One Thing

“Any man can have as much of God as he wants.”

That encouraging- and haunting- phrase is written in the back of my Bible.

It’s encouraging because of the hope that is held out during times of frustration and laziness.  There is a promise that God is eager to encourage and bless each person.  He cannot wait to do good.

It’s also haunting because the blame for spiritural apathy rests squarely on my shoulders.  When God seems distant, I know that it is not because He has moved away from me, but that I have moved away from Him.

To sum it up, this short sentence should be a blessing.  It’s a reminder of God’s pursuit of me and of my responsibility to diligently pursue Him.

This is the first post  in a new series.  In the coming weeks, I’ll share the few quotes that I have written in the inside of my Bible.

Some of these quotes are more common than others, but they each have a special significance to me.  I don’t want a messy looking cluttered mass of quotes that are pretty good, so I make sure that the words are substantial before I put pen to inside cover.

This precious prayer is the most lengthy quote written in my Bible.  It’s the only thing written in the front of my Bible.

From A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God:

O God, I have tasted Your goodness,
and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more.
I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace.
I am ashamed of my lack of desire.
O God, the Triune God,
I want to want You;
I long to be filled with longing;
I thirst to be made more thirsty still.
Show me Your glory, I pray,
so I may know You indeed.
Begin in mercy a new work of love within me…
Give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland
where I have wandered so long.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.