Quotes From Reverend A. W. Tozer

"The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.” 

"The ‘worship’ growing out of such a view of life is as far off center as the view itself - a sort of sanctified nightclub without the champagne and the dressed-up drunks."

"Faith is at the root of all true worship, and without faith it is impossible to please God. Through unbelief Israel failed to inherit the promises. “By grace are ye saved through faith.” “The just shall live by faith.” Such verses as these come trooping to our memories, and we wince just a little at the suggestion that unbelief may also be a good and useful thing”

"Faith never means gullibility. The man who believes everything is as far from God as  the man who refuses to believe anything. Faith engages the person and promises of God and rests upon them with perfect assurance. Whatever has behind it the character and word of the living God is accepted by faith as the last and final truth from which there must never be any appeal.”

 

"To great sections of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the `program.' This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us.”

"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself...."

"The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the 'poor in spirit.'

"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart."

"Where God and man are in relationship, this must be the ideal. God must be the communicator, and man must be in the listening, obeying attitude. If men and women are not willing to assume this listening attitude, there will be no meeting with God in living, personal experience.”

 

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ... Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
 

For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech.”
 

Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ”What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow.”

”A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.”

All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him.

The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is - in itself a monstrous sin - and substitutes for the true God one made after its own likeness. Always this God will conform to the image of the one who created it and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.

Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God.

Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, 'What is God like?' and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.

The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In all her prayers and labors this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.
 

"Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Savior of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show." 

“We need to improve the quality of our Christianity and we never will until we raise our concept of God back to that held by apostle, sage, prophet, saint and reformer. When we put God back where he really belongs, we will instinctively and automatically move up again; the whole spiral of our religious direction will be upward." 

"Many of us Christians have become extremely skilful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We arrange things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him." 

 "I say that a Christian congregation can survive and often appear to prosper in the community by the exercise of human talent and without any touch from the Holy Spirit! All that religious activity and the dear people will not know anything better until the great and terrible day when our self-employed talents are burned with fire and only that which was wrought by the Holy Ghost will stand forever!" 

"Faith as Paul saw it, was a living flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ. Faith in our day often means no more than a meek assent to a doctrine."

The only fear I have is to fear to get out of the will of God. Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and in the will of God there's nothing I fear, for God has sworn to keep me in His will. If I'm out of his will that's another matter. But if I'm in His will, He's sworn to keep me." 

"Whatever a man wants badly and persistently enough will determine the man's character."

 What Christian when faced with a moral problem goes straight to the Sermon on the Mount or other New Testament Scripture for the authoritative answer? Who lets the words of Christ be final. The causes back of the decline in our Lord’s authority are many. I name only two. One is the power of custom, precedent and tradition within the older religious groups. These like gravitation affect every particle of religious practice within the group, exerting a steady and constant pressure in one direction. Of course that direction is toward conformity to the status quo. Not Christ but custom is lord in this situation”

The second cause is the revival of intellectualism among the evangelicals. This, if I sense the situation correctly, is not so much a thirst for learning as a desire for a reputation of being learned.

One sign of His diminishing authority is that many churches have for years baptized professing Christians in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit without even asking them to commit themselves to learn to obey all that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Consequently Christ’s supreme authority is ignored at the entrance into the membership and fellowship of His church. A disciple is a person who is committed to learn to obey all that Christ commanded, but the majority of Christians spend a lifetime in church and never even know that they should become a disciple.

"The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary both to the Scriptures and to common sense."

"The man that believes will obey; failure to obey is convincing proof that there is no true faith present. To attempt the impossible God must give faith or there will be none, and He gives faith to the obedient heart only."


"The average Christian is so cold and so contented with His wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness."

"In the Book of Acts faith was for each believer a beginning, not an end; it was a journey, not a bed in which to lie while waiting for the day of our Lord's triumph. Believing was not a once-done act; it was more than an act, it was an attitude of heart and mind which inspired and enabled the believer to take up his cross and follow the Lamb whithersoever He went."


Actually, I do find Christians these days who seem to have largely wasted their lives. They were converted to Christ but they have never sought to go on to an increasing knowledge of God. There is untold loss and failure because they have accepted the whole level of things around them as being normal and desirable.

We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone."

"To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men."

"God being who He is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else." "Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even the chief of all treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing. God will not be used."
Man

Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.

"We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone."

"Grace will save a man but it will not save him and his idol.

"The Lordship of Jesus Christ is not quite forgotten among Christians, but it has been relegated to the hymnal where all responsibility toward it may be comfortably discharged in a glow of religious emotion. Or if it is taught as a theory in the classroom it is rarely applied to practical living. The idea that the Man Christ Jesus has absolute final authority over the whole church and over its members in every detail of their lives is simply not now accepted as true by the rank and file of evangelical Christians."

The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.

“Rules for Self Discovery:
1. What we want most;
2. What we think about most;
3. How we use our money;
4. What we do with our leisure time;
5. The company we enjoy;
6. Who and what we admire;
7. What we laugh at.” 

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.” 

How to Meet Temptation

J. R. Miller

The up as tree which grows in Java has an acrid, milky juice which contains a virulent poison. According to the story told by a Dutch surgeon, the exhalations of this tree are fatal to both animal and vegetable life. Birds flying over the tree fall dead. No flower or plant will live near the tree. The story illustrates human lives in this world, whose influence always leaves a blight on others. They may be winning and attractive. They may come in the guise of friendship, and wear the garb of innocence—but they have absorbed the poison of evil until their very breath is deadly! One cannot be with them, accepting their friendship, or coming under their influence, without being hurt by them. The sweet flowers of purity wither in their presence. There are men and women whose merest touch is defiling, who carry moral blight for other lives wherever they go!

How can we hope to live unhurt—in this world so full of evil and danger? This is one of the most serious problems of Christian living. Yet it is possible for us to do it—through the grace and help of Christ. We can never do it without Christ—but we are assured that he can keep us. One inspired word tells us that he is able to keep us from stumbling, and to set us before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy. The secret of safety lies, therefore, in staying ever in the keeping of Christ.

We miss much of the comfort we should get from Christ, by narrowing our thought of his redeeming work. This was not all wrought on the cross, when he there gave himself to die for us. Comfort should come to us from the knowledge that he was tempted in all points like as we are—yet without sin. That is, he met every form of temptation and of evil, and was victorious. This assures us, first, of his sympathy with us in all our temptations—he knows what the struggle means. Then, having himself overcome—he is able to help us to overcome.

We should never forget that Jesus Christ is living. He is our personal friend, with us in every battle. Too often this element of faith is lacking in our experience. We look back to the cross for help—while our help is close beside us. Moses endured, as seeing him who is invisible. He did not see God—no eye can see him; but it was as if he saw him. His faith made God as real to him—as if God were actually visible to his sight. If we have such faith in the living Christ, no temptation can ever overmaster us; we shall be more than conquerors, through him who loved us.

The trouble with us of times is, however, that we forget Christ—and then we fall. If we would always believe that he is with us, and then always remember it—we would not fall in temptations.

When Frederick Arnold was writing the life of F.W. Robertson he went to Brighton to talk with Robertson's friends, to find incidents for his biography. Among other places, he went to a bookseller's shop, and learned that the proprietor had been a constant attendant upon Robertson's ministry and had in his parlor a picture of the great preacher. The bookseller said to Mr. Arnold, "Do you see that picture? Whenever I am tempted to do an evil thing—I run back here and look at it. Then I cannot do it. Whenever I feel afraid of some difficulty or some obstacle, I come and look into those eyes—and I go out strong for my struggle."

If the mere picture of the great preacher, had such a power over this humble man, how much more power will a vision of the Christ have in helping us to overcome temptation! If always in the moment of danger, we would run to Christ and look into his face—we could not commit the sin! This is one of the great secrets of meeting and overcoming temptation.

Thus temptation may be so met—as to be transformed into a help; so met at least as to be compelled to yield up a blessing to the victor. We are stronger for having overcome. Then the experience of struggle and victory, prepares us to be a guide, helper, and friend to others in their time of temptation. But we should never forget that only in Christ, can we overcome. He who enters the terrible conflict without the aid of the strong Son of God, can only fail and perish on the field.

How to Meet Temptation

J. R. Miller

Temptation has a mission. Our Lord was led by the Spirit into the wilderness—to be tempted. If he had missed being tempted—he would have missed something that was necessary to the complete development of his manhood. For any man, temptation is an opportunity.

If the soldier never had a battle, how could he become a hero? How could he ever learn the art of war? It is foolhardy for anyone to seek to be tempted—but when temptation comes to us while we are in the line of duty, as we follow the divine guidance—we dare not shirk it, nor run away from it; we must meet it with faith and courage, and in doing so we shall take a blessing from it. In this way lie crowns, which can be won only by those who are victorious in temptation.

Yet there is no fear that any of us may be overlooked in this matter, or may miss this opportunity. Soldiers sometimes chafe in time of war, because they are kept in the camp while their comrades are in the field. They are eager to become real soldiers. But none miss struggle with temptation. No one escapes the experience. Then, our foes are also real. They are not fancied or imaginary. They are of two classes—there are enemies in our own heart, and enemies fighting outside.

The enemies within complicate the struggle. In war, a traitor in the camp may do great mischief. He is unsuspected. He knows all that is going on inside, the movements that are planned, the strength or weakness of the citadel, the resources at command. Then he can open the door for the enemy—and deliver the place into his hands.

So the enemies in our heart have vast power of hurting us. They may betray us in the very time of our battle with some outside foe, and cause us to lose the victory; or after we have been victorious in the struggle—they may cause us to fall into some other subtle sin. These hidden evils in our own heart make it easy for the assailants without to break through the gate. They parley with them over the wall, and treacherously slip the bolt on some door and let them in. We have much to fear from the unholiness that we carry within us. If every feeling, disposition, affection, desire, and impulse in our heart were pure and altogether like Christ; if the enemy came and found nothing in us—we would be far safer in the midst of this world's wickedness.

But there are also outside foes. We are like little forts in an enemy's country. All about us swarm those who are hostile to us, watching every opportunity to break in at some gate, or to climb over the ramparts to take possession. We must never forget that this world is not a friend to grace.

We are in danger of imagining in quiet days, that the antagonism around us has ceased, and that we shall no more be assailed by evil. This is always a fatal mistake for anyone to make. The tempter is never better pleased, that when he gets us into this kind of confidence. We are then off our guard, and it is easy for the foe to steal in. When the sentinels at our heart doors and the outposts of the enemy get on familiar terms—our danger is greatly increased. We are safest—when we are fully aware of our danger. We are kept then ever watchful and on the alert. An important counsel, given over and over again in the Scriptures, is, "Watch that you enter not into temptation." Incessant watchfulness is half of every Christian's defense!

We should never forget that no hand but our own—can open the door to the tempter. Every man's house is his castle, and no one can cross the threshold, but by his permission. This is true of the good, as well as of the evil. No angel of heaven can gain access to our heart, unless we show him hospitality. With all the gifts of divine love in his hands for us, Christ comes to our door and knocks, and stands and waits. We must open the door if he is to come in. The same is true of evil. No temptation can ever compel its way with us. Our quiet, persistent "No!" will keep it out. If we resist the devil—he will flee from us. We cannot hinder temptations flying about us like birds—but it is our fault- if they build their nests in our heart! 

The enemies outside us—are of many kinds. There are evil men who are under the control of Satan, filled with his spirit, and who come to us continually with temptations to sin. We need to be on our guard against these. They are among those whom we meet daily in our common interaction. We cannot keep ourselves apart from them, and we need, therefore, to watch against their unholy influence. Many a young person is led away from God and into sin—by a friendship which at first seems altogether harmless, and even sweet.

Temptation

One definition of temptation is a desire to do something, wrong or unwise. The truth is when we are tempted it does not mean we sin. Although whatever comes across our mind trying to entice us, draws our mind and heart to do something unwise, wrong, filthy or even vile might not be our fault. While we are not responsible for the thoughts that simply drop by in our mind, we are however responsible how we chose to entertain them.

Oswald Chambers said: “Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.” A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.”

 This quote above has so many implications that one can use it over and over throughout one’s walk with God. It is true that the type of temptation we face changes as we get to know God deeper as we learn to abide and remain grounded in Him through our identity in Him. Oswald is right by saying we refuse to allow God to lift us up higher. In fact, I know people who have been Christian for decades, yet suffer temptation that a baby in the faith is dealing with. 

Satan is relentlessly trying to take us to places that go beyond God’s boundaries for us. Often he tempts us so gradually, that we are led to sin and we do not understand how we arrived there. Some of us do not even have the courage to acknowledge our sin, instead we blame Satan. But in reality Satan is just being Satan. He is doing what he knows best. It is our job to make sure we are fit in the faith so we can stand strong and empowered to meet with him head on.

I will give you an example: Two years after I became a Christian, God made it clear to me that my body was His temple. I guess this was very important for Him to tell me because He knew there were hard times ahead since I no longer had a spouse. This was the late nineties. To help me out He gave me the gift of celibacy which I knew nothing about until He told me. To my surprise, it was just so that I could get deeper in Him.

 Eight years ago, He took away the gift of celibacy. So, there were nights that I could not sleep, some nights I cried myself to sleep. When I asked God  “what gives?” He told me that I had to learn to do not to succumb to temptation to glorify Him if I wanted to be victorious. I raked my brain off trying to understand what that meant. I do not mind telling you the challenge to remain celibate without defiling yourself is enormous and through the pain a lot of time, I found God really mean.

Now, I understand what He meant when He said that I had to do it to glorify Him. What He did not tell me, this was something that I had to become and it was not in my power to produce in me. Temptation truly is easier to overcome as you live the abiding life. There you find protection, balance and a strong spiritual willingness to overcome. The reason I call this a spiritual willingness to overcome, is because you are not doing it as if you do not want to do Satan’s dirty job. But, the main reason behind your motives to resist with your mind, your heart and the willingness not to go there, is something that seems to be a strong sense of moral integrity. This sense of moral integrity definitely belongs to the new nature. I know the difference because I know when I am in spirit and in the flesh. I also know the person I am in the flesh does not have this superior moral integrity that flows through my choices so easily. This moral integrity when you act on it, actually glorifies God. This moral integrity has behind it the fact that I know I am His child, so, what Satan is trying to lure me with, is non-negotiable as far as I am concerned. I cannot be the King’s child and wrestle in the mud with Satan. I have to keep up my decorum.

 This is why Paul commanded us to walk in the Spirit. In this stinking fleshly part of us, it is easy to let temptation gets the best of us. It overpowers us and before we know it, we find that we get over God’s boundaries for us.

Don’t entertain those thoughts when they come to mind, do not rationalize them, do not indulge yourself. A simple example of that for both men and women would be, as you surf the internet even with all that you put in place not to encounter pornography, you find that once in a while, one of them somehow makes its way to you. Your only course of action is to close your browser so fast that you get dizzy. Not only that, purposely bring your mind back to God right away. You can do that by remember a verse, or a moment you had with Him, who you are in Him, anything that would allow this filth not to find a foothold in your life. The minute you allow yourself to look for a fraction of a second, it exerts an influence and your flesh reacts to it. I am not telling you anything that I have not put into practice in my life.

We Need To Revise Our Definition of Salvation

When we look at an accomplished and charismatic pastor like Charles Templeton who literally fell from grace and after everything he had accomplished in the Church, (in the flesh) many of us Christians have a hard time accepting the fact that he was not saved, for two reasons. The first one is OUR understanding and definition of Salvation that we are not ready to part with and embrace God’s definition. The second reason we cannot accept that he was not a Christian, it’s because deep down within, we know if we were to accept that Charles Templeton was not saved, then that would mean we’d have to examine our walk with Him a little deeper, leave our comfort zone, changing our ways, admitting that we were wrong etc., and we are not willing to do that. Mind you after you die, it will not longer be your choice anymore.

In Acts 8:1-25 we see Philip in Samaria preaching the good news. Many believed and even Simon the magician believed and got baptized. Then, he continued on with Philip. But, Simon was amazed by all the signs and miracles that he witnessed. While Peter John and Philip were laying hands on the people of Samaria, we see Simon in verse 18-19 offering money to the apostles in exchange for the authority they have received from the Holy Spirit. “But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.“For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

You see, the Church is filled with people in the same calibre as Simon and Charles Templeton is a perfect picture of it. It does not have to be someone practicing magic but rather someone who never lets go of sin, still deeply in bondage or someone who claim to be Christian yet has no concept of what true Christianity in the heart is about. It could also be someone who has  been going through the motion of Christianity for years while in the Church and in the Bible day in day out, yet never been transformed. The bottom line here, is that Simon’s heart was not right with God and although he appeared to believe but his belief did not amount to anything because the Gospel did not penetrate his heart. When you look at what Peter said in these verses above, Simon’s heart was what Peter was concerned about. No matter how great Simon’s sin was in the past, but, when the Gospel touches your heart and you have an encounter with Him, big or small, your heart is never the same again. And Peter could tell his belief was superficial.  

Things have gotten worse the past few thousands years because, instead of rebuking people like that, today’s Church actually welcomes and rewards them to the point of promoting them. This is how pathetic Christianity has become. Even though the Bible says not everyone calling Him lord will be saved, most of us Christians are still finding it hard to admit, that it is possible to have many in the pews and the pulpits who are simply little Pharisees or Scribes in the making. And they have never found their identity in Christ’s righteousness.

Christ is looking for people who are willing to be made holy and transformed by Him while living in the new nature we received from Him as a gift. This new nature He put inside cannot live without Him. Because the new nature He put in us is His own nature it does make sense that this new nature is in love with Christ’s nature and yearn to be one with Him. It is in that new nature that Christ changes us.

We desperately need to revise our idea of Salvation and let God re-define it for us!

Show Me Your Ways Lord -- Part 2

Charles Templeton was a major figure in the Church and a very good friend of Billy Graham. After I heard a sermon about him where my pastor mentioned that he was not a saved man, I remember how the Church was divided on the issue of his Salvation. I was not deep enough in the Lord and I had my own problem that I was dealing with in terms of making Salvation real in my soul. So, I listened to all who approached me and I never made a comment.

About two years ago I decided to investigate this guy. After I read his biography I decided to listen to his sermons just because I wanted to understand why people were flocking to him like a herd. I was able to put my hands on some of his sermons and to my disappointment, his sermons while beautiful were hollow and I felt I was dealing with a slick marketing VP kind of thing. From the emptiness and the absence of the Holy Spirit in his preaching, I concluded this man had head knowledge but the Gospel never made it to his heart mind and soul.  I sadly concluded like my pastor, this man has never been saved. The man was charismatic and a great business man, so all the time he was in the pews preaching, he was selling himself.

 He was sought after by the evangelical associations and climbed fast and high. Isn’t sad that all those leaders of Christianity wanted him, but none could see he was an empty shell. This was not a question of not knowing his heart.  As you read his sermons, even the four gospels kind of commentary he wrote, there is nothing but complete emptiness. The only way you could not grasp the emptiness in him is if you yourself lack the Holy Spirit inside you.

 But while Templeton was going through the crisis of unbelief, he felt it was wise to seek out a pastor who believed in God knows what. Templeton got access to his library and found books like: Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, Voltaire's The Bible Explained At Last, Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian, as well as speeches by Robert Ingersoll, well-known atheist of the late 19th century in his library.  So, of course Templeton studied these books like there was not tomorrow. Needless to say he got out of there, weaker than ever and convinced Christianity was a hoax, until finally he resigned from his thriving ministry in 1957

 When doubts plagued our minds, it is okay to hash it out with God, but resolved to stay the course. What Templeton did could have happened to anyone of us in the Church. Very often you will find those that are sitting in the pews and after years never manage to make Christianity real to them; they do not like anyone singing a different tune. The reason is that if they listen to you, they would have to start examining themselves and actually make a decision. So to make things easier for themselves, they rather seek the company of those in the same comatose relationship with God. (Misery loves company)

I would like if I say that being a Christian is not frustrating sometimes. The reason is that we serve a God who is real and not dead. We serve a God who is GOD and every time you think you got close enough, you realize, you know nothing about Him. The vastness between us and Him will never end, even when we are in heaven. Yet, as a human being it does a number on us and we struggle, especially when life is messy, when we feel like a rat in a cage and there is no way out.

 In fact, just last week I had to wrestle with doubts in my heart just for a couple of hours. They lasted that long because I entertained them and secondly, my doubt is never about God’s Word. I BELIEVE in His Word and I KNOW the Word is Christ Himself. I love this God of mine with everything I am and I cannot imagine my life without Him. But, time like that, even through my doubts, I know that I am blessed beyond measure. And whenever I make things right with Him, I always break down in tears for the lack of gratitude I allow myself to indulge in, even for a few moments.

 Even Moses who was so obedient and so meek ended up displeasing God and his sin was actually, disobedience to God and a lack of meekness (Numbers 20:9-11) As a human being, I understand Moses and the reason he lost it for a minute which cost him dearly.

 In my experience when I deal with doubt, you can be sure three things are present

1)     I am going through something that requires faith and God is testing and stretching me beyond measure

2)     Whenever I feel I have doubts that I cannot ignore, it is because I am in the flesh

3)     Whenever I have doubts, Satan’s presence is so near that I have to be mindful of him and also make it right with God right away because out of Him, I have no power to deal with Satan and if I do not make things right with God to remain in Him, I am giving Satan a foothold in my relationship with Him.

 In my case I found the gratitude I have in my heart for having experienced Him more than the average Christian. Knowing that I have come to know Him so well because He chose to make Himself so real to me, a puny being deserve that I continue the path even if the road is hard and circumstances insurmountable.

 Will we have doubt in this journey? You bet we will.  In fact the lack of doubt would be a good indication that you are not growing in faith at all.

What we do with them will make us or break us.

Show Me Your Ways Lord

As I started walking with God in a much deeper way, I have no idea why, but I felt I could not follow the examples that were set before me, which means to keep making decisions for my life as a Christian and put them before God,  then, ask Him to close the doors He did not want for me. Don’t get me wrong, there are times where we need to do that. But, if this is a pattern we have established as a substitute to carry us throughout our Christian life, well then we are gambling.

 Since I felt I could not keep gambling and I needed a better method, the Hillsong song “show me your ways that I may walk with you” had become my favorite song. After a year or so, I started getting upset a little bit. I could not understand why my situation was getting worse, I had a desire to do God’s will, I was walking the path, yet God seemed to be unresponsive to my prayers . I got mad at Him and said, well, if you are not going to show me the way, I may as well go back to what I was taught before. When you think about it, going forward without God, then bringing all our plans to Him to choose which one He wants is like that little silly game kid play called “mini me Ni mo”

 But, even in my frustration I knew, I already know Him too well to go back to the old ways. I knew there was a better way I just did not know it yet. I decided to keep going with God and of course I had to ask for His forgiveness because I was insolent, and ungrateful. I resigned to take what was coming for me and embrace the mess my life had become. Funny how my life was falling apart and I had ample reasons to be grateful for the riches (spiritual) He showered over me. It was not long after that the Spirit made me understand that He was indeed showing me the way through what my life had become.

 I was not happy about His idea of what the way should be because He had taken all my desires and goals and put them on the back burner as if they did not matter. To make matters worst, I felt lost because I was on a path that I did not recognize. I remember thinking about the story of Templeton as I weigh my choices. God needs to take us to a place where we are shut in and the only viable solution is to deny Him or trust Him. It is not easy to choose to trust Him when in front of you is the red sea behind you is the Egyptians army coming at you with all they have; there is nowhere to run when you look on your right or left. Yet you do not have much time to think, a decision needs to be made and quick, you are sad that you are there, there is such a mess in your head you cannot form one single thought that contain wisdom and discernment.

 At times like that, it is so much easier to reject God and blame Him for all that is wrong in this world while we are thinking it is time to wash our hands off and walk away free. In my mind, I felt if I reject God, then I would no longer be "shut in", the Egyptia's army would disappear and the red sea would no longer be there. I truly felt they would all disappear like in a bad dream, I would wake up and everything would be all right.

In the end, I chose Him. I had no idea where He was leading, I had no map to get out of that maze I was in, I knew for sure the Egyptians army would slaughter me or I will die going in the red sea. I could not understand what God had to gain by getting me there. I could not see His goodness because I was in too much pain and it was too desolate inside me. But I decided, to choose to reject Him was not a viable option to me, even though this meant the worse was yet to come.

 As I was going through the worse, I realized He did not make  a way for me as He did for the Israelites, so like an idiot I said: “God, didn’t you miss a step in my case? Why is it I chose to go forward with you, yet I did not see your majestic power at work?” My thinking process was still wrong. I was still making things about me.  I was expecting Him to do something majestic to get me out, when letting me go through that mess that had become my life, was indeed the path that I needed. It was not my first or second or third choice for that matter.

 Another thing I learned later on is that the place we are at when we are shut in, is real. While everything is happening to us in the reality of this life. They are there so that God can deal with the spiritual life in us, He uses these things to remake us, to deal with our soul and refine us. Finding the reality of the life that I possess in soul and spirit would not have been made so evident and distinctive to me had I chose not go through with it. 

Lord May I always choose your way, even when I cannot see the path. I pray that I will always trust you to provide light, in your own time.

Godly Goals and Desires

I decided to write this post because I find that I know way too many professed Christians thinking that narcissism and Christianity goes well together.

Often time we get in trouble with God, we leave behind the path He has in mind for us, because we do not make the difference between our goals and desires and God’s goals and desires for us.  Through our indulgences, even when we leave the path behind all together, we do not seem to be interested in getting back to it at all. Even after years of indulgence, instead of trying to get back on the right path, most seem to get deeper and deeper into sinning.  

Some Christians in my surroundings do not seem to be aware that after few decades of being Christian, it is not normal to think that it is perfectly proper to call yourself Christian and jazz it up with narcissism.

I am not saying there is something wrong with desiring a good job, wanting to travel, choosing to go on a mission for God, enjoying good health, wanting to be a teacher in the Church etc.  But, when these things start taking over our lives, they change our attitude for the worst, and they cause us to injure our relationships with spouse, family, colleagues and friends, then, what started as our own desires and goals have become the master of our lives. It gets worse when they become our way of life to the point were our spouses and family are forced to live in an unhealthy atmosphere in order to make room to accommodate our attitude of narcissism.

Often, what we think are godly desires are not godly at all. For instance, when your goals and desires do not materialize as expected, if you have a pattern of being enraged at people who you feel are in the way of realizing them, then you have one major problem with God. If you constantly adopt an egotistical attitude and nobody can get you to move away from your one track selfish mind, then you can be sure there is nothing godly about your goals and desires. There is a deeper problem because your self-worth and your identity are grounded in materials, not in Christ.

Why do we choose our desires and goals over God’s?

We chose our desires and goals over God’s because we want to exercise more control. We do not have to go through the waiting period, the extra long periods of intense uncertainties and the focus that is required to walk in His way.  When we are in control we know in our mind, that we can always make alternate plans, enlist other people’s help and do what we need to do in order to succeed.

Another reason we do not want to follow His plans and desires for us, is because it does not take long to realize that God’s priority is to accomplish His desires to see us living a sinless life. Meaning a life of oneness with Him, a life where we are separated unto the Gospel, holy and committed to Him.  Most of us know that anything else is secondary as far as He is concerned. So we make plans on our own and bring them to Him to bless. Sadly in our feeble and dark minds we think we can still get by and reach heaven because God cannot lie and God is love. When you entertain this type of attitude after decades of claiming you have received Him, you got to ask yourself if you ever received anything new inside.

As Christians, we ought to be mindful of the fact that when our own goals and desires do not materialize. When circumstances are beyond our control and all that we thought was a shoe in ends up being vapour in the wind. We have to remember our attitude and motive matters to God. If you adopt the attitude of manipulating your spouse, family and friends to get your ways you keep yourself in bondage, spiritual growth flies out of the windows and whatever victories you get from using others come at a great cost.

 Some Christians adopt the attitude where they are miserable, they feel depressed, and they become anxious, because they feel somewhat those around them have either betrayed or let them down. Instead of taking responsibility for their selfish life and failure, they learn to live with resentment and bitterness in their hearts because other people around them did not meet with their expectations.

How do you know your desires and goals are Godly? First of all, if indeed you have died with Him, you have nothing to fear. The Spirit’s guides you every step of the way and you will find that even though nothing materialized and everything seems to be out of your control, the delay in getting there whether it take months or years, does not affect the trajectory of your life. You also know with confidence that you are waiting upon Him to get you there when it pleases Him. Also, our attitude when our plans fail basically show that we are not affected by the outcome simply because we know God is in control.

Another way you know for sure that you are following God’s plan is when He constantly leads you to the end of yourself, you cannot depend on anyone around you to get you there. In fact, you know with certainty this plan cannot come together unless God takes the lead. Some examples: Gideon’s army being reduced to 300 (Judges 7:7)  David running for his life to escape King Saul while waiting for God to decide when he would be crowned King as promised more than a decade ago (1Samuel 15:12) Joseph being in Egypt for more than a decade, none of his family around him, he must have asked himself “what was that vision about?” (Genesis 37:7) 

Until we go forward to truly get to know Him, we do not realize the life of these people in the above paragraph are not just part of history and this is exactly how God worked and still work today. May God help us put our selfishness away and learn to follow His plan for our lives before we end up wasting our time on earth.

Evidences of the Lack of Love to God ---- Last Part 6

by Samuel Davies, April 14, 1756



The lack of love to God takes away all spirit and life from all your religious services, and diffuses a malignity through all you do. Without the love of God: you may pray, you may receive the sacrament, you may perform the outward part of every duty of religion; you may be just and charitable, and do no man any harm; you may be sober and temperate; but, without the love of God, you cannot do one action that is truly good and acceptable to God; for how can you imagine that He will accept anything you do, when He sees your hearts, and knows that you do it not because you love him—but from some other low, selfish principle?

If a man treats you well, and perform for you all the good offices of the sincerest friendship; yet, if you know in the mean time, that he has no real regard for you at all—but acts from some sordid, mercenary views, are you thankful for his services, or do you love him in return? No! You abhor the deceiver, and secretly loathe his services. And will God accept of that as obedience from you, which he knows does not proceed from love to him? No! Hence it is, that as Solomon tells us, that the prayers, the sacrifices, and even "the ploughing of the wicked, is sin." Proverbs 21:4.

Now, I appeal to yourselves—is not this a very dangerous situation? While you are destitute of sincere love of God—can you flatter yourselves that you are fit for heaven?

What! fit for the region of divine love!
What! fit to converse with a holy God, and live forever in His presence!
What! fit to spend an eternity in His service!

Can you be fit for these things—while you have no love to Him? Certainly not! You must perceive yourselves to be fit for destruction—and fit for nothing else! You are devilized already! Lack of love to God is the grand constituent of a devil, the worst ingredient in that infernal composition. And must you not then be doomed to that everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels? Are you capable of hoping better things, while the love of God is not in you?

And now, what must you do, when this shocking conviction has forced itself upon you. Must you now give up all hopes? Must you now despair of ever having the love of God kindled in your hearts? Yes; you may, you must give up all hopes, you must despair—if you go on, as you have hitherto done—thoughtless, careless, and presumptuous in sin, and in the neglect of the means which God has appointed to implant and nourish this divine, heaven-born principle in your souls. This is the direct course towards remediless, everlasting despair.

But if you now sincerely admit the conviction of your miserable condition; if you endeavor immediately to break off from sin, and from everything which tends to harden you in sin; if you turn your minds to serious meditation; if you prostrate yourselves as humble earnest petitioners before God, and continue instant in prayer; if you use every other means of grace ordained for this purpose; I say, if you take this course—then there is hope—there is hope for you!

There is as much hope for you, as there once was for anyone of that glorious company of saints, now in heaven—for they were once as destitute of the love of God as any of you presently are!

And will you not take these pains to save your own souls from death? Many have taken more, to save the souls of others: and you have taken a great deal to obtain the transitory, perishing enjoyments of this life. And will you take no pains for your own immortal interests?

Oh! let me prevail, let even a stranger prevail upon you—to lay out your endeavors upon this grand concern. I must insist upon it, and can take no denial. You cannot be saved without sincere love to God! And if you entertain hopes of heaven without it—the common sense of mankind is against you. Therefore, oh, seek to have the love of God shed abroad in your hearts.

As for such of you, and I hope there are sundry such among you—who love God in sincerity, I have not time to speak much to you at present. Go to your Bibles, and there you will find abundant consolation. I shall only refer you to one or two passages, as a specimen.
"All things shall work together for good—to those who love God!" Romans 8:28.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared—for those who love him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9.
This sincere love of God in your hearts is a surer pledge of your salvation, than an immediate voice from heaven could be. Heaven, the element of love, was prepared for such as you—and you need never dread an exclusion!