Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer
Morning Devotional for January 16, 2025
A.W. Tozer... View MoreMorning and Evening with A.W. Tozer
Morning Devotional for January 16, 2025
A.W. Tozer
What Do You Mean"
A disturbing phenomenon of the day is the new and tricky use of familiar words.
A ''people's republic,'' for instance, is not a republic nor does it belong to the people. The word ''freedom'' now in most countries refers to something so restricted that a generation or two ago another word altogether would have been chosen to describe it.
Other words that have changed their meanings without admitting it are ''war,'' ''peace,'' ''grant'' (to describe the small sop the government tosses back out of the money it has previously taken from us), ''right,'' ''left,'' ''equality,'' ''security,'' ''liberal'' and many more. These have been emptied of their meaning and a different meaning has been poured into them. We may now read them or hear them spoken and, unless we are very sharp, gain from them a wholly false idea.
This phenomenon has invaded the field of religion also. In a predominantly Christian society such as prevails in the West the words of Scripture and of Christian theology have quite naturally acquired a fixed meaning and until recently always meant the same thing whenever they were used by educated and responsible persons. With the coming of the various revolutions—scientific, industrial, philosophical, social, artistic, political—fixed meanings have deserted religious words and now float about like disembodied spirits, looking for but apparently never finding the bodies from which they have been exorcised by the revolutionists.
Among religious words which have lost their Christian meaning are ''inspiration, ''revelation,'' ''spiritual,'' ''fellowship,'' ''brotherhood,'' ''unity,'' ''worship,'' ''prayer,'' ''heaven,'' ''immortality,'' ''hell,'' ''Lord,'' ''new birth,'' ''converted''—but the list is long and includes almost every major word of the Christian faith.
Evening Devotional for January 16, 2025
A.W. Tozer
A One-time Sin Sacrifice with Continuing Efficacy
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:10-12).
And if that is not plain enough the inspired writer further says, "Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (verse 14); and, "where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin" (verse 18).
The teaching of the New Testament is not that there is a perpetual sacrifice, but that there is one sacrifice of perpetual efficacy. The thought that Christ's sacrifice needs to be repeated is obnoxious to the spirit of biblical theology and an affront to the tears and sweat and blood and death of the Lamb of God.
Obviously our Catholic friends are in serious error here, and the kind thing is not that we in the name of tolerance smile away their error, but that we point it out and try to correct it.
Is it right for parents to protect their children from those who are dying?
on Jan 16, 2025
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
Q: Is it right for parents to protect their children from thos... View MoreIs it right for parents to protect their children from those who are dying?
on Jan 16, 2025
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
Q: Is it right for parents to protect their children from those who are dying? My husband and I are caring for his parents in our home. They are both quite sickly and we have a lot of help – nurses and caregivers that give us tremendous support. They tell us that we should keep our children out of their room so that they don’t have a sense of pending doom. I’m not sure this is right. After all, death is part of life and our children have a special bond with their grandparents. Is there any value in their participation in helping and also watching the process, particularly when our children know that after death comes Heaven? – P.D.
A: A teenage daughter reflected on watching her grandfather die at home. She said with tears in her eyes, “I’ll never forget the loving care Papa received from my grandmother. It taught me to care for the sick and dying. More than that, it taught me about living bravely in the midst of difficulties.”
There is much the young can learn from those who have traveled the distance. Until recent years, families did not shelter their children from the process of sickness and death. Likewise, the elderly would be wise to consider the contribution the young make to our own lives. They will see our mistakes, and they will see our triumphs. We will hopefully recognize their struggles and accomplishments and encourage them as they learn about life and face the unknown future.
The Bible says to everything there is a season, and a time to gain and a time to lose (see Ecclesiastes 3).
Let’s not miss the purposes of God even in times of sorrow, for He is always with us on our journey.
Thoughts on Today's Verse....
Do you want to know the difference between a righteous person and a wicked one? Simple! Jesus said to check the fruit of their life. One of the most visible forms of fru... View MoreThoughts on Today's Verse....
Do you want to know the difference between a righteous person and a wicked one? Simple! Jesus said to check the fruit of their life. One of the most visible forms of fruit in peoples' lives is found in the way they talk, how they talk, and their empathy as they talk. Righteous people find ways to impart life through what they say. The wicked reveal themselves by what they say and how they say it. In a social-media-dominated world filled with vitriol, sarcasm, and bitterness, this is a prover we must heed!
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