Spirit Taught

By A.W. Tozer

Having as the High Priest of our profession the incarnation of all divine wisdom and having as our source book of religious knowledge the holy Scriptures, the soundest and saltiest work ever written, why do we tend so easily to become confused about things spiritual? I believe the causes are four, and I propose to state them in this and the next chapters. 

The first cause of religious confusion is our failure to understand that the truth as it is in Christ Jesus is a moral and spiritual thing and not something intellectual merely. Let a man approach the burning bush of divine truth with the desire to grasp it in his hand and the intensity of the fire will blind his eyes and cauterize his hands and face to the point of insensibility. Before the awesome vision of revealed truth, the human intellect should kneel and hide its face in trembling adoration. Because Moses was afraid to look upon God, the Lord could speak to him face to face as a man speaks to his friend; but God hides His face from the man who does not instinctively hide his own.

Intellectual pride, then, with its corollary, irreverence, is one cause of religious confusion. Satan's original doctrine, "You will be like God, knowing . . ." (Genesis 3:5) has been accepted by millions of religious persons through the centuries and commands a big following today even among professedly orthodox Christians. In spite of all Christ said while among men and all His inspired apostles wrote after His ascension, we seem never to learn that the inner essence of truth cannot be apprehended by the mental faculties. We still come at the awesome supernatural reality headfirst.

By Spiritual Confusion

By Oswald Chambers

'Ye know not what ye ask.'
Matthew 20:22

There are times in spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you by a way which in the meantime you do not under stand, and it is only by going through the confusion that you will get at what God wants.

The Shrouding of His Friendship. Luke 11:5-8. Jesus gave the illustration of the man who looked as if he did not care for his friend, and He said that that is how the Heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think He is an unkind friend, but remember He is not; the time will come when everything will be explained. There is a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller communion. When God looks completely shrouded, will you hang on in confidence in Him?

The Shadow on His Fatherhood. Luke 11:11-13. Jesus says there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father, as if He were callous and indifferent, but remember He is not; I have told you - "Everyone that asketh receiveth." If there is a shadow on the face of the Father just now, hang onto it that He will ultimately give His clear revealing and justify Himself in all that He permitted.

The Strangeness of His Faithfulness. Luke 18:1-8. "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Will He find the faith which banks on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand off in faith believing that what Jesus said is true, though in the meantime you do not under stand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you ask.

He determined to go to Jerusalem!

(James Smith, "Food for the Soul" 1867)

"He determined to go to Jerusalem!" Luke 9:53

And Jesus well knew the sufferings which would befall Him there! But such was His zeal for God, and such His love to us — that He was willing to go anywhere, suffer anything, or do anything — that would honor God or do us good.

He went to Jerusalem — that we might not go to Hell.
He was condemned — that we might be justified.
He was punished — that we might go free.
He died — that we might have eternal life.

Precious Lord Jesus, may I ever be willing . . .
  to go anywhere for You,
  to do anything for You, or
  to suffer anything in Your cause.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

These Poor Swine - J.R. Miller

Mark 5:2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Take no thought for your life

By A.B. Simpson


The Lord is still using the things that are despised. The very names of Nazarene and Christian were once epithets of contempt. No man can have God's highest thought and be popular with his immediate generation. The most abused men are often the most used. There are far greater calamities than to be unpopular and misunderstood. There are far worse things than to be found in the minority. Many of God's greatest blessings are lying behind the devil's scarecrows of prejudice and misrepresentation. 

The Holy Spirit is not ashamed to use unpopular people. And if He uses them, what need they care for men? Oh, let us but have God's recognition and man's notice will count for little, and God will give us all we need of human help and praise. Let us only seek God's will, His glory, His approval. Let us go for Him on the hardest errands and do for Him the most menial tasks. It will be honor enough that He sends us and uses us. Let us not fear in this day to follow Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. By-and-by he will own our worthless name before the myriads of earth and heaven.

Our Passover

By Bible Names of God


"Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." 1 Cor. 5:7
The Jews had their Passover which commemorated their flight from Egypt which God accomplished with a high hand and a stretched out arm. It was a foretaste of our Passover -a Lamb without blemish, slain for our sins, whose blood sprinkled upon our hearts cleanses from sin, and whose broken body feeds our souls. With us it is a daily feast. By it we are separated from the worldly Egypt and safe forevermore. Therefore, let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Lord Jesus, in fellowship sweet we would sit at Thy feet and feast on Thee, this day. Amen.

The Land of Cabul

A Word in Season to Suffering Saints

The special presence of God with His people,
in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses,
and most deadly dangers.

By Thomas Brooks, London, 1675

CHOICE EXCERPTS
"An incorruptible inheritance." 1 Peter 1:4

All earthly inheritances are liable to corruption; they
are true gardens of Adonis—where we can gather
nothing but trivial flowers, surrounded with many
briars, thorns and thistles.

Oh, the hands, the hearts, the thoughts, the lives—
which have been corrupted by earthly inheritances!
Oh, the impure love, the carnal confidence, the vain
boastings, the sensual joys—which have been the
products of earthly inheritances!

If a man's estate lies in money—that may rust, or
thieves may break in and steal it. If a man's estate
lies in cattle—they may die, or fall into the hands of
the Sabeans and Chaldeans. If a man's estate lies
in houses—they may be burnt. Witness the recent
dreadful fire that turned London into a ruinous heap!
If a man's estate lies in lands—a foreign enemy may
invade them and conquer them.

All earthly inheritances are no better than the cities
which Solomon gave to Hiram, which he called Cabul, 
that is, 'worthless, good-for-nothing, displeasing, dirty.'

"But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that
 Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.
 'What kind of towns are these you have given me, my
 brother?' he asked. And he called them the Land of
 Cabul, a name they have to this day." 1 Kings 9:12-13

Earthly inheritances do but dirt, daub, and dust people.
It is only the heavenly inheritance which is incorruptible.

    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

The Account With Purity

By Oswald Chambers


'Out of the heart proceed ...'
Matthew 15:18-20

We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity; and when we hear these rugged statements of Our Lord's, we shrink and say - But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart. We resent what Jesus Christ reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme Authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust His penetration, or do I prefer to trust my innocent ignorance? If I make conscious innocence the test, I am likely to come to a place where I find with a shuddering awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I shall be appalled at the possibility of evil and wrong in me. 

As long as I remain under the refuge of innocence I am living in a fool's paradise. If I have never been a blackguard, the reason is a mixture of cowardice and the protection of civilized life; but when I am undressed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis.

The only thing that safeguards is the Redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will hand myself over to Him, I need never experience the terrible possibilities that are in my heart. Purity is too deep down for me to get to naturally: but when the Holy Spirit comes in, He brings into the centre of my personal life the very Spirit that was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, viz., Holy Spirit, which is unsullied purity.