"We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19)
If we are to have any satisfying and lasting understanding of life, it must be divinely given. It begins with the confession that it is indeed the God who has revealed Himself to us who is the central pillar bearing up the universe. Believing that, we then go on to acknowledge that we have discovered His great eternal purpose for men and women made in His own image.
I heard a brilliant Canadian author being interviewed on the radio concerning world conditions, and he said: "I confess that our biggest mistake is the fond belief that we humans are special pets of of Almighty God and that God has a special fondness for us as people."
We have a good answer: Man as he was originally created is God's beloved. Man in that sense is the beloved of the universe. God said, "I have made man in My image and man is to be above all other creatures. Redeemed man is to be even above the angles in the heavens. He is to enter into My presence pardoned and unashamed, to worship Me and to look on My face while the ages roll on!" No wonder we believe that God is the only certain foundation!
Dear Lord, thank You for Your unconditional love for me. I pray that I will not act like a spoiled child but that life will honor You in all my relationships. Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Our Charter Is From God
"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18)
While we are right to thank God in appreciation for all of the great and good men in the history of the Christian church, we actually "follow" none of them. Our charter goes farther back and is from a higher source. They were rightly looked upon as leaders, but they were all servants of God, even as you and I are.
Luther sowed. Wesley watered. Finney reaped - but they were only servants of the living God.
In our local assemblies, we are part of the church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and perpetuated by the mystery of the new birth. Therefore, our assembly is that of Christian believers gathered unto a Name to worship and adore the Presence. So, in that sense, the strain is gone. The strain and pressure to abide by traditional religious forms all begin to pale in importance as we function in faith as the people of God who glorify His Name and honor His Presence!
If all of this is true - and everything within me witnesses that it is - we may insist that God is able to do for us all that He did in the days of the apostles. There has been no revocation of our charter!
Dear Lord, thank You for the people in my life who have helped to shape me spiritually. And thank You that You alone are still the Source of new life. Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
While we are right to thank God in appreciation for all of the great and good men in the history of the Christian church, we actually "follow" none of them. Our charter goes farther back and is from a higher source. They were rightly looked upon as leaders, but they were all servants of God, even as you and I are.
Luther sowed. Wesley watered. Finney reaped - but they were only servants of the living God.
In our local assemblies, we are part of the church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and perpetuated by the mystery of the new birth. Therefore, our assembly is that of Christian believers gathered unto a Name to worship and adore the Presence. So, in that sense, the strain is gone. The strain and pressure to abide by traditional religious forms all begin to pale in importance as we function in faith as the people of God who glorify His Name and honor His Presence!
If all of this is true - and everything within me witnesses that it is - we may insist that God is able to do for us all that He did in the days of the apostles. There has been no revocation of our charter!
Dear Lord, thank You for the people in my life who have helped to shape me spiritually. And thank You that You alone are still the Source of new life. Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Man Has Lost God
"Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust" (Psalm 104:29)
The average person in the world today, without faith, and without God and without hope, is engaged in a desperate personal search and struggle throughout his lifetime. He does not really know what he is doing here. He does not know where he is going.
The sad commentary is that everything he is doing is being done on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed strength - and he already knows that in the end he will surely die! It boils down to the bewildered confession of many humans that they have lost God somewhere along the way.
Man, made more like God than any other creature, has become less like God than any other creature. Created to reflect the glory of God, he has retreated sullenly into his cave - reflecting only his own sinfulness.
Certainly it is a tragedy above all tragedies in this world that love has gone from man's heart. Beyond that, light has gone from his mind. Having lost God, he blindly stumbled on through this dark world to find only a grave at the end!
Dear Lord, thank You for the hope that I have found in Christ. And thank You for giving meaning and purpose to my life. Help me to glorify You today. Amen
~W. W. Tozer~
The average person in the world today, without faith, and without God and without hope, is engaged in a desperate personal search and struggle throughout his lifetime. He does not really know what he is doing here. He does not know where he is going.
The sad commentary is that everything he is doing is being done on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed strength - and he already knows that in the end he will surely die! It boils down to the bewildered confession of many humans that they have lost God somewhere along the way.
Man, made more like God than any other creature, has become less like God than any other creature. Created to reflect the glory of God, he has retreated sullenly into his cave - reflecting only his own sinfulness.
Certainly it is a tragedy above all tragedies in this world that love has gone from man's heart. Beyond that, light has gone from his mind. Having lost God, he blindly stumbled on through this dark world to find only a grave at the end!
Dear Lord, thank You for the hope that I have found in Christ. And thank You for giving meaning and purpose to my life. Help me to glorify You today. Amen
~W. W. Tozer~
If Worse Comes to Worst
"The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children" (Psalm 103:17)
If the world's foundations crumble we still have God, and in Him we have everything essential to our ransomed beings forever.
We also have Christ, who died for us and who now sits at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens making constant and effective intercession for us.
We have the Scriptures, which can never fail.
We have the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures to our inner lives and to be to us a Guide and a Comforter.
We have prayer and we have faith, and these bring heaven to earth and turn even bitter Marah sweet.
And if worse comes to worst here below, we have our Father's house and our Father's welcome.
"The man of the year" cannot impress those men and women who are making their plans for that long eternity when days and years have passed away and time is no more.
~A. W. Tozer~
If the world's foundations crumble we still have God, and in Him we have everything essential to our ransomed beings forever.
We also have Christ, who died for us and who now sits at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens making constant and effective intercession for us.
We have the Scriptures, which can never fail.
We have the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures to our inner lives and to be to us a Guide and a Comforter.
We have prayer and we have faith, and these bring heaven to earth and turn even bitter Marah sweet.
And if worse comes to worst here below, we have our Father's house and our Father's welcome.
"The man of the year" cannot impress those men and women who are making their plans for that long eternity when days and years have passed away and time is no more.
~A. W. Tozer~
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
God's Truth Is Eternal
"Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16)
There are two errors that are pretty current with regard to old things. The first is that everything old is good, and everything new is bad.
That idea, of course ... harms progress and discourages all thought. It also petrifies the imagination and digs a grave for all expectation. I am afraid that when it comes to theology and spiritual thought, we have adopted the notion that the old is good and that everything new is bad. We have to go back yonder to discover a man who has spiritual imagination enough state things differently from that which is current in his time.
I will tell you what I would like to see for this critical age... a number of persons committed, manifested in the inspiration of
Scripture and the faith of our fathers so that it is impossible to go back theologically. The result would be truth related in an imaginative way for our time.
The truths of God are not timely (that is, geared into time). The truths of God are eternal. They rule above time.
~. A. W. Tozer~
_____________________
God Is Enough
"Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded" (Jeremiah 7:23)
The error that everything new is good and everything old is bad takes place in the realm of practice and worship and religious activity generally. This is a view that can lead, of course, to great rebellion against the truth.
We will never be where we ought to be until we go back to those old paths and learn to find God. Then we will cease to be bored with God. We will center our affections upon God and Christ and become specialists and experts in the realm of the spiritual life.
It is amazing how little outside stimulus we need if we have that inward stimulus. It is amazing how much God will meet our needs. It will not be God "and" something else. It will be God "everything."
And then, wisely, we will gear into our times and in a moment we will become alert to the needs of the world around us. At the same time, our great anchor will be God above. God will be enough.
May God give us the courage to be obedient to His truths in this tragic, critical and dangerous hour in which we live.
~A. W. Tozer~
There are two errors that are pretty current with regard to old things. The first is that everything old is good, and everything new is bad.
That idea, of course ... harms progress and discourages all thought. It also petrifies the imagination and digs a grave for all expectation. I am afraid that when it comes to theology and spiritual thought, we have adopted the notion that the old is good and that everything new is bad. We have to go back yonder to discover a man who has spiritual imagination enough state things differently from that which is current in his time.
I will tell you what I would like to see for this critical age... a number of persons committed, manifested in the inspiration of
Scripture and the faith of our fathers so that it is impossible to go back theologically. The result would be truth related in an imaginative way for our time.
The truths of God are not timely (that is, geared into time). The truths of God are eternal. They rule above time.
~. A. W. Tozer~
_____________________
God Is Enough
"Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded" (Jeremiah 7:23)
The error that everything new is good and everything old is bad takes place in the realm of practice and worship and religious activity generally. This is a view that can lead, of course, to great rebellion against the truth.
We will never be where we ought to be until we go back to those old paths and learn to find God. Then we will cease to be bored with God. We will center our affections upon God and Christ and become specialists and experts in the realm of the spiritual life.
It is amazing how little outside stimulus we need if we have that inward stimulus. It is amazing how much God will meet our needs. It will not be God "and" something else. It will be God "everything."
And then, wisely, we will gear into our times and in a moment we will become alert to the needs of the world around us. At the same time, our great anchor will be God above. God will be enough.
May God give us the courage to be obedient to His truths in this tragic, critical and dangerous hour in which we live.
~A. W. Tozer~
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
A Private Place
"And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (Isaiah 32:18)
For those who want to relearn the ways of solitude and simplicity and gain the infinite riches of the interior life ... I offer a brief paragraph of counsel.
Retire from the world each day to some private spot. Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade pit pf your heart and a sense of God's presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it. Stop trying to compete with others. Give yourself to God, and then be what and who you are without regard to what others think. Reduce your interests to a few.
Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while you can do this even while you work. Practice candor, childlike honesty, humility. Pray for a single eye. Read less, but read more of what is important to your inner life. Call home your roving thoughts. Gaze on Christ with the eyes of you soul. Practice spiritual concentration.
God is bound to give Himself to a heart that is detached. God would sooner be in a solitary heart than any other.
~A. W. Tozer~
__________________
Yesterday, Today and Forever
"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6).
The Scriptures are open and plain. Jesus Christ is our Savour and Lord. He is our great High Priest, alive and ministering for us today. His person, His power and His grace are the same, without change, yesterday, today and forever!
He is the same Lord because He is the same God. He is the same, never having changed in substance, in power, in wisdom, in love, in mercy. In His divine person, Jesus Christ has always felt about everyone and everything.
Jesus will not yield to those who charge that He is an absentee, that He is far away and unavailable. Our faith tells us that Jesus Christ is close at hand, that He is a living force in our lives today. He is the Holy Spirit of God fulfilling His promises moment by moment.
We must stand together in our faith. Our Lord is as powerful now, as real now, as near to us now, as loving now as He ever was when He walked among the men and women on the shores of Galilee.
God always fills in all hearts all the room which is left Him there.
~A. W.Tozer~
For those who want to relearn the ways of solitude and simplicity and gain the infinite riches of the interior life ... I offer a brief paragraph of counsel.
Retire from the world each day to some private spot. Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade pit pf your heart and a sense of God's presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it. Stop trying to compete with others. Give yourself to God, and then be what and who you are without regard to what others think. Reduce your interests to a few.
Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while you can do this even while you work. Practice candor, childlike honesty, humility. Pray for a single eye. Read less, but read more of what is important to your inner life. Call home your roving thoughts. Gaze on Christ with the eyes of you soul. Practice spiritual concentration.
God is bound to give Himself to a heart that is detached. God would sooner be in a solitary heart than any other.
~A. W. Tozer~
__________________
Yesterday, Today and Forever
"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6).
The Scriptures are open and plain. Jesus Christ is our Savour and Lord. He is our great High Priest, alive and ministering for us today. His person, His power and His grace are the same, without change, yesterday, today and forever!
He is the same Lord because He is the same God. He is the same, never having changed in substance, in power, in wisdom, in love, in mercy. In His divine person, Jesus Christ has always felt about everyone and everything.
Jesus will not yield to those who charge that He is an absentee, that He is far away and unavailable. Our faith tells us that Jesus Christ is close at hand, that He is a living force in our lives today. He is the Holy Spirit of God fulfilling His promises moment by moment.
We must stand together in our faith. Our Lord is as powerful now, as real now, as near to us now, as loving now as He ever was when He walked among the men and women on the shores of Galilee.
God always fills in all hearts all the room which is left Him there.
~A. W.Tozer~
Monday, January 25, 2016
God In The Flesh
"And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger" (Luke 2:16)
The mystery and miracle of the incarnation - God coming to take our humanity and our flesh, yet without sin. Luke quotes the message of the angel Gabriel to Mary.
"Thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ... The Holy Spirit shall ... overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:30-32, 35)
The overshadowing of the Most High, the Father; the energy of the Holy Spirit; the enfleshment of the eternal Son - here were the Persons of the Godhead cooperating in a gracious act on behalf of lost men and women.
Lord Jesus, reign in us, we pray,
And make us Thine alone,
Who with the Father ever art,
And Holy Spirit, one.
The Holy Spirit is indivisible from the Father and the Son, and He is all Gold and exercises all the rights of God and He merits all worship and all love and all obedience.
~A. W. Tozer~
______________________
Cultivating Simplicity and Solitude
"Thou desired truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom...Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:6-7)
"The thoughtful soul to solitude retires," said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today?
Our "vastly improved methods of communication," of which the shortsighted boast so loudly, now enable a few men in strategic centers to feed into millions of minds alien thought stuff, ready-made and predigested. A little effortless assimilation of these borrowed ideas and the average man has done all the thinking he will or can do.
This subtle brainwashing goes on day after day and year after year to the eternal injury of the populace. There was a time, not too long ago, when a man's home was his castle, a sure retreat to which he might return for quietness and solitude. I cannot refrain from remarking that the most ominous sign of the coming destruction of our country is the passing of the American home. Americans live no longer in homes, but in theaters. Let no one smile. Rather should we weep at the portent.
The mansions of the heart will become larger when their doors are thrown open to Christ and closed against the world and sin.
~A. W. Tozer~
The mystery and miracle of the incarnation - God coming to take our humanity and our flesh, yet without sin. Luke quotes the message of the angel Gabriel to Mary.
"Thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ... The Holy Spirit shall ... overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:30-32, 35)
The overshadowing of the Most High, the Father; the energy of the Holy Spirit; the enfleshment of the eternal Son - here were the Persons of the Godhead cooperating in a gracious act on behalf of lost men and women.
Lord Jesus, reign in us, we pray,
And make us Thine alone,
Who with the Father ever art,
And Holy Spirit, one.
The Holy Spirit is indivisible from the Father and the Son, and He is all Gold and exercises all the rights of God and He merits all worship and all love and all obedience.
~A. W. Tozer~
______________________
Cultivating Simplicity and Solitude
"Thou desired truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom...Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:6-7)
"The thoughtful soul to solitude retires," said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today?
Our "vastly improved methods of communication," of which the shortsighted boast so loudly, now enable a few men in strategic centers to feed into millions of minds alien thought stuff, ready-made and predigested. A little effortless assimilation of these borrowed ideas and the average man has done all the thinking he will or can do.
This subtle brainwashing goes on day after day and year after year to the eternal injury of the populace. There was a time, not too long ago, when a man's home was his castle, a sure retreat to which he might return for quietness and solitude. I cannot refrain from remarking that the most ominous sign of the coming destruction of our country is the passing of the American home. Americans live no longer in homes, but in theaters. Let no one smile. Rather should we weep at the portent.
The mansions of the heart will become larger when their doors are thrown open to Christ and closed against the world and sin.
~A. W. Tozer~
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