The Christian Quotation of the Day

Henry: the meaning of affliction

2026-05-28T23:00:06.174-05:00

Friday, May 29, 2026
Meditation:
    Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.
    —Job 5:17-18 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces.
    ... Matthew Henry (1662-1714), An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments [1828], Job 8, in loc. v. 1-7,II.2 (see the book)
    See also Job 5:17-18; 8:1-7; Matt. 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23; Rom. 8:18; Jas. 5:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your healing to my broken life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: true history

2026-05-27T23:00:06.808-05:00

Thursday, May 28, 2026
    Commemoration of Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1089
Meditation:
    In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
    —Ephesians 1:7-10 (ESV)
Quotation:
    What is the relation of a secular, this-worldly unification of mankind to the biblical promise of the summing up of all things in Christ? Is it a total contradiction of it? Is it some sort of a reflection of it? or perhaps a devil’s parody of it? Or has it nothing to do with it at all? Perhaps there will be many Christians to whom it would not occur to pose the question whether the process of secularization has anything to do with the biblical understanding of the goal of history. The Bible, for them, belongs to a religious world which is not admitted to belong to the world of secular events—the world in which we are when we read the daily newspaper. But this is to read the Bible wrongly. Whatever else it may be, the Bible is a secular book dealing with the sort of events which a news editor accepts for publication in a daily newspaper; it is concerned with secular events, wars, revolutions, enslavements and liberations, migrants and refugees, famines and epidemics and all the rest. It deals with events which happened and tells a story which can be checked... We miss this because we do not sufficiently treat the Bible as a whole. When we do this, we see at once that the Bible—whatever be the variety of material which it contains: poetry, prayers, legislation, genealogy, and all the rest—is in its main design a universal history. It is an interpretation of human history as a whole, beginning with a saga of creation and ending with a vision of the gathering together of all the nations and the consummation of God’s purpose for mankind. The Bible is an outline of world history.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), Honest Religion for Secular Man, London: SCM Press, 1966, p. 19-20 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 1:7-10; 2 Sam. 7:15-17; Isa. 11:1-4; Dan. 7:13-14; Zech. 12:8; Luke 1:31-33; Rom. 8:17-18; 1 Cor. 15:22-24; 2 Thess. 1:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I believe You, and I know that Your will shall prevail in all things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bell: human depravity

2026-05-26T23:00:56.356-05:00

Wednesday, May 27, 2026
    Commemoration of John Calvin, renewer of the Church, 1564
Meditation:
    You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
    —1 Corinthians 7:23-24 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Whenever man decides that he is competent to do as he pleases he is soon enjoying Hell on earth, partly because much of what he pleases, except he know he must obey God, is low-down disgusting and partly because, even when he pleases to do something decent, he is mostly too weak-willed and too addle-pated to bring the same to good effect. Man must be redeemed by a power outside himself... I do not regard the overdetermined “optimists” as silly; they seem to me only the victims of a wishful thinking which disregards plain facts.
    ... Bernard Iddings Bell (1886-1958), God is Not Dead, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945, p. xiv (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 7:23-24; Rom. 6:21; 7:5; 8:1,4-6; Eph. 5:3-5; Col. 3:5-6; Jas. 1:13-15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I rely on You for all goodness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: the soundbite world

2026-05-25T23:00:51.847-05:00

Tuesday, May 26, 2026
    Feast of Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605
    Commemoration of Arthur John Gossip, Spiritual Writer, 1954
Meditation:
    Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
    —1 Corinthians 2:6-8 (ESV)
Quotation:
    If people gathered to a political meeting, and the chief speaker spoke to them only for some quarter of an hour, they would be annoyed, would feel with some resentment that he had not taken them seriously, had dealt much too cavalierly with the question of the hour... But the things of the soul are far more momentous, and to be asked to deal with huge, unfathomable facts like the Cross in a few minutes, means that people are not really interested in these things. This is, of course, a snippety age, with a snippety press, and snippety novels. But must we preachers follow and be snippety, too?
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), In Christ’s Stead, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1925, p. 201-202 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 2:6-8; Ps. 78:1-3; Rom. 16:25-26; 2 Tim. 4:3-5; 1 Pet. 1:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank You for brevity when brevity is needed, and for fullness when that is needed. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Be Thou my vision

2026-05-24T23:00:37.676-05:00

Monday, May 25, 2026
    Feast of the Venerable Bede, Priest, Monk of Jarrow, Historian, 735
    Commemoration of Aldhelm, Abbot of Mamsbury, Bishop of Sherborne, 709
Meditation:
    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
    —James 3:17 (ESV)
Quotation:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save what Thou art:
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I need not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all!
    ... Anonymous, medieval Irish hymn, Eriu, Journal of the School of Irish Learning, v. 2-3, Kuno Meyer, John Strachan, Dublin: School of Irish Learning, 1905, p.90 (see the book)
    See also Jas. 3:17; Isa. 6:9-10; 9:2; 60:1-2; 61:1-3; John 1:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I see by Your light!

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Phillips: God's Living Spirit

2026-05-23T23:00:52.044-05:00

Sunday, May 24, 2026
    Pentecost
    Feast of John and Charles Wesley, Priests, Poets, Teachers, 1791 & 1788
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
    —Acts 1:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Every time we say, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit,’ we mean that we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality, and change it.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Plain Christianity, London: Macmillan, 1954, p. 70 (see the book)
    See also Acts 1:8; Ps. 51:10; Acts 2:4; Rom. 5:5; 8:13-14; 12:2; 1 Cor. 2:12; Col. 3:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Spirit of God, conform me to Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newton: preparation for joy

2026-05-22T23:00:06.515-05:00

Saturday, May 23, 2026
    Commemoration of Petroc, Abbot of Padstow, 6th century
Meditation:
    So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated.
    —2 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)
Quotation:
    God often takes a course for accomplishing His purposes directly contrary to what our narrow views would prescribe. He ... brings a death upon our feelings, wishes and prospects when He is about to give us the desire of our hearts.
    ... John Newton (1725-1807), in a letter, 1777, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, v. I, New York: Williams and Whiting, 1810, p. 593-594 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Rom. 8:13-14; Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 3:3-4; 1 Pet. 1:17-19; Rev. 2:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I rest in the hope of joy. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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O'Donovan: shared life

2026-05-22T00:57:22.675-05:00

Friday, May 22, 2026
Meditation:
    ... But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
    —1 Corinthians 12:24-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Within the life of the church, the paths of the single and the married should not be allowed to diverge. The shared life of the Christian community must become a context in which the differing gifts can be used for each other. There is much still to be learned about this. Are the homes of married Christians an added support for the single? Is the availability of the single Christian put at the disposal of his married friends, for “babysitting” duties and the like? And what is true of the mutual support of married and single needs to be true in a wider way of the care exercised by the married and the single for each other, so that nobody’s home life becomes completely cut off from support and help.
    ... Oliver O’Donovan (b. 1945), “Marriage and the Family”, in The Changing World, Bruce Kaye, ed., vol. 3 of Obeying Christ in a Changing World, John Stott, gen. ed., 3 vol., London: Fountain, 1977, p. 105 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 12:24-27; Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-13; Col. 1:24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, draw Your people together. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Redwood: the cause of evil

2026-05-20T23:00:07.495-05:00

Thursday, May 21, 2026
    Feast of Commemoration of Helena, Protector of the Faith, 330
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
    —Matthew 10:41-42 (ESV)
Quotation:
    [Christ] tells us plainly, and without any qualifications, that we are involved in a war in which there is no room for neutrals. Yet people attempt to evade His statement.
    Generally speaking, these are the very people who are the quickest in laying the blame upon God for all the sorrow and sin in the world. They argue that He could prevent it. They excuse their own do-nothing attitude by making of evil’s apparent predominance a ground for doubt of His loving purpose. It never seems to occur to them to look for the cause in mankind.
    ... Hugh Redwood (1883-1963), Live Coals, New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1935, p. 120 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 10:41-42; 12:30; 26:3-4; Mark 9:40-42; Acts 23:6; Eph. 1:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a servant’s heart, that I may add a little good to the world’s evil. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hanson: denominational blinders

2026-05-19T23:00:06.913-05:00

Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Meditation:
    Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
    —Philippians 1:27-28 (ESV)
Quotation:
    To us, our denomination is a source of pride: we feel an intimate link with our fellow church-member in Fiji, and we think how wonderful it is that we belong to a communion which spans the entire globe. We do not normally reflect that this sense of solidarity is very often gained at the expense of the unity which we ought to be experiencing with our fellow-Christian next door who belongs to a different denomination.
    ... Anthony T. Hanson (1916-1991), The Church of the Servant, London: SCM Press, 1962, p. 120 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 1:27-28; Matt. 23:8; John 17:20,21; 1 Pet. 3:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, open my eyes to the needs and opportunities for witness and fellowship that are nearby. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Adams: Eternal Lord, how faint and small

2026-05-18T23:00:51.915-05:00

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
    Feast of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988
Meditation:
O LORD, you have searched me
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you know it completely, O LORD.
    —Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
Eternal Lord, how faint and small
Our greatest, strongest thoughts must seem
To Thee, who overseest all,
And leads us through Life’s shallow stream.

How tangled are our straightest ways;
How dimly flares our brightest star;
How earthbound is our highest praise
To Thee, who sees us as we are.

Our feet are slow where Thine are fast;
Thy kiss of grace meets lips of stone;
And we admit Thy love at last
To hearts that have none of their own.
    ... Robert MacColl Adams (1913-1985)
    See also Ps. 139:1-4; Matt. 22:36-37; Eph. 2:1-2; Rom. 5:5; 1 John 4:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, spread Your love within my heart.

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Barclay: seeing in God's light

2026-05-17T23:00:52.475-05:00

Monday, May 18, 2026
Meditation:
    There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
    —Revelation 22:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Here is the great truth that, only when we see things in the light of God, do we see things as they are. It is only when we see things in the light of God that we see what things are really important, and what things are not. Things which seem vastly important, things like ambition, and prestige, and money and gain, lose all their value and importance when they are seen in the light of God. Pleasures and habits and social customs which seem permissible enough, are seen for the dangerous things they are when they are seen in the light of God. Things which seem evils, hardship, toil, discipline, unpopularity, even persecution, are seen in their glory when they are seen in the light of God.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Revelation of John, v. II, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961, p. 276 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 22:5; Ps. 36:10; Isa. 60:19-20; Matt. 25:31-32; Rom. 5:17; 8:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 John 3:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Thank You, Lord, for the Light of the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Clark: the school of happiness

2026-05-16T23:00:39.662-05:00

Sunday, May 17, 2026
Meditation:
The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.
    —Psalm 145:9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Among Christians so much prominence has been given to the disciplinary effects of sorrow, affliction, bereavement, that they have been in danger of overlooking the other and more obvious side: that by every joy, by every favor, by every sign of prosperity—yea, and by these chiefly—God designs to educate and discipline His children. This one-sided view of the truth has made many morbid, gloomy Christians, who look for God’s hand only in the lightning and never think of seeing it in the sunlight.
    ... F. E. Clark (1851-1927), included in Leaves of Gold, Evan S. Coslett & Clyde Francis Lytle, ed. [1948], Honesdale, Pa.: Coslett Publishing Company, 1938, p. 84 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 145:9; 107:8; 65:9-13; Nahum 1:7; Matt. 5:44-45; Acts 14:17; 17:25
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, as You cause me to be sorrowful for my sins, You fill my heart with gladness at my salvation. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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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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