Tozer Devotional

Tozer Devotional
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
MONEY IS NOT TRUTH
It is a fact in human history that men and women have never in any great numbers sought after truth. The young people who stream from our halls of learning each year confess to having no more than a passing and academic interest in truth. The majority admit that they go to college only to improve their social standing and increase their earning power. So, the average American will confess that he most wants success in his chosen field; and he wants success both for prestige and for financial security. The ominous thing about all this is that everything men and women want can be bought with money, and it would be difficult to think of an indictment more terrible than that! Real seekers after truth are almost as rare as albino deer! Why? Because truth is a glorious but hard master. Jesus said, "I am the Truth," and followed Truth straight to the Cross. The Truth seeker must follow Him there and that is the reason few men seek the Truth!
Verse
The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22
Thought
Everything men and women want can be bought with money, and it would be difficult to think of an indictment more terrible than that!
Prayer
Lord, May I always seek the truth. May I always seek you. May I know you better, and grow in the knowlege of your will.

Tozer Devotional
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
THE CROWD TURNS BACK
Our Lord Jesus Christ called men to follow Him, but He plainly taught that "no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father" (John 6:65). It is not surprising that many of His early followers, upon hearing these words, went back and walked no more with Him. Such teaching cannot but be deeply disturbing to the natural mind. It takes from sinful men much of the power of self-determination. It cuts the ground out from under their self-help and throws them back upon the sovereign good pleasure of God-and that is precisely where they do not want to be! These statements by our Lord run contrary to the current assumptions of popular Christianity. Men are willing to be saved by grace, but to preserve their self-esteem, they must hold that the desire to be saved originated with them. Most Christians today seem afraid to talk about these plain words of Jesus concerning the sovereign operation of God-so they use the simple trick of ignoring them!
Verse
From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. John 6:66
Thought
Men are willing to be saved by grace, but to preserve their self-esteem, they must hold that the desire to be saved originated with them.
Prayer
Lord, I understand that I could never have come to you on my own. I am truly thankful that where I could not see to go, you took my hand and led me.

Tozer Devotional
Monday, May 30, 2011
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
Men and women who read and study the Scriptures for their literary beauty alone have missed the whole purpose for which they were given. God's Word is not to be enjoyed as one might "enjoy" a Beethoven symphony or a poem by Wordsworth. The reason: the Bible demands immediate action, faith, surrender, committal. Until it has secured these, it has done nothing positive for the reader, but it has increased his responsibility and deepened the judgment that must follow. The Bible was called forth by the fall of man. It is the voice of God calling men home from the wilds of sin; it is a road map for returning prodigals. It is instruction in righteousness, light in darkness, information about God and man and life and death and heaven and hell. Further, the destiny of each individual depends upon the response to that Voice in the Word!
Verse
The word of God... is sharper than any two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12
Thought
The Bible demands immediate action, faith, surrender, committal.
Prayer
Lord, may my response to your word be one that will make its words like sweet music to my ears. May the yield of the seed of your word be righteousness in me.

Tozer Devotional
Sunday, May 29, 2011
EXCEPT YE REPENT
There are many compelling lessons to be drawn from the Scriptures and one of the clearest is that sinful and rebellious people can never be forced into repentance. The same act that may cause one person to repent and believe will cause others to hate and despise God! The same Bible sermon that brings the person to tearful submission at an altar of prayer will send others out with pride and a resolve to have their own human way. Students of the Scriptures are aware that the Old Testament prophets and the writing apostles of New Testament times foresaw and proclaimed God's coming day of judgment-the consummate settling of accounts between the Sovereign God and his rebellious and sinful creation. How desperately we would like to believe that in the face of coming judgment, all lost men and women will cry out to God, but such will not be the case: "The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent" (Revelation 9:20).
Verse
The rest of mankind... still did not repent. Revelation 9:20
Thought
The same act that may cause one person to repent and believe will cause others to hate and despise God!
Prayer
Lord, make my heart soft, and help me to listen and to do your good will.

Tozer Devotional
Saturday, May 28, 2011
"TEARS OF JOY - AMEN!"
We need not be afraid of a genuine visitation of the Spirit of God! Blaise Pascal, the famed 17th-century French scientist and philosopher, experienced in his lifetime a personal, overwhelming encounter with God that changed his life. Those who attended him at his death found a worn, creased paper in his clothing, close to his heart; apparently a reminder of what he had felt and sensed in God's very presence. In Pascal's own hand it read: From about half-past ten at night, to about half after midnight-fire! 0 God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob - not the God of philosophers or the wise. The God of Jesus Christ who can be known only in the ways of the Gospel. Security. Feeling. Peace. Joy. Tears of joy-Amen! Were these the expressions of a fanatic, an extremist? No; it was the ecstatic utterance of a yielded man during two awesome hours in the presence of God. The astonished Pascal could only describe the visitation in one word-"Fire!"
Verse
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Luke 3:16
Thought
We need not be afraid of a genuine visitation of the Spirit of God!
Prayer
Lord, I pray that you will visit me as only you can. I pray that I may hold dear the times you have come to me in glory so real and so powerful as to defy words. May I feel the comfort and fervor of your fire always.

Tozer Devotional
Friday, May 27, 2011
WORSHIP-AND WORK
I must take issue with those in the churches who insist that the worshiping saints do not get anything done but worship! Such an attitude reveals that they have not done their homework. The beautiful part of worship is that it prepares you and enables you to zero in on the important things that must be done for God. Listen to me! Practically every great deed done in the church of Christ all the way back to the apostles was done by people blazing with the radiant worship of their God! The great hospitals and the mental institutions have grown out of the hearts of worshiping and compassionate disciples. It is true, also, that wherever the church has come out of her lethargy and into the tides of revival and spiritual renewal, always the worshipers were back of it. A survey of church history will prove that it was those who were the yearning worshipers who also became the great workers and the selfless servants. If we give ourselves to God's call for worship, everyone will do more for the Savior than they are doing now!
Verse
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men. 1 Thessalonians 4:12
Thought
The beautiful part of worship is that it prepares you and enables you to zero in on the important things that must be done for God.
Prayer
Lord, may worship draw me toward your work I know I am to do for you, and may it prepare me to do it well.

Tozer Devotional
Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE IMAGE WE PROJECT
Are we presently missing important elements of worship in our churches? I speak of the genuine and sacred offering of ourselves as we worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must ask the question, even though we are building great churches and large congregations. We are boasting about high standards and talking about revival. But as evangelical Christian believers, are we as concerned as we should be about the image we really project to the community around us? It cannot be denied that many who profess the name of Christ still fail to show forth His love and compassion! It should say something to us that the often-quoted Jean-Paul Sartre described his turning to philosophy and hopelessness as a turning away from a secularistic church. His indictment: "I did not recognize in the fashionable God who was taught me, Him who was waiting for my soul. I needed a creator: I was given a big businessman! "
Verse
o come, let us worship and bow down; for he is our God. Psalm 95:6-7
Thought
It cannot be denied that many who profess the name of Christ still fail to show forth His love and compassion!
Prayer
Lord, let my life be a bright reflection of the love you give to me.

Tozer Devotional
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
WISDOM FROM GOD
The thinking of our generation often reflects a willingness to exchange a high view of God's eternity for a short-term concept called "here and now." Technology is presumed to be paramount but the answers science gives us are short-term answers. The scientists may be able to keep us alive for a few extra years but believing Christians know some things that Einstein did not know! For instance, we know why we are here. We can say why we were born. We also know what we believe about the value of things eternal. We are thankful that we have found the promise from the God of all grace that deals with the long-term and the eternal. We belong to a company of the plain people who believe the truth revealed in the Bible. Actually, the wisest person in the world is the person who knows the most about God; the person who realizes that the answer to creation and life and eternity is a theological answer-not a scientific answer!
Verse
Things which are seen are temporal... things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
Thought
We are thankful that we have found the promise from the God of all grace that deals with the long-term and the eternal.
Prayer
Lord, make me truly wise by teaching me all I can know about you.

Tozer Devotional
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
If you are a discouraged and defeated Christian believer, you may have accepted the rationalization that your condition is "normal for all Christians." You may now be content with the position that the progressive, victorious Christian life may be suitable for a few Christian - but not for you! You have been to Bible conferences; you have been to the altar-but the blessings are for someone else. Now, that attitude on the part of Christian believers is neither modesty nor meekness. It is a chronic discouragement resulting from unbelief. It is rather like those who have been sick for so long that they no longer believe they can get well. Jesus is still saying, as He said to the man lying by the gate at the Jerusalem pool, "Do you want to be made whole?" Jesus made him whole-because of his desire! His need was great, but he had never lapsed into that state of chronic discouragement.
Verse
When Jesus saw ... he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole. John 5:6
Thought
Jesus is still saying, as He said to the man lying by the gate at the Jerusalem pool, "Do you want to be made whole?"
Prayer
Lord, My desire is to be whole. I pray that I may never be satisfied with any other condition. I am your child. I will act like it.

Tozer Devotional
Monday, May 23, 2011
NORMAL-OR NOMINAL?
Is the Lord Jesus Christ your most precious treasure in the whole world? If so, count yourself among "normal" Christians, rather than among "nominal" Christians! My old dictionary gives this definition as the meaning of nominal: Existing in name only, not real or actual; hence so small, slight, as to be hardly worth the name. With that as a definition, those who know they are Christians "in name only" should never make the pretense of being normal Christians. Thankfully those who are "normal" are constantly being drawn to praise and worship, charmed by the moral beauty which is found only in Jesus. I cannot understand how anyone can profess to be a follower and a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ and not be overwhelmed by His attributes. Those divine attributes faithfully attest that He is indeed Lord of all, completely worthy of our worship and praise!
Verse
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34
Thought
I cannot understand how anyone can profess to be a follower and a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ and not be overwhelmed by His attributes.
Prayer
Lord, I pray that I never am considered just a nominal Christian. May I always be charmed by the moral beauty which is found only in Jesus.

Tozer Devotional
Sunday, May 22, 2011

"AUTOMATIC" SAINTS?

Not everyone agrees with me that full qualification for eternity is not instant or automatic or painless. I can only hope that you are wise enough, desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that every day is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind. I hope, too, that you may begin to understand why many evangelical churches are in such a mess. It has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and automatic saintliness. It has become a part of our "instant" culture-"just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way!" "Lo," we are told, "this is Bible Christianity! ,' "It is nothing of the sort!" To depend upon that kind of a formula is to experience only the outer fringe, the edge of what Christianity really is. For when the new birth is real and the wonder of regeneration has taken place, then comes the lifetime of preparation with the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

Verse
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest. 2 Corinthians 4:10

Thought
It has become a part of our "instant" culture-"just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way!"

Prayer
Lord, I expect my life to be fully occupied from now until eternity with being your disciple. I just thank you for the blessed opportunity.

Tozer Devotional
Saturday, May 21, 2011
WE KNOW WHAT WE BELIEVE
The hope of the Christian church still lies in the purity of her theology, that is, her beliefs about God and man and their relation to each other. It is a fact that positive beliefs are not popular these days. I sense that the modern efforts to popularize the Christian faith have been extremely damaging to that faith. The purpose has been to simplify truth for the masses by using the language of the masses instead of the language of the church. It has not succeeded, but has added to rather than diminished religious confusion. A mistaken desire to maintain a spirit of tolerance among all races and religions has produced a breed of Janus-like Christians with built-in swivels, remarkable only for their ability to turn in any direction gracefully! Our Christian beliefs have been revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the sacred Scriptures. Everything there is clear-cut and accurate. We dare not be less than accurate in our treatment of anything so precious!
Verse
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled... not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Colossians 1:23
Thought
It is a fact that positive beliefs are not popular these days. I sense that the modern efforts to popularize the Christian faith have been extremely damaging to that faith.
Prayer
Lord, let me always remember to face only in the right direction. Remove my swivel.

Tozer Devotional
Friday, May 20, 2011

THE ETERNAL VERITY

There is a great deal of discussion now taking place about the lack of spiritual power in our Christian churches. What about the New Testament patterns? Brethren, the apostolic method was to provide a foundation of good, sound biblical reasons for following the Savior, for our willingness to let the Spirit of God display the great Christian virtues in our lives. That is why we come in faith and rejoicing to the eternal verity of Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever!" This proclamation gives significance to every other section of teaching and exhortation in the letter to the Hebrews. In this verse is truth that is morally and spiritually dynamic if we will exercise the faith and the will to demonstrate it in our needy world. I think this fact, this truth that Jesus Christ wants to be known in His church as the ever-living, never-changing Lord of all, could bring back again the power and testimony of the early church!

Verse
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Thought
I think this fact, this truth that Jesus Christ wants to be known in His church as the ever-living, never-changing Lord of all, could bring back again the power and testimony of the early church!

Prayer
Lord, I am so thankful that you are always the same. I can always look to you "The Rock" for stability in my life, and we look to you for stability in the church.

Tozer Devotional
Thursday, May 19, 2011

THE GOSPEL WARNING

We who rejoice in the blessings that have come to us through the Savior, need to bear in mind that the gospel is not good news only! The message of the Cross is good news indeed for the penitent, but to those who obey not the gospel it carries an overtone of warning. The Spirit's ministry to the impenitent world is to tell of sin and righteousness and judgment. For sinners who want to cease being willful sinners and become obedient children of God, the gospel message is one of unqualified peace, but it is by its very nature also an arbiter of the future destinies of man. Actually, the message of the gospel may be received in either of two ways: in word only without power, or in word with power. The truth received in power shifts the bases of life from Adam to Christ-a new and different Spirit enters the personality and makes the believing man new in every department of his being!

Verse
As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. Acts 24:25

Thought
The message of the Cross is good news indeed for the penitent, but to those who obey not the gospel it carries an overtone of warning.

Prayer
Lord, I am reminded that to truly be your son I had to surrender all to you. Help me daily to renew your Lordship in my life by remembering what your salvation requires.

Tozer Devotional
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
LORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
In the midst of all the confusions of our day, it is important that we find out that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all righteousness and the Lord of all wisdom. Righteousness is not a word easily acceptable to lost men and women in a lost world. Outside of the Word of God, there is no book or treatise that can give us a satisfying answer about righteousness, because the only One who is Lord of all righteousness is our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom. He is the only One in all the universe who perfectly loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Our great High Priest and Mediator is the righteous and holy One-Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. He is not only righteous, He is the Lord of all righteousness! Then, there is His wisdom. The sum total of the deep and eternal wisdom of the ages lies in Jesus Christ as a treasure hidden away. All the deep purposes of God reside in Him because His perfect wisdom enables Him to plan far ahead! Thus history itself becomes the slow development of His purposes.
Verse
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1:30
Thought
Christ is the only One in all the universe who perfectly loved righteousness and hated iniquity.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the reminder that you are the author of righteousness and wisdom. Help me to remember to always depend on you as the only source of those resources.

Tozer Devotional
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
PREACH A WHOLE CHRIST
I reject the human insistence among us that Christ may sustain a divided relationship toward us in this life. I am aware that this is now so commonly preached that to oppose it or object to it means that you are sticking your neck out and you had best be prepared for what comes. But, I am forced to ask: how can we insist and teach that our Lord Jesus Christ can be our Savior without being our Lord? How can so many continue to teach that we can be saved without any thought of obedience to our Sovereign Lord? I am satisfied in my own heart that when a man or a woman believes on the Lord Jesus Christ he or she must believe on the whole Lord Jesus Christ-not making any reservation! How can a teaching be justified when it encourages sinners to use Jesus as a Savior in their time of need, without owing Him obedience and allegiance? I believe we need to return to preaching a whole Christ to our needy world!
Verse
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9
Thought
How can we insist and teach that our Lord Jesus Christ can be our Savior without being our Lord?
Prayer
Lord, help me not to lead people into a false belief. As I reach out to souls let it be with the offer of a whole Christ.

Tozer Devotional
Monday, May 16, 2011
GLORY OF THE TRINITY
The more I read my Bible, the more I believe in the triune God! With the prophet Isaiah, I am stirred by the vision of the heavenly creatures, the seraphim around the throne of God, engrossed in their worship and praise. I have often wondered why the rabbis and saints and hymnists of the olden times did not come to the knowledge of the Trinity just from the seraphims' chorus: "Holy! Holy! Holy!" I am a trinitarian- I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, begotten of Him before all ages. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified. Isaiah was an astonished man. He could only manage this witness: "Mine eyes have seen the King!,, Only the King of glory can reveal Himself to the willing spirit of a man, so that an Isaiah or any other man or woman, can say with humility but with assurance, "I know Him!"
Verse
Three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1 John 5:8
Thought
I have often wondered why the rabbis and saints and hymnists of the olden times did not come to the knowledge of the Trinity just from the seraphims' chorus: "Holy! Holy! Holy!"
Prayer
Lord, I am astonished and amazed as many are by the facts that I cannot understand, but I do believe that you are the triune God. It is beyond me to understand that fact, but it is in me to worship. I worship you.

Tozer Devotional
Sunday, May 15, 2011
THE GODHEAD-FOREVER ONE
When Christ Jesus died on that unholy, fly-infested cross for mankind, He never divided the Godhead! We are assured from the earliest church fathers that the Father in heaven, His eternal Son, and the Holy Ghost are forever One-inseparable, indivisible- and can never be anything else. Not all of Nero's swords could ever cut down through the substance of the Godhead to cut off the Father from the Son. It was Mary's son who cried out, "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" It was the human body which God had given Him. It was the sacrifice that cried-the lamb about to die! The Son of Man knew himself forsaken. God dumped that vast, filthy, slimy mass of human sin on the soul of the Savior-and then backed away. Believe it that the ancient and timeless Deity was never separated. He was still in the bosom of the Father when He cried, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit!" Little wonder that we are amazed and marvel every day at the wonder of the ancient theology of the Christian church!
Verse
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23:46
Thought
Not all of Nero's swords could ever cut down through the substance of the Godhead to cut off the Father from the Son.
Prayer
Lord, I am amazed at the gulf that you spanned for us. I could never fully understand, but I simply believe.

Tozer Devotional
Saturday, May 14, 2011
BEGIN WITH GOD
I am really sad for the great throngs of men and women who have never known the satisfaction of believing what God says about all of the good things He has created-and everything having its purpose! This is an area in which you must begin with God. Then you begin to understand everything in its proper context. All things fit into shape and form when you begin with God! In Christian circles, there is now an undue deference to intellectual knowledge and accomplishment. I insist that it ought to be balanced out. We appreciate the efforts and hours that go into academic progress, but we must always keep God's wisdom and God's admonitions in mind. Search and study as we will and we discover that we have only learned fragments of truth. On the other hand, the newest Christian believer has already learned many marvelous things at the center of truth. He has met and knows God! That is the primary issue, my brother and sister. That is why we earnestly invite men and women to become converted, taking Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord!

Verse
Not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Thought
All things fit into shape and form when you begin with God!

Prayer
Lord, I will make you the center of truth in my life today and always. I will look to you alone for true wisdom.

Tozer Devotional
Friday, May 13, 2011
PRAYER FOR ANOINTING
It is time, 0 God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pasture, and the sheep are torn and scattered. False shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me, anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet - not a promoter, not a religious manager. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Lay Thy terror upon me, 0 God, and drive me to the place of prayer, where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Teach me self-discipline, that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Tozer Devotional
Thursday, May 12, 2011
THE END OF THE AGE
Everywhere around us we are experiencing a great new wave of humanity's interest in spiritism and devil worship. I must take this as one of the signs that God's age of grace and mercy is approaching the end point. It tells us that the time may be near when God proclaims: "I have seen enough of mankind's sin and rebellion. It is time for the trumpets of judgment to sound!" If we are willing to add the appeals from the book of Revelation to the weight of the other Scriptures, we discover God saying to us that the earth on which we live is not self-explanatory and certainly not self-sufficient. Although the earth on which we spin is largely populated by a rebel race, it had a divine origin. Now God is about to enforce His claim upon it and judge those who are usurpers. He is saying that there is another and better world, another kingdom, that is always keeping an eye on the world we inhabit!
Verse
All of these things shall be dissolved... what manner of persons ought ye to be? 2 Peter 3:11
Thought
Although the earth on which we spin is largely populated by a rebel race, it had a divine origin.
Prayer
Lord, You are aware of the state of the world in which we live, and I am glad you are in control.

Tozer Devotional
Tuesday, May 11, 2011
"BE STILL AND KNOW"
Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified "gold rush." Almost every book on prayer deals with the "get" element mainly. How to get things we want from God occupies most of our space. Christians should never forget that the highest kind of prayer is never the making of requests. Prayer at its holiest moment is the entering into God to a place of such blessed union as makes miracles seem tame and remarkable answers to prayer appear something very far short of wonderful, by comparison. We should be aware that there is a kind of school where the soul must go to learn its best eternal lessons. It is the school of silence. "Be still and know," said the psalmist. It might well be a revelation to some Christians if they were to get completely quiet for a time-a time to listen in the silence for the deep voice of the Eternal God!
Verse
Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Thought
Christians should never forget that the highest kind of prayer is never the making of requests.
Prayer
Lord, I pray that you will teach me just to sit quietly sometimes and know you are God. I would aspire to hold on to that knowlege always and feel your comforting presence.

Tozer Devotional
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
"NOW IT IS THE LORD"
Is it possible to become so enamored of God's good gifts that we fail to worship Him, the Giver? Dr. Albert B. Simpson, the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, invited to preach in a Bible conference in England discovered on his arrival that he was to follow two other Bible teachers. All three had been given the same topic, "Sanctification. " From the pulpit, the first speaker made clear his position that sanctification means eradication- the old carnal nature is removed. The second, a suppressionist, advised: "Sit on the lid and keep the old nature down!" Dr. Simpson in his turn quietly told his audience that he could only present Jesus Christ Himself as God's answer. "Jesus Christ is your Sanctifier, your all and in all! God wants you to get your eyes away from the gifts. He wants your gaze to be on the Giver-Christ Himself," he said. This is a wonderful word for those who would worship rightly: Once it was the blessing; Now it is the Lord!
Verse
In Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us... sanctification. 1 Corinthians 1:30
Thought
"Jesus Christ is your Sanctifier, your all and in all! God wants you to get your eyes away from the gifts. He wants your gaze to be on the Giver-Christ Himself,"
Prayer
Lord, be my vision and my focus. You are the giver of all good gifts, and I worship you today.

Tozer Devotional
Monday, May 09, 2011
GIVE TIME TO GOD
I have often wished that there were some way to bring modern Christians into a deeper spiritual life painlessly by short easy lessons; but such wishes are vain. No shortcut exists! God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him! He must count no time wasted which is spent in the cultivation of His acquaintance. He must give himself to meditation and prayer hours on end. So did the saints of old, the glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the prophets and the believing members of the holy Church in all generations. And so must we if we would follow in their train! May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the kingdom like little children through the marketplace, chattering about everything but pausing to learn the true value of nothing?
Verse
In his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:2
Thought
God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him!
Prayer
Lord, help me to appreciate my time with you, and remind me that your place in my schedule is the most important.

Tozer Devotional
Sunday, May 08, 2011
THE SPIRIT ILLUMINATES
When we study the New Testament record, we see plainly that Christ's conflict was with the theological rationalists of His day. John's gospel record is actually a long, inspired, passionately- outpoured account trying to save us from evangelical rationalism- the doctrine that says the text is enough. Divine revelation is the ground upon which we stand. The Bible is the book of God and I stand for it with all my heart; but before I can be saved, there must be illumination, penitence, renewal, inward deliverance. In our Christendom, we have tried to ease many people into the kingdom but they have never been renewed within their own beings. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God! There is a difference. We must insist that conversion to Christ is a miraculous act of God by the Holy Spirit-it must be wrought in the Spirit. There must be an inward illumination!
Verse
Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5
Thought
Divine revelation is the ground upon which we stand.
Prayer
Lord, speak to me inwardly even as I study your word to shape my spiritual understanding. Renew my soul as well as my mind, and work in my heart as well as my mind. Make all of me a worthy sacrifice to you.

Tozer Devotional
Saturday, May 07, 2011
OUR INDIVIDUAL WORTH
Our lost race has always been prone to discount and reject the wonderful fact of the individual factor in the love of God. Far, far too many men and women in this world are convinced that God's love for the world is just one big lump - and the individual is not involved. We have only to look around us with serious observation to confirm the fact that the devil has been successful in planting his lie that no one cares for the individual person. Even in nature around us, there appears to be very little individual concern. The burden of concern is always for the species. But Jesus did not preach to the multitudes as though they were a faceless crowd. He preached to them as individuals, and with a knowledge of the burdens and the needs of each one. Our Savior did not come into the world to deal with statistics! Each of us must come with full confidence that it is a personal word God has spoken to us in Christ, that "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish."
Verse
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Romans 10:4
Thought
We have only to look around us with serious observation to confirm the fact that the devil has been successful in planting his lie that no one cares for the individual person.
Prayer
Lord, help me to spread the word to each individual I can that you love him or her specifically. Help me to convey to them just how much you can love one person.

Tozer Devotional
Friday, May 06, 2011
WE HAVE IT ALL
How much time have you spent in your Christian life meditating on the plain instruction from our Savior?-"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." The God who has revealed Himself to needy men and women wants us to know that when we have Him, we have everything - we have all the rest! Any of us who have experienced a life and ministry of faith can tell how the Lord has met our need even for food and the essentials of life. Brethren, we ought to learn, and learn it soon, that it is much better to have God first and have God Himself, even if we have only a thin dime, than to have all the riches and all the influence in this world and not have God with it! Let us go on to know Him and to love Him more dearly; not for His gifts and benefits but for the pure joy of His presence. Thus we will fulfill the purpose for which He created us and redeemed us!
Verse
Seek ye first the kingdom... all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
Thought
The God who has revealed Himself to needy men and women wants us to know that when we have Him, we have everything - we have all the rest!
Prayer
Lord, without you I am nothing, and have nothing. I would rather be a slave to men with you than a ruler of men without you. You remind me daily just how rich I am.