Eckhart: Seeking God for profit

Tuesday, November 10, 2026
    Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
    —Luke 12:28-31 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Whoso goes seeking God and seeking aught with God does not find God; but he who seeks God by himself in truth does not find God alone: all God affords he finds, as well as God. Art thou looking for God, seeking God with a view to thy personal good, thy personal profit? Then in truth thou art not seeking God.
    ... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Works of Meister Eckhart, London: J. M. Watkins, 1924, p. 42 (see the book)
    See also Luke 12:28-31; Matt. 6:30-34; 7:7; Luke 11:9; John 6:27; Acts 17:27
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, cleanse and purify my motives. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barclay: Who is using whom?

Monday, November 9, 2026
    Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433
Meditation:
    When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
    —John 6:14-15 (ESV)
Quotation:
    That crowd of Jews would have followed Christ at that moment because He was giving them what they wanted [bread], and they wished to use Him for their plans and dreams and purposes. That attitude to Christ still lingers in men’s minds. We would like Christ’s gifts without Christ’s Cross; we would like to use Christ instead of allowing Him to use us.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Gospel of John, v. 1, Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1965, p. 210 (see the book)
    See also John 6:14-15; Matt. 20:21-22; Mark 10:35-38; Luke 22:24-26; John 7:3-6; Rom. 12:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are King in my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Chesterton: a single sword

Sunday, November 8, 2026
    Feast of Saints & Martyrs of England
Meditation:
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.
    —Psalm 34:6-7 (ESV)
Quotation:
O God of earth and altar,
    Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
    Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
    The swords of scorn divide,
Take not Thy thunder from us,
    But take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches,
    From lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches
    That comfort cruel men,
From sale and profanation
    Of honor and the sword,
From sleep and from damnation,
    Deliver us, good Lord.

Tie in a living tether
    The prince and priest and thrall,
Bind all our lives together,
    Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
    Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
    A single sword to T hee.
    ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), [1907] The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, v. X, Ignatius Press, 1994, p. 141 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 34:6-7; Rom. 8:35-39; Eph. 6:14-18; Heb. 4:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant us peace.

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Woolman: the progress of wealth

Saturday, November 7, 2026
    Feast of Willibrord of York, Archbishop of Utrecht, Apostle of Frisia, 739
Meditation:
    But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
    —1 Timothy 6:6-9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I saw that a humble man, with the blessing of the Lord, might live on a little; and that where the heart is set on greatness, success in business did not satisfy the craving, but that commonly with an increase of wealth, the desire of wealth increased.
    ... John Woolman (1720-1772), The Works of John Woolman, Philadelphia: Benjamin & Jacob Johnson, 1800, p. 25 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 6:6-9; Matt. 6:19-21; 16:26; 18:1-4; Luke 12:15; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; Jas. 5:1-5; 1 John 3:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Teach me, Lord, to be content with Your provisions. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Temple: hope in the Spirit

Friday, November 6, 2026
    Feast of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1944
Meditation:
    For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
    —Romans 15:8-9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    There is no hope of establishing a more Christian social order except through the labour and sacrifice of those in whom the Spirit of Christ is active.
    ... William Temple (1881-1944), Christianity and Social Order, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1942, p. 100 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 15:8-9; Ps. 18:49; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 3:10-11; 6:12-13; Tit. 3:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me an instrument of Your will for my society. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: self-promotion

Thursday, November 5, 2026
Meditation:
    But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
    —2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The self-sins... dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 42 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Matt. 7:15; 23:27-28; Rom. 2:17-24; 1 Cor. 10:32-33; Gal. 6:3; Tit. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant us all the wisdom and discernment to turn away from false teachers. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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M'Intyre: on the image of God

Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Meditation:
    ... then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
    —Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When He fashioned man, the Deity breathed into the human form the divine life, “and man became a living soul.” Man is created to be a witness and likeness of God. God and man are so near to one another that it was possible for the Eternal Word to become Man without ceasing to be God, to re-ascend to the Highest without dehumanizing the Manhood which He had assumed; so near that the believer may say in the fullest meaning of the words, “I live, yet not I, but Christ.”
    ... David M. M’Intyre (1859-1938), Faith’s Title Deeds, London: Morgan & Scott, 1924, p. 20 (see the book)
    See also Gen. 2:7; 1:26-27; John 1:1-14; Gal. 2:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Christ, You are the Eternal Man. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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