:14-15; Luke 10:21; John 10:29; Phil. 2:9-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your sovereignty is universal and absolute. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wesley: frequent change of teachers

Wednesday, July 3, 2024
    Feast of Thomas the Apostle
Meditation:
    We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
    —Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I know, were I myself to preach one whole year in one place, I should preach both myself and most of my congregation asleep. Nor can I believe it was ever the will of our Lord that any congregation should have one teacher only. We have found by long and constant experience, that a frequent change of teachers is best.
    ... John Wesley (1703-1791), letter to Samuel Walker, 3 Sep 1756, The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, v. III, The Epworth Press, 1931, p. 195 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 12:6-8; Ps. 34:11; Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Tim. 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, give wisdom to the teachers You have ordained. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Augustine: letters from home

Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Meditation:
    Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
    —2 Corinthians 5:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.
    ... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Enarr. in Ps. xc, sermon 2
    See also 2 Cor. 5:1-3; John 14:2-3; Heb. 11:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, our true home is with You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: Jesus' joy

Monday, July 1, 2024
    Commemoration of John & Henry Venn, Priests, Evangelical Divines, 1813, 1873
Meditation:
    Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
    —Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Surely the heart of the matter is not my safety and my joy. It is Jesus’ joy. It is that he should have the joy of knowing that all for whom he died have come home.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Journey Into Joy, Christian Literature Society, 1972, reprint, Wm. B. Errdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1973, p. 125 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 12:2; Ps. 16:9-11; Isa. 53:10-12; Luke 24:26; John 13:31-32; Phil. 2:8-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your work has triumphed. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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