if

I put my own happiness before the
     well-being of the work entrusted
     to me;
if, though I have this ministry and
     have received much mercy, I
     faint,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

                                      Amy Carmichael

Who is God?

Have you ever really sat and pondered this deeply?

I'm a Truth seeker. I want to know the Truth. Who is God? 

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6

Unfortunately many Christians are happy just being 'saved' and living their life, having no desire to get to know who God really is.

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963)  is one of my favorite Christian authors and he has helped me a great deal in answering some of my questions. I'm so thankful for his courage to share the Truth.

Tozer says here:

"It is not a cheerful thought that millions of us, who live in a land of Bibles, who belong to churches and labour to promote the Christian religion, may yet pass our whole life on this earth without once having thought or tried to think seriously about the being of God. Few of us have let our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM, the self-existent Self behind which no creature can think." 

Can you remember the last time your heart gazed in wonder at the Great I AM? Not just at the stars or the sun or moon or the many wonders He has created, but the One Himself?
 

God says of Himself:
  
'I AM THAT I AM'

  
What does this mean?  

Tozer says here:

"God has no origin.

Origin is a word that can apply only to things created. When we think of anything that has origin we are not thinking of God. God is self-existent, while all created things necessarily originated somewhere at some time. Aside from God, nothing is self-caused."

And here:

'The Father has life in Himself,' said our Lord...God, He said, is self-sufficient; He is what He is in Himself

For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, in the final meaning of those words. Whatever God is, and all that God is, He is in Himself. All life is in and from God, whether it be the lowest form of unconscious life or the highly self-conscious, intelligent life of a seraph. No creature has life in itself; all life is a gift from God." "For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself." John 5:26 Tozer states here on God's attributes: "...an attribute of God is whatever God has in any way revealed as being true to Himself." A few of God's attributes: One in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit Perfect Eternal Self-Existent Immutable Holy Omnipotent Omnipresent Omniscient Righteous True Truthful Faithful Love Creator Sustainer Lawgiver  Judge Lord over all   How are we to think on God's attributes?  Tozer says here: "If we would think accurately about the attributes of God, we must learn to reject certain words that are sure to come crowding into our minds - such words as trait, characteristic, quality, words which are proper and necessary when we are considering created beings but altogether inappropriate when we are thing about God.  We must break ourselves of the habit of thinking of the Creator as we think of His creatures. It is probably impossible to think without words, but if we permit ourselves to think with the wrong words, we shall soon be entertaining erroneous thoughts; for words, which are given us for the expression of thought, have a habit of going beyond their proper bounds and determining the content of thought." In other words it is wrong to look on God as we do each other. For example, He doesn't just feel love or express love or give love...He is LOVE. "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16 He continues here: "The divine attributes are what we know to be true of God. He does not possess them as qualities; they are how God is as He reveals Himself to His creatures. Love, in instance, is not something God has and which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way God is, and when He loves He is simply being Himself." And here: "God is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away." "I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him." Ecc. 3:14

It's hard to think of God as He really is, because when we do we have to face our own sinful nature.

Tozer says here:

"The natural man is a sinner because and only because he challenges God's selfhood in relation to his own. In all else he may willingly accept the sovereignty of God; in his own life he rejects it. 

For him, God's dominion ends where his begins. For him, self becomes Self, and in this he unconsciously imitates Lucifer, that fallen son of the morning who said in his heart,

'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will be like the most High.' Isa 13:14

  

Sin is rebellion against God.

John Piper explains it this way: 

“What is sin?

It is the glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not reverenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought.
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
 
That is sin. ” 

                

Do you honor God's glory? Reverence His holiness? Admire His greatness? Praise His power? Seek His Truth? Esteem His wisdom? Treasure His beauty? Savor His goodness? Trust His faithfulness? Obey His commandments? Respect His justice? Fear His wrath? Cherish His grace? Prize His presence? And Love Him with all your heart, mind and soul?

There is so much more to know of God. Keep seeking Him because you can never know enough of the Great I AM.


*All quotes are from Tozer's book: 'The Knowledge of the Holy' unless otherwise stated. 

Buy it HERE on Amazon



 

if

I can write an unkind letter,
   speak an unkind word,
   think an unkind thought without
      grief and shame,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

                                     Amy Carmichael

The Beloved Daughter and A Giveaway!

I don't often participate in blog tours but I felt there was something special about this book.

I was drawn to its story and I'm so glad I got a chance to read it!

Synopsis: In a small North Korean village, a young girl struggles to survive. It is her father's faith, not the famine of North Hamyong Province, that most threatens Chung-Cha's well-being. The Beloved Daughter follows Chung-Cha into one of the most notorious prison camps the contemporary free world has known. Her crime? Being the daughter of a Christian.

 MY THOUGHTS:

This novel was AMAZING.

The story was riveting and powerful beyond the author's words. God was definitely behind this one. : )

The Beloved Daughter is a tale of a young girl who is sent to a prison camp on account of her father's work in the underground church in North Korea.

Recently having read a true story of a man who escaped  Camp 14 in North Korea ( READ HERE ), Alana's fictional, yet so true to life novel had a huge impact on me.

It encouraged me to keep praying for North Korea, for it's enslaved people, and for their freedom. Also to pray for the church, who is severely persecuted there.

I can't tell you how much this book moved me, literally moved me to prayer. I stopped several times to bow before God and plead for the people of North Korea.

If you are not much of a fiction reader, you may want to make an exception with this book. You'll learn so much about what's going on in the camps of North Korea, as well as the power of God in the lives of those who love Him.

I promise you, you won't be able to put it down!

Join the giveaway

Acclaim: 
 
     *Winner, Women of Faith Writing Contest
 
     *1st Place, Book Club Network Book of the Month

     *Amazon Bestseller (#5 Christian Suspense)


Reviews:

"...an engaging plot that reads like a story out of today's headlines..." ~ Women of Faith Writing Contest

"Alana is a master storyteller, and I can’t imagine anyone failing to be captivated by this harrowing tale. What we have here is a compelling story, but it’s also one of great importance." ~ Brad Francis, Author of The Savvy Demon's Guide to Godly Living 

"The Beloved Daughter is a beautifully written story that is...both personal and representative of the challenges that many North Koreans still face today." ~ Sarah Palmer, Rescue Team Coordinator at Liberty in North Korea

"The author does a phenomenal job... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - but have tissues handy." ~ Pauline Creeden, Editor AltWit Press

 

Awesome Prizes!

You don't want to miss out on the month-long Beloved Daughter audiobook launch party. See the Alana Terry facebook page to get started. Multiple winners every week ... Hundreds of $$$-worth in prizes!

ENTER THE DRAWING: In addition to the Facebook party, you can enter the grand prize drawing below for a chance to win a $100 gift card to either Target or Amazon (you choose!), or one of the awesome prizes from the prize gallery (think Christian T-shirts, jewelry, books, CDs, lotions, and more)!

SEE THE AUDIOBOOK HERE

SEE THE PAPERBACK HERE

SEE THE EBOOK HERE 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Typhoon in the Philippines

"Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines last Friday, November 8, with winds exceeding 310 km per hour, heavy rain and flooding affecting millions of people. This is one of the worst natural disasters to hit the region since the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004."  
                                                         Compassion International

If you are looking for a way to help out with the recent disaster in the Philippines, you can donate through Compassion International. Here are the links:

Click HERE in the United States

Click HERE in Canada

Thank-you

if

when an answer I did not expect
     comes to a prayer which I
     believed I truly meant,
  I shrink back from it;
if the burden my Lord asks me to bear
     be not the burden of my
     heart's choice,
  and I fret inwardly and do not
     welcome His will,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

                                       Amy Carmichael

C.S. Lewis and the Glory of God

I just finished C.S. Lewis's book The Weight of Glory  and found some great insights in his chapter entitled Learning in War-Time.

At one point he talks about one's life before and after becoming a Christian.

He states here:

"Before I became a Christian I do not think I fully realized that one's life, after conversion, would inevitably consist in doing most of the same things one had been doing before, one hopes, in a new spirit, but still the same things."

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  1 Cor. 10:31

After thinking about this for awhile I realized how true this is. We still go to work, whether it's in the home or in the workplace, we still take care of the needs of our families, and we still have to sleep for rest, eat to survive and grow in learning. But when you give your life over to the Lord it becomes a joy to do these things for His glory.

Lewis says here:

"All our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest, and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not."

And later he continues:

"Let us clear it forever from our minds. The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord.'"

"Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God."  Rom. 15:7

All three of my children, like many young people today, wonder what God wants them to do with their lives. We each have talents that lead us to our vocation, or jobs, but what God wants from us is not so much what we do, but that we do it to His glory.

Lewis says here:

"We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation."

"For in fact the body is not one member but many."  1 Cor. 12:14

Later Lewis talks about leaving the future in God's hands and living to glorify Him, not our work:

"A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God's hands..

Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment 'as to the Lord.' It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received."

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Matt. 6:11

This is one of the reasons I love C.S. Lewis.

He, being one of the most admired intellectuals of our time, still, can speak to the heart of a simple housewife and mother like me. This attitude of equality among all Christians and the bringing of glory to God as one body, is really a wonderful message we need to often be reminded of.

*Here's a little extra reminder by Steven Curtis Chapman to do all you do for the glory of God. : )

Buy it HERE on Amazon

if

I do not forget about such a trifle as
      personal success, so that it never
      crosses my mind,
    or if it does, is never given a
      moment's room there;
if the cup of spiritual flattery tastes
      sweet to me,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

                                         Amy Carmichael