Tag Archives: A. W. Tozer

Five Minute Friday: Backwards

Posted on by

28

It’s Friday {finally}, and I’m so excited for what this weekend will include! An in-person meet-up with the online friend who is solely responsible for my current Chick-fil-a addiction. Guest posting tomorrow on the blog of an author I respect and admire {check my new blog Facebook page tomorrow for the link!}.

Add to that the joint birthday party we’re having for Elijah & Cora, and it’s an eventful weekend!

And then, of course, there’s Five Minute Friday! Today’s prompt from Lisa-Jo is: Backwards.

I sat myself down, wrote for five minutes, and left it unedited for your perusal. If you feel so inspired, leave a comment below about your response to backwards, or {if you blog} link up over at Lisa-Jo’s place to join the party.

GO

A.W. Tozer once said in one of his sermons that people who pray for God to glorify Himself through their specific organization or mission had it backwards. They were seeking their own acclaim, and not the glory of God. As Josh and I look toward our future in Washington, we fight this same idea. It’s so natural to ask God to provide for the perfect position or ministry for us to participate in so that our calling can be fulfilled. Our intentions are correct, but the attitude is skewed.

Our friend keeps telling us that we’re moving to Washington to glorify God. Not to fulfill our calling. Not to justify our education. Not to save people {although that would be cool}. For God to be glorified is the greatest goal, because it is outside of ourselves. 

Tozer goes on to tell of an evangelist who was planning on visiting a church, and was told that a revival had already occurred and his services were no longer needed. The evangelist told them to “hold the revival for me.” 

Lord, in all of my dealings, in all that I do, let it be for Your glory. May the words of John the Baptist be mine, that I would decrease and You increase.

STOP

Happy Friday!

::
Did you know that I have a Facebook page for this here blog now? I wanted a place to connect with one another through updates and happenings, quotes, photos and links as I come across them! Just click here to join me, and don’t forget to click “like” at the top of the Facebook page to stay alerted to all this and more!
Also, you can sign up to have my posts automatically delivered to your inbox, subscribe in a reader {for free}!

1000 Raucous Sounds

Posted on by

21

Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.” Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen. {A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, pp. 82-83, emphasis mine}

My life is loud. Living over a church and a daycare, I have a constant stream of noises that I have no control over. Worship practice under my feet. Fighting toddlers outside my window. Lawn mowers on the weekends and car alarms in the parking garage across the street at night.

Although the sources may be different, I’m sure you have your own symphony of sounds that fill your life.

In addition to the ones I have no control over, I have those within my own home: blaring kid shows on television, crying babies who need, ringing cell phone, teasing children, alerts on the computer, and more.

Sometimes I just want to yell: “Stop!”

Give me peace, give me rest, I am weary…

“Lord, teach me to listen.”

To Him, to my children, to my husband, to my heart.

Fasting from media this week has reminded me of quiet. Allowing myself to disconnect and be, yes, bored has shown me how frequently I turn to TV or online connections to fill the void within me.

Yesterday I talked about a fast being a feast. So far I’ve found it to be a feast on His voice. He’s talking to me through my reading, my prayers, the comments you all have left and the conversations I’ve had with Josh.

I am learning to cultivate simplicity:

Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions.

Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us—that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given….

The remedy for distractions is the same now as it was in earlier and simpler times, viz., prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the inner life. The psalmist said “Be still, and know,” and Christ told us to enter into our closet, shut the door and pray unto the Father.

It still works….

Distractions must be conquered or they will conquer us. So let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the Word of God and our hearts with praise. In that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” (A.W. Tozer, Set Of The Sail: Directions for Your Spiritual Journey, pp. 129-132, emphasis mine)

What have you found to be a distraction in your own life?

What is counted among your “thousand raucous sounds?”

How can you cultivate simplicity this weekend?

{Want my posts quietly delivered to you? Sign up today in a reader or have updates delivered to your inbox!}
{photo courtesy of Photobucket}