Category — Attributes of God

Whether you are familiar with A.W. Tozer or not I think you will enjoy the following. Tozer wrote the book The Knowledge of the Holy. Below is the first chapter of that book entitled, Why we must think rightly about God. This is my first attempt at bringing his early 20th century writing into 21st century language. His original work can be fairly tedious to read for most today. Please let me know what you think by your comments. Should I continue the project and complete the updating/editing of Tozer’s book?

The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer

Chapter 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God

Lord God Almighty! I call upon you not as a god of our own making. You are the One revealed and proclaimed by the prophets and apostles, and best of all, by your own Son Jesus Christ!

Those who don’t know you call on you as someone other than who you really are. They do not worship you but a creature of their own imagination. Therefore reveal yourself to us that we may know you as you truly are so that we will love you and praise you fittingly.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [Read more →]

A while back I was reading the account of Abraham again in Genesis. God appeared to him in his homeland and told him to leave and go to a land that he would reveal to him when he got there. Think of setting out on a thousand mile journey with your household, livestock and belongings on wheeled carts not knowing where you were going! I couldn’t help but see his walk with God as one big adventure. Paul calls Abraham the man of faith and I realized that a life of faith really is a life of adventure.

Webster defines adventure as “an undertaking or experience that involves hazard and requires courage.” My mind went to Luke 9:22-23 where Jesus called disciples, “And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” [Read more →]

Every fall in the Northwest we experience a weather pattern called an “inversion”.  An inversion weather pattern creates overcast and foggy conditions in the valleys making it cold, damp and dismal. The valleys and low areas are where most people live and work, so they’re often oblivious to the fact that the depressing weather they’re experiencing is localized. Sometimes an inversion will go on for days and can feel very oppressive. But travel a couple thousand feet higher in elevation during an inversion and you’ll burst out of the fog and dampness into warm, dry sunny skies! Not only is the sunshine revitalizing, but the view from above the clouds provides a bigger perspective on life.

All of us from time to time experience an “inversion” in our spiritual lives as well. We seem to get buried under the clouds of our daily grind. We forget the sunshine of God’s grace and presence and feel oppressed by trials and hardship. If relationships around us have grown cold our discomfort deepens and we may become joyless, sad and even depressed. [Read more →]

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces.” (Proverbs 3:9 NLT) To honor God is to show our regard, esteem, value, respect, and prizing of him. When we give to the Lord, we demonstrate to him, to others, and to ourselves that he is supreme in our lives.  When we give, we attest that he is our most valued treasure. Giving shows that our hearts are set on him and not on our money or belongings. Giving honors God as supreme. Giving to him is an act of worship.

But there is both a non-giving and a giving that dishonors God. Not giving simply fails to honor God. Not giving demonstrates that we treasure our wealth and possessions above God. Not giving to God withholds honor from him and hoards that honor for us. By not giving we deny that all we have comes from God and belongs to him. Not giving also fails to show gratitude and thanksgiving for all God has blessed us with. So, not giving dishonors God. [Read more →]

For 40 years God led Israel through the barren wilderness of the Middle East. In spite of their repeated grumblings and rebellion, God continued to love, lead and provide for his people. Even when they were unfaithful to him, he remained faithful to them. In all those years, God sustained this massive company of people by miraculously providing them with manna. Manna was a food substance like bread that God caused to appear on the ground each morning. The people of Israel gathered manna as their staple food through all those years.

 In year 39 of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness two men woke up one morning. One man got up, put on his outer garment and lifted the flap over the door of his tent to step out into the desert morning. As he ducked under the tent flap it dumped a load of sand down his neck. He cursed under his breath and angrily shook out his clothes muttering, “I am sick and tired of this infernal sand! I’ve got sand in my bed, sand in my hair, sand in my food! Everywhere there’s sand! I hate this life of constant moving and upheaval. And guess what’s for breakfast? Manna—again!”  [Read more →]

Marlene was married with four children – all boys. Fairly early on in her marriage she contracted a crippling disease that if not checked would become terminal. The disease kept her mostly bedridden and unable to cope with even the simplest of her household and motherly chores.

Marlene’s husband was saddled with the responsibility of going to work every day and then coming home and taking care of the household, the children, and his invalid wife.

The pressure of this situation continued for 12 long years until one day when Marlene turned to Jesus Christ and asked him to heal her. She desperately longed to be the wife her husband needed and to take care of her children and home. [Read more →]

In my new found relationship with God, David was one of my heroes. As I learned about him in 1 and 2 Samuel and read his prayers in the Psalms I wanted to imitate his love and passion for the Lord. David’s strong, masculine relationship with God also demonstrated for me what God wants to do in and through a man who follows him.

After God delivered David from those who were trying to kill him David wrote Psalm 18. There he credits God with the strength and protection that spared his life. I love the way he expresses his dependence and diligence as a man trusting God. In verse 29 (NLT) David shouts with joy to God, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.” I too wanted to be a man who is following Jesus Christ and trusting him for strength and leading.

Well, at 19 years old, we were still at war in Viet Nam and the draft was still in force. So when I received a letter from Uncle Sam informing me that I was being inducted into the military, I remember feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation. I knew that nothing like this could happen to me without God’s sovereign direction. The military was not something I had shown any interest in, but I took it as an opportunity to grow in Christ and serve my country. [Read more →]

When I was 16 years old, I participated in a 1300 mile bicycle trip around Lake Superior. The trip took us through Wisconsin, Ontario and Minnesota. Twenty three of us embarked on this adventure. Although we had trained hard to get ready for cycling 100 miles a day, once into the trip we realized that the only way to really prepare for riding 100 miles a day is to ride 100 miles a day!

I was riding a 1968 Sears and Roebuck ten-speed racer with a hard plastic seat. Others rode heavy Schwinns and quite a few bought brand new Gitanes—a super light-weight French bike. But no matter what we were riding, by the third day our butts were sore! Past that third day mark we began to get into a groove in which we felt good and rode hard. [Read more →]

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8 NLT

Over the next few weeks I’ve decided to tell some of the stories of God’s faithfulness in my life. My prayer is that if you have never “tasted and seen” how good God is that you would begin to experience the joy of trusting him. Or perhaps in the past you have “tasted and seen” that God is good, but that experience seems foreign and distant. Take heart! God invites us:

“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!

Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:1-3, 6 NLT) [Read more →]

In the 80’s my wife and I were missionaries in Austria. For a time we worked in a town with a population of 40,000 to establish a church. When we started looking for a place to rent in town we were amazed to find that there was nothing available! So a friend of ours began driving the neighborhoods looking for vacant houses. He found such a house and put us in contact with the owner.

Apparently a nine-year-old boy had inherited this 100-year-old villa from his aunt, who had not been able to care for it or herself for the ten years prior to her death. After she died, the house sat vacant for another five years. It had been broken into several times and ransacked by vandals. When the mother of the boy (owner) showed us the house, it looked like Frankenstein’s lair! Everything was covered with soot. The curtains, floor and furniture all were blanketed in black soot. The place was a mess! [Read more →]