Hooker: the real presence

Tuesday, November 3, 2026
    Feast of Richard Hooker, Priest, Anglican Apologist, Teacher, 1600
    Commemoration of Martin of Porres, Dominican Friar, 1639
Meditation:
    Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
    —1 Corinthians 11:27-30 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The real presence of Christ’s most precious Body and Blood is not to be sought for in the Sacrament, but in the worthy receiver of the Sacrament.
    ... Richard Hooker (1554?-1600), The Ecclesiastical Polity and Other Works of Richard Hooker, v. II, London: Holdsworth & Ball, 1830, V.lxvii, p. 288 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 11:27-31; Ps. 26:2-3; Lam. 3:40; Hag. 1:5-7; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:4-5; 1 John 3:19-20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, break open my heart to receive Your grace. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: making easy work hard

Monday, November 2, 2026
    Feast of All Souls
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
    —Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Do you think that the work God gives us to do is never easy? Jesus says his yoke is easy, his burden is light. People sometimes refuse to do God’s work just because it is easy. This is, sometimes, because they cannot believe that easy work is his work; but there may be a very bad pride in it... Some again accept it with half a heart, and do it with half a hand. But, however easy any work may be, it cannot be well done without taking thought about it. And such people, instead of taking thought about their work, generally take thought about the morrow, in which no work can be done any more than in yesterday.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Seaboard Parish [1868], London: Strahan, 1873, p. 31 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:28-30; Ps. 119:103-104; Pr. 3:13-17; Mic. 6:8; John 16:33; 2 Cor. 4:17; 12:9-10; Gal. 5;1; Phil. 4:13; 1 John 5:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, take away all anxiety about tomorrow, and grant me Your peace. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Manley: first things first

Sunday, November 1, 2026
    Feast of All Saints
Meditation:
    But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
    —Jude 17-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury, and many other evangelicals, have been leaders in social reform, but it was not their religion. Their efforts succeeded because they put first things first, and believed firmly in the Word of God, in the conversion of the individual, in prayer, and in using spiritual means for spiritual work.
    ... G. T. Manley (1872?-1961?), Christian Unity, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1945, p. 69 (see the book)
    See also Jude 1:17-21; 1 Tim. 4:1-2,16; 2 Tim. 4:3; Heb. 12:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    May I always see You first in all that I undertake. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Jones: new birth

Saturday, October 31, 2026
    Reformation Day
Meditation:
    Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
    —John 3:5-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Here he tells us that the new birth is first of all “not of blood.” You don’t get it through the blood stream, through heredity. Your parents can give you much, but they cannot give you this. Being born in a Christian home does not make you a Christian.
    ... E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), Conversion, New York: Abingdon Press, 1959, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also John 3:5-6; Luke 20:35-36; John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:19,23; 1 Cor. 2:12; 1 John 2:29; 5:1,6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your family is our true home. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Luther: the priesthood

Friday, October 30, 2026
    Commemoration of Martin Luther, Teacher, Reformer, 1546
Meditation:
    Grace and peace... from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever!
    —Revelation 1:4-6 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Let every man then who has learnt that he is a Christian recognize what he is, and be certain that we are all equally priests, that is, we have the same power in the word and in any sacrament whatever.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546), The Babylonian Captivity of the Church [1520], par. 7.16 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 1:4-6; 1 Pet. 2:4-5,9; Rev. 5:9-10; 20:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me a channel of Your grace for those in need. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Theologia Germanica: Attaining to life

Thursday, October 29, 2026
    Commemoration of James Hannington, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Martyr in Uganda, 1885
Meditation:
    My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
    —Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Let no one suppose, that we may attain to this true light and perfect knowledge, or life of Christ, by much questioning, or by hearsay, or by reading and study, nor yet by high skill and great learning. Yea, so long as a man taketh account of anything which is this or that, whether it be himself, or any other creature; or doeth anything, or frameth a purpose, for the sake of his own likings or desires, or opinions, or ends, he cometh not unto the life of Christ.
    ... Theologia Germanica [1518], Anonymous, ascribed to Johannes de Francfordia, (1380?-1440) & Susanna Winkworth, tr., published anonymously by Martin Luther, ch. XIX (see the book)
    See also Eccl. 12:12-13; Isa. 41:9; Rom. 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:9; Tit. 3:4-7; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 19:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I seek Your Spirit to dwell within me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barth: the deceptive silence

Wednesday, October 28, 2026
    Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles
Meditation:
    For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
    —John 1:17 (ESV)
Quotation:
    People naturally do not shout it out, least of all into the ears of us ministers. But let us not be deceived by their silence. Blood and tears, deepest despair and highest hope, a passionate longing to lay hold of ... Him who overcomes the world because He is its Creator and Redeemer, its beginning and ending and Lord, a passionate longing to have the word spoken, the word which promises grace in judgment, life in death, and the beyond in the here and now, God’s word—this it is that animates our church-goers.
    ... Karl Barth (1886-1968), The Word of God and the Word of Man, Harper, 1957, p. 108 (see the book)
    See also John 1:17; 14:6; Rom. 5:20-21; 6:14; 15:8-12; 2 Tim. 4:2; Heb. 10:3-10; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we are hungry for Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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