When seeking direction from God, when trying to discern his voice, look for beauty. Don't go by your own personal definition of beauty, however. Learn, instead, to recognize the beauty of God's ways. As you do so, there are lessons to draw from creation itself. A Scientist Looks at the Epistle to the Hebrews In … Continue reading Expect Beautiful Answers to Prayer
“One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas, the sacred and the secular.” This is how A. W. Tozer began the last chapter of The Pursuit of God. That chapter, "The Sacrament of Living," was an attack on what he … Continue reading Learning to See All of Life as Worship
Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He then clarified exactly what burden he was seeking to relieve us of. He did this by describing the cure. “Take My yoke upon you,” he said, “and learn from Me, for I am gentle and … Continue reading Laying Down the Burden of Self
“Be thou exalted.” These are the three words that A. W. Tozer used to describe what he called “the language of victorious spiritual experience.” He did this in chapter eight of The Pursuit of God, “Restoring the Creator-creature Relation.” According to Tozer, “be thou exalted” is our proper response as creatures. It's “the only thinkable … Continue reading Victorious Spiritual Experience Summed Up in Three Words
What is faith? How would you define it? If someone asked you these questions, what would you say? What if someone asked you for the Biblical definition of faith? Is there a particular verse that you would turn to? What Does the Bible Say That Faith Is? A. W. Tozer took a wise approach to … Continue reading Seeking a Practical Definition of Faith
What do you think of when I say “the Word of God”? Do you think of the Bible? That's good, but what if I'm not referring to the Bible? What's the next thing you think of? Is it Jesus? That's also good. But what if the word I'm referring to is “Let there be light”—that … Continue reading Has Everybody Heard the Speaking Voice?
The fifth chapter of A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God is titled “The Universal Presence.” In it, Tozer talks about cultivating a sense of that presence. Here are three tips taken from that chapter. 1. Don't Think in Terms of Space and Place God is everywhere already. To draw near to God is never a … Continue reading Three Tips for Cultivating Spiritual Receptivity
Here's an interesting way to construct a chapter of a book: build up to a key paragraph for the first third of the chapter, then spend the rest of the chapter clarifying what you meant by two of the key words in that key paragraph. The fourth chapter of The Pursuit of God is built … Continue reading We Walk by Faith Not by Sight, Not by Imagination
What do you do when you want to begin a chapter of your book with a quote that you think people are already familiar with? Use that familiarity to your advantage. Lead with it. That's how A. W. Tozer began the third chapter of The Pursuit of God: “Among the famous sayings of the Church … Continue reading God Tore Down His Veil, We Protect Ours
You can't get past the story of Abraham offering his son Isaac on the altar. It's in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis 22. If you want to read the Bible, you have to deal with it early on. God put this giant stumbling block in the beginning of the path. If you … Continue reading The Larger the Heart, the Less It Holds
