Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles Remember, a small light will do a great deal when it is in read more

Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles Remember, a small light will do a great deal when it is in a very dark place. Put one little tallow candle in the middle of a large hall, and it will give a good deal of light.

Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631 When all is done, the hell of hells, the torment of torments, read more

Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631 When all is done, the hell of hells, the torment of torments, is the everlasting absence of God, and the everlasting impossibility of returning to his presence; sayes the Apostle, it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Yet there was a case, in which David found an ease, to fall into the hands of God, to scape the hands of men: When God's hand is bent to strike, it is a fearefull thing, to fall into the hands of the living God; but to fall out of the hands of the living God, is a horror beyond our expression, beyond our imagination.

Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631 I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in and read more

Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631 I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in and invite God and His Angels thither; and when they are there, I neglect God and His Angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door.

Feast of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687 The humblest and the most unseen activity in the world read more

Feast of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687 The humblest and the most unseen activity in the world can be the true worship of God. Work and worship literally become one. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever; and man carries out that function when he does what God sent him into the world to do. Work well done rises like a hymn of praise to God. This means that the doctor on his rounds, the scientist in his laboratory, the teacher in his classroom, the musician at his music, the artist at his canvas, the shop assistant at his counter, the typist at her typewriter, the housewife in her kitchen -- all who are doing the work of the world as it should be done are joining in a great act of worship.

The reconciliation of man to God begins when God accepts the child of man, exactly as he is, into a read more

The reconciliation of man to God begins when God accepts the child of man, exactly as he is, into a relationship with himself -- "this grace wherein we stand". This He does for the sake of what man is to inherit, to become. And for the means, He gives him over to a Person, Christ, and a community, the Church; and in attachment to these, personality grows, freedom is attained, sin is forgiven, estrangement is ended, capacities for relationship extend. Reconciliation is the Spirit's liberating work of love, exercised through a Person and a community of persons.

Commemoration of Richard Baxter, Priest, Hymnographer, Teacher, 1691 He knoweth nothing as he ought to know it, who read more

Commemoration of Richard Baxter, Priest, Hymnographer, Teacher, 1691 He knoweth nothing as he ought to know it, who thinketh he knoweth anything without seeing its place and the manner how it relateth to God, angels, and men, and to all the creatures in earth, heaven and hell, time and eternity.

If Christians are ever to be united, they must be united in Christ, their living head and the source of read more

If Christians are ever to be united, they must be united in Christ, their living head and the source of their spiritual life.

Temptations and occasions put nothing into a man, but only draw out what was in him before.

Temptations and occasions put nothing into a man, but only draw out what was in him before.

Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936 [The Christian] refuses to give his heart read more

Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936 [The Christian] refuses to give his heart to, or be taken in by, the values and pleasures off this passing world. He does not hesitate to use all that is good and beautiful and true, partly because he knows that his God gives him "richly all things to enjoy", and partly because he knows that in all life's impermanent beauties and pleasures, there is the promise of the real and permanent which he is thoroughly convinced will exceed his wildest expectations. (Continued tomorrow).