Do we think that when the day has been idly spent and squandered away by us, we shall be fit read more

Do we think that when the day has been idly spent and squandered away by us, we shall be fit to work when the night and darkness come -- when our understanding is weak, and our memory frail, and our will crooked, and by long custom of sinning obstinately bent the wrong way, what can we then do in religion? What reasonable or acceptable service can we then perform to God? When our candle is just sinking into the socket, how shall our light "so shine before men that they may see our good works"?... I will not pronounce anything concerning the impossibility of a death-bed repentance, but I am sure that it is very difficult, and, I believe, very rare.

Newton, Pascal, Bossuet, Racine, Fénelon -- that is to say, some of the most enlightened men on earth, in the read more

Newton, Pascal, Bossuet, Racine, Fénelon -- that is to say, some of the most enlightened men on earth, in the most philosophical of all ages -- have been believers in Jesus Christ; and the great Condé, when dying, repeated these noble words, "Yes, I shall see God as He is, face to face!".

Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation God is always present, always available. At whatever moment read more

Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation God is always present, always available. At whatever moment in which one turns to him the prayer is received, is heard, is authenticated, for it is God who gives our prayer its value and its character, not our interior dispositions, not our fervor, not our lucidity. The prayer which is pronounced for God and accepted by him becomes, by that very fact, a true prayer.

The secular university is scandalized by the claims of revelation. Those who have, for whatever historical reasons, become seekers-on-principle, cannot read more

The secular university is scandalized by the claims of revelation. Those who have, for whatever historical reasons, become seekers-on-principle, cannot tolerate the allegation that truth is a gift. To have to receive offends those who have determined to take.

Sectarianism is limitation. Some truth taught in Scripture, some part of the divine revelation, is apprehended, and the heart responds read more

Sectarianism is limitation. Some truth taught in Scripture, some part of the divine revelation, is apprehended, and the heart responds to it and accepts it. As it is dwelt upon, expounded, defended; its power and beauty increasingly influence those affected by it. Another side of truth, another view of revelation, also contained in Scripture, seems to weaken, even to contradict, the truth that has been found to be so effectual. and in jealous fear for the doctrine accepted and taught, the balancing truth is minimized, explained away, and even denied. So on a portion of revelation, on a part of the Word, a sect is founded, good and useful because it preaches and practices Divine truth, but limited and unbalanced because it does not see all truth, nor frankly accept the whole of Scripture. Its members are not only deprived of the full use of all Scripture, but are cut off from the fellowship of many saints, who are less limited than they, or limited in another direction.

Feast of Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers' Union, 1921 When evangelicals call the Bible "inerrant", part at read more

Feast of Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers' Union, 1921 When evangelicals call the Bible "inerrant", part at least of their meaning is this: that, in exegesis and exposition of Scripture and in building up our biblical theology from the fruits of our Bible study, we may not (1) deny, disregard, or arbitrarily relativize, anything that the biblical writers teach, nor (2) discount any of the practical implications for worship and service that their teaching carries, nor (3) cut the knot of any problem of Bible harmony, factual or theological, by allowing ourselves to assume that the inspired writers were not necessarily consistent either with themselves or with each other. It is because the word "inerrant" makes these methodological points about handling the Bible, ruling out in advance the use of mental procedures that can only lead to reduced and distorted versions of Christianity, that it is so valuable and, I think, so much valued by those who embrace it.

Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915 A conversion is incomplete if it does not leave read more

Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915 A conversion is incomplete if it does not leave one with an intense social consciousness, if it does not fill one with a sense of overwhelming responsibility for the world. It has been said... truly that the Church exists for those outside of itself. The Church must never be in any sense a little huddle of pious people, shutting their doors against the world, lost in prayer and praise, connoisseurs of preaching and liturgy, busy mutually congratulating themselves on the excellence of their Christian experience.

Feast of Cyril & Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 869 & 885 Commemoration of Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269 read more

Feast of Cyril & Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 869 & 885 Commemoration of Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269 The offertory is the first essential action of the Liturgy, because in it we make the costly and solemn oblation, under tokens, of our very selves and all our substance, that they may be transformed, quickened, and devoted to the interests of God.

When we are saved, we are at home in the universe; and, in principle and in the main, feeble and read more

When we are saved, we are at home in the universe; and, in principle and in the main, feeble and timid creatures as we are, there is nothing anywhere within the world or without it that can make us afraid.