"Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself ... whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" (Colossians 1:20)
Men and women without God are helpless and hopeless human beings. We do well to remember that sin is to the human nature what cancer is to the human body!
Who can argue with the fact that sin has ruined us?
Our feverish activity is only one sign of what is wrong with us - sin has plunged us into the depths and so marked us with mortality that we have become brother to the clay - but God never meant it to be so.
Men and women may argue and make excuses, but it does not change the fact that in our human society we are completely surrounded by three marks of the ancient curse: Everything is recent, temporal, and transient! That is why the Holy Spirit whispers faithfully, reminding us of the Christ of God, eternity walking in flesh, God Almighty come to live among us and to save - actually to give us eternity!
This we know: When we turn our faces toward the Eternal One, asking, "God have mercy on me, a sinner," we are finally being what God intended us to be in the first place!
Almighty God and Eternal Father, help me to journey through the coming year with a new set of eyes. Enable me to see life from your lofty, eternal perspective. Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
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In the Beginning
"In the beginning was the word ... and the Word was God" (John 1:1)
None of us can approach a consideration of the eternal nature and Person of Jesus Christ without sensing and confessing our human inadequacy in the face of the divine revelation.
John, in his Gospel, provides a beautiful portrait of the eternal Christ, starting with those stark, incredible words: "In the beginning!" My brethren, that is where we start with the understanding and the revelation of Christianity!
Many others have made a variety of claims, but only our Christ is the Christ of God. Certainly it was not Buddha and not Mohammed; not Joseph Smith, not Mrs. Eddy and not Father Divine! All of these and countless others like them had beginnings - but they all had their ending too.
What an incredible difference! Our Christian life commences with the eternal Son of God. This is our Lord Jesus Christ: the Word who was with the Father in the beginning; the Word who was God; and the Word who is God! This is the only one who can assure us: "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
Loving Heavenly Father, help me to live each day this year as a humble, grateful child of the eternal God. Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
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