Tozer for Tuesday

Churches today are built upon the premise of entertainment and fun. And in some places it would be rather difficult to gain an audience unless you supplied them ample entertainment and fun.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 205

There is a joy in the journey!

Whether they acknowledge it or not, everyone has habits, but only a few carefully craft their habits in order to enhance their spiritual growth and development. How few of God’s people really enjoy the fullness of their salvation! Many are satisfied with their destination, but they neglect the journey. The day-by-day experience of God’s presence is something totally foreign to many Christians.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 204

Tozer for Tuesday

“The just shall live by faith,” not the just shall live by his feelings. Faith here is complete confidence. It is not an act of believing once done. It is not something you do and settle it. It is a complete confidence that remains with you all the time. Faith is a complete confidence. It is a state of confidence maintained—a state of confidence first in God. We must believe in God, then we must believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, in the work He did for us and the work He is now doing for us at the right hand of God. We must maintain a state of confidence in the promises of God and the certainty that God will come to our aid.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 194

The joy of the Lord (Tozer for Tuesday)

It is no secret that the devil hates our joy in the Lord and will strive with all his power to rob us of this holy delight. Nothing bothers the devil more than a Christian delighting in God’s presence.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 187

Tozer for Tuesday

When God promises to hear your prayers, it does not mean He makes an unconditional promise to answer them the way you want them answered. Other passages of Scripture tell you He will answer your prayer if you will meet the terms and pray in His will. So we get the truth not by riding one passage, but by taking all the Scriptures and putting them together.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 183

Who is on the Lord's side?

I am always on the side of the people of God. I sound sometimes as if I am not, because I am severe with them. I am severe with them as a father is severe with a little family of children that he loves to death and of which he is very proud. I am very proud of God’s people and very happy to be with them and recognize them as being the Father’s children. But I am not going to let them get away with a lot of bad manners and bad habits when they should not. For that reason, I am severe, but I am severe with a smile. I never preach except with a smile in my heart and with the joy that I am part of the Church.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 179

Tozer for Tuesday

If your Christianity depends upon the pastor’s preaching, then you are a long way from being where you should be. If you do not have a private, secret conduit, a pipe leading into the fountain where you can go anytime all by yourself; Whether there is a pastor there or not, whether you have heard a sermon in a year, you have nevertheless an anchor; you have a root, you have a conduit, you can get the water from God.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 171

Tozer for Tuesday

A dear old brother with not too much education, but he was a dear saint, said the passage of Scripture he loved was, “It came to pass.” He testified, “When I get in trouble, I just look up to God and say, ‘Father, I remember this came to pass.’” It passes after a while, and all of your problems come to pass. They will pass if you’ll just outlive them and keep right on.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 169

We're walking, walking, walking… (Tozer for Tuesday)

We cannot go to heaven any other way but by the simple, pedestrian way: walking by faith. The Lord does not talk about a flight of faith, nor does He talk about a tour of faith; He talks about a walk of faith.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 167

Tozer for Tuesday

Weed: The Father and the Son Love Us in Different Degrees

Then there is the teaching that Christ won God over to our side by dying for us. Some people imagine that. I have heard evangelists tell about an angry God with His sword raised to destroy a sinning man, and Jesus rushes in and the sword falls on His head. He died and the sinner lived. It might be good drama, but its very poor theology, for there is not a word of truth in it. The Father “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). And it was the love of the Father that sent the Son to die for mankind.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 157

There isn't any split!

God is a God of judgment and a God of grace. Both judgment and grace are in the New Testament. And both judgment and grace are in the Old Testament. God is always the same, without change: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 156

Tozer for Tuesday

Weed: Christ Is for Us, God Is against Us

Some say that Christ the Son differs from the God the Father. That is one weed I want you to pull out of your mind, never allowing it to grow there. The misconception is that Christ is for us and God is against us. Never was there any truth in that at all. Christ, being God, is for us. And the Father, being God, is for us. And the Holy Ghost, being God, is for us. The Trinity is for us. It was because the Father was for us that the Son came to die for us. The reason that God is for us is why the Son is at the right hand of God now, pleading for us. The Holy Spirit is in our hearts. He is our advocate within. Christ is our advocate above. And all agree. There is no disagreement between the Father and the Son over man.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 155–56

Tozer for Tuesday

Unfortunately, many Christians settle for less than God’s conscious, manifest presence in their daily walk. There is a strain of loneliness infecting many Christians, which only the presence of God can cure. Why do so many Christians shy away from the holy presence of God? God’s face (His realized, manifested and enjoyed presence) may be the treasure of all God’s people.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 146

Tozer for Tuesday

The ordinary Chtistian is satisfied to live just a little removed from the presence of God. God has always had His David, His Paul, His Stephen and those who would die to taste what one man calls the piercing sweetness of the love of God.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 145–46

Tozer for Tuesday (on a Wednesday!)

The rank and file does not want to enter beyond the veil of self. It demands a life of holiness in order to enter.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 144

Tozer for Tuesday

I am afraid our lukewarmness about the person of Christ is a great proof that we do not know very much about Him in personal experience. I tell you, we cannot keep still about that which we love. That which we love supremely and above all else, we are going to talk about it a lot. I will never get over it; it is still a delight to me; it is still a pleasure I cannot get over. I do not try to get over it. I just enjoy it.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 141

Tozer for Tuesday

When a Christian breaks through the religious routine and experiences God’s presence for the very first time, he no longer wishes to go back. He has found something so utterly satisfying that he loses his former attraction to the world and the things around him.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 137

Tozer for Tuesday

I believe, and I could be wrong here but I do not think I am, that God’s people are hungry for the real spiritual food. They have had it with artificial light and hard, stale bread and odorless incense. They have had it with the cheap imitations imported from the world; they long for the reality of God’s presence among them.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 135

Tozer for Tuesday

Our worship services should be so holy and so filled with a sense of God’s presence that unholy men will be very uncomfortable. Now we have done it the other way around. The most unholy person in town can come into the church and feel quite comfortable. People should come to a church worship service not anticipating entertainment but expecting the high and holy manifestation of God’s presence.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 134

Timeless truths from Tozer

Right here I want to say something that will no doubt land me on the wrong side of popular Christian opinion. But I will say it anyway. I do not believe the church is the place for entertainment. With that said, let me explain what I mean.

We have churches today, in desperate need of attendance, advertising in newspapers for the world to come and enjoy “clean entertainment.” We have, so the boast goes, what the world has, only ours is much cleaner and, to add insult to injury, in my opinion, it is family friendly. I am not totally against entertainment; I am just totally against entertainment in the church and entertainment used by the church to try to win the world. How can we battle the world if we have locked arms with the world?—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 133–34