- A. W. Tozer

There is no receiving Christ without the Cross, no receiving Christianity without surrender, no receiving God without full obedience.

Christianity has been watered down a cheap, inferior substitute of what God means for it to be. The idea of 'accepting' Jesus has shifted from revolutionary attachment to an impulsive decision, painless and without cost-and with no concept of discipleship.

The choice for anyone who claims to be a Christian is simple. Actually, there is no choice, says Tozer in True Discipleship. A Christian follows Christ. There is no alternative.

The purpose of redemption was to restore mankind to its former closeness with God. The goal of every Christian must be an increasingly intimate acquaintance with Him.

We must recapture the hope of His returning, and that hope must lift our lives beyond the earthly. With God as our refuge and the source of our strength, and with our eyes on our heavenly future and the promise of Christ's coming, we must yearn to please our Savior and Lord.