The wisdom of A.W. Tozer never ceases to astound me. Let me share some words of his I recently read: “Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done, but by how much I could have done! In God’s sight, my giving is measured not by how much I have given, but by how much I had left after I made my gift.” He goes on to say that “[Jesus] sacrificed many pure enjoyments to give Himself to the holy work of moral rescue. His conduct was determined not by what was legitimate or innocent, but by our human need. He pleased not Himself but lived for the emergency; and as He was so are we in this world!” (“Renewed Day by Day Volume 1”, 2/19)
commitment
Becoming
Earl D. Ramacher said, “I become today, by what I do with what God gave me, what I will be in the life to come. Today is a day of becoming. Then will be a day of being what I have become.” This is a truth that followers of Jesus must keep foremost in their minds. It’s something typical Christians scarcely consider. What we do today has massive implications on how we will spend eternity. Much like the metaphor of a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world causes a Tsunami in another, our small actions today ultimately will shape and define our spiritual destiny.
Hard Questions
Kyle Idleman, author of the fantastic books “Not a Fan” and “Gods at War”, recently wrote of his experience with the persecuted church in Southeast Asia. When someone there is contemplating becoming a follower of Christ, they are asked some very difficult questions: “Are you willing to lose your job and home?”; “Are you willing to be beaten and thrown in jail because of your faith?”; “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” This is in stark contrast to how the Western Church leads people into the Kingdom. We ask them to raise their hand, pray a prayer, and maybe come to the front of the group; and we have the audacity to say these actions require great boldness!
All or Nothing
As I write this, it’s the time of year when most New Year’s resolutions have faded into the ether. Best intentions have been sacrificed in the name of comfort and convenience, waiting to be resurrected again next year. Failing to keep some resolutions is trivial; others will be harmful to our health, while some will be detrimental to our walk with Christ. A commitment to Jesus should be more than a non-binding resolution. When we surrender something to God and then take it back, it shows the true attitude of our heart; it is obvious that we do not consider Him Lord of our life.
Failing Miserably
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers”, he presents a concept that has been discussed at length in books, magazines, TV, and radio since its publication. Mr. Gladwell’s research showed that those obtaining mastery in their field had spent roughly 10,000 hours in preparation. In other words, a guitarist who has practiced for 10,000 hours or a speaker who had devoted 10,000 hours to honing his craft would be at the top of their game. Contrast this with a recent survey from the American Bible Society that found 41% of church-going people did not open their Bible a single time during the past week, and another 40% opened it only once or twice. The survey did not detail how many hours were spent in the Word by those opening it once or twice, but I think we can infer it was not many.