That perfect devoting ourselves to God, from which devotion has its name, requires that we should not only do the read more

That perfect devoting ourselves to God, from which devotion has its name, requires that we should not only do the will of God, but also that we should do it with love. "He loveth a cheerful giver," and without the heart no obedience is acceptable to Him.

Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836 Let no one suppose that we may attain to this true light read more

Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836 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.

If you will study the history of Christ's ministry from Baptism to Ascension, you will discover that it is mostly read more

If you will study the history of Christ's ministry from Baptism to Ascension, you will discover that it is mostly made up of little words, little deeds, little prayers, little sympathies, adding themselves together in unwearied succession. The Gospel is full of divine attempts to help and heal, in the body, mind and heart, individual men. The completed beauty of Christ's life is only the added beauty of little inconspicuous acts of beauty -- talking with the woman at the well; going far up into the North country to talk with the Syrophenician woman; showing the young ruler the stealthy ambition laid away in his heart, that kept him out of the kingdom of Heaven; shedding a tear at the grave of Lazarus; teaching a little knot of followers how to pray; preaching the Gospel one Sunday afternoon to two disciples going out to Emmaus; kindling a fire and broiling fish, that His disciples might have a breakfast waiting for them when they came ashore after a night of fishing, cold, tired, discouraged. All of these things, you see, let us in so easily into the real quality and tone of God's interests, so specific, so narrowed down, so enlisted in what is small, so engrossed in what is minute.

Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189 Some there are who presume so far read more

Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189 Some there are who presume so far on their wits that they think themselves capable of measuring the whole nature of things by their intellect, in that they esteem all things true which they see, and false which they see not. Accordingly, in order that man's mind might be freed from this presumption, and seek the truth humbly, it was necessary that certain things far surpassing his intellect should be proposed to man by God.

Into God's hands let us now -- for the coming year, and for all the years of time, and for read more

Into God's hands let us now -- for the coming year, and for all the years of time, and for Eternity -- commend our spirits. Whether for the Church or for ourselves, let us not take ourselves into our own hands, or choose our own lot. "My times are in Thy hand." He loveth the Church, which He died to purchase, His own Body, and all the members of the Body, better than we can; He loveth us better and more wisely than we ourselves He who made us loveth us better than we who unmade ourselves; He who died for us, better than we who destroy ourselves: He who would sanctify us for a Holy Temple unto Himself, better than we who have defiled what He has hallowed. Fear we not, therefore, anything which threateneth, shrink we not back from anything which falleth on us. Rather let us, though with trembling, hold up our hearts to Him, to make them His Own, in what way He willeth.

Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644 To judge aright we must judge as Christ judged. He judged read more

Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644 To judge aright we must judge as Christ judged. He judged no man; yet if He judged, His judgments were just. He proclaimed none worthless, none hopeless. Yet men were continually being judged by their relations to Him. The result was infallible, because men judged themselves. Those who loved the light came to Him, those who rejected Him showed that they desired to walk in darkness.

Trinity Sunday The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is wholly practical; it is revealed to us, to discover to read more

Trinity Sunday The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is wholly practical; it is revealed to us, to discover to us our high origin and the greatness of our fall, and to show us the deep and profound operation of the triune God in the recovery of the divine life in our souls: that by the means of this mystery thus discovered, our piety may be rightly directed, our faith and prayer have their proper objects, [and] the workings and aspiring of our own hearts may cooperate and correspond with that triune life in the Deity, which is always desiring to manifest itself in us.

At the very moment when the pulpit has fallen strangely silent about sin, fiction can talk of little except evil, read more

At the very moment when the pulpit has fallen strangely silent about sin, fiction can talk of little except evil, not indeed viewed as sin, but apparently as the invariable ways of a peculiarly repulsive insect, which it can't help, poor thing; and there is no manner of use expecting anything from it, except the nastiness natural to it.

Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433 That crowd of Jews would have followed Christ at that moment because read more

Commemoration of Margery Kempe, Mystic, after 1433 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.