Grant: how to study the Bible

Sunday, December 1, 2024
    Advent I
    Commemoration of Charles de Foucauld, Hermit, Servant of the Poor, 1916
Meditation:
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
    —Psalm 63:5-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We are frequently advised to read the Bible with our own personal needs in mind, and to look for answers to our private questions. That is good, as far as it goes... But better still is the advice to study the Bible objectively, ... without regard, first of all, to our own subjective needs. Let the great passages fix themselves in our memory. Let them stay there permanently, like bright beacons, launching their powerful shafts of light upon life’s problems—our own and everyone’s—as they illumine now one, now another dark area of human life... Following such a method, we discover that the Bible does “speak to our condition” and meet our needs, not just occasionally or when some emergency arises, but continually.
    ... Frederick C. Grant (1891-1974), How to Read the Bible, London: Thomas Nelson, 1959, p. 8-9 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 63:5-7; Deut. 8:3; Ps. 1:2-3; 23; John 3:16; Rom. 8:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 3:14-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Feed me, Lord, with Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gordon: are miracles unnatural?

Saturday, November 30, 2024
    Feast of Andrew the Apostle
Meditation:
    When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to [Jesus], and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
    —Matthew 8:16 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Miracles of healing and dispossession are reminiscences of an unfallen Paradise and prophecies of a Paradise regained. Though we call them supernatural, they are not contranatural.
    ... A. J. Gordon (1836-1895), The Ministry of Healing, Boston: H. Gannett, 1883, p. 44 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 8:16; 9:20-22; 12:43-45; Luke 8:28; Jas. 2:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, there is more in Your creation than we know. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Robertson: the source of comfort

Friday, November 29, 2024
Meditation:
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
    —Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The mistake we make is to look for a source of comfort in ourselves: self-contemplation, instead of gazing upon God. In other words, we look for comfort precisely where comfort never can be.
    ... Frederick W. Robertson (1816-1853), Sermons Preached at Trinity Chapel, Brighton, v. II, Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1859, p. 147 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 121:1-2; 42:1-3; 63:1-2; 84:2; 143:6; Isa. 26:9; Matt. 5:4; John 7:37-39; 16:20-22; 2 Cor. 1:3-7; Rev. 21:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lift my eyes to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: reading humbly

Thursday, November 28, 2024
    Thanksgiving (U.S.)
Meditation:
    And all the people came early in the morning to hear [Jesus] at the temple.
    —Luke 21:38 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Our own curiosity often hindereth us in the reading of holy writings, when we seek to understand and discuss, where we should pass simply on. If thou wouldst profit by thy reading, read humbly, simply, honestly, and not desiring to win a character [i.e., reputation] for learning.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.v.2, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also Luke 21:38; Ps. 19:7; 116:6; 119:130; Matt. 11:25; 18:2-3; 23:8; Luke 24:44-45; Rom. 12:8; 16:19; 1 Cor. 3:18; 2 Cor. 1:12; 11:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may my thoughts conform to Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cowan: the Christian environment

Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”
    —Matthew 13:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The most difficult task facing us today is to persuade the person who is enjoying Christian culture and Christian standards that these do not survive of themselves.
    ... Godfrey Cowan
    See also Matt. 13:20-21; Judg. 2:18-19; Ps. 36:1-3; 106:12-13; Hos. 6:4; Rom. 2:7; Phil. 1:4-6; 2 Pet. 2:20-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, only You can save us. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Watts: Our God, our help in ages past

Tuesday, November 26, 2024
    Commemoration of Isaac Watts, Hymnwriter, 1748
Meditation:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn men back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.
    —Psalm 90:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv’d her frame;
From everlasting thou art God;
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages, in thy sight,
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
    ... Isaac Watts (1674-1748), Psalms of David Imitated [1719], in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, ed. Samuel Melanchthon Worcester, Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1834, Ps. 90, first part, p. 186-187 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 90:1-4; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 46:1; 71:3; 91:1; Isa. 8:13-14; Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8; 2 Pet. 3:8; 1 John 4:16; Rev. 1:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I seek the safety of Your shelter.

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Yelchaninov: another miracle?

Monday, November 25, 2024
    Commemoration of Katherine of Alexandria, Martyr, 4th century
Meditation:
    The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.
    He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.”
    —Mark 8:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    To expect, to demand, miracles is not only wrong, inasmuch as it shows a lack of trust in God; it is also senseless, for we count millions of accomplished miracles, and if none of them has convinced us, why should we be convinced by this one miracle?
    ... Alexander Yelchaninov (1881-1934), Fragments of a Diary: 1881-1934, in A Treasury of Russian Spirituality, Georgii Petrovich Fedotov, ed., Nordland, 1975, p. 443 (see the book)
    See also Mark 8:11-12; Matt. 11:2-5; 12:38-39; 16:1-4; Luke 11:29; 23:8; John 2:18-19; 6:30; 20:30-31; 1 Cor. 1:22-23; Heb. 2:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your miracle is within me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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