Lewis: pride is the obstacle

Monday, February 23, 2026
    Feast of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.155
Meditation:
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
    he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
    and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
    and the rich he hath sent empty away.
    —Luke 1:51-53 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Don’t imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he won’t be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who’s always telling you that, of course, he’s nobody. Probably all you’ll think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility; he won’t be thinking about himself at all. There I must stop. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you’re not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
    ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Christian Behavior, London: Geoffrey Bles, Macmillan, 1943, p. 49 (see the book)
    See also Luke 1:51-53; Pr. 13:10; Matt. 5:6; Mark 12:38-40
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, drive my pride away. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cary: the fear of God

Sunday, February 22, 2026
Meditation:
The law of the LORD is perfect,
    converting the soul:
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
    making wise the simple.
The statutes of the LORD are right,
    rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
    enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean,
    enduring for ever:
the judgments of the LORD are true
    and righteous altogether.
    —Psalm 19:7-9 (KJV)
Quotation:
    My father had never lost his temper with us, never beaten us, but we had for him that feeling often described as fear, which is something quite different and far deeper than alarm. It was that sense which, without irreverence, I have thought to find expressed by the great evangelists when they speak of the fear of God. One does not fear God because He is terrible, but because He is literally the soul of goodness and truth, because to do Him wrong is to do wrong to some mysterious part of oneself, and one does not know exactly what the consequences may be.
    ... Joyce Cary (1888-1957), Except the Lord, London: Michael Joseph, 1953, reprint, New Directions Publishing, 1985, p. 47 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 19:7-9; Gen. 22:12; Ps. 34:8-9,11-14; 111:10; 112:1; Pr. 1:7; 9:10; Eccl. 12:13; John 14:6; 1 Pet. 2:2-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep me away from lawlessness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tillotson: sinful sorrow over sin

Saturday, February 21, 2026
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
    —Matthew 15:10-11 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Sin is a base and ill-natured thing, and renders a man not so apt to be affected with the injuries he hath offered to God, as with the mischief which is likely to fall upon himself.
    ... John Tillotson (1630-1694), Works of Dr. John Tillotson, v. VII, London: J. F. Dove, for R. Priestley, 1820, Sermon CLX, p. 287 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 15:10-11; Ps. 32:5; 38:18; 51:3; 52:2-4; Pr. 28:13; Isa. 59:12-15; Matt. 15:18-20; Jas. 3:5-8
Quiet time reflection:
    Holy Spirit, guard my tongue from sin, for Jesus’ sake. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kierkegaard: completing the work

Friday, February 20, 2026
    Commemoration of Cecile Isherwood, Founder of the Community of the Resurrection, Grahamstown, South Africa, 1906
Meditation:
    And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
    —John 1:32-34 (ESV)
Quotation:
    If a poet or an artist puts himself into his Productions he is criticised. But that is exactly what God does, he does so in Christ. And precisely that is Christianity. The creation was really only completed when God included himself in it. Before the coming of Christ God was certainly in the creation, but as an invisible sign, like the watermark in paper. But the creation was completed by the Incarnation because God thereby included himself in it.
    ... Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Journals, ed. Alexander Dru, Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 324 (see the book)
    See also John 1:32-34; Matt. 3:17; 11:27; 17:5; Mark 1:1,11; Luke 3:22; John 1:14,18,49; 3:16-18; 10:30; 1 John 2:23; 4:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I know You stand beside me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Augustine: the evil turning

Thursday, February 19, 2026
Meditation:
    Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
    —Ecclesiastes 10:3 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When the will abandons what is above itself and turns to what is lower, it becomes evil—not because that is evil to which it turns, but because the turning itself is wicked. Therefore it is not an inferior thing which has made the will evil, but it is itself which has become so by wickedly and inordinately desiring an inferior thing.
    ... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), The City of God, v. I [426], Marcus Dods, ed., as vol. 1 of The Works of Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Edinbugh: T & T Clark, 1871, XII.vi, p. 488-489 (see the book)
    See also Eccl. 10:3; Matt. 15:11,17-20; Mark 7:15,18-23; Luke 11:38-41; Tit. 1:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Hide me, Lord, from the evil that my own will would lead me to. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Sayers: the Kingdom of Heaven

Wednesday, February 18, 2026
    Ash Wednesday
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”
    —Matthew 13:47-48 (NIV)
Quotation:
    “The Kingdom of Heaven,” said the Lord Christ, “is among you.” But what, precisely, is the Kingdom of Heaven? You cannot point to existing specimens, saying, “Lo, here!” or “Lo, there!” You can only experience it. But what is it like, so that when we experience it we may recognize it? Well, it is a change, like being born again and relearning everything from the start. It is secret, living power—like yeast. It is something that grows, like seed. It is precious like buried treasure, like a rich pearl, and you have to pay for it. It is a sharp cleavage through the rich jumble of things which life presents: like fish and rubbish in a draw-net, like wheat and tares; like wisdom and folly; and it carries with it a kind of menacing finality; it is new, yet in a sense it was always there—like turning out a cupboard and finding there your own childhood as well as your present self; it makes demands, it is like an invitation to a royal banquet—gratifying, but not to be disregarded, and you have to live up to it; where it is equal, it seems unjust; where it is just it is clearly not equal—as with the single pound, the diverse talents, the labourers in the vineyard, you have what you bargained for; it knows no compromise between an uncalculating mercy and a terrible justice—like the unmerciful servant, you get what you give; it is helpless in your hands like the King’s Son, but if you slay it, it will judge you; it was from the foundations of the world; it is to come; it is here and now; it is within you. It is recorded that the multitudes sometimes failed to understand.
    ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (1893-1957), The Poetry of Search and the Poetry of Statement, London: Golanz, 1963, p. 281 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 13:47-48,24-30,33,44-46; 20:1-16; 22:1-14; Mark 4:26-29; Luke 13:20-21; 15:8-10; 16:1-9; John 3:3-8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I was a spiritual zero, and You have given me the Kingdom. Blessed is Your Name. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Lewis: just the pure in heart

Tuesday, February 17, 2026
    Feast of Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, Martyr, 1977
Meditation:
    Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
    —Matthew 5:8 (KJV)
Quotation:
    It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.
    ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Problem of Pain, New York: Macmillan, 1944, p. 133 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 5:8; Ps. 15:2; 18:26; 51:10; Tit. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, purify my heart, so that I may see You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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