Tozer and Listening

I get this in my email once a year and am convicted about it once a year.

Prayer: Take Time to Listen

The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth and panted, for I longed for Your commandments.
-Psalm 119:130-131

The Quakers had many fine ideas about life, and there is a story from them that illustrates the point I am trying to make. It concerns a conversation between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and a Quaker woman he had met. Maybe Coleridge was boasting a bit, but he told the woman how he had arranged the use of time so he would have no wasted hours.He said he memorized Greek while dressing and during breakfast. He went on with his list of other mental activities--making notes,reading, writing, formulating thoughts and ideas--until bedtime.

The Quaker listened unimpressed. When Coleridge was finished with his explanation, she asked him a simple, searching question: "My friend, when dost thee think?"

God is having a difficult time getting through to us because we are a fast-paced generation. We seem to have no time for contemplation. We have no time to answer God when He calls.
 Jesus, Author of our Faith, p. 46

"Thank You, Lord, that You convicted me some time ago about this need for time to think, of the need for solitude and silence. Make this increasingly possible for me, but also for many of my brothers and sisters who have not discovered the value of this slowing down. Amen."

Wisdom from Tozer

Today's Daily Tozer:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.--Titus 2:11-12 

The fact is that the New Testament message embraces a great deal more than an offer of free pardon. It is a message of pardon, and for that may God be praised; but it is also a message of repentance. It is a message of atonement, but it is also a message of temperance and righteousness and godliness in this present world. It tells us that we must accept a Savior, but it tells us also that we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. The gospel message includes the idea of amendment, of separation from the world, of cross-carrying and loyalty to the kingdom of God even unto death. 

To be strictly technical, these latter truths are corollaries of the gospel, and not the gospel itself; but they are part and parcel of the total message which we are commissioned to declare....

To offer a sinner the gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ, while at the same time allowing him to retain the idea that the gift carries with it no moral implications, is to do him untold injury where it hurts him worst. 

--The Set of the Sail, 19-20. 

Being Rational

I haven't posted any Tozer in a while, so here you go. We should get back to John tomorrow. This fits in so well with that I thought I'd just post it up here. Enjoy!

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
--1 Corinthians 2:4-5

There is today an evangelical rationalism not unlike the rationalism
taught by the scribes and Pharisees. They said the truth is in the
word, and if you want to know the truth, go to the rabbi and learn
the word. If you get the word, you have the truth....

But revelation is not enough! There must be illumination before
revelation can get to a person's soul. It is not enough that I hold
an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart. There is
the difference, in spite of the evangelical rationalist who insists
that revelation is enough....

In His days Christ's conflict was with the theological rationalist.
It revealed itself in the Sermon on the Mount and in the whole book
of John. Just as Colossians argues against Manichaeism and Galatians
argues against Jewish legalism, so the book of John is a long,
inspired, passionately outpoured book trying to save us from
evangelical rationalism--the doctrine that says the text is enough.
Textualism is as deadly as liberalism. Faith Beyond Reason, 23-24.

"Lord, I believe strongly in the inspiration and authority of the
Scriptures; I am committed to expository preaching. So I see the
danger and pray that You might keep me from this error of
textualism. Amen."

Conquered

From today's Tozer:

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. --2 Corinthians 12:7

The experiences of men who walked with God in olden times agree to teach that the Lord cannot fully bless a man until He has first conquered him. The degree of blessing enjoyed by any man will correspond exactly with the completeness of God's victory over him....

We might well pray for God to invade and conquer us, for until He does, we remain in peril from a thousand foes. We bear within us the seeds of our own disintegration.... Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life. Safety and peace come only after we have been forced to our knees. God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance. Then He invades our natures with that ancient and eternal life which is from the beginning. So He conquers us and by that benign conquest saves us for Himself. The Pursuit of Man, 45,50.

"Lord, indeed invade and conquer my heart today. Bring me to my knees in complete surrender; break me; shatter my strength and wipe out my resistance. Invade my nature today and conquer me for Your glory. Amen."

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Don't Suffer Shipwreck

This was today's daily Tozer. It fits in pretty well with the other post from today:

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck....
--1 Timothy 1:18-19

Yet the ministry is one of the most perilous of professions. The devil hates the Spirit-filled minister with an intensity second only to that which he feels for Christ Himself. The source of this hatred is not difficult to discover. An effective, Christ-like minister is a constant embarrassment to the devil, a threat to his dominion, a rebuttal of his best arguments and a dogged reminder of his coming
overthrow. No wonder he hates him.

Satan knows that the downfall of a prophet of God is a strategic victory for him, so he rests not day or night devising hidden snares and deadfalls for the ministry. Perhaps a better figure would be the poison dart that only paralyzes its victim, for I think that Satan has little interest in killing the preacher outright. An
ineffective, half-alive minister is a better advertisement for hell than a good man dead. So the preacher's dangers are likely to be spiritual rather than physical, though sometimes the enemy works through bodily weaknesses to get to the preacher's soul. God Tells the Man Who Cares, 90-91.

"Lord, the battle is intense and the enemy is strong. I pray for every one of my fellow-servants this morning, especially those who may be close to succumbing. Give Your great grace and victory today. Amen."

A Growing Hunger After God

This was my Tozer reading yesterday and I think it's too good not to pass along. Enjoy!

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
--Psalm 42:1-2a

In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will
they be content with correct "interpretations" of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water.

This is the only real harbinger of revival which I have been able to detect anywhere on the religious horizon. It may be the cloud the size of a man's hand for which a few saints here and there have been looking. It can result in a resurrection of life for many souls and a recapture of that radiant wonder which should accompany faith in Christ, that wonder which has all but fled the Church of God in our day. The Pursuit of God, 7.

This is something that really hits home with me. My seminary studies easily turn into a pursuit of the correct interpretation. In fact, I'm considering getting a PhD about finding a correct interpretation of Scripture. In the end I have to thirst after God. My prayer is to want more of Him.

Lifeboat

Here's a little Tozer for you:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
--Isaiah 40:12

We must be concerned with the person and character of God, not the promises. Through promises we learn what God has willed to us, we learn what we may claim as our heritage, we learn how we should pray. But faith itself must rest on the character of God.

Is this difficult to see? Why are we not stressing this in our evangelical circles? Why are we afraid to declare that people in our churches must come to know God Himself? Why do we not tell them that they must get beyond the point of making God a lifeboat for their rescue or a ladder to get them out of a burning building? How can we help our people get over the idea that God exists just to help run their businesses or fly their airplanes?

God is not a railway porter who carries your suitcase and serves you. God is God. He made heaven and earth. He holds the world in His hand. He measures the dust of the earth in the balance. He spreads the sky out like a mantle. He is the great God Almighty. He is not your servant. He is your Father, and you are His child. He sits in heaven, and you are on the earth. Faith Beyond Reason, 44

This fits right in with something that weighs heavily on my heart about the way the gospel is often presented. Yes, God loves you. Yes, God has a wonderful plan for your life, though you may not see it as wonderful at the time of testing. Yes, faith in Christ will keep us from eternal damnation.

However, the gospel is so much more than that. God does not serve us, but we serve God. God did not die just to punch our tickets, but so that we might bring Him glory. I want so much for that to be the message I preach when I share the gospel with someone.

The Measure of the Heart

This was today's Tozer. It's too good not to share:

Your baptism and your confirmation and your name on the church roll and the big Bible you carry--these are not the things that are important to God. You can train a chimpanzee to carry a Bible. Every one of us is the sum of what we secretly admire, what we think about and what we would like to do most if we became free to do what we wanted to do.  

Yes, fruit is very important in our lives.  If we don't have fruit then we can be sure that we are not saved.  However, we can bear a kind of plastic fruit that looks good to others, but we know the difference.  God certainly does too.  Let's not kid ourselves or Him about the fruit that we bear.

What are the longings of your heart?  This is a convicting question.  I am glad that my mind doesn't drift instantly to porn anymore.  I'm also glad that I don't have the hunger for video games I once did.  Frankly, when I have idle time I spend it thinking about how I have homework to do.  I'm not sure this is so much better.

This Tozer quote seems akin to Piper's message about how we are to desire God.  Frankly, I don't desire Him as much as I probably ought.  None of us does really.  However, He gives the grace to desire Him more.  Let's keep asking for it.

Edit: I read this in my daily reading after I posted it.  It fits in so well I thought I'd better add it.

Psalms 50:12-23
(12)  "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.
(13)  Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
(14)  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,
(15)  and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
(16)  But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
(17)  For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
(18)  If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
(19)  "You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
(20)  You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
(21)  These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
(22)  "Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
(23)  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"

Encouragement from Tozer

I may have posted this last year, but it fits in so well with all the Psalm 119 stuff that I feel like it's worth a repeat. Enjoy:

Trials and Pain: The Dark Night of the Soul

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide
Your face from me?
--Psalm 13:1

Some of you know something of that which has been called "the dark
night of the soul." Some of you have spiritual desire and deep
longing for victory but it seems to you that your efforts to go on
with God have only brought you more bumps and more testings and more
discouragement. You are tempted to ask, "How long can this go on?"...

Yes, there is a dark night of the soul. There are few Christians
willing to go into this dark night and that is why there are so few
who enter into the light. It is impossible for them ever to know the
morning because they will not endure the night. I Talk Back to the
Devil, 80-81.

"Lord, You know the dark night that I endured for a number of years--
and I know I'm not alone. I pray for any who are suffering today and
struggling. Bring Your deep-seated peace and the assurance that the
morning is coming. Thank You that Your grace is sufficient. Amen."

Obedience

Here is today's Tozer:

Revival: It Requires Obedience

But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I
say?
--Luke 6:46

It is my conviction that much, very much, prayer for and talk about
revival these days is wasted energy. Ignoring the confusion of
figures, I might say that it is hunger that appears to have no
object; it is dreamy wishing that is too weak to produce moral
action. It is fanaticism on a high level for, according to John
Wesley, "a fanatic is one who seeks desired ends while ignoring the
constituted means to reach those ends."...

The correction of this error is extemely difficult for it entails
more than a mere adjustment of our doctrinal beliefs; it strikes at
the whole Adam-life and requires self-abnegation, humility and cross
carrying. In short it requires obedience. And that we will do
anything to escape.

It is almost unbelievable how far we will go to avoid obeying God.
We call Jesus "Lord" and beg Him to rejuvenate our souls, but we are
careful to do not the things He says. When faced with a sin, a
confession or a moral alteration in our life, we find it much easier
to pray half a night than to obey God. The Size of the Soul, 18-19.

Our pastor likes to say that we should not waste our time with stupid prayers. In other words, don't pray about the adulterous relationship you're in. The Bible makes it clear what we are to do. Now we may pray for the grace to obey what God clearly commands, but we certainly do not need any direction. We just need to obey.

Life at Fever Pitch

This is from today's Tozer:

Revival: Living at a Fever Pitch

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.
-Colossians 3:23

We live at a fever pitch, and whether we are erecting buildings,
laying highways, promoting athletic events, celebrating special days
or welcoming returning heroes we always do it with an exaggerated
flourish. Our building will be taller, our highway broader, our
athletic contest more colorful, our celebration more elaborate and
more expensive than would be true anywhere else on earth. We walk
faster, drive faster, earn more, spend more and run higher blood
pressure than any other people in the world.

In only one field of human interest are we slow and apathetic: that
is the field of personal religion. There for some strange reason our
enthusiasm lags. Church people habitually approach the matter of
their personal relation to God in a dull, half-hearted way which is
altogether out of keeping with their general temperament and wholly
inconsistent with the importance of the subject. Of God and Men,
3-4.

That certainly hits home with me. How about you?

Today's Tozer

This smacked me up one side and down the other.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes
forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
--Psalm 126:5-6

The testimony of the true follower of Christ might well be something
like this: The world's pleasures and the world's treasures
henceforth have no appeal for me. I reckon myself crucified to the
world and the world crucified to me. But the multitudes that were so
dear to Christ shall not be less dear to me. If I cannot prevent
their moral suicide, I shall at least baptize them with my human
tears. I want no blessing that I cannot share. I seek no
spirituality that I must win at the cost of forgetting that men and
women are lost and without hope. If in spite of all I can do they
will sin against light and bring upon themselves the displeasure of
a holy God, then I must not let them go their sad way unwept. I
scorn a happiness that I must purchase with ignorance. I reject a
heaven that I must enter by shutting my eyes to the sufferings of my
fellow men. I choose a broken heart rather than any happiness that
ignores the tragedy of human life and human death. Though I, through
the grace of God in Christ, no longer lie under Adam's sin, I would
still feel a bond of compassion for all of Adam's tragic race, and
I am determined that I shall go down to the grave or up into God's
heaven mourning for the lost and the perishing.

From Tozer

We had a great trip to Ohio, though the drives were a bit long. Not much we can do about that. I'll write more about the conference later. In the meantime, please chew on this:


The Church: The Genuine Joy of the Lord

Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and
send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is
holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength."
--Nehemiah 8:10

We are missing the mark about Christian victory and the life of joy
in our Savior. We ought to be standing straight and praising our God!

I must agree with the psalmist that the joy of the Lord is the
strength of His people. I do believe that the sad world is attracted
to spiritual sunshine--the genuine thing, that is.

Some churches train their greeters and ushers to smile, showing as
many teeth as possible. But I can sense that kind of display, and when
I am greeted by a person who is smiling because he or she has been
trained to smile, I know I am shaking the flipper of a trained seal.
When the warmth and joy of the Holy Spirit are in a congregation,
however, and the folks are spontaneously joyful, the result is a
wonderful influence upon others....

I have said it a hundred times: The reason we have to search for so
many things to cheer us up is the fact that we are not really joyful
and contentedly happy within....But we are Christians, and Christians
have every right to be the happiest people in the world. Tragedy in
the Church: The Missing Gifts, 10,11.

Wow, that hits me right where I'm at!

(apologies for the formatting. In a rush right now...)

Some Tozer

Preaching: Starving at the Father's Table

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, 
son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, 
Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." 
--John 21:15

There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the 
principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem 
satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, 
strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest 
Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They 
minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a 
longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.

I trust I speak in charity, but the lack in our pulpits is real. 
Milton's terrible sentence applies to our day as accurately as it 
did to his: "The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed." It is a 
solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God's 
children starving while actually seated at the Father's table.   
The Pursuit of God, 8.

"Lord, I trust I'm not being critical, but it seems to me that 
there are more and more churches where people are starving at 
the Father's table. I sense the lack in our pulpits of which Tozer 
speaks, and pray that You might bring a refreshing. Amen."

I feel like this sometimes at our church.  It is a sober reminder of what I don't want to have happen at any church where I may get to preach.

Learning with Humility

Here is today's Tozer. I sorely need to remember this as I sometimes let all my book-learning get in the way of sitting quietly and learning when I am taught:

Pastoral Ministry: Fencing With Masters

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they
will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 
--2 Timothy 4:3-4

Every one who has come to the years of responsibility seems to have
gone on the defensive. Even some of you who have known me for years
are surely on the defensive--you have your guard up all the time!

I know that you are not afraid of me, but you are afraid,
nevertheless, of what I am going to say. Probably every faithful
preacher today is fencing with masters as he faces his congregation.
The guard is always up. The quick parry is always ready.

It is very hard for me to accept the fact that it is now very rare
for anyone to come into the house of God with guard completely down,
head bowed and with the silent confession: "Dear Lord, I am ready
and willing to hear what You will speak to my heart today!"

We have become so learned and so worldly and so sophisticated and
so blase and so bored and so religiously tired that the clouds of
glory seem to have gone from us.  Christ the Eternal Son, 108-109.

"Lord, quiet my own heart before You and give me that humble spirit
of listening. Whenever I come before You (including this morning!),
may it be with my 'guard completely down, head bowed.... ready and
willing to hear what You will speak to my heart today.' Amen."

Being a Pastor

Check this out from today's Tozer:

Pastoral Ministry: In Need of a Physician

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in
green pastures; He leads my beside the still waters. He restores my
soul.... 
--Psalm 23:1-3

Human nature being what it is, the man of God may soon adopt an air
of constant piety and try to appear what the public thinks he is.
The fixed smile and hollow tones of the professional cleric are too
well known to require further mention.

All this show of godliness, by the squeeze of circumstances and
through no fault of the man himself, may become a front behind
which the man hides, a plaintive, secretly discouraged and lonely
soul. Here is no hypocrisy, no intentional double living, no actual
desire to deceive. The man has been mastered by the circumstances.
He has been made the keeper of other people's vineyards but his own
vineyard has not been kept. So many demands have been made upon him
that they have long ago exhausted his supply. He has been compelled
to minister to others while he himself is in desperate need of a
physician.  God Tells the Man Who Cares, 115.

"Lord, I pray for pastors everywhere today who are indeed exhausted
and depleted. The task is so overwhelming and the demands so
extreme. Come today with a fresh breath of Your Spirit to refresh,
renew, and restore. Amen."

We just had a banquet for STS yesterday.  It was pretty good, all things considered.  The speaker told some stories about how he had been hurt in ministry.  What's interesting is that Amanda was also sharing her concerns about being a pastor's wife.  Frankly, I haven't thought through all of those implications yet.  Apparently life moves into a fishbowl.  I don't have too many secrets, but I can imagine how that would get old.  This is especially true since our daughter is notoriously strong-willed.

All of this is a good reminder to me.  Yes, we need to be faithful and preach the Word.  We need to press on in hope and we need to rely on Jesus to get us through the inevitable trials.  That all sounds great right now, but I suspect that it is much easier said than done when in the midst of them.

Tozer on Self-Sufficiency

Enjoy today's Tozer. To me, this also really speaks to the error of psychology, particularly Rogerian.

The Holy Spirit: Wake Up the Lion In You!

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. --2 Corinthians 3:5

That is the difference between Christianity and all the Oriental cults and religions. All cult religions try to wake up what you already have, and Christianity says, "What you have is not enough--you will need the enduement which is sent from above!" That is the difference. The others say, "Stir up the thing that is in you," and they expect this to be enough.

By way of illustration, if there were four or five lions coming at you, you would never think of saying to a little French poodle, "Wake up the lion in you." That would not work--it would not be enough. They would chew the little fellow up and swallow him, haircut and all, because a French poodle just isn't sufficient for a pack of lions. Some power outside of himself would have to make him bigger and stronger than the lion if he were to conquer.

That is exactly what the Holy Spirit says He does for the Christian believer, but the cult religions still say, "Concentrate and free your mind and release the creative powers that lie within you." The Counselor, 142-143.

"Lord, in our self-reliance we're all too often guilty of digging deep for that inner self-sufficiency. Our New Age culture fosters that error. Teach us how futile; show us Your power. Amen."

Charismatic Chaos

There is a lot out there about the charismatics. On one hand, you have what some call the "charimaniacs" who have deacons available to stretch you out before the service so you don't pull a hamstring. Then you have the strict cessationists who are quick to shoot dirty looks at anyone who might lift his hands in praise to God while singing.

I am starting to come around to Mark Driscoll's take on this after listening to his sermon series on 1 Corinthians 12-14. He describes himself as "charismatic with a seat belt," meaning that he is not for doing backflips, but he also does not want to deny the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in our time.

This week the Tozer devotionals have involved the Holy Spirit. Here is today's for your enjoyment:

The Holy Spirit: Our Fear of Emotions

So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--
walking, leaping, and praising God. 
--Acts 3:8

One cause of the decline in the quality of religious experience
among Christians these days is the neglect of the doctrine of the
inward witness.

Stamping our feet to start the circulation and blowing on our hands
to limber them up, we have emerged shivering from the long period of
the theological deep-freeze, but the influence of the frosty years
is still felt among us to such an extent that the words witness,
experience and feeling are cautiously avoided by the rank and file
of evangelical teachers. In spite of the undeniable lukewarmness of
most of us we still fear that unless we keep a careful check on
ourselves we shall surely lose our dignity and become howling
fanatics by this time next week. We set a watch upon our emotions
day and night lest we become over-spiritual and bring reproach upon
the cause of Christ. Which all, if I may say so, is for most of us
about as sensible as throwing a cordon of police around a cemetery
to prevent a wild political demonstration by the inhabitants. 
Born After Midnight, 11.

"Lord, open up my heart to receive, and then open up my mouth to
declare, the glory of Your mighty work! Amen."

Tozer on the Thought Life

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against 
the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the 
obedience of Christ.  
--2 Corinthians 10:5

What we think about when we are free to think about what we will--
that is what we are or will soon become....

Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so 
by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last hours 
or days. What has he thought about when free to think of what he 
pleased? Toward what has his inner heart turned when it was free to 
turn where it would? When the bird of thought was let go did it fly 
out like the raven to settle upon floating carcasses or did it like 
the dove circle and return again to the ark of God? Such a test is 
easy to run, and if we are honest with ourselves we can discover not 
only what we are but what we are going to become. We'll soon be the 
sum of our voluntary thoughts.... 

The best way to control our thoughts is to offer the mind to God in 
complete surrender. The Holy Spirit will accept it and take control 
of it immediately. Then it will be relatively easy to think on 
spiritual things, especially if we train our thought by long periods 
of daily prayer. Long practice in the art of mental prayer (that is, 
talking to God inwardly as we work or travel) will help to form the 
habit of holy thought.  Born After Midnight, 44,46-47.

"Oh, Lord, You know the constant struggle so many of us have with 
our thought life. You know how often our thoughts do indeed settle 
on rotten carcasses. Take control of my thoughts today, and move me 
along in the development of the habit of holy thought. Amen."

I've heard it said about men that if you want to know what we're thinking you can pretty much guess that it's sex, sports, or food.  Unfortunately, that's often the case with me.  However, I do find that I spend quite a bit of energy thinking about how I can get done what needs to get done without compromising the time I spend iwth my family.  I guess that's not so bad, but it's not the most noble pursuit either.

I am reminded of Phil 4:8 again.  The thought life seems to be a huge battleground for me (and I suspect all men).  Over time I've developed good habits of not giving in to temptation.  The problem is that I need to make sure I have the inside of the cup clean as well.

Tozer on the Inner Man

This was so good today that I felt compelled to share:

Personal Life: People Are What They Think About

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of
life. 
--Proverbs 4:23

Every person is really what he or she secretly admires. If I can learn
what you admire, I will know what you are, for people are what they
think about when they are free to think about what they will.

Now, there are times when we are forced to think about things that we
do not care to think about at all. All of us have to think about
income taxes, but income taxes are not what we want to think about.
The law makes us think about them every April. You may find me humped
over Form 1040, just like everyone else, but that is not the real me.
It is really the man with the tall hat and the spangled stars in
Washington who says, "You can't let it go any longer!" I assure you it
is not consentingly done! But if you can find what I think about when
I am free to think about whatever I will, you will find the real me.
That is true of every one of us.

Your baptism and your confirmation and your name on the church roll
and the big Bible you carry--these are not the things that are
important to God. You can train a chimpanzee to carry a Bible. Every
one of us is the sum of what we secretly admire, what we think about
and what we would like to do most if we became free to do what we
wanted to do.  Faith Beyond Reason, 96.

"Lord, You know the secret thoughts of my heart; nothing is hidden
from You. May those thoughts be pure thoughts, pleasing to You, completely under the control of Your Holy Spirit. Amen."


As usual, he succinctly hits the nail squarely on the head.  This is why counseling must be about real heart change and not just about behavior modification.  It's not enough to clean the outside of the cup!