If we could bring together in one huge directory a list of all the organizations, great and small, that exist throughout the earth for the promotion of special interests we would be astounded at the number of them.
Almost everything that human beings do or can do has its organization, association, society or guild to focus attention upon it and promote its ends.
Some of these are good, some are bad, most of them are just neutral; but each one, however boring or comical it may appear to those who are not interested, has its starry-eyed devotees who live for it alone and who derive their keenest pleasure from their preoccupation with it.
In the midst of all this there is one group of persons whose absorbing interest is, or should be, God.
That group is the Church.
The Church is born out of the gospel and that gospel has to do with God and mans relation to God.
Christianity engages to bring God into human life, to make men right with God, to give them a heart knowledge of God, to teach them to love and obey God and ultimately to restore in them the lost image of God in full and everlasting perfection.
verse
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours.
— First Corinthians 1:2
thought
The Church is the people of God, the family of God. Wherever the people of God are the Church is. We are members of Christs body in the world. We are not confined to a church building. We are the Church wherever we are.
prayer
O Lord, may Your Church be the Church-bold and unashamed. We are Your people through whom You seek to reach those around us.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Except for those things that are specifically commanded or forbidden, it is God's will that we be free to exercise our own intelligent choice.
The shepherd will lead the sheep but he does not wish to decide which tuft of grass the sheep shall nibble each moment of the day.
In almost everything touching our common life on earth God is pleased when we are pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our Maker's praise without anxiety. God's choice for us may not be one but any one of a score of possible choices.
The man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ cannot make a wrong choice.
Any choice will be the right one.
But what about those rare times when a great deal is at stake, we can discover no clear scriptural instruction and yet are forced to choose between two possible courses?
In such a situation we have God's faithful promise to guide us aright.
Here, for instance, are two passages from the Word of the Lord:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (James 1:5,6).
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go (Isaiah 48:17).
Take your problem to the Lord. Remind Him of these promises. Then get up and do what looks best to you. Either choice will be right.
God will not permit you to make a mistake.
verse
. . . I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
— Isaiah 48:17
thought
Sometimes God leads us through scripture. At other times it is direction by His Spirit internally. There are occasions, too, when He leads through other people whom we respect and admire. Or it may be just circumstances. What matters is assurance of hear
prayer
O Lord, may I be increasingly sensitive to You to discern Your will in whatsoever way You show it to me. In Jesus name.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Put this down as an unfailing rule: Never seek the leading of the Lord concerning an act that is forbidden in the Word of God. To do so is to convict ourselves of insincerity.
Again, prophet, psalmist, apostle and our blessed Lord Himself join to point out the way of positive obedience. His yoke is easy, His burden is light and He giveth more grace, so let this be the second rule:
Never seek the leading of the Lord concerning an act that has been commanded in the Scriptures.
Now, a happy truth too often overlooked in our anxious search for the will of God is that in the majority of decisions touching our earthly lives God expresses no choice, but leaves everything to our own preference.
Some Christians walk under a cloud of uncertainty, worrying about which profession they should enter, which car they should drive, which school they should attend, where they should live and a dozen or score of other such matters, when their Lord has set them free to follow their own personal bent, guided only by their love for Him and for their fellow men.
On the surface it appears more spiritual to seek Gods leading than just to go ahead and do the obvious thing. But it is not.
If God gave you a watch would you honor Him more by asking Him for the time of or by consulting the watch?
If God gave a sailor a compass would the sailor please God more by kneeling in a frenzy of prayer to persuade God to show him which way to go or by steering according to the compass?
verse
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
— Philippians 2:13
thought
Sometimes God shouts to us through our circumstances. His will seems too obvious. But a study of Pauls life shows that God leads us in different ways at different times in our pilgrimage.
prayer
Father, at times I have in effect demanded revelation of Your will to me in life hurricanes and earthquakes. May I discern it as well in the unspectacular circumstances of life-the quiet compass You have given me.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
One of the problems most frequently encountered by serious-minded Christians is how to discover the will of God in a given situation.
Now, granted that we are wholly committed to God with every full intent to obey Him, we may expect actually to be led by Him.
The Scriptures that teach this are so many that one scarcely knows where to begin quoting.
It only remains for us to believe they mean what they say.
The many choices that we Christians must make from to involve only four kinds of things: Those concerning which God has said an emphatic no; those about which He has said an equally emphatic yes; those concerning which He wants us to consult our own sanctified preferences; and those few and rare matters about which we cannot acquire enough information to permit us to make intelligent decisions and which for that reason require some special guidance from the Lord to prevent us from making serious mistakes.
Regardless of what our positive thinkers have said, the Scriptures have much to say about things Christians are not to do.
Every call to repentance is a call to negative as well as to positive moral action.
Cease to do evil; learn to do well is a fair epitome of the moral teaching of the Bible.
verse
. . . Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! . . .
— Isaiah 1:16-17
thought
Determining the Lords will can be difficult at times. The problem may be that we are not sufficiently familiar with His Word so as to know what He specifically forbids or positively commands. Such knowledge can often reduce the choice quandary.
prayer
Lord, forgive me for sometimes refusing to see what You have clearly revealed in Your Word. Your way is the only way.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
One of the problems most frequently encountered by serious-minded Christians is how to discover the will of God in a given situation.
This is not a small matter.
To countless thousands of Christians it is vitally important.
Their peace of heart depends upon knowing that God is actually guiding them, and their failure to be sure that He is destroys their inward tranquility and fills them with uncertainty and fear. They must get help if they are to regain their confidence. Here is a modest effort to provide some help.
First, it is absolutely essential that we be completely dedicated to Gods high honor and surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God will not lead us except for His own glory and He cannot lead us if we resist His will.
The shepherd cannot lead a stubborn sheep.
The evil practice of using God must be abandoned.
Instead of trying to employ God to achieve our ends we must submit ourselves joyously to God and let Him work through us to achieve His own ends.
verse
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.
— Matthew 26:39
thought
Have you ever tried to use God? Have you attempted to persuade Him to do your will rather than you doing His? To know His will we must be fully committed to do it!
prayer
Lord, You were fully committed to do the will of the Father, costly as it was. By Your Spirit strengthen within me the resolve to do Your will no matter the cost.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
It is something of a happy paradox that while the thoughts deeply affect the will and go far to determine its choices, the will on the other hand has the power to control the thoughts. A will firmly engaged with God can swing the intellectual powers around to think on holy things.
Were it not so, Pauls words to the Philippians would be psychologically untenable: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).
Since we are here commanded to think on certain things it follows that we can command our thoughts; and if we can pick the objects upon which to meditate we can in the end sway our whole inner life in the direction of righteousness.
It is much more important that we think godly thoughts and will to do Gods will than that we feel spiritual.
Religious feelings may and do vary so greatly from person to person, or even in the same person they may vary so widely from one time to the next, that it is never safe to trust them.
Let us by a determined act of faith set our affections on things above and God will see to the rest.
The safest, and after a while the happiest, man is the one who can say, My heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
verse
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.
— Philippians 4:8
thought
Thoughts invade our thinking because of the world around us and things stored in our subconscious. We cant altogether prevent thought invasion. But when wrong thoughts, evil thoughts arise we can deliberately focus our mind on things good.
prayer
Lord, I determine by Your enablement to think about the good.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
It is significant that when our Lord describes the stream of iniquity as it flows out of the heart He begins with the thoughts.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies... Matthew 15:19.
It is doubtful whether any sin is ever committed until it first incubates in the thoughts long enough to stir the feelings and predispose the will toward it favorably.
Even the sudden flash of anger, which of all sins would appear on the surface to have the lowest mental content, is anything but a sudden eruption of the emotions.
The quick-tempered man is one who habitually broods over wrongs and insults and thus conditions himself for the sudden fit of temper that seems to have no mental origin. The heart that has had the benefit of broad, sane thinking on moral questions, especially long meditation upon mans sin, Gods mercy and the goodness of Christ in dying for His enemies, is not conditioned to blow up when occasion arises.
The worst reaction to an affront or an injustice will be annoyance or mild irritation, never a burst of sinful anger.
verse
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
— Ephesians 4:31-32
thought
The short-tempered person is given to fits of rage. Long-temperedness (patience) is part of the fruit of the Spirit as is gentleness and self-control. That fruit is produced in us as we walk by under the Spirits control.
prayer
Lord, help me to relate to people as You do to me-with great patience, grace and gentleness.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
It will probably be found at last that there is no sin except sin of the mind.
It is the carnal mind that is enmity against God, that is not subject to the law of God, neither can be.
It should, however, be remembered that when the Bible speaks of the mind it does not refer to the intellect alone.
The whole personality is included in the concept; the bent of the will, the moral responses, the sympathies and antipathies are there also, as well as the intellect.
When God saw the wickedness of man, that it was great in the earth, He saw what could not be seen from the outside, that, as it is rendered in one place, the whole imagination, with the purposes and desires of the heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
From this passage alone we may properly gather that sin has its seat deep within the mind where it pollutes the emotions (desires), the intellect (imaginations) and the will (purposes).
These taken together constitute what the Bible and popular theology call the heart.
verse
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
— Matthew 15:18-19
thought
What we are in heart at times explodes and at other times quietly leaks out through our mouths as well as our gestures, expressions and actions. That is why it is imperative that our hearts be clean and that there Christ be enthroned.
prayer
Examine my heart, Lord, expose it. I want my heart to be Your throne.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/
Any man who would escape the heavy tax which humankind lays upon the righteous must make a satisfactory compromise with error.
This is so because sin has perverted the nature of things.
He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey is as true now as when it was first uttered.
Little as we like to admit it, two thousand years of Christianity have not made much difference. The human race is still cursed with what Bacon called a natural though corrupt love of the lie itself. Nevertheless the hazards of truth should not count in our final tally.
Truth is such a royal patron that we should embrace it without regard to cost. The cautious calculator, who tinkers with truth for fear of consequences, is no worthy servant of such a noble master. We Christians above all people should value truth, for we profess to belong to the One who is the Truth.
The Stoics who had no access to the Scriptures nevertheless had a noble concept of truth and of mans responsibility to it. When on trial for his life before a hostile and prejudiced court one of them told his accusers: A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong-acting the part of a good man or a bad.
The true follower of Christ will not ask, If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?
Rather he will say, This is truth, God help me to walk in it, let come what may!
verse
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it.
— Isaiah 30:21
thought
Some of us want to know the way, the truth just to be knowledgeable among our brothers and sisters. But God shows us truth and says This is the way; walk in it.
prayer
You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. As You show me truth may I walk in the way of it, even though it is sometimes painful.
https://cmalliance.org/devotionals/tozer/