Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936 I am not what I ought to be. read more

Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936 I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.

Now this is the ground and original of the Spirit of Love in the creature, it is and must be read more

Now this is the ground and original of the Spirit of Love in the creature, it is and must be a will to all goodness; and you have not the Spirit of Love in you till you have this will to all goodness at all times and on all occasions. You may indeed do many works of love and delight in them -- especially at such times as they are not inconvenient to your state or temper or occurrences in life. But the Spirit of Love is not in you till it is the spirit of your life, till you live freely, willingly, and universally according to it.

Commemoration of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690 The preacher and the writer may seem to have an... read more

Commemoration of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690 The preacher and the writer may seem to have an... easy task. At first sight, it may seem that they have only to proclaim and declare; but in fact, if their words are to enter men's hearts and bear fruit, they must be the right words, shaped cunningly to pass men's defenses and explode silently and effectually within their minds. This means, in practice, turning a face of flint toward the easy cliche, the well-worn religious cant and phraseology -- dear, no doubt, to the faithful, but utterly meaningless to those outside the fold. It means learning how people are thinking and how they are feeling; it means learning with patience, imagination and ingenuity the way to pierce apathy or blank lack of understanding. I sometimes wonder what hours of prayer and thought lie behind the apparently simple and spontaneous parables of the Gospel.

For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly read more

For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.

Commemoration of Crispin & Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, c.285 Beginning a short series on prayer: Have you noticed read more

Commemoration of Crispin & Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, c.285 Beginning a short series on prayer: Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late -- and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.

Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles The heart of man is revealed in temptation. Man knows his sin, which read more

Feast of Simon & Jude, Apostles 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.

Commemoration of Maximilian Kolbe, Franciscan Friar, Priest, Martyr, 1941 That fear which keeps from sin and excites the read more

Commemoration of Maximilian Kolbe, Franciscan Friar, Priest, Martyr, 1941 That fear which keeps from sin and excites the soul to cleave more firmly to God, be the object of it what it will, is no servile fear, but a holy fear and due reverence unto God and His word.

Oh, plain, and easy, and simple way of salvation! wanting no subtleties of art or science, no borrowed learning, no read more

Oh, plain, and easy, and simple way of salvation! wanting no subtleties of art or science, no borrowed learning, no refinements of reason; but all done by the simple natural motion of every heart that truly longs after God. For no sooner is the finite desire of the creature in motion towards God, but the infinite desire of God is united with it, co-operates with it; and in this united desire of God and the creature is the salvation and life of the soul brought forth.

The criterion for our intercessory prayer is not our earnestness, nor our faithfulness, nor even our faith in God, but read more

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.