The Book Readers Guild: Orthodox Convictions of Ethereal Thinkers

"And I will remember my covenant." Genesis 9:15 Mark the form of the promise. God does not say, "And when ye shall look upon the bow, and ye shall remember my covenant, then I will not destroy the earth," but it is gloriously put, not upon our memory, which is fickle and frail, but upon God's memory, which is infinite and immutable. "The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant." Oh! it is not my remembering God, it is God's remembering me which is the ground of my safety; it is not my laying hold of his covenant, but his covenant's laying hold on me. Glory be to God! the whole of the bulwarks of salvation are secured by divine power, and even the minor towers, which we may imagine might have been left to man, are guarded by almighty strength. Even the remembrance of the covenant is not left to our memories, for we might forget, but our Lord cannot forget the saints whom he has graven...

Jeremiah 31:3, "With lovingkindness have I drawn thee." "So in every case: lovingkindness wins the day. What Moses with the tablets of stone could never do, Christ does with his pierced hand." - Spurgeon - The legislation of law can never effect the transformation of the human heart, nor can justice prevail if the law is not upheld. What can resolve this apparent dichotomy? A pierced hand over that of an iron glove is the remedy. Only God's love can counteract so desperate our situation. But that love came at a price to God Himself. Some believe that God has demanded too much sacrifice on behalf of those on the earth. Too much cost to pledge their allegiances, when in truth the sacrifice God demanded fell squarely upon Himself. God demonstrated this love, despite our faults and failures, through Christ taking the role of the sacrificial lamb. God's iron glove of justice fell upon Himself as it were. Within this display of Gods...

"The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. In the end all his disciples abandoned him. On the cross he was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds. He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies. There they find their mission, their work." "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Mathew 10:16 Lord Jesus, give me the faith, the courage, and the love to live faithfully in the midst of enemies as you did. - The Words and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer -

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” - Ephesians 4:29 - “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be verbalized. It is certain that the spirit of self-justification can only be overcome by the spirit of grace; and it is just as certain that the individual judgmental thought can be limited and suppressed by never allowing it to be spoken except as a confession of sin.... Thus it must be a decisive rule of all Christian community life that each individual is prohibited from talking about another Christian in secret. It is clear and will be shown in what follows that this prohibition does not include the word of admonition that is spoken personally to one another. However, talking about others in secret is not allowed even under the pretense of help and goodwill. For it is precisely in this guise that the ...

  “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” Romans 12:4-5 “Every act of self-discipline by a Christian is also a service to the community. Conversely, there is no sin in thought, word, or deed, no matter how personal or secret, that does not harm the whole community. When the cause of an illness gets into one's body, whether or not anyone knows where it comes from, or in what member it has lodged, the body is made ill. This is the appropriate metaphor for the Christian community. Every member serves the whole body, contributing either to its health or to its ruin, for we are members of one body not only when we want to be, but in our whole existence. This is not a theory, but a spiritual reality that is often experienced in the Christian community with shocking clarity, sometimes destructively and sometimes beneficially.”...

 "Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears." Job 13:17 "The first service one owes to others in the community involves listening to them. Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. ... We do God's work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to "offer" something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening. But Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God." Dietrich Bonhoeffer Oh how I need ...

“We should not only let our troubles confirm our dedication to God, but our prosperity should do the same.” says Spurgeon. Yes faithfulness under trial is to be admired and God’s grace during such circumstances must certainly be acknowledged. Yet one must consider the illusive subtlety of luxurious ease and ask which is the greater challenge to our soul? Enduring to be faithful under the weight of fiery trial or under no trial at all? Given our propensity towards self-sufficiency and independence, our flesh adores being in a state of needlessness, where our securities are under our control and our resources are within sight. Luke 12:15-21; “ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no r...