Tozer in the Morning – Refusing to be Conformed to the Pattern of This World
Men are impressed with the message of the Church just as far and as long as she is different from themselves. When she seeks to be like them they no longer respect her. They believe (and rightly) that she is playing false to herself and to them. The moral jar that results when an indoctrinated son of Adam meets a son of heaven is one of the most wholesome things that can happen to both of them. And contrary to common opinion, men are more inclined to follow the way of Christ when they are compelled to make a radical alteration in their lives than they are when the way is made easy for them. The human heart senses its need to be changed, and when religion appears offering life without such change, it is not taken seriously by thinking men. The superficial, the insincere, may embrace such a low-powered brand of religion, but the seeking heart must reject it as false and unreal. All conformity to the world is a negation of our Christian character and a surrender of our heavenly position.
Tozer in the Evening – Marked by Christly Fragrance
I also long in the tender mercies of Christ that among us there may be the following: . . . 7. A presence of Christ that is as the fragrance of myrrh and aloes. When you become accustomed to the smell of His garments you will be spoiled for anything less. If we never smell the myrrh and aloes out of the ivory palaces, we may go along a lifetime and not miss it. But one beautiful whiff of the fragrance of these garments and we will never be satisfied with anything less. When my wife and I were first married we attended a church of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Akron, Ohio. There was something on that church, a sense of the fragrance of God. The great Dr. Gerow preached there in those days. The church had some sweet Christian brethren, some wonderful men and women of God, and there was a fragrance on that place. I have never forgotten it. I was between 19,21 for the three years I spent in that church, and I do not remember getting help from others of my age. But how I remember getting help that is with me to this day from the older saints whose garments were fragrant with the myrrh, aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces!