Quotes for reflection
Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
This Flame of the Presence was the beating heart of the Levitical order. Without it all the appointments of the tabernacle were characters of some unknown language; they had no meaning for Israel or for us. The greatest fact of the tabernacle was that Jehovah was there; a Presence was waiting within the veil. Similarly the Presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His Presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian’s privilege of present realization. According to its teachings we are in the Presence of God positionally, and nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence actually. The fiery urge that drove men like McCheyne is wholly missing. And the present generation of Christians measures itself by this imprefect rule. Ignoble contentment takes the place of burning zeal. We are satisfied to rest in our judicial possessions and for the most part we bother ourselves very little about the absence of personal experience.
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
…I have found the simple practice of remaining aware of God’s presence each moment brings me to the point toward which all other disciplines aspire. It is, I’m convinced, the bedrock of a vibrant relationship with God and the key to transformation into the likeness of Christ. Page 19
Gregory A. Boyd – Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now
Open your eyes right now and look. The One who is perfect love is alive in your room, surrounding you and all others who may be present. And he is at work to bring his Kingdom into this moment. Will you remain awake and surrendered-here and now? Page 136
Gregory A. Boyd – Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now
…remaining awake to God’s presence in the present moment is the single most important task of the Christian life and (that) no spiritual discipline is more foundational or transforming than this one. Page 18
Gregory A. Boyd – Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now
When we remain awake to God’s loving presence in a given moment, we allow that moment to manifest God’s Life rather than the preprogramming of our flesh-mind set. In these moments we are defined by God rather than whomever or whatever programmed us. In these moments Christ is our actual Lord rather than whomever or whatever programmed us. In these moments we are truly free rather than pathetic slaves who are mindlessly ‘conformed to the pattern of this world.’ Page 90
Gregory A. Boyd – Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now
“God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we as well as He can in divine communion enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile.” Page 32
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
“Wherever we turn in the church of God, there is Jesus. He is the beginning, middle and end of everything to us . . . There is nothing good, nothing holy, nothing beautiful, nothing joyous which He is not to His servants. No one need be poor, because, if he chooses, he can have Jesus for his own property and possession. No one need be downcast, for Jesus is the joy of heaven, and it is His joy to enter into sorrowful hearts. We can exaggerate about many things, but we can never exaggerate our obligation to Jesus, or the compassionate abundance of the love of Jesus to us. All our lives long we might talk of Jesus, and yet we should never come to an end of the sweet things that might be said of Him. Eternity will not be long enough to learn all He is, or to praise Him for all He has done, but then, that matters not, for we shall be always with Him, and we desire nothing more.” Page 39
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
“Human imagination is the point of contact between God and humanity” p. 213
Gregory A. Boyd – Seeing is Believing
