The Christian Quotation of the Day

de Sales: patience

2026-05-15T23:00:07.790-05:00

Saturday, May 16, 2026
    Commemoration of Caroline Chisholm, Social Reformer, 1877
Meditation:
    Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
    —Romans 15:2-3 (ESV)
Quotation:
    A really patient servant of God is as ready to bear inglorious troubles as those which are honorable. A brave man can easily bear with contempt, slander, and false accusations from an evil world; but to bear such injustice at the hands of good men, of friends and relations, is a great test of patience.
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622), Introduction to the Devout Life [1609], London: Rivingtons, 1876, III.iii, p. 137 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 15:2-3; Ps. 119:86; Matt. 5:10-12; Rom. 5:7-8; Jas. 5:10-11; 1 Pet. 2:19-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I fail in patience. Send Your Spirit to instruct me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Paton: God's will in Christian missions

2026-05-14T23:00:30.273-05:00

Friday, May 15, 2026
    Commemoration of Charles Williams, Spiritual Writer, 1945
Meditation:
    This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
    —Ephesians 3:12 (ESV)
Quotation:
    [Continued from yesterday]
    The Christian Mission is thus anchored in dogma, is a result of what ordinary Christians believe. It is God’s plan, God’s activity; but because God became man and took up manhood into Himself, it is God’s will embodied in active obedience on the part of the Christian individual, the Christian group within the Church, and the Christian Church as a whole—we are all involved in it, all of us, in our various callings.
    ... David M. Paton (1913-1992), Christian Missions and the Judgment of God, London: SCM Press, 1953, p. 11 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 3:12; Rom. 5:1-2; Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-22; 1 Thess. 4:13-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Show me what I must do, Lord, for _____ and _____, to bring them to knowledge of Your Kingdom. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Paton: the mystery of Christian missions

2026-05-13T23:00:50.223-05:00

Thursday, May 14, 2026
    Ascension
    Feast of Matthias the Apostle
Meditation:
    To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
    —Ephesians 3:8-11 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The Christian Mission is what the New Testament calls a ‘mystery’. It is what St. Paul calls the mystery—a secret hidden within God even before the creation of the world, but now made known to men and women of faith, whereby all nations are to be gathered up and presented to God through Jesus Christ. This gathering up takes place in the Church, the mystical Body of Christ. The mystery has been unfolded according to a divine plan; prepared by the vocation of the Jewish people; and substantially realized by the mission of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, who by His Ascension introduced human nature for all eternity into the sphere of the life of the Divine Trinity: and this plan is to be accomplished among the various peoples of the world, during the time between Pentecost and the Second Coming. [Continued tomorrow]
    ... David M. Paton (1913-1992), Christian Missions and the Judgment of God, London: SCM Press, 1953, p. 11 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 3:8-11; Matt. 13:11; Rom. 16:25-26; 1 Cor. 2:7-10; Col. 1:26-29
Quiet time reflection:
    I bow before Your divine plan, Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brooks: following their examples

2026-05-12T23:00:38.464-05:00

Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Meditation:
    Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
    —Philippians 4:8-9 (KJV)
Quotation:
    You go to your saint and find God working and manifest in him. He got near to God by some saint of his that went before him, or that stood beside him, in whom he saw the divine presence. That saint again lighted his fire at some flame before him; and so the power of the sainthoods animates and fills the world.
    ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Sermons, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1878, p. 122 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 4:8-9; 1 Cor. 10:31-33; 11:1; Phil. 3:17; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 4:1-8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank you for the saints who came before, that You used them to show us the right way. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: solitude

2026-05-11T23:00:07.624-05:00

Tuesday, May 12, 2026
    Commemoration of Aiden Wilson Tozer, Spiritual Writer, 1963
Meditation:
    Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.
    —Psalm 4:4 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength, before going out to face the world again.
    “The thoughtful soul to solitude retires,” said the poet * of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? ... “Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still,” is a wise and healing counsel; but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and the television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. What was intended to be a blessing has become a positive curse. No spot is now safe from the world’s intrusion...
    The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. What the world will do about it is their problem. Apparently the masses want it the way it is, and the majority of Christians are so completely conformed to this present age that they, too, want things the way they are. They may be annoyed a bit by the clamor and by the goldfish-bowl existence they live, but apparently they are not annoyed enough to do anything about it.
* from Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, stanza IV
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), Of God and Men, Harrisburg, Penn.: Christian Publications, Inc., 1960, p. 103,105 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 4:4; 46:10; Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13; Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42; 6:12; John 6:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me stillness, that I might hear You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Owen: a bad proof of rightness

2026-05-10T23:00:53.572-05:00

Monday, May 11, 2026
Meditation:
    Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
    —Romans 14:1-4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    I am persuaded that some have scarce any better or more forcible argument to satisfy their own minds that they are in the right in religion, than the inclination they find in themselves to hate and persecute them whom they suppose to be in the wrong.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), “Indulgence and Toleration Considered” [1667], in Works of John Owen, v. XIII, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 538 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 14:1-4; Isa. 40:11; Eze. 34:4; Rom. 14:21; 15:1,7; Zech. 11:16; Matt. 14:31; 18:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, allow me to see what others tolerate in me and give thanks for Your grace. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tournier: studying ourselves

2026-05-09T23:00:22.821-05:00

Sunday, May 10, 2026
Meditation:
    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
    —Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Every other creature in nature is simply itself, without this discord which is our constant lot. That is why we can study everything else in nature much more surely than we can study ourselves. With ourselves, all we have to go on is an occasional glimpse of some small part of the truth, and we must be content with that, knowing that we are truly known by Him who alone knows us.
    ... Paul Tournier (1898-1986), The Meaning of Persons, New York: Harper, 1957, p. 83 (see the book)
    See also Pr. 1:7; Ps. 71:6; 111:10; Pr. 9:10; Isa. 49:5; Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I trust You to know what is in all hearts. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Augustine: whose is truth?

2026-05-08T23:00:07.388-05:00

Saturday, May 9, 2026
Meditation:
    ... to [false brothers] we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
    —Galatians 2:5 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The truth is neither mine nor his nor another’s; but belongs to us all whom Thou callest to partake of it, warning us terribly, not to account it private to ourselves, lest we be deprived of it.
    ... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Confessions [397], Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1886, XII.xxv, p. 342 (see the book)
    See also Gal. 2:5; John 14:6; 1 Cor. 14:4; Gal. 4:16; Eph. 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:20-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Praise be to You, Lord, for Your truth that illuminates Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Juliana: prayer and trust

2026-05-07T23:00:07.460-05:00

Friday, May 8, 2026
    Feast of Juliana of Norwich, Mystic, Teacher, c.1417
    Commemoration of Dallas Willard, Teacher, Spiritual Writer, 2013
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
    —Luke 11:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This is our Lord’s will, that our prayer and our trust be both alike large. For if we do not trust as much as we pray, we fail in full worship to our Lord in our prayer; and also we hinder and hurt ourselves. The reason is that we do not know truly that our Lord is the ground from which our prayer springeth; nor do we know that it is given us by his grace and his love. If we knew this, it would make us trust to have of our Lord’s gifts all that we desire. For I am sure that no man asketh mercy and grace with sincerity, without mercy and grace being given to him first.
    ... Juliana of Norwich (1342?-1417), Revelations of Divine Love, Grace Harriet Warrack, ed., Methuen, 1901, ch. XLII (see the book)
    See also Luke 11:11-13; Ps. 4:5; 73:26; 142:5; Pr. 3:5; Lam. 3:24; Matt. 7:7-11; John 4:10; 7:37-39; 14:13; 16:23-24; Jas. 1:5; 1 John 5:14-15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, show me the way of perfect trust. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tauler: cold, modern hearts

2026-05-06T23:00:41.624-05:00

Thursday, May 7, 2026
Meditation:
    But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
    —1 Peter 4:13-14 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It is no longer the fashion to suffer for the sake of God, and to bear the Cross for Him; for the diligence and real earnestness, that perchance were found in man, have been extinguished and have grown cold; and now no one is willing any longer to suffer distress for the sake of God.
    ... Johannes Tauler (ca. 1300-1361), The Inner Way, Sermon XXII (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 4:13-14; Rom. 8:17; Phil. 3:10-11; Col. 1:24; 1 Pet. 5:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, place Your holy fire in my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Milford: ultimate hope

2026-05-05T23:00:26.017-05:00

Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Meditation:
    For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
    —1 Peter 4:17-19 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Christians must learn again what Christians have always known—how to live without immediate hopes in the world.
    ... T. R. Milford (1895-1987), quoted in Christian Missions and the Judgment of God, David M. Paton, London: SCM Press, 1953, p. 57 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 4:17-19; Jer. 49:12; Matt. 3:9-10; Luke 12:47-48; 1 Tim. 6:17; 1 John 2:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, my hope is in You alone. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: what to look for in Scripture

2026-05-04T23:00:05.909-05:00

Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Meditation:
    I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
    —2 Timothy 4:1-4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It is Truth which we must look for in Holy Writ, not cunning of words. All Scripture ought to be read in the spirit in which it was written. We must rather seek for what is profitable in Scripture, than for what ministereth to subtlety in discourse.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.v.1, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 4:1-4; Ps. 19:8; 119:105; Pr. 6:23; John 8:45; 1 Cor. 2:4; Col. 1:28-29; 1 Thess. 5:20; 2 Pet. 1:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I never win an argument at the risk of wounding a soul. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Patmore: all that God can give

2026-05-03T23:00:40.886-05:00

Monday, May 4, 2026
    Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
    —John 15:13 (KJV)
Quotation:
    To love another as oneself is only the halfway house to Heaven, though it seems as far as it was prudent to bid man go. The “greater love than this” of which our Lord speaks, though He does not command it, is to give oneself for one’s friends. And when one does this, or is ready to do this, prayer even for “us” seems too selfish—and it is unnecessary, for we then possess all that God Himself can give us. The easy renunciation of self for the Beloved becomes the very breath of life.
    ... Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), Memoirs and Correspondence of Coventry Patmore, v. II, London: George Bell & Sons, 1900, p. 88 (see the book)
    See also John 15:13; Lev. 19:18; John 10:11-15; Rom. 5:6-8; Eph. 5:1-2; 1 John 4:7-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I might know the reality of sacrifice for the Body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brunner: utopianism vs. hope

2026-05-02T23:00:08.824-05:00

Sunday, May 3, 2026
Meditation:
    But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you...
    —1 Peter 3:14-15 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Utopias of historical progress cannot seduce those who believe in Christ. Utopias are the straws to which those cling who have no real hope; utopias are as unattractive as they are incredible, for those who know what real hope is. Utopias are not a consequence of true hope but a poor substitute for it and therefore a hindrance and not a help. The hope that is in Jesus Christ is different from all utopias of universal progress. It is based on the revelation of the crucified one. It is, therefore, not an uncertain speculation about the future but a certainty based upon what God has already revealed. One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without knowing for certain that God’s victory over all powers of destruction, including death, is the end towards which the time process moves as its own end.
    ... Emil Brunner (1889-1966), The Scandal of Christianity, London: SCM Press, 1951, reprint, John Knox Press, 1965, p. 111 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 3:14-15; Col. 1:27; Tit. 1:1-2; Heb. 3:6; 6:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I partake in Your victory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Underhill: partaking of Christ's nature

2026-05-01T23:00:06.928-05:00

Saturday, May 2, 2026
    Feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher, 373
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”
    —Matthew 10:26-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Christian’s life is lived in the open, not in a pious cubby-hole. As Christ gives Himself to feed us, so we have to incarnate something of His all-loving, all-sacrificing soul. If we do not, then we have not really received Him. That is the plain truth. It has been said that there are many ways and degrees of receiving the Blessed Sacrament. It really depends on how wide we open our hearts. A spiritually selfish communion is not a communion at all.
    ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Light of Christ, New York: Longmans, Green, 1949, p. 89 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 10:26-27; Matt. 5:37; Acts 5:20; 2 Cor. 3:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I live to know and follow Your example. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Lubbock: goodness and pleasure

2026-04-30T23:00:55.132-05:00

Friday, May 1, 2026
    Feast of Philip & James, Apostles
Meditation:
    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
    —Philippians 4:4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Many worthy people, and many good books, with no doubt the best intentions, ... have represented a life of sin as a life of pleasure; they have pictured virtue as self-sacrifice, austerity as religion... Even in everyday life we meet with worthy people who seem to think that whatever is pleasant must be wrong, that the true spirit of religion is crabbed, sour, and gloomy; that the bright, sunny, radiant nature which surrounds us is an evil and not a blessing; a temptation devised by the Spirit of Evil and not one of the greatest delights showered on us in such profusion by the Author of all Good.
    ... Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913), The Use of Life, Macmillan & Co., 1894, p. 15 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 4:4; Matt. 6:16-18; Rom. 8:13; 12:12; Phil. 3;1; 1 Thess. 5:16-18
Quiet time reflection:
    Grant me a joyful heart, Lord, to give thanks for all the good things You give in life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Anselm: from grace to holiness

2026-04-29T23:00:42.663-05:00

Thursday, April 30, 2026
    Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
    —Luke 11:9-10 (ESV)
Quotation:
    O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart; that, so desiring, we may seek, and seeking find Thee; and so finding Thee may love Thee; and loving Thee, may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us.
    ... St. Anselm (1033-1109), included in The New Christian Year, Charles Williams, London: Oxford University Press, 1958, p. 44 (see the book)
    See also Luke 11:9-10; Ps. 27:8; 34:4; 105:3-4; Jas. 4:8; Rev. 3:20; 21:6; 22:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I found You, seeking me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Troutman: why we can pray

2026-04-28T23:00:52.797-05:00

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
    Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380
Meditation:
    For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
    —Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The criterion for our intercessory prayer is not our earnestness, nor our faithfulness, nor even our faith in God, but simply God Himself. He has taken the initiative from the beginning, and has built our prayers into the structure of the universe. He then asks us to present these requests to Him that He may show His gracious hand.
    ... Charles H. Troutman (1914-1990)
    See also Eph. 3:14-19; Ps. 38:9; Matt. 6:8,32; Luke 12:30; John 16:23-27; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; 1 John 5:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank you for being the Answer to prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Holland: untouched

2026-04-27T23:00:51.711-05:00

Tuesday, April 28, 2026
    Commemoration of Peter Chanel, Religious, Missionary in the South Pacific, Martyr, 1841
Meditation:
    ... We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.
    —1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    A man may carry the whole scheme of Christian truth in his mind from boyhood to old age without the slightest effect upon his character and aims... It has had less influence than the multiplication table.
    ... J. G. Holland (1819-1881), in an editorial entitled, “American Sunday-Schools”, Scribner’s Monthly, v. II, New York: Scribner & Co., 1871, p. 548 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 8:1-3; Pr. 26:12; Matt. 23:2-3,15,23; Rom. 1:22-26; Gal. 6:3; 1 Tim. 1:5-7; 6:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me the humility and wisdom to seek first the knowledge of You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Rossetti: Love is strong as death

2026-04-26T23:00:07.110-05:00

Monday, April 27, 2026
    Feast of Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894
Meditation:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
    He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
    for his name’s sake.
    —Psalm 23:1-3 (KJV)
Quotation:
Love is strong as death

“I have not sought Thee, I have not found Thee,
    I have not thirsted for Thee:
And now cold billows of death surround me,
Buffeting billows of death astound me,—
    Wilt Thou look upon, wilt Thou see
    Thy perishing me?”

“Yea, I have sought thee, yea, I have found thee,
    Yea, I have thirsted for thee,
Yea, long ago with love’s bands I bound thee:
Now the Everlasting Arms surround thee,
    Thro’ death’s darkness I look and see
    And clasp thee to Me.”
    ... Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), Christina Rossetti: the complete poems, London: Penguin Classics, 2001, p. 372 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 23; 22; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15-16; 4:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, without You, my case is hopeless; with You, I am safe.

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Steinmann: the Covenant of God for all men

2026-04-25T23:00:43.984-05:00

Sunday, April 26, 2026
Meditation:
    John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
    —Luke:3:16 (ESV)
Quotation:
    From his baptism until his return to Galilee, Jesus lived in the company of the disciples of the Baptist. It was there that he received the first public witness of his Messianic role and found his first followers. The gospel was to be rooted in John’s teaching of asceticism and regeneration. But we see from the start that the gospel of Jesus was to be quite different. To the baptism of water would be added the baptism of the Spirit, and the new message was to be addressed to all. The widening of the circle of hearers and converts, which had preoccupied John, ... was to expand still further with the gospel of Jesus. Of the hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Essenes only regarded as saved a few thousand elect. Jesus was soon to offer the Covenant of God to all men.
    ... Jean Steinmann (1911-1963), Saint John the Baptist, New York: Harper, 1958, p. 90 (see the book)
    See also Luke 3:16; Joel 2:28-29; Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:7-8; John 1:26,33; Acts 1:5; 11:16; 10:44; 11:15; 13:24-25; 1 Cor. 12:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, let the holy fire of Your Spirit cover me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Whittier: one fixed trust

2026-04-24T23:00:05.689-05:00

Saturday, April 25, 2026
    Feast of Mark the Evangelist
Meditation:
O taste and see that the LORD is good:
    blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
    —Psalm 34:8 (KJV)
Quotation:
I see the wrong that round me lies,
    I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
    The world confess its sin.

Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
    And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings;
    I know that God is good!
    ... John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), The Complete Poetical Works of Whittier, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1894, p. 442 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 34:8; 36:10; 52:1; 84:12; 1 John 4:7-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I have tasted Your goodness.

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MacDonald: the signs of His coming

2026-04-23T23:00:23.939-05:00

Friday, April 24, 2026
    Commemoration of Mellitus, First Bishop of London, 624
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
    —Matthew 24:44 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Do those who say, lo here, or lo there, are the signs of His coming, think to be too keen for Him, and spy His approach? When He tells them to watch lest He find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest He should succeed in coming like a thief!
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), “The Word of Jesus on Prayer”, in Unspoken Sermons, Second Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1886, p. 61-62 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 24:44; 25:13; Mark 13:33-36; Luke 12:35-40; 1 Thess. 5:1-2; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I should always be prepared to receive you. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Erasmus: where to write the Gospel

2026-04-22T23:00:21.469-05:00

Thursday, April 23, 2026
    Feast of George, Martyr, Patron of England, c.304
    Commemoration of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1988
Meditation:
    But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
    —Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV)
Quotation:
    You have... the Gospel written upon vellum; it deserv’d to be set with diamonds, except that the heart of a man were a fitter repository for it.
    ... Desiderius Erasmus (1466?-1536), The Colloquies of Erasmus, v. I, tr. N. Bailey & ed. E. Johnson, London: Reeves & Turner, 1878, p. 197 (see the book)
    See also Jer. 31:33; Deut. 30:6; Ps. 40:8; Eze. 11:19; 36:26; Rom. 2:15; 2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10; 10:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, there is nothing good in me save what You have placed there. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Chambers: drastic obedience

2026-04-21T23:00:50.603-05:00

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.”
    —John 9:4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God’s truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it... Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit when... five minutes of drastic obedience would make things clear as a sunbeam. [We say,] “I suppose I shall understand these things some day.” You can understand them now: it is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens up and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of being “wise and prudent.”
    ... Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), My Utmost for His Highest, Leicester: F.A. Thorpe, 1927, p. 284 (see the book)
    See also John 9:4; Ps. 119:100; Matt. 7:21-25; 11:25; 12:50; Luke 11:28; John 13:17; Acts 6:7; Jas. 1:22; 1 John 2:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I confess to wasting time on meaningless activities and hesitation. Grant me Your grace to focus my energies on following Your word and to let the rest go. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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