One thing the young Christian should be taught as quickly as possible after his conversion is that Jesus Christ is all he needs.
When he believes effectively on Christ as his Lord and Savior he can humbly declare his independence of everyone and everything outside of Christ.
This the New Testament teaches with great emphasis and clarity and with fullness of detail. We need not quote any proof text in support of this statement, but suggest simply that the inquirer read the Scriptures to see for himself, especially John, Ephesians, Colossians and Hebrews.
One marked characteristic of modern evangelicalism is its lack of assurance, resulting in a pathetic search for external evidence to corroborate its faith.
It sets out bravely to declare its trust in Christ, but is shortly overawed by the counter declarations of science and philosophy and before long it is looking hesitantly about for some collateral evidence to restore its confidence.
verse
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
— Ephesians 1:3
thought
Blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ what more do we need? To lay claim to those blessings by faith. Having died with Christ by faith, we now live with Him.
prayer
Thank You, Lord, You are all I need!
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
A sinful man should be afraid; he has plenty to be afraid of.
The consequences of his sins, death, judgment and hell are all awaiting him and he cannot escape them by looking the other way.
While he lives on earth there are dangers of every kind facing him and everyone he loves. Any religious teacher that exhorts him to ignore these dangers is unrealistic, false to the facts and a deadly enemy to his soul.
The prophet of tranquility is indeed another source of danger to him and should be considered one more object of fear. Where there are mortal perils and no place to hide, fear is the only sane reaction. To dismiss fear while the danger still exists is little short of insanity. Until the danger has been removed, fear should remain.
Only that man has a right to be unafraid who has fled for refuge to the mighty Savior. Such a man knows the danger is there, but he also knows that his Almighty Lord will bring him safely through and present him at last faultless before the presence of God.
There are in the Scriptures innumerable exhortations to put away fear; but they are all addressed to Gods own children, never to the children of this world.
Someone must care, and if a man has not cast his fears on Christ, he must bear them himself.
The safety of the Rock is for those who have put their trust in the Rock.
All others must face their enemies alone.
verse
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
— Romans 8:1-2
thought
There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. But what about those who are not in Him? Terrible condemnation and judgment await. Christ is the Savior to whom all may flee!
prayer
Praise to You, Lord, You have fully paid my sin-debt. In You is life abundant!
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Over the years I have read or thumbed through a great many books on how to conquer fear.
The cult of relaxation has, in fact, quite taken over certain areas of the religious thinking of the day.
Of course the fear-not cultists are able to assemble a lot of Scripture to support their teaching, but the catch is that practically all of it is misunderstood or misapplied.
It just doesnt mean what they say it does, and what is still worse, it isnt addressed to the people they try to apply it to.
The fear-not philosophers all begin with the same error; namely, that there is nothing to fear, and all we need to do to get deliverance is to believe it. To teach people living in a world like ours that there is nothing to be afraid of is to be guilty of gross irresponsibility, and any teacher who does so disqualifies himself instantly and proves himself unworthy of the confidence of serious-minded men.
Both the Bible and human experience teach that the world is full of enemies to mankind, not the least of those dangers being man himself.
Our Lord said, I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
verse
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
— Hebrews 10:31
thought
How terrible to be lulled into false peace by those who peddle untruth. This life provides the only opportunity to bow before the living God and place our faith in Him. If we waste that opportunity we will one fall into the hands of the living God who wi
prayer
Lord, I have placed by faith in You. Thank You for the peace-Your peace-that You give.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Because the inner lostness is the same in all human beings the work of God to reclaim them must be the same in all. And the Spirit broods over all, illuminating, revealing, convicting, enabling them to hear and see and understand.
It is one of the wonders and delights of preaching that the same message will often affect people differently, producing in one repentance, in another hope, in still others courage, humility or faith, according as the particular soul has need.
Without this mighty, skillful working of the Spirit, preaching would be futile; with it the ministry of the Word can be easy and delightful as well as marvelously effective.
verse
One of the those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Pauls message.
— Acts 16:14
thought
It is the Holy Spirit who opens hearts to respond to the Good News. It is the Spirit who illuminates the Word. It is the Spirit who reveals Christ and convicts of sin. We minister in vain without the Spirits ministry!
prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You do not hold me responsible to open the hearts of people. Forgive me for sometimes trying to. It is Your Spirit who so works!
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
The man of God may labor on in complete trust and in full expectation of success, provided he is aware of a few basic truths.
One is that however different people may be in externals, they are all alike fundamentally.
That in us to which the Christian message is directed is the same in every human being.
Before the cross of Jesus we are not old or young, educated or ignorant, cultured or uncouth, dull or brilliant; we are just people-human beings lost and ruined deep inside where incidental differences do not matter, where indeed they are not even known.
As gold is gold whether it is mixed with the sand of the stream or wrought into an exquisite work of art by the hand of a Cellini, so the essential stuff of human nature is the same under whatever conditions it may be found.
That about us which yields itself to social differentiation, is not that for which Christ died.
He did not, for example, die for doctors, farmers, authors, laborers, artists, engineers, professors, vagrants, presidents, musicians, lumbermen; He died for lost humanity, and any one can receive the benefits of His atonement, but only as lost beings.
Color, race, social standings, occupation, cultural levels do not count, for they do not alter the basic human thing for which His blood was shed.
verse
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die (Contemporary English Version).
— John 3:16
thought
Whoever we are in the world our most basic need is to know Christ as our Savior and Lord. In dependence upon the Holy Spirit that Good News must be communicated in a linguistically and culturally perceptible form to each one of the worlds billions.
prayer
O Lord, people need You-those people around me and around the world. Use me to reach some of them. In Jesus name.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Again, the Christian minister must have a word from God for the teen-aged, the middle-aged and the very aged.
He must speak to the scholar as well as to the ignorant; he must bring the living Word to the cultured man and woman and to the vulgarian who reads nothing but the sports page and the comic strip.
He must speak to the sad and to the happy, to the tender-minded and to the tough-minded, to those eager to live and to some who secretly wish they could die.
And he must do this all in one sermon and in a period of time not exceeding 45 minutes.
Surely this requires a Daniel, and Daniels are as scarce in the United States as in Babylon in 600 B.C.
To add to the pastors burden is the knowledge that in each service there will likely be a few lost sons who should come home, some who never loved God at all and some who lost the love they had.
So he must call sinners to repentance, warn the unruly, comfort the feebleminded, instruct, reprove, rebuke, encourage, console and exhort all at the same time, or at least on the same day.
This is the situation stated baldly, but it is not actually as difficult as it looks.
I said that the preacher appears to be at cross purposes with himself; but it is in appearance only, for what seems to be confusion is but the seamy side of the tapestry.
The artistic pattern is on the other side.
verse
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.
— Second Timothy 4:2
thought
Were you fed last Sunday? You may have been entertained, amused even encouraged. Were you fed? Was the Word preached?
prayer
Father, may our pastors preach the Word-exegeting, interpreting and applying accurately that truth they have prayerfully received from You.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Because we are the kind of persons we are and because we live in a world such as we do, the shepherd of souls is often forced to work at what would appear to be cross purposes with himself.
For instance, he must encourage the timid and warn the self-confident; and these may at any given time be present in his congregation in almost equal numbers.
His effort to encourage those who need encouragement may actually confirm presumptuous souls in their carelessness.
Conversely, his much needed warnings and reproofs may drive timorous and doubting Christians to the borders of despair.
Another problem he faces is the presence in the normal Christian assembly of believers in every stage of development, from the newly converted who knows almost nothing about the Christian life to the wise and experienced Christian who seems to know almost everything.
verse
Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep.
— John 21:16
thought
Taking care of a flock of sheep is a demanding task particularly if that flock includes sheep like you and me! Are you praying for your pastor/shepherd?
prayer
You are the Great Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. Thank You for Your undershepherds who have faithfully shepherded me over the years.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
For choosing God as our one all absorbing interest we Christians are sometimes scorned or written off as hopelessly narrow-minded.
But must we apologize?
Must we apologize that we have chosen Christ as our career?
That we deliberately will to walk with those who walk with God?
That we have chosen eternity over time and heaven over earth?
Must we apologize that we have chosen to seek good and not evil all the days of our lives?
That we have chosen so to live that we dare to die?
In so choosing whom have we injured?
Whose son or daughter is the worse for knowing us?
Whose house have we robbed or whose money have we stolen?
Whom have we led into crime?
Who is a worse husband or father or citizen for following our Savior?
If we have wronged anyone it is in spite of our Christian faith, not because of it. No man, no home, no nation is the worse for the presence of a real Christian.
Gerhard Tersteegen, the saintly silk weaver, said it for us in a delightful little bit of verse: Child of the Eternal Father, Bride of the Eternal Son, Dwelling place of God the Spirit, Thus with Christ made ever one; Dowered with joy beyond the angels, Nearest to His throne, They the ministers attending His beloved one: Granted all my hearts desire, All things made my own; Feared by all the powers of evil, Fearing God alone; Walking with the Lord in glory Through the courts divine, Queen within the royal palace, Christ forever mine: Say, poor worldling, can it be That my heart should envy thee?
verse
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
— Matthew 5:13
thought
We are to be salt and salt is not always appreciated. We are to be light and those around may resent the light because they love darkness.
prayer
Lord, may I be salt and light in this world. Shine through me though I be only a flickering candle.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Our Lord, in defining eternal life, summed up the supreme goal of human existence: That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. And Paul revealed the one overpowering interest of his life when he wrote That I may know him.
The business of the Church is God.
She is purest when most engaged with God and she is astray just so far as she follows other interests, no matter how religious or humanitarian they may be.
There are a thousand useful, even noble, pursuits in which the Church may engage and which may bring her the plaudits of the world but which are nevertheless unworthy of her utter devotion.
Such are social activities for their own sake, philosophical pursuits divorced from Him in whom all wisdom and knowledge is hidden away, art, music, education, travel, to name a mere few.
As these things come to the Christian in his pursuit of God they may have a proper and useful place in his life; but when they are chosen as ends to be followed they are and can only be cheap substitutes for the glory that excelleth.
verse
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
— John 17:3
thought
Eternal life is experientially knowing God. It is why we were created. Eternal life is not just an unending quantity of life. It is supernatural quality of life.
prayer
That I may know You, O God, that I may know You. That is eternal life!
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/