For Your Library

I want you, my readers, to know from the outset that although the majority of what I share with you on this site is indeed my own writing - straight from my heart to you, I have gleaned inspiration from many sources. Solomon the wise said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) I am so thankful that many people from years past, who discovered priceless nuggets of eternal truth which enriched their spirits, wrote down their experiences and shared their wisdom. Most of these people who have thus given so much to me, I will not meet this side of heaven, yet I consider them some of my very best friends, true kindred spirits. Wherever I directly quote any of my valued mentors, I certainly will give them the credit, and I do not want, by any means, to plagiarize. If I should do so inadvertently, I sincerely ask forgiveness of them and of you! In this section I desire to introduce you to some of these wonderful men and women who have so greatly inspired my life, by sharing with you their written works. I hope that you will want to become well acquainted with them, too.

There are treasures of our own for each of us to discover, if we are willing to dig for them. In a gravel driveway, one can find many rocks and stones of varied sorts, but it is not likely he will come across a diamond there. There may be some quartz in the gravel that a little child might consider very pretty, and she is free to presume it’s a diamond. But we adults know that one thing that makes true gemstones so valuable is that they are not just lying around on top of the ground everywhere, for the easy taking.
They are rare, and it takes an extensive
process of digging to find them. And so it is with spiritual insights, with the real treasures, those that feed and nourish our inner being. They will not come to us with only a casual effort on our part. I taught my children from their early childhood: “Everything of value costs something.”

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 And so we must be “diggers”, and dig, and dig, and dig some more.

There are many mysteries about the ways of God. God is God, and He has a right to be mysterious! In fact, if He were not, He would not be God (that is, if we could figure Him all out, “put Him in a box”, so to speak, conclude that we understand Him completely, have Him “pegged” - then our god is just our concept of God, and is not the true and living God at all). And so I ask you to consider this mystery (and, by the way, whether we like it or not, it is what it is): God likes to hide Himself – and hide His deepest, most precious treasures. Nevertheless, it is written that it is to our honor (for our benefit and to our credit) to search Him out. (Proverbs 25:2) Although God chooses to hide - though He makes it challenging for us to find His “diamonds”, He will not mock us. Jesus said, “Seek, and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7) And He always keeps His word. Our God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2) That is one thing God cannot do! So, dear friend, dig! The greatest wealth awaits you. Know this: God wants you to discover Him!

“And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

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(A.W. Tozer wrote in Man, The Dwelling Place of God: “One big problem in many parts of the world today is to learn how to read, and in others it is to find something to read after one has learned. In our favored West, we are overwhelmed with printed matter, so the problem here becomes one of selection. We must decide what not to read… Since what we read in a real sense enters the soul, it is vitally important that we read the best and nothing but the best.”)