Thursday Tozer Tidbit of Truth

"You can blame circumstances, but backsliding always begins in the heart." A W Tozer

Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than...

All of this is profound, but I was particularly struck by the last sentence...


"When a man is speaking to God he is at his very acme. It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man's true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer."  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Convicting? Challenging? Convincing?

"What is both surprising and depressing is the sheer prayerlessness that characterizes so much of the Western church. 


It is surprising, because it is out of step with the Bible that portrays what  Christian living should be;


it is depressing, because it frequently coexists with abounding Christian activiity that somehow seems hollow, frivolous, and superficial."


D. A. Carson

The Only Thing

"The only thing of our very own which we contribute to our salvation is the sin which makes it necessary."
William Temple

The Missing Ingredient in Far Too Many "Gospel" Presentations

"You live in a world of cheating, imposition, and deception. Let no man deceive you about the necessity of repentance. Oh, that professing Christians would see, and know, and feel, more than they do—the necessity, the absolute necessity, of true repentance towards God! There are many things which are not needful. Riches are not needful. Health is not needful. Fine clothes are not needful. Noble friends are not needful. The favor of the world is not needful. Gifts and learning are not needful. Millions have reached heaven without these things. Thousands are reaching heaven every year without them. But no one ever reached heaven without "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.""

~ J.C. Ryle

Don't Ignore Matt/Mark/Luke/John!

Wise words of caution from J. I. Packer:

"[We can] correct woolliness of view as to what Christian commitment involves, by stressing the need for constant meditation on the four gospels, over and above the rest of our Bible reading: for gospel study enables us both to keep our Lord in clear view and to hold before our minds the relational frame of discipleship to him.

The doctrines on which our discipleship rests are clearest in the epistles, but the nature of discipleship itself is most vividly portrayed in the gospels.

Some Christians seem to prefer the epistles as if this were a mark of growing up spiritually; but really this attitude is a very bad sign, suggesting that we are more interested in theological notions than in fellowship with the Lord Jesus in person.

We should think, rather, of the theology of the epistles as preparing us to understand better the disciple relationship with Christ that is set forth in the gospels, and we should never let ourselves forget that the four gospels are, as has often and rightly been said, the most wonderful books on earth."

Thursday Tozer Tidbit of Truth

"As a man prays, so he is." A W Tozer

Love and Wrath

"If the Father truly loved the Son, surely He would not have exposed Him to such horrific suffering. How can the Son be 'beloved' of the Father and yet also the object of His wrath and judgment?



Such is the glorious, soul-saving, redeptive mystery of penal substitutionary atonement.


It is possible because the Son and the Father are united in their love for the elect and together entered into a covenant to redeem them from their sins. This could only be accomplished by the Son's willingly and freely offering Himself as a substitute who would wholly absorb the wrath of the Father, which those for whom He died deserved."


Sam Storms, The Hope of Glory

Only Two "Religions"

H.A. Ironside was approached by a student wondering how one could tell which of the "thousands" of religions was genuine.

Ironside replied:

"Well, before we can get into the question of which one is true, we need to clarify something. There are not thousands of religions. There are not even hundreds of religions. There are only two: one which tells you that salvation comes as a reward for what you have done, and one which tells you that salvation comes by what somebody else does for you. That’s Christianity. All the rest fit under the other. And if you think you can get your salvation by your own efforts, then Christianity has nothing to say to you. But if you know you need to be saved, then you are a candidate"

No Shortage of Lucys

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Thursday Tozer Tidbit of Truth

Trying to be happy without a sense of God's presence is like trying to have a bright day without the sun."
A W Tozer

Thursday Tozer Tidbit of Truth

"The good news isn't that God is victorious. How can He not be victorious? The good news is we can be victorious, too!" 
A W Tozer

Scripture Memory/Bible Quizzing...Cool?...Maybe

The first Bible quiz for the new year is slated for this Saturday.

After over thirty years of being involved in Bible quizzing, it remains a highlight of the work/ministry to which the Lord has called me.

I love the fact that teens are hiding God's Word in their hearts...

But I hope it is much more than that...

As Frances Chan says in this brief video:

Francis Chan - Making Disciples from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Jesus Wants The Rose!

It's a new year...maybe you've set some goals about sharing the gospel...let this serve as a reminder...not so gentle a reminder...that you (and I) share the gospel; not a twisted version of it; and that, as always, we watch out for the anti-gospel: legalism. This is less than four minutes as Matt Chandler tells of a pivotal point in his life and ministry...may be for you, also: