Quotations for June, 2026
Monday, June 1, 2026
Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165
Commemoration of Angela de Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540
God with us! That is too strong a contradiction, not only over against our sins and sufferings but also against the nature of our existence even down to the very deepest depths of its roots. God with us! That conflicts too much, not only with our unrighteousness, but more yet, with our righteousness; not only with the atrocities of history, but more yet with history’s supposed progress and achievements; not only with the misery on earth, but more yet, with the supposed happiness and satisfaction on earth. God with us! That subjects our total human nature to a judgment, to a No, that will leave nothing left of us, and will bow us under a grace, a Yes, that we cannot comprehend. God with us! That is not only a better man, but a new man; not only a beautiful world, but an other world; not only a higher life, but an eternal life. God with us!
... Karl Barth (1886-1968), Come Holy Spirit: Sermons, New York: Round Table Press, 1933, reprint, Mowbrays, 1978, p. 118
(see the book)
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
On April 16, 1521, German reformer Martin Luther, 34, arrived at the Diet of Worms, where he afterward defended his theological position behind the “Ninety-Five Theses” (first advanced in 1517). It was at this assembly where Luther concluded his defense with the historic words: “Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen.” (“Here I stand! I can do nothing else. God help me! Amen.”)
... Bill Blake 
(see also Luke 11:28; 1 Cor. 2:12-15; more at God, Historical, Steadfast, Theology)
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Feast of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Teacher, 1910
Commemoration of Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & 1978
To put it shortly, the Church forgets that Christianity is not an attitude of mind, but a type of life: a man’s spirit is not known by his opinion (creeds etc.) but by his action and general conduct.
... William Temple (1881-1944), William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury: his life and letters, Frederic Athelwold Iremonger, Oxford University Press, 1948, p. 99
(see the book; see also 1 Sam. 2:3; Ps. 62:11-12; 94:4; Matt. 5:16; 7:24; 16:27; 25:34-46; Gal. 5:6; 6:7-8; Col. 4:6; Jas. 1:22; 1 John 3:23-24; more at Action, Attitudes, Church, Conduct, Life, Man)
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Even though I never did an evil deed, yet, if I have the will to do evil, I have the sin as if I had done the deed; and I could, by a total will, do as great a sin as if I had killed the whole world, though I never actually did anything. Why, would the same not be possible to a good will? Yes, indeed, and even much more so. Surely, I can do all things with the will. I can bear the sorrow of all men and feed all the poor and do the work of all men and whatever else you may think of. If it be not the will that fails you, but only the power, then truly, before God, you have done it all, and no man can take it from you or even hinder you for a moment; for to will to do as soon as I can is the same before God as having done it.
... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Treatises and Sermons, Harper, 1958, p. 74-75
(see the book; see also Matt. 5:27-28,48; 19:21; Mark 9:41; Gal. 6:9; Jas. 1:13-15; 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17; more at Deed, Good will, Intention, Sin, Work)
Friday, June 5, 2026
Feast of Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754
Instead of allowing yourself to be so unhappy, just let your love grow as God wants it to grow. Seek goodness in others. Love more persons more—love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself.
... Henry Drummond (1851-1897)
(see the book; see also Luke 6:35; more at Goodness, Growth, Love, Sadness, Unselfish)
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945
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, June 7, 2026
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, June 8, 2026
Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711
Commemoration of Roland Allen, Mission Strategist, 1947
We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.
... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Life and letters of Phillips Brooks, v. III, Alexander V. G. Allen, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1901, p. 502
(see the book; see also John 14:12; more at Achievement, Action, Greatness, Obedience)
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Feast of Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597
Commemoration of Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymnographer, Teacher, 373
We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.
... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 62
(see the book; see also Ps. 119:150-151; more at God, Prayer, Presence of God, Thought)
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Faith keeps the soul at a holy distance from these infinite depths of divine wisdom, where it profits more by reverence and holy fear than any can do by their utmost attempt to draw nigh to that inaccessible light wherein these glories of the divine nature do dwell.
... John Owen (1616-1683), A Discourse Concerning Holy Spirit, bk. VI-IX [1674], in Works of John Owen, v. IV, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 369
(see the book; see also Rev. 4:7-9; more at Faith, Fear, Holiness, Infinite, Light, Reverence, Soul, Wisdom)
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Feast of Barnabas the Apostle
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”And he replied:“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.”
... Minnie L. Haskins (1875-1957), from The Desert (privately printed c.1908), introduction, included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 92
(see the book; see also Ps. 16:11; Isa. 41:10; 59:1; Eph. 5:13-14; more at Darkness, Faith, God, Light, Safety, Way)
Friday, June 12, 2026
The Lord’s dealings and method with others are not our rule. It is the cause of much doubting and disquietness that persons, reading inattentively in books the Lord’s way to others, hence cut out this channel to themselves, and think, Thus and thus I must be dealt with, or else not at all.
... James Fraser of Brea (1639-1698), Select Biographies, v. II, W. K. Tweedie, ed., Ediburgh: The Wodrow Society, 1847, p. 270
(see the book; see also 2 Kings 5:11; Matt. 16:1-4; more at Attitudes, Book, Doubt, God, Thought, Way)
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Commemoration of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Apologist and Writer, 1936
Perhaps there cannot be a better way of judging of what manner of spirit we are of, than to see whether the actions of our life are such as we may safely commend them to God in our prayers.
... William Law (1686-1761), Christian Perfection [1726], London: W. Baynes, 1807, p. 78
(see the book; see also Job 35:12,13; Ps. 66:18; Prov. 15:8; Zech. 7:12,13; Jas. 1:6,7; 4:3; more at Action, Judgment, Life, Prayer, Spirit)
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Commemoration of Richard Baxter, Priest, Hymnographer, Teacher, 1691
In short: in all his ways and walks, whether as touching his own business, or his dealings with other men, he must keep his heart with all diligence, lest he do aught, or turn aside to aught, or suffer aught to spring up or dwell within him or about him, or let anything be done in him or through him, otherwise than were meet for God, and would be possible and seemly if God Himself were verily made Man.
... Theologia Germanica [1518], Anonymous, ascribed to Johannes de Francfordia, (1380?-1440) & Susanna Winkworth, tr., published anonymously by Martin Luther, ch. LII
(see the book; see also Heb. 4:15; more at Authenticity, Diligence, God, Heart, Man, Way)
Monday, June 15, 2026
Feast of Evelyn Underhill, Mystical Writer, 1941
If ‘religion’ is understood... as man’s search for God on man’s own terms, as his effort to make some kind of adjustment to the ‘ground of being’ on a level less radical than that of the self-forgetful commitment of faith, it clearly can become faith’s greatest enemy, the last bastion of human pride to hold out against God. The experience of the Jews in relation to Jesus, and of the churches throughout the ages, demonstrates that this is the most persistent and far-reaching temptation which confronts men. To call attention to this is always an urgently necessary part of the prophetic ministry within the Church.
... Daniel Jenkins (1914-2002), “Religion and Coming of Age”, in The Honest to God Debate, David L. Edwards, ed., London, SCM Press, 1963, p. 210
(see the book; see also Matt. 23:37,38; more at Church, Enemy, Faith, Jesus, Minister, Pride, Prophecy, Religion, Temptation)
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Feast of Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253
Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Moral Philosopher, 1752
More things are wrought by prayerThan this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voiceRise like a fountain for me night and day.For what are men better than sheep or goatsThat nourish a blind life within the brain,If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayerBoth for themselves and those who call them friend?For so the whole round earth is every wayBound by gold chains about the feet of God.
... Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), The Works of Tennyson, London: Macmillan, 1913, p. 465
(see the book; see also Ps. 141:2; more at Day, Earth, Friend, God, Knowing God, Night, Prayer)
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936
It is as reasonable to suppose it the desire of all Christians to arrive at Christian Perfection, as to suppose, that all sick men desire to be restored to perfect health; yet experience shows us, that nothing wants more to be pressed, repeated, and forced upon our minds, than the plainest rules of Christianity.
... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 481
(see the book; see also Gen. 17:1; Matt. 5:48; more at Health, Perfection, Rule, Sickness, Weakness)
Thursday, June 18, 2026
The purifying worth of prayer consists in the increasing contrast which it sets up between the holy God and the creature; subordinating that creature’s fugitive activities and desires to the standard set by this solemn apprehension of Reality.
... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Golden Sequence, Dutton, 1933, p. 104
(see the book; see also 2 Cor. 5:18-21; more at God, Holiness, Prayer, Purity, Sight)
Friday, June 19, 2026
Commemoration of Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu, Evangelist, Teacher, 1929
The doctrine of justification by faith—a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort—has in our times fallen into evil company and has been interpreted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be “received” without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is “saved,” but he is not hungry or thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His Word.
... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 12
(see the book; see also Matt. 5:6; 7:9,10; Rom. 3:20; more at Christ, Conversion, Faith, Justification, Knowing God, Legalism, Morality, Search, Wonder)
Saturday, June 20, 2026
I will not judge a person to be spiritually dead whom I have judged formerly to have had spiritual life, though I see him at present in a swoon as to all evidences of the spiritual life. And the reason why I will not judge him so is this,—because if you judge a person dead, you neglect him, you leave him; but if you judge him in a swoon, though never so dangerous, you use all means for the retrieving of his life.
... John Owen (1616-1683), “Several Practical Cases of Conscience Resolved” [1721], in Works of John Owen, v. IX, New York: R. Carter, 1851, Discourse IX, p. 388
(see the book; see also Mark 4:9; 1 John 2:15; more at Danger, Death, Judgment, Life, Neglect, Spiritual life, Weakness)
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Let a clergyman but intend to please God in all his actions, as the happiest and best thing in the world, and then he will know, that there is nothing noble in a clergyman but a burning zeal for the salvation of souls; nor anything poorer in his profession [than] idleness and a worldly spirit.
... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 19
(see the book; see also Matt. 12:35-37; Jas. 5:19,20; more at Church, Enlighten, Minister, Salvation, Worldly)
Monday, June 22, 2026
Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209
Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I’ve no time to beA saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee,Or dreaming in the dawn-light, or storming Heaven’s gates,Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.
Although I must have Martha’s hands, I have a Mary mind,And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord, I find.I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor:Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven’t time for more.
Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace;Forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease.Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea,Accept this service that I do—I do it unto Thee.
... Cecily Hallack (1898-1938), attributed, in The Missionary Review of the World, v. LIII, Missionary Review Publishing Co., Inc., 1930, p. 771
(see the book; see also Luke 10:38-42; more at Obedience)
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Feast of Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, c.678
In several striking cases of conversion I have studied, those in need were inspired and affected, not merely by the kindness of an individual... but by the love and sympathy of the Church as a whole... Examples could be multiplied. This type of service is a great witness to the reality of Christian life and faith; but it presupposes a spirit of fellowship within the Church, a spirit which is all too rare. It means that there is mutual respect and trust between the minister and the members of his Church; and a spirit of fellowship which is outward-looking and which issues in service.
... Owen Brandon, The Battle for the Soul: Aspects of Religious Conversion, Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1959, p. 45-46
(see the book; see also Phil. 2:1,2; more at Church, Conversion, Faith, Fellowship, Inspiration, Kindness, Love, Need, Service, Spirit, Sympathy, Witness)
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist
Now this is the ground and original of the Spirit of Love in the creature, it is and must be a will to all goodness; and you have not the Spirit of Love in you till you have this will to all goodness at all times and on all occasions. You may indeed do many works of love and delight in them, especially at such times as they are not inconvenient to your state or temper or occurrences in life. But the Spirit of Love is not in you till it is the spirit of your life, till you live freely, willingly, and universally according to it.
... William Law (1686-1761), The Spirit of Love [1752-4], in Works of Rev. William Law, v. VIII, London: G. Moreton, 1893, p. 4
(see the book; see also 2 Tim. 1:7; more at Freedom, Goodness, Life, Love, Spirit, Work)
Thursday, June 25, 2026
All love, in general, hath an assimilating efficacy; it casts the mind into the mould of the thing beloved... Every approach unto God by ardent love and delight is transfiguring.
... John Owen (1616-1683), V.1 in A Discourse Concerning Holy Spirit, bk. I-V [1674], in Works of John Owen, v. III, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 585
(see the book; see also Ps. 30:4; 40:8; Zech. 9:17; more at God, Happiness, Love, Mind)
Friday, June 26, 2026
God’s care is more evident in some instances of [His providence] than in others to the dim and often bewildered vision of humanity. Upon such instances men seize and call them providences. It is well that they can; but it would be gloriously better if they could believe that the whole matter is one grand providence.
... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, v. I [1867], London: Strahan & Co., 1873, p. 17
(see the book; more at Providence)
Saturday, June 27, 2026
If man is man and God is God, to live without prayer is not merely an awful thing: it is an infinitely foolish thing.
... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Addresses, Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895, p. 138
(see the book; see also Luke 12:16-21; Ps. 14:1; Prov. 14:16; 1 Thess. 5:17; more at Folly, God, Man, Prayer)
Sunday, June 28, 2026
Feast of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200
1. When there is a want of brotherly love and Christian confidence among professors of religion, then a revival is needed. Then there is a loud call for God to revive his work. When Christians have sunk down into a low and backslidden state, they neither have, nor ought to have, nor is there reason to have, the same love and confidence toward each other, as when they are all alive, and active, and living holy lives...2. When there are dissensions, and jealousies, and evil speakings among professors of religion, then there is great need of a revival. These things show that Christians have got far from God, and it is time to think earnestly of a revival. Religion cannot prosper with such things in the church, and nothing can put an end to them like a revival.3. When there is a worldly spirit in the church: it is manifest that the church is sunk down into a low and backslidden state, when you see Christians conform to the world in dress, equipage, parties, seeking worldly amusements, reading novels and other books such as the world reads. It shows that they are far from God, and that there is a great need of a Revival of Religion. [Continued tomorrow]
... Charles G. Finney (1792-1875), Lectures on Revivals of Religion, New York: Leavitt, Lord & Co., 1835, p. 21-22
(see the book; see also Ps. 22:29-31; 85:6; Zech. 8:20; more at Church)
Monday, June 29, 2026
Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles
[Continued from yesterday]4. When the church finds its members falling into gross and scandalous sins, then it is time for the church to awake and cry to God for a Revival of Religion. When such things are taking place as give enemies of religion an occasion for reproach, it is time for the church to ask God, “What will become of Thy great name?”5. When there is a spirit of controversy in the church or in the land, a revival is needful. The spirit of religion is not the spirit of controversy. There can be no prosperity in religion, where the spirit of controversy prevails.6. When the wicked triumph over the church, and revile them, it is time to seek for a Revival of Religion.7. When sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city. The church ought to put out the fires of hell which are laying hold of the wicked. Sleep! Should the firemen sleep, and let the whole city burn down, what would be thought of such firemen? And yet their guilt would not compare with the guilt of Christians who sleep while sinners around them are sinking stupid into the fires of hell.
... Charles G. Finney (1792-1875), Lectures on Revivals of Religion, New York: Leavitt, Lord & Co., 1835, p. 22-23
(see the book; see also Ps. 85:6; more at Church)
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
God generally gives spiritual Blessings and Deliverances as He does temporal; that is, by the Mediation of an active and a vigorous Industry. The Fruits of the Earth are the Gift of God, and we pray for them as such; but yet we plant, and we sow, and we plow, for all that; and the Hands which are sometimes lift up in Prayer must at other times be put to the Plow, or the Husbandman must expect no Crop. Every Thing must be effected in the Way proper to its Nature, with the concurrent Influence of the divine Grace, not to supersede the Means, but to prosper and make them effectual.
... Robert South (1634-1716), Twelve Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions, v. VI [1692], London: J. Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, 1727, p. 361
(see the book; see also Gen. 3:17-19; more at Blessing, Earth, Gifts, God, Grace, Industry, Prayer, Prosperity, Sow)
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