Quotations for January, 2004
Thursday, January 1, 2004
Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus
The blessed son of God onlyIn a crib full poor did lie;With our poor flesh and our poor bloodWas clothed that everlasting good
The Lord Christ Jesu, God’s son dear,Was a guest and a stranger here;Us for to bring from misery,That we might live eternally.
All this did he for us freely,For to declare his great mercy;All Christendom be merry therefore,And give him thanks for evermore.
... Miles Coverdale (ca.1488-1568), Ancient English Christmas Carols, 1400-1700, Edith Rickert, New York: Duffield & Co., 1915, p. 192-193 
(see the book; see also Ps. 85:10; Matt. 8:20; Luke 2:6-14; more at Christ, Christmas, Everlasting, God, Jesus, Mercy, Poverty, Son, Thanksgiving)
Friday, January 2, 2004
Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389
Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, Staretz, 1833
We must try to keep the mind in tranquility. For just as the eye which constantly shifts its gaze, now turning to the right or to the left, now incessantly peering up or down, cannot see distinctly what lies before it, but the sight must be fixed firmly on the object in view if one would make his vision of it clear; so too man’s mind when distracted by his countless worldly cares cannot focus itself distinctly on the truth.
... St. Basil the Great (330?-379), Saint Basil, the Letters, tr. Roy Joseph Deferrari, Martin Rawson, Patrick McGuire, London: William Heinemann, 1950, p. 9
(see the book; see also Ps. 39:6-7; Isa. 45:22; Matt. 6:24; 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14; John 1:29; 8:56; Phil. 3:20; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:4; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17; more at Attitudes, Man, Mind, Sight, Tranquility, Truth, Vision, Worldly)
Saturday, January 3, 2004
Commemoration of Gladys Aylward, Missionary in China, 1970
Religion is the same that ever it was, only it suffers by them that make profession of it...Never was there less regard for the Person and offices of Christ, of His grace, and of the benefits of His mediation, among them that are called Christians, than is found among many at this day.
... John Owen (1616-1683), Nature and Causes of Apostasy from the Gospel [1676], in Works of John Owen, v. VII, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 3, 147
(see the book; see also Heb. 6:4-6; more at Christ, Church, Grace, Religion, Suffer)
Sunday, January 4, 2004
Many Christians are reluctant to become involved in public affairs because politics is a “dirty business,” but the same people are generally quite happy to go into business life, which is in its way just as “dirty.” If the dubious practices and moral compromises of every walk of life were dissected and made known with the glare of publicity which shines on the activities of politicians, then those who like to think that they can keep their hands clean would have very few professions to choose from.
... John Lawrence (1873-1968), Hard Facts, London: SCM Press, 1958, p. 51
(see the book; more at Choices, Morality, Revelation, Social, Way)
Monday, January 5, 2004
The underlying questions are always: What is the Church? What is the Church for? If that is not kept in mind, the lay ministry, about which so much is being said at present, remains on the level of a many-sided activity in which the self-assertion of the laity threatens to be more evident than a new manifestation of the Church in modern society. The responsible participation of the laity in the discharge of the Church’s divine calling is not primarily a matter of idealism and enthusiasm or organizational efficiency, but a new grasp and commitment to the meaning of God’s redemptive purpose with mankind and with the world in the past, the present, and the future: a purpose which has its foundation and inexhaustible content in Christ.
... Hendrik Kraemer (1888-1965), A Theology of the Laity, London: Lutterworth Press, 1958, p. 91
(see the book; see also Eph. 3:8-9; John 6:44-45; 1 Cor. 3:11; more at Attitudes, Call, Christ, Church, Commitment, Contentment, Minister, Purpose, Responsibility, Social)
Tuesday, January 6, 2004
EPIPHANY
If on our daily course our mindBe set, to hallow all we find,New treasures still, of countless price,God will provide for sacrifice.
The trivial round, the common task,Would furnish all we ought to ask;Room to deny ourselves; a roadTo bring us, daily, nearer God.
... John Keble (1792-1866), The Christian Year [1827], G. W. Doane, ed., Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1842, p. 18-19
(see the book; see also 2 Cor. 4:7; Lam. 4:2; Ps. 145:18; Luke 10:9; 1 Cor. 1:28-29; 2 Cor. 5:1; Eph. 1:18-21; Heb. 7:18-19; 10:19-22; Jas. 4:8; more at Attitudes, God, Mind, Sacrifice, Treasure)
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
The church had magnificent buildings, superb equipment, trained leadership, excellent teaching materials, organizational ability, and yet lacked that one thing that could take all these tools and make them the channel of God’s will. In spite of its ever-increasing membership, the church lacks the spirit of God’s growing love and understanding that can transform it from an efficient organization into a loving, dynamic fellowship where men and women become vitally alive with faith, love, and hope.
... Thomas M. Steen, “Renewal in the Church”, in Spiritual Renewal through Personal Groups, John L. Casteel, ed., NY: Association Press, 1957, p. 30
(see the book; see also Acts 4:32-35; Isa. 9:6-7; John 13:34-35; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:24; 1 John 2:10; 2 John 1:5; more at Church, Faith, Fellowship, God, Growth, Hope, Love, Teach, Understanding)
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Commemoration of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Fleming, martyrs, Ecuador, 1956
Our deepest insight into the nature of God is expressed with a family analogy. He is both Father and Son bound together in one Spirit. We are created to be brothers under God, the Father. The human family is our best illustration of how each person grows in his unique potentialities by sharing in the loving care of a society of other persons. Yet each member of the family discovers what it is to give of himself for the sake of the others. The human family is only an analogy both for our thought about God and about society; but no Christian thought gets very far away from it.
... Daniel Day Williams (1910-1973), Interpreting Theology, 1918-1952, Daniel Day Williams, London: SCM Press, 1953, ed. 3, under alternative title, New York: Harper, 1959, p. 85
(see the book; see also Matt. 5:44-45; 6:9; 7:11; 12:49-50; 23:9; Luke 11:2,13; John 1:12-14; Rom. 8:14; Eph. 2:19-20; more at Discovery, Family, Father, Giving, God, Social, Son)
Friday, January 9, 2004
Nothing could have saved the infant Church from melting away into one of those vague and ineffective schools of philosophic ethics except the stern and strict rule that is laid down here [in Rev. 2:15, 16] by St. John. An easy-going Christianity could never have survived; only the most convinced, resolute, almost bigoted adherence to the most uncompromising interpretation of its own principles could have given the Christians the courage and self-reliance that were needed. For them to hesitate or to doubt was to be lost.
... Sir William M. Ramsay (1851-1939), The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1904, p. 300
(see the book; see also Rev. 2:15-16; Isa. 11:1-4; Acts 7:54-56; 8:1-4; 17:30-31; Rom. 8:35-37; Eph. 6:17; 2 Thes. 1:4; Rev. 2:5,21-22; 3:19; 19:15; more at Certainty, Church, Courage, Doubt, Hesitancy, Historical, Infancy, Philosophy, Resolve, Rule)
Saturday, January 10, 2004
The symbol of the New Testament and the Christian Church is a cross, which stands for a love faithful despite physical agony and rejection by the world. No amount of air-conditioning and pew-cushioning in the suburban church can cover over the hard truth that the Christian life... is a narrow way of suffering; that discipleship is costly: that, for the faithful, there is always a cross to be carried. No one can understand Christianity to its depths who comes to it to enjoy it as a pleasant weekend diversion.
... W. Waldo Beach (1916-2000), The Christian Life, Richmond, Va.: CLC Press, 1966
(see the book; see also Mark 8:34-35; Matt. 7:13-14; 19:20-21; Luke 13:24; John 10:9; Gal. 5:24; more at Bible, Church, Cross, Disciple, Faith, Life, Love, Suffer, Truth)
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915
I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year, to a great bundle of faggots, far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once; he mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today, and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday’s stick over again today, and adding tomorrow’s burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.
... John Newton (1725-1807), The Life of John Newton, American Tract Society by Pudney, Hooker & Russell, 1854, p. 116
(see the book; see also Matt. 6:11; Ps. 37:3; 55:22; Lam. 3:22-23; Matt. 6:25,31-34; Luke 12:27-29; 1 Pet. 5:7; more at Bearing, Burden, God, Mercy, Today, Tomorrow, Trouble, Weakness, Yesterday)
Monday, January 12, 2004
Feast of Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167
Commemoration of Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar, 689
We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another.
... William Law (1686-1761), Christian Perfection [1726], London: W. Baynes, 1807, p. 273
(see the book; see also Mark 9:50; Isa. 1:15-17; 29:13; Matt. 5:13; 15:17-20; 23:25-26; Luke 6:45-46; 14:34-35; Rom. 8:26-27; Tit. 1:15; more at Heart, Life, Prayer)
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Feast of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher, 367
Commemoration of Kentigern (Mungo), Missionary Bishop in Strathclyde & Cumbria, 603
He enters by the door who enters by Christ, who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know that, if God became man for us, men should not think themselves God, but men. He who, being man, wishes to appear God, does not imitate Him who, being God, became man. Thou art not bid to think less of thyself than thou art, but to know what thou art.
... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Sermon 87(137).4 (NPNF 16::518), in Catena aurea, v. VI, Thomas Aquinas, Oxford: J. Parker, 1874, p. 344-345
(see the book; see also Phil. 2:5-11; Isa. 53:3-7; John 10:1-5; 14:6-7; 17:14-23; Rom. 12:3,16; 1 Cor. 3:18; 8:2; Gal. 6:3; more at Christ, Door, God, Humility, Jesus, Knowledge, Man, Suffer)
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Commemoration of Richard Meux Benson, Founder of the Society of St John the Evangelist, 1915
It is easy to throw angels and demons and the cosmic character and relevance of Christ’s work upon the scrap heap of ancient superstition and mythology, and to consider them but a manner of speech that is utterly irrelevant for our space age. But if we should feel entitled to throw out one part of the witness of Ephesians to Christ, why not the rest of it also: for instance, Christ’s Lordship over the church and in the heart? It is unfair and scarcely honest to consider the Bible or parts of it as a cake from which we can pick out merely the raisins we happen to like. Speaking the truth in love and witnessing to the biblical Christ may imply the necessity to speak also of some very strange things.
... Markus Barth (1915-1994), The Broken Wall, Chicago: Judson Press, 1959, Regent College Publishing, 1959, p. 21
(see the book; see also Eph. 6:11-12; John 12:31; Rom. 8:38; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 4:1-6,15; Col. 2:15; more at Angel, Bible, Christ, Church, Heart, Love, Truth, Witness, Work)
Thursday, January 15, 2004
It is necessary to point out that our responsibility is a relative one only, for as we think of the world-wide disintegration of the human family, the prospect before us could easily fill us with alarm and despondency, if we were not sure first of the absolute sovereignty of God who (I speak reverently) knows what He is doing in conducting this enormous experiment that we call life.
... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Making Men Whole, London: Highway Press, 1952, p. 15
(see the book; see also 1 Chr. 29:10-12; Ps. 24; Isa. 45:5-6; Hag. 2:7; John 10:29; Acts 17:24-26; Rev. 4:11; more at Desolation, Family, God, Life, Responsibility, Will of God)
Friday, January 16, 2004
Some go to the light of nature and the use of right reason (that is, their own) as their guides; and some add the additional documents of the philosophers. They think a saying of Epictetus, or Seneca, or Arrianus, being wittily suited to their fancies and affections, to have more life and power in it than any precept of the Gospel. The reason why these things are more pleasing unto them than the commands and instructions of Christ is because, proceeding from the spring of natural light, they are suited to the workings of natural fancy and understanding; but those of Christ, proceeding from the fountain of eternal spiritual light, are not comprehended in their beauty and excellency without a principle of the same light in us, guiding our understanding and influencing our affections. Hence, take any precept, general or particular, about moral duties, that is materially the same in the writings of philosophers and in the doctrine of the Gospel, not a few prefer it as delivered in the first way before the latter.
... John Owen (1616-1683), V.5 in A Discourse Concerning Holy Spirit, bk. I-V [1674], in Works of John Owen, v. III, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 633
(see the book; see also Prov. 16:25; 3:5-6; 12:15; Jer. 9:23-24; Mark 7:6-8; Luke 13:24; 1 Cor. 1:18-25; 2 Cor. 10:5; Gal. 6:3; Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:20-21; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; more at Apologetics, Christ, Duty, Gospel, Instruction, Morality, Philosophy, Pleasure, Reason)
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Feast of Antony of Egypt, Abbot, 356
Commemoration of Charles Gore, Bishop, Teacher, Founder of the Community of the Resurrection, 1932
What fellowship means in material matters is made very plain. Every man is to work for his living. “If a man will not work, neither let him eat.” But those who cannot work are to be provided for out of the common fund. Old and helpless persons who have relations of their own should, indeed, find support from them and not be forced to come upon the Church; but for the resourceless the Church must provide. And those who are rich and who earn more than enough to support their own families are to be willing contributors to the common fund. The love of money—the desire to accumulate wealth—is the root of every kind of evil. The relation of one to another is to be that of members in one body, in which, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.
... Charles Gore (1853-1932), Christ and Society, London: Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1928, p. 78-79
(see the book; see also 2 Thess. 3:10; Matt. 6:24; 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:11-12; 1 Tim. 5:3-6,13; 6:10-11; more at Aged, Body of Christ, Church, Evil, Family, Fellowship, Money, Suffer, Wealth, Work)
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle
Commemoration of Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship, 1951
We, and all things, exist in God’s infinitude now; our individuality battens within it; our personality grows strong because of it; and we know, if we know anything, that while the more we approach the good the more we please God, at the same time the more men approach the good the more nobly distinctive, the more beautifully individual, do their characters become. To imagine, then, that at the end of this life we shall cease to exist as conscious beings, that our characters, our personalities, will fall back into some boundless being, instead of becoming more and more definite, more and more individual, is certainly not to exalt God; for it is founded on the belief, either that God is now belittled by our present individuality, or that our present individuality is a mere delusion. In the latter case God, whom we find in the depths of our souls, is doubtless also a delusion, for if the self is not real it is no respectable witness on whose testimony we can accept God. Our deepest mature conviction is that finite and infinite interpenetrate, as time and eternity interpenetrate, and our problems must be solved in the light of that conviction.
... Lily Dougall (1858-1923), The Undiscovered Country, in Immortality: an essay in discovery, co-ordinating scientific, psychical, and Biblical research, Burnett Hillman Streeter, Arthur Clutton-Brock, Cyril William Emmet, James Arthur Hadfield, & Lily Dougall, Macmillan, 1917, p. 370-371
(see the book; see also Matt. 22:29-32; more at Belief, Destiny, Eternity, Existence, God, Growth, Providence, Time)
Monday, January 19, 2004
Commemoration of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095
It was his steadfast and unalterable conviction that for a man who has wrapped his will in God’s will, put his life consciously in the stream of the divine Life, freed his soul from all personal ambitions, taken his life on trust as a divine gift—that for such a man there is an over-ruling Providence which guards and guides him in every incident of his life, from the greatest to the least. He held that all annoyances, frustrations, disappointments, mishaps, discomforts, hardships, sorrows, pains, and even final disaster itself, are simply God’s ways of teaching us lessons that we could never else learn. That circumstances do not matter, are nothing, but that the response of the spirit that meets them is everything; that there is no situation in human life, however apparently adverse, nor any human relationship, however apparently uncongenial, that cannot be made, if God be in the heart, into a thing of perfect joy; that, in order to attain this ultimate perfection, one must accept every experience and learn to love all persons... that the worth of life is not to be measured by its results in achievement or success, but solely by the motive of one’s heart and the effort of one’s will.
... George Seaver (1890-1976), The Faith of Edward Wilson, London: J. Murray, 1948, quoted in A Treasury of the Kingdom: an anthology, Emmeline Alethea Blackburn, ed., Oxford University Press, 1954, p. 183
(see the book; see also Heb. 12:5-11; Deut. 8:5; Pr. 3:11-12; Rom. 8:38-39; Heb. 5:7-10; Jas. 1:2-4,12; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Rev. 3:19; more at Achievement, Adversity, Ambition, Conviction, Guidance, Heart, Historical, Life, Providence, Success, Trust)
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349
It behooves thee to love God wisely; and that may thou not do but if thou be wise. Thou art wise when thou art poor, without desire of this world, and despisest thyself for the love of Jesus Christ; and expendeth all thy wit and all thy might in His service. Whoso will love wisely, it behooves him to love lasting things lastingly, and passing things passingly; so that his heart be set and fastened on nothing but in God.
... Richard Rolle (1290?-1349), A Little Book of Heavenly Wisdom: selections from some English prose mystics, Eleanor C. Gregory, ed., London: Methuen, 1904, p. 206
(see the book; see also 1 Tim. 6:17-19; John 7:17; Rom. 16:19; 1 Cor. 1:22-25; 3:18; Eph. 5:15-17; more at Devotion, God, Heart, Jesus, Love, Poverty, Service, Wisdom, World)
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Feast of Agnes, Child Martyr at Rome, 304
Most Christians are affected far more than they know by the standards and methods of the surrounding world. In these days when power and size and speed are almost universally admired, it seems to me particularly important to study afresh the “weakness,” the “smallness of entry,” and the “slowness” of God as He begins His vast work of reconstructing His disordered world. We are all tempted to take short cuts, to work for quick results, and to evade painful sacrifice. It is therefore essential that we should look again at love incarnate in a human being, to see God Himself at work within the limitations of human personality, and to base our methods on what we see Him do.
... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Making Men Whole, London: Highway Press, 1952, p. 7-8
(see the book; see also Matt. 26:42; Isa. 42:1-4; 52:14; 53:2-7; Matt. 7:13; 18:2-3; 27:26-32; Luke 13:24; 14:33; John 10;9; 14:6; 19:1-3; 1 Cor. 1:27; Gal. 5:24; Phil. 3:7-9; more at Incarnation, Knowing God, Love, Patience, Temptation, Will of God, Work)
Thursday, January 22, 2004
That no [obedience] but a perfect one will satisfy God, I hold with all my heart and strength; but that there is none else He cares for, is one of the lies of the enemy. What father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his little one to walk? What father would be satisfied with anything but the manly step of the full-grown son?
... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “The Way”, in Unspoken Sermons, Second Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1886, p. 10
(see the book; see also Mark 9:41; Gen. 17:1; Ps. 111:10; Matt. 10:42; 19:17-21; Mark 12:41-44; 2 Cor. 8:11-12; Eph. 4:11-14; Phil. 2:12-13; more at Enemy, Father, God, Obedience, Perfection, Pleasure, Satisfaction, Son)
Friday, January 23, 2004
Commemoration of Phillips Brooks, Bishop of Massachusetts, spiritual writer, 1893
A large acquaintance with clerical life has led me to think that almost any company of clergymen gathering together and talking freely to one another will express opinions which would greatly surprise and at the same time relieve the congregations who ordinarily listen to these ministers.
... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Life and letters of Phillips Brooks, v. II, Alexander V. G. Allen, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1901, p. 331
(see the book; more at Church, Congregation, Minister)
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Feast of François de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher, 1622
Moderate bodily discipline is useful in resisting depression, because it rouses the mind from dwelling on itself; and frequent Communion is specially valuable; the Bread of Life strengthens the heart and gladdens the spirits.It may be useful, too, to lay bare all the feelings, thoughts, and longings which are the result of your depression before some spiritual advisor, in all humility and faithfulness; to seek the society of spiritually minded people, and to frequent such as far as possible while you are suffering. And finally, resign yourself into God’s hands, endeavouring to bear this harassing depression patiently.
... François de Sales (1567-1622), Introduction to the Devout Life [1609], London: Rivingtons, 1876, IV.xii, p. 322
(see the book; see also Ps. 71:20; Song of Solomon 2:16; Ps. 119:82; John 6:35; Rom. 8:18,35-37; 1 Pet. 1:6; more at Bread, Communion, Confession, Depression, Discipline, Resignation, Suffer, Weakness)
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Feast of the Conversion of Paul
The church is unique in that it is so able to cut across age boundaries and social-status boundaries. When one loves the Lord Jesus Christ and sincerely seeks to follow Him, then one quite by surprise comes upon a community that he did not know existed, a community that is experienced within the heart; and when this community is found, nothing is ever quite the same again.
... Gerald J. Jud (1919-2019), “Ministry in Colonies and Retreats”, in Spiritual Renewal through Personal Groups, John L. Casteel, ed., NY: Association Press, 1957, p. 102
(see the book; see also Rom. 10:12-13; Isa. 56:3-8; Acts 10:34-35; 15:7-9; Gal. 3:28-29; Eph. 2:13; 3:6; Phil. 3:3; Col. 1:3-6; 3:11; more at Church, Community, Experience, Heart, Jesus, Love)
Monday, January 26, 2004
Feast of Timothy and Titus, Companions of Paul
Commemoration of Dorothy Kerin, Founder of the Burrswood Healing Community, 1963
The fundamental doctrines of our evangelical belief are... the full inspiration and ruling authority of Holy Scripture, with its consequences, the Divinity of Christ, the finality of His Atonement, and salvation through faith alone. These basic truths should be studied as set forth in the New Testament, that they may be asserted or defended whenever occasion requires. If this be done in a humble and Christian spirit, we shall in the long run be promoting the cause of Christian unity, which must ultimately find its basis in the truth which God has revealed.
... G. T. Manley (1872?-1961?), Christian Unity, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1945, p. 74
(see the book; see also Rom. 10:8-11; John 3:16-17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:15-16; Jude 1:3; more at Atonement, Belief, Church, Faith, Inspiration, Revelation, Salvation, Scripture, Truth, Unity)
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
If we look carefully within ourselves, we shall find that there are certain limits beyond which we refuse to go in offering ourselves to [God]. We hover around these reservations, making believe not to see them, for fear of self-reproach... The more we shrink from giving up any such reserved point, the more certain it is that it needs to be given up. If we were not fast bound by it, we should not make so many efforts to persuade ourselves that we are free.
... François Fénelon (1651-1715), Selections from Fénelon, ed. Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston: Roberts Bros., 1879, p. 61-62
(see the book; see also 1 Cor. 5:7-8; Ps. 51:17; 69:30-31; Rom. 12:1; Phil. 2:17; Heb. 13:15-16; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; more at Bondage, Freedom, God, Offering, Self, Weakness)
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Feast of Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1274
God usually answers our prayers according rather to the measure of His own magnificence, than to that of our asking; so that we often do not know His [benefits] to be those for which we besought Him.
... Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), The Rod, the Root, and the Flower [1895], London: G. Bell and Sons, 1907, p. 14
(see the book; see also John 1:16; 1 Kings 3:11-14; Ps. 23:5-6; 145:18; Acts 12:5-17; Rom. 10:12-13; 2 Cor. 12:8-9; Jas. 1:17; 2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 John 4:4; more at Glory of God, God, Knowledge, Prayer)
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Those talents which God has bestowed upon us are not our own goods but the free gifts of God; and any persons who become proud of them show their ungratefulness.
... John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, v. I [1559], tr. John Allen, Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1921, III.vii.4, p. 622
(see the book; see also 1 Cor. 4:7; Deut. 8:11-14; 1 Chr. 29:11-14; Pr. 2:6; Hos. 13:6; John 1:11,16; Jas. 1:17; more at Gifts, God, People, Pride, Thanksgiving)
Friday, January 30, 2004
Commemoration of Lesslie Newbigin, Bishop, Missionary, Teacher, 1998
The widest thing in the universe is not space, it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions... [Christians] should seek for inner enlargement till their outward dimension gives no hint of the vastness within.
... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Root of the Righteous, Christian Publications, 1955, p. 112-113
(see the book; see also 1 John 4:12; Gen. 1:26; Prov. 28:14; Eph. 4:15-16; 1 Thess. 3:12; 2 Thess. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:5-8; more at Generosity, God, Heart, Love, Universe)
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Commemoration of John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888
I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.
... John Wesley (1703-1791), a letter in the entry for June 11, 1739, Journal of the Rev. John Wesley, v. I, London: J. Kershaw, 1827, p. 193
(see the book; see also Matt. 28:19-20; Ps. 40:9; Isa. 60:1; Matt. 5:13-14; 10:27; Luke 12:8; Acts 10:37-38; Phil. 2:14-16; Col. 4:6; Rev. 22:17; more at Duty, Gospel, Historical, Salvation, Tidings, World)
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Mere Christianity: a conversation
Simple Songs for Psalms
Quotations Bible Study
Essays Archive
Bookworms
Spotlights
Publications:
Jonah: a miracle play
Ruth: a play
Also visit these organizations:
Arab Vision
Crescendo
Oratorium
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