Prosperous, Comfortable and Spiritually Bored

 

Prosperous, Comfortable and Spiritually Bored

By A.W. Tozer

      The evangelical Christian need make no apology for his beliefs. They are in direct lineal descent from those of the apostles. He can check the tenets of his total creed against the life giving, transforming beliefs of church fathers both East and West, reformers, mystics, missionaries, saints and evangelists, and they will check out one by one. Then let him check them all with the Holy Scriptures and again they will prove to be sound. 

What then is the trouble? Why the inertia, the torpor that lies over the church? The answer is that we are too comfortable, too rich, too contented. We hold the faith of our fathers, but it does not hold us. We are suffering from judicial blindness visited upon us because of our sins. To us has been committed the most precious of all treasures, but we are not committed to it. We insist upon making our religion a form of amusement and will have fun whether or not. We are afflicted with religious myopia and see only things near at hand. 

God has set eternity in our hearts and we have chosen time instead. He is trying to interest us in a glorious tomorrow and we are settling for an inglorious today. 

We are bogged down in local interests and have lost sight of eternal purposes. We improvise and muddle along, hoping for heaven at last but showing no eagerness to get there, correct in doctrine but weary of prayer and bored with God.

Deuteronomy 30: Choose Life

Have you ever felt like a failure?

Leave It To God

 Streams in the Desert

      Leave It To God
      
      "Roll on Jehovah thy way" (Ps. 37:6, margin).
      
      Whatever it is that presses thee, go tell the Father; put the whole matter over into His hand, and so shalt thou be freed from that dividing, perplexing care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer anything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it, and acquaint Him with it; yes, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet, diligence in thy duty, and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God. --R. Leighton
      
      Build a little fence of trust Around today; Fill the space with loving work And therein stay. Look not through the sheltering bars Upon tomorrow; God will help thee bear what comes Of joy or sorrow. --Mary Butts
      
      We shall find it impossible to commit our way unto the Lord, unless it be a way that He approves. It is only by faith that a man can commit his way unto the Lord; if there be the slightest doubt in the heart that "our way" is not a good one, faith will refuse to have anything to do with it. This committing of our way must be a continuous, not a single act.
      
      However extraordinary and unexpected may seem to be His guidance, however near the precipice He may take you, you are not to snatch the guiding reins out of His hands. Are we willing to have all our ways submitted to God, for Him to pronounce judgment on them? There is nothing a Christian needs to be more scrutinizing about than about his confirmed habits and views. He is too apt to take for granted the Divine approbation of them. Why are some Christians so anxious, so fearful? Evidently because they have not left their way with the Lord. They took it to Him, but brought it away with them again.
      --Selected

A Sweet Silver Bell... (Micah 7:7) - Charles Spurgeon Sermon

The power of listening God’s way | Daryl Black

Rest On Us: Dove (Sensitivity of the Holy Spirit) // Dr. R.T. Kendall //

When Jesus Blows Up Your Theology | Dr. Teresa Conlon

Because He Lives

Considerate Christians

 

Considerate Christians

By Theodore Epp

      Philippians 4:1-7

      The word "moderation" (Phil. 4:5) emphasizes pliability and agreeableness. It is a special consideration given to other people, and it is to be the additive that causes a believer to patiently forbear under injury without desiring revenge.

      It is a spirit that is ready to forgive, and it possesses a gentleness of temper. It is also temperate in physical desires and demonstrates equity; that is, justice and impartiality in business.

      Having moderation means a person will avoid extremes and will not be explosive. The peace of God is obviously not in a person's life if he has an explosive temper.

      Nor can there be peace in a stubborn heart that refuses to yield to reason or to God. Nor is there the peace of God for the one living in physical excess; this only breeds greed and discontent.

      It cannot be overemphasized that the "moderation" of which Paul spoke in Philippians 4:5 is related to the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fruit that is produced by Him in our lives.

      That is why Paul used the word "let" in saying, "Let your moderation be known" (v. 5).

      We cannot self-produce moderation any more than we can self-produce the mind of Christ. Since Christ indwells us, we are to "let this mind be in [us], which was also in Christ Jesus" (2:5).

      So also, since the Holy Spirit indwells us, we are to let Him do His work in our lives to produce His fruit through us. And we are enabled to do this because "the Lord is at hand" (4:5).

      "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22,23).

"And So We Came To Rome" by T. Austin-Sparks

"And So We Came To Rome"

by T. Austin-Sparks

First published in "A Witness and A Testimony" magazine, Sep-Oct 1951, Vol. 29-5.

Reading: Rom. 1:10-15; 15:22-24,32; Acts 19:21; Acts 27, 28.

"And so we came to Rome" (Acts 28:14).

An Earthly Objective with Heavenly Significance

It is not a new idea that Paul's journey to Rome can be taken as not only the record of a journey but as representing spiritual factors in relation to the way of God with His Church in this dispensation, and perhaps especially the closing phase of the Church's history on earth, in that this journey represents the closing phase of the Apostle Paul's life. The interpretations vary, but the key to most of them is that the ship in which Paul travelled to Rome is a type of the Church and of its ultimate disintegration at the end of the dispensation. I do not find myself able to accept that interpretation, though not discountenancing altogether a typical interpretation of the journey. However, let us move to the positive side.

I will mention five aspects of this account which may be taken as typical of the Church's history. First of all, there are Paul and his companions - Aristarchus of Macedonia, and Luke - and I think they represent the Church. Then there is the ship, and that to my mind represents all such man-made means employed by God for the reaching of His ends. Then there is the sea, and frequently in the Word of God the sea is symbolical of the world of mankind. Further, there is the ship's company, and undoubtedly they speak of men of the world more or less affected by the Church, and affecting the Church. Finally there are the elements, which are very stormy and openly malignant, and sometimes apparently very benign; but whether in open revolt or quiet and apparently helpful, they are always hostile. That sums up the features of this story, but we come to the real message which lies in the heart of it.

Overcoming Evil