The Christian Quotation of the Day

Law: Creation's law and order

2026-11-12T23:00:58.927-06:00

Friday, November 13, 2026
    Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
    —Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The one supreme, unchangeable rule of love, which is a law to all intelligent beings of all worlds, and will be a law to all eternity is this, viz., that God alone is to be loved for himself, and all other beings only in him and for him. Whatever intelligent creature lives not under this rule of love, is so far fallen from the order of his creation, and is, till he returns to his eternal law of love, an apostate from God, and incapable of the kingdom of heaven.
    Now if God alone is to be loved for himself, then no creature is to be loved for itself; and so all self-love in every creature is absolutely condemned.
    And if all created beings are only to be loved in and for God, then my neighbour is to be loved, as I love myself, and I am only to love myself, as I love my neighbour, or any other created being, that is, only in and for God.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), The Spirit of Prayer [1749], London: E. Justins for Ogles, Duncan, and Cochran, 1816, p. 74 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 22:37-39; Deut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6; Lev. 19:18; Mark 12:29-33; Luke 10:27; 1 John 5:2-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant in my heart the love You have for my neighbor. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Moffatt: writings about the new covenant

2026-11-11T23:00:54.170-06:00

Thursday, November 12, 2026
Meditation:
    Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 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. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
    —Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV)
Quotation:
    In the communities of the faithful, men had to impress upon themselves and upon others what Jesus said and did, for the more convinced they were that he was neither a Jewish pretender nor an unsubstantial deity like one of the deities of the cults, the more urgent it was for them to recall that his words were the rule of their life, and that his actions in history had created their position in the world; they had to think out their faith, to state it against outside criticism, and to teach it within their own circle, instead of being content with it as a mere emotion; they had also to refresh their courage by anticipating the future, which they believed was in the hands of their Lord... The common basis of their life was the conviction that they enjoyed a new relationship with God, for which they were indebted to Jesus. The technical term for this relationship was “covenant,” and “covenant” became eventually in their vocabulary “testament.” Hence the later name for these writings of the church, when gathered into a sacred collection, was “The New Testament”—New because the older relationship of God to his people, which had obtained under Judaism with its Old Testament, was superseded by the faith and fellowship which Jesus Christ his Son had inaugurated. It was the consciousness of this that inspired the early Christians to live, and to write about the origin and applications of this new life. They wrote for their own age, without a thought of posterity, and they did not write in unison but in harmony.
    ... James Moffatt (1870-1944), A New Translation of the Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1935, New York: Harper, 1935, Introduction, p. xxii (see the book)
    See also Jer. 31:31-34; 32:40; Rom. 8:2-4; 11:27; 2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10; 10:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank You for sending Your word to Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: bringing sin to the light

2026-11-10T23:00:36.531-06:00

Wednesday, November 11, 2026
    Feast of Martin, Monk, Bishop of Tours, 397
Meditation:
    You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
    —1 John 4:4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The heart of man is revealed in temptation. Man knows his sin, which without temptation he could never have known; for in temptation man knows on what he has set his heart. The coming to light of sin is the work of the accuser, who thereby thinks to have won the victory. But it is sin which is become manifest which can be known and therefore forgiven. Thus the manifestation of sin belongs to the salvation plan of God with man, and Satan must serve this plan.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Temptation, London: SCM Press, 1955, p. 29 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 4:4; 2 Chr. 32:31; Ps. 139:23-24; Jer. 17:9-10; Heb. 4:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, forgive me, a sinner. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Eckhart: Seeking God for profit

2026-11-09T23:00:52.350-06:00

Tuesday, November 10, 2026
    Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
    —Luke 12:28-31 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Whoso goes seeking God and seeking aught with God does not find God; but he who seeks God by himself in truth does not find God alone: all God affords he finds, as well as God. Art thou looking for God, seeking God with a view to thy personal good, thy personal profit? Then in truth thou art not seeking God.
    ... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Works of Meister Eckhart, London: J. M. Watkins, 1924, p. 42 (see the book)
    See also Luke 12:28-31; Matt. 6:30-34; 7:7; Luke 11:9; John 6:27; Acts 17:27
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, cleanse and purify my motives. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Barclay: Who is using whom?

2026-11-08T23:00:08.820-06:00

Monday, November 9, 2026
    Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433
Meditation:
    When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
    —John 6:14-15 (ESV)
Quotation:
    That crowd of Jews would have followed Christ at that moment because He was giving them what they wanted [bread], and they wished to use Him for their plans and dreams and purposes. That attitude to Christ still lingers in men’s minds. We would like Christ’s gifts without Christ’s Cross; we would like to use Christ instead of allowing Him to use us.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Gospel of John, v. 1, Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1965, p. 210 (see the book)
    See also John 6:14-15; Matt. 20:21-22; Mark 10:35-38; Luke 22:24-26; John 7:3-6; Rom. 12:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are King in my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Chesterton: a single sword

2026-11-07T23:00:08.342-06:00

Sunday, November 8, 2026
    Feast of Saints & Martyrs of England
Meditation:
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.
    —Psalm 34:6-7 (ESV)
Quotation:
O God of earth and altar,
    Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
    Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
    The swords of scorn divide,
Take not Thy thunder from us,
    But take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches,
    From lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches
    That comfort cruel men,
From sale and profanation
    Of honor and the sword,
From sleep and from damnation,
    Deliver us, good Lord.

Tie in a living tether
    The prince and priest and thrall,
Bind all our lives together,
    Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
    Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
    A single sword to T hee.
    ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), [1907] The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, v. X, Ignatius Press, 1994, p. 141 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 34:6-7; Rom. 8:35-39; Eph. 6:14-18; Heb. 4:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant us peace.

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Woolman: the progress of wealth

2026-11-06T23:00:31.412-06:00

Saturday, November 7, 2026
    Feast of Willibrord of York, Archbishop of Utrecht, Apostle of Frisia, 739
Meditation:
    But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
    —1 Timothy 6:6-9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I saw that a humble man, with the blessing of the Lord, might live on a little; and that where the heart is set on greatness, success in business did not satisfy the craving, but that commonly with an increase of wealth, the desire of wealth increased.
    ... John Woolman (1720-1772), The Works of John Woolman, Philadelphia: Benjamin & Jacob Johnson, 1800, p. 25 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 6:6-9; Matt. 6:19-21; 16:26; 18:1-4; Luke 12:15; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; Jas. 5:1-5; 1 John 3:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Teach me, Lord, to be content with Your provisions. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Temple: hope in the Spirit

2026-11-05T23:00:45.380-06:00

Friday, November 6, 2026
    Feast of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1944
Meditation:
    For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
    —Romans 15:8-9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    There is no hope of establishing a more Christian social order except through the labour and sacrifice of those in whom the Spirit of Christ is active.
    ... William Temple (1881-1944), Christianity and Social Order, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1942, p. 100 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 15:8-9; Ps. 18:49; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 3:10-11; 6:12-13; Tit. 3:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me an instrument of Your will for my society. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: self-promotion

2026-11-04T23:00:37.140-06:00

Thursday, November 5, 2026
Meditation:
    But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
    —2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The self-sins... dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 42 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Matt. 7:15; 23:27-28; Rom. 2:17-24; 1 Cor. 10:32-33; Gal. 6:3; Tit. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant us all the wisdom and discernment to turn away from false teachers. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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M'Intyre: on the image of God

2026-11-03T23:00:52.104-06:00

Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Meditation:
    ... then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
    —Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When He fashioned man, the Deity breathed into the human form the divine life, “and man became a living soul.” Man is created to be a witness and likeness of God. God and man are so near to one another that it was possible for the Eternal Word to become Man without ceasing to be God, to re-ascend to the Highest without dehumanizing the Manhood which He had assumed; so near that the believer may say in the fullest meaning of the words, “I live, yet not I, but Christ.”
    ... David M. M’Intyre (1859-1938), Faith’s Title Deeds, London: Morgan & Scott, 1924, p. 20 (see the book)
    See also Gen. 2:7; 1:26-27; John 1:1-14; Gal. 2:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Christ, You are the Eternal Man. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hooker: the real presence

2026-11-02T23:00:06.298-06:00

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

2026-11-01T23:00:06.617-06:00

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

2026-10-31T23:00:53.149-05:00

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

2026-10-30T23:00:35.731-05:00

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

2026-10-29T23:00:06.073-05:00

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

2026-10-28T23:00:34.719-05:00

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

2026-10-27T23:00:06.636-05:00

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

2026-10-26T23:00:43.205-05:00

Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Meditation:
    Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
    —James 4:9-10 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious of our faults that we are the most wicked: on the contrary, we are less so. We see by a brighter light. And let us remember, for our consolation, that we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.
    ... François Fénelon (1651-1715), Selections from Fénelon, ed. Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston: Roberts Bros., 1879, p. 158 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 4:9-10; Ps. 6:1-2; Isa. 9:1-2; 2 Cor. 4:8-9; 12:9-10; Heb. 12:3-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me to know my sin. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brunner: is man's place in nature?

2026-10-25T23:00:43.886-05:00

Monday, October 26, 2026
    Feast of Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, Scholar, 899
    Commemoration of Cedd, Founding Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons, 664
Meditation:
    Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
    —1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (ESV)
Quotation:
    In quite recent times we seem to have entered a particularly dangerous new phase of anthropological aberration, namely, a queer combination of nihilism and deification. Theoretically, man is said to be nothing but an animal with a highly developed cerebrum. At the same time, it is believed of this man that he is capable by science and technical devices of achieving whatever he wants. The deification which might have been thought to be finally overcome, returns as it were from behind, in the form of a deification of technical creativity to which not much less than omnipotence is ascribed. After mankind has done away with the pseudo-religion of race and blood, it is faced with the even greater danger of a technocratical pseudo-religion. There is no room for human personality, freedom and justice in either of these new religions of divine man. But the most dangerous of all must be the one which makes man at the same time nothing and God.
    ... Emil Brunner (1889-1966), The Scandal of Christianity, London: SCM Press, 1951, reprint, John Knox Press, 1965, p. 70 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 3:18-20; Pr. 3:5,7; 26:12; Isa. 5:21; 44:24-26; Rom. 1:21-23; 1 Cor. 1:19-21; 2:6; 8:2; Gal. 6:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You truly show man’s wisdom to be foolishness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Mascall: the definitive miracle

2026-10-24T23:00:17.048-05:00

Sunday, October 25, 2026
    Commemoration of Crispin & Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, c.285
Meditation:
    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
    —John 3:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If we are prepared to admit, even as a possibility, that Jesus was divine, or even that without being divine he was unique, then we must, as a matter of logic, discard any attempt to discredit the Gospel accounts on the ground that they record abnormal occurrences [i.e. miracles].
    ... E. L. Mascall (1905-1993), The Secularization of Christianity, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1966, p. 211-212 (see the book)
    See also John 3:18,21; 5:19; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49-50
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Jesus, You are the greatest of the Father’s miracles. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Coleridge: Eternal transformation

2026-10-23T23:00:37.517-05:00

Saturday, October 24, 2026
Meditation:
    Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
    —Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)
Quotation:
God’s child in Christ adopted—Christ my all—
What that earth boasts were not lost cheaply, rather
Than forfeit that blest name, by which I call
The Holy One, the Almighty God, my Father?—
Father! in Christ we live, and Christ in Thee—
Eternal Thou and everlasting we.
The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not death:
In Christ I live! in Christ I draw the breath
Of the true life!—let then earth, sea, and sky
Make war against me! On my heart I show
Their mighty Master’s seal. In vain they try
To end my life, that can but end its woe.—
Is that a death-bed where a Christian lies?
Yes, but not his—’tis Death itself there dies.
    ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), The Poetical Works of S. T. Coleridge, v. II, London: W. Pickering, 1835, p. 151 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:1-2; Matt. 5:44-45; Luke 20:35-36; Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:51-57; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, release me from the fear of death. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Rutherford: the furnace

2026-10-22T23:00:53.459-05:00

Friday, October 23, 2026
Meditation:
    Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
    —Romans 8:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I am glad ye have been acquainted from your youth with the wrestlings of God, being cast from furnace to furnace, knowing if you were not dear to God, and if your health did not require so much of him, he would not spend so much physic upon you. All the brethren and sisters of Christ must be conformed to his image in suffering, Rom. 8:17, and some do more clearly resemble the copy than others.
    ... Samuel Rutherford (1600-1664), Letters of Samuel Rutherford, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1848, letter, Jan. 15, 1629, p. 8 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:17; Deut. 4:20; Isa. 48:10; Mal. 3:2; Matt. 16:24; Luke 24:26; Acts 14:21-22; Phil. 1:29-30; 2 Tim. 2:10-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have transformed my misfortunes into blessings, as only You can. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Trueblood: new temple, old idol

2026-10-21T23:00:52.574-05:00

Thursday, October 22, 2026
Meditation:
    [Paul to the Athenians:] “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
    —Acts 17:24-25 (ESV)
Quotation:
    In some communities there remains, as a vestige of a false conception of the church building, a resistance to the sale and purchase of books on a table... anywhere on the premises. When this position is expressed, it must be attacked directly and unapologetically, because it represents a genuine evil, ... the idolatry of bricks and mortar, a heresy specifically undermined by the Apostle Paul in Athens when he said, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man” (Acts 17:24). The notion that it is perfectly all right to sell a New Testament in the department store on Monday, but that it is wrong to sell it in the meetinghouse on Sunday, represents a confusion so great that it is truly appalling.
    As Christians, we believe in the Real Presence, but it is a severe denial of the divine power to claim that this Presence is limited geographically. If, in a building dedicated to worship, a seeker buys a book on Sunday morning and his life is deepened in consequence, the only important thing to say is that the Gospel has thereby been preached, and this is one of the major tasks of the Church.
    ... Elton Trueblood (1900-1994), The Incendiary Fellowship, New York: Harper, 1967, p. 64-65 (see the book)
    See also Acts 17:24-25; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chr. 2:6; 6:18; John 4:22-23; Acts 7:48-50
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your Spirit to remind me of Your Presence in all things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: the waste of misdirection

2026-10-20T23:00:08.675-05:00

Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Meditation:
    And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
    —Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When we look at the history of the Church, at the reckless fashion in which we have squandered our strength and time in fratricidal struggles between sect and sect, in embittered bickerings over matters often of secondary moment, while the world about us lies unwon, and the Church’s great commission remains plainly unfulfilled, surely we can understand that outburst of Erasmus, when he cried that he wished that we would cease from our disputings altogether, and put all that energy and zeal that we are wasting upon them into the carrying of the Gospel to the heathen! Or recall the infinite pains that have been taken, down the centuries, to preserve minute orthodoxy in all points of mental belief while ugly evils flaunt along the streets and are accepted meekly as part of the makeup of things! Or recollect how easy it is to assume that we, ourselves, are Christian people. Why? Oh, well, just the usual reasons: we say our prayers, when we are not too sleepy; and we come to church, when there is nothing much to do; and so, of course, there is no doubt of it, although our tempers may remain uncurbed, and our characters are not the least like Jesus Christ’s, nor growing any nearer it! Do we not need that solemn warning that Christ gives us when He tells us bluntly that many people lose their lives and souls, because they are always laying the emphasis and stress on the wrong points?
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), The Galilean Accent, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1926, p. 236-237 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 1:9-11; Matt. 23:13; Rom. 2:17-21; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:14,16; 4:3-4; Tit. 1:13-14; 2 Pet. 1:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to use Your gifts to Your glory and to the benefit of Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kraemer: the Church belongs to Christ

2026-10-19T23:00:54.296-05:00

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Meditation:
    ... for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
    —Acts 20:27-31 (ESV)
Quotation:
    By God’s grace we live in a time of rediscovery of the Church and of the wholeness of the Church. We see more clearly than often has been the case that ecclesiology and christology are one. The ekklesia, the community of believers, has as its first and foremost qualification that it is that community which, as community, belongs to Christ and is in Christ, and as such is the sphere of God’s salvation, redemption and reconciliation and of Christ’s rulership. This is the archetypal reality of the Church. To see and seize this essential point is a great blessing. This blessing, however, could as well become a curse, if it remained a theme of theological meditation and self-contemplation. This new knowledge is not real knowledge, if it is not accompanied by a horror about the alienation of the empirical Church from its own fundamental reality and by a deep longing for a tangible manifestation of the Church’s true na ture. This horror and this longing are the deeper motives which are operating in many of the events and passionate discussions around the place and responsibility of the laity as an organic part of the Church.
    ... Hendrik Kraemer (1888-1965), A Theology of the Laity, London: Lutterworth Press, 1958, p. 100 (see the book)
    See also Acts 20:27-31; Isa. 46:9-11; Matt. 28:19-20; John 15:15; 2 Cor. 5:17; 11:3; Rev. 3:1-2,14-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, quicken Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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