Here are a couple quotes shared over at the Vitamin Z blog lately.  Enjoy.

There are things worse than dying. I do not know how many times I have sung the words, “O let me never, never/ Outlive my love for Thee,” but I mean them. I would rather die than end up unfaithful to my wife; I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in my books; I would rather die than deny or disown the gospel. God knows there are many things in my past of which I am deeply ashamed; I would not want such shame to multiply and bring dishonor to Christ in years to come. There are worse things than dying.

- Edward T. Welch, When People Are Big And God Is Small, p. 39- 40.

Aren’t the most popular mission trips the ones that take us far from our own neighborhood? Russia is easy; our own neighborhood is a constant challenge. Has anyone consistently had the boldness and clarity of Jesus in testifying about the gospel? Never. Has anyone consistently avoided the fear of man in evangelism? Certainly not. There is a “foolishness” inherent in the message of the cross. The clear proclamation of the gospel does not make us look good. It doesn’t make us popular.

- D.A. Carson, How Long O Lord? – Reflections on Suffering and Evil, p. 107

The following was posted recently on The Blazing Center blog.  I know this is the kind of thing I need to remember in the middle of trials.

There are times when suffering seems absolutely senseless.

What good is coming from daily migraines, or consistent financial struggle, or prolonged singleness? Can anything useful come from joint pain or struggling with an unbelieving family member? It’s hard for us to see it and we certainly don’t feel it. We just can’t see what God is doing in the midst of suffering.

But in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul gives us God’s divine perspective on suffering. He says:

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.

Through our current sufferings, God is preparing us for an incredible glory that is to come, and if we didn’t experience these sufferings, we wouldn’t be prepared for the glory. Ligon Duncan makes this point when he says:

You couldn’t bear the glory that God has in store for you, unless you had been held up by God in your affliction in this life. (From Does Grace Grow Best In Winter?)

Doesn’t that encourage you? Our sufferings are hard. They don’t always make sense to our limited minds. But we can know that God is using them to prepare us for something glorious.

God doesn’t waste suffering. He’s using your headaches, and backaches, and heartaches to prepare you for glory. If we didn’t experience the suffering, we wouldn’t be ready for the glory.

Here’s a recent post from a blogger named Doug Wolters quoted by the Vitamin Z blog (lots of quoting I know- but good stuff).

Today a friend of mine graciously gave me a copy of Tim Keller’s book, Counterfeit Gods. Normally I don’t do this, but I was so intrigued with the title of the Epilogue (Finding and Replacing Your Idols) that I started reading there first. Keller poses one main question in this section, namely, “How do we discern our idols?” Here’s the outline of his very helpful and very challenging response:

1. Look at your imagination. What do you think about in the privacy of your heart?

2. Look at how you spend your money. Patterns of spending reveal idols.

3. Look at what you are really living for. What is your real–not professed–god?

4. Look at your most uncontrollable emotions. When you pull your emotions up by the roots, you will often find your idols clinging to them.

Recently Justin Buzzard posted the following on his blog.

…waiting is living through those moments when you do not understand what God is doing and you have no power to change your circumstances for the better.

…waiting will always reveal the true character of your heart.

Theoretical faith is always easier than practical, functional faith, and when we are faced with the challenge of waiting it can be disturbing to realize how little of that real-life faith we have.

Your heart is always exposed by the way you wait.

Waiting is hard precisely because it calls us to live by faith and not by sight.

Waiting, therefore, is not a sign that your world is out of control. Rather, it is a sign that your world is under the wise and infinitely attentive control of a God of fathomless wisdom and boundless love. This means you can rest as you wait, not because you like to wait, but because you trust the One who is calling you to wait.

The wait itself is a gift…Waiting is about what you will become as you wait.

You see, waiting is not an interruption of God’s plan. It is his plan.

Waiting is not just about what I get at the end of the wait, but about who I become as I wait.

Quotes taken from chapter 9 of Paul Tripp, Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad.

As most of you probably know, one of the ministries that I find myself consistently benefiting from is Desiring God.  In the following post Matt Perman talks about their mission statement.  Obviously the application goes far beyond Desiring God into our lives and our churches.

Our mission at Desiring God is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. By turning a few things around, we can also see what our mission is not — and therefore more clearly what it is.

Our mission is not to create cul-de-sacs, but to spread.

Our mission is not to spread just knowledge about God. It is to spread a passion for God. Head and heart.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the mediocrity of God or for the overlooking of God or for the assuming of God. It is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the supremacy of human beings or Western materialism or even you. It is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in just a few things, or just a few parts of your life like the time you spend at church, but in all things.

We aim to do this not simply for Americans or Western Christians but for all people groups.

We aim to do this not for the boredom or gloom or sadness of all people groups, but for the joy of all people groups. “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4).

And we aim to do this not through our own efforts or with an ambiguous God-is-whoever-you-think-he-is God in mind, but through Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross 2,000 years ago, rose again, ascended into heaven, sent the Holy Spirit, and will come again.