Francis Bacon died almost 400 years ago, but his famous description of words on pages are still as relevant and important as ever. Bacon wrote:

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and a few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” (Francis Bacon)

When it comes to reading, we should always remember the wise words of J.C. Ryle…

“Whatever you read, read the Bible first. Beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read.” (J.C. Ryle)
 
“Gratitude isn’t only a celebration when good things happen. Gratitude is a declaration that God is good no matter what happens!” (Ann Voskamp)
 
“Nowhere in Scripture do we find doctrine studied for its own sake or in isolation from life.” (Dr. Wayne Grudem)
 
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” (Martin Luther)

The Snare to Compare…

“Comparing ourselves to others is a dead-end street. As Theodore Roosevelt aptly said: Comparison is the thief of joy. So why do we continue to diminish our neighbor as a way to build ourselves up? Why do we find pleasure in negative gossip and the misfortune of others? Why do we feel we must win in order to feel okay about ourselves? No matter how athletic, slim, handsome/pretty, intelligent, well-read, respected, connected, funny, wealthy, or religious we are, if we anchor our worth in these things instead of in the smile of God over us, these things will eventually wreck us. C.S. Lewis said “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown it. Aim at earth and you get neither.” The only esteem that won’t abandon us is the esteem given to us by Jesus. Why? Because only in Jesus are we fully known and always loved, thoroughly exposed yet never rejected. Only Jesus will repeatedly forgive us when we fail Him. Only Jesus will declare His affection for us when we are at our very worst as well as at our very best.” (Ann Voskamp)
 
“If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself!” (Augustine)
 
“One reason why God usually doesn’t give us specific guidance in our sometimes-perplexing decisions is that He places a higher priority on our being transformed than our being informed in order that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus.” (Jon Bloom – President of Desiring God Ministries)
 
“I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.” (Martin Luther)

“Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness. Jesus is a God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.” (Blaise Pascal – from his book Pensées)
 
“The duties that are required of us are not proportioned to the strength residing in us, but to the supply laid up for us in Christ.” (John Owen)
 
“Prayer is an acknowledgment that our need of God’s help is not partial, but total.” (Alistair Begg)

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege to participate in The Gospel Coalition National Conference in Florida. Over 6,000 people from all over the United States and 50 different countries came together to listen, learn, network, fellowship and worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Global Training Network partners with The Gospel Coalition’s International Outreach (TGCIO) arm by delivering quality biblical and theological books (that TGCIO purchases and has translated) to the pastors that we train around the world.

Since the inception of Global Training Network 11 years ago, we have always been committed to partnering together with other like-minded, gospel-centered ministries to help advance God’s Kingdom to the ends of the earth. Now that we are involved in 68 countries, and with a staff of over 85, partnering has become even more important and necessary, if we want to best steward the resources that God has entrusted to us. I’ve always believed that God smiles when He sees his children working together for His honor and His glory!

Some of you may not know much about The Gospel Coalition. In case you are not aware, I’ve included below an article that Joe Carter, editor at TGC, wrote a couple weeks ago that gives a brief, “30,000 foot” fly-over perspective of who they are, why they exist and what they do. TGC began back in 2005 when Tim Keller (Sr. Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NY) and D.A. Carson (Professor of New Testament Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) got together and planted the seeds that would become The Gospel Coalition.

Click here to read “9 Things You Should Know About TGC” by Joe Carter.

Photo courtesy of GraceWay Media

The story is told of an elderly missionary couple that arrived at their home port after years of faithful service. At the dock, an ambassador and his wife who had returned on the ship with them were surrounded by a crowd. Roses were bestowed on his wife as photographers’ flashes exploded, and an attentive, admiring press and public hung on every word as he spoke of the joy of serving his government and coming home.

As the missionary couple walked unnoticed through that crowd, the wife, with hot tears streaking down her face, wondered out loud to her husband, “Why is it that we have given our whole lives to Christ and yet there is no one here to honor us and welcome us home?” Her understanding husband, reaching beyond that lonely moment, said to her, “Honey, we’re not home yet.”

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:1, 3-5a)

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.” (Psalm 39:4-5)

If you have been a Christian for very long, I’m sure you have experienced what many of the great saints throughout history have referred to as “the ministry of God’s absence.” It’s a season (weeks, months or even many years) where God seems distant – far off and uninvolved in our day-to-day lives. I’ve faced my own seasons of God’s “seeming absence” throughout my 42 years of walking with Christ.

I was helped along the way by reading C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters. Lewis talks about how it is during those “trough periods” (i.e. God’s seeming absence) that our faith has the potential to grow its deepest. And it is during those “troughs” that God is actually doing some of his greatest work in our character (though mostly unknown to us).

In his book, Lewis tells of how Satan advises his minions (demons) that at the beginning of a believer’s spiritual life he may sense the closeness of God’s presence, which he describes as a dangerous state that demons will have few weapons to counter.

Later, though, many opportunities against the Enemy (God) arise. Listen to how Lewis portrays the importance of those “trough” times in a believer’s life (underlines and bold mine):

“It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the creature He [God] wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those that please Him best… He (God) wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s (God’s) will, looks round a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” 

Finally, here are a few more Quotable Quotes that I have come across in the past few weeks…
 
“Nobody gets through a broken world unbroken.” (Ed Stetzer)
 
“Many Christians are so intent on doing something for God that they forget God’s main work is to make something of them.” (Jim Elliot – Missionary)
 
“Because of the gospel, I no longer live for approval; I live from approval.” (Dave Harvey)
 
“Let nothing be said about anyone unless it passes through the three sieves: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” (Amy Carmichael)
 
“Before God uses a man greatly, he must first bruise him deeply.” (A.W. Tozer)
 
“The more I learn about God, the more aware I become of what I don’t know about him.” (R.C. Sproul)
 
“Hope can see heaven through the thickest clouds.” (Thomas Brooks)
 
“The Christian life is not one of attained perfection but ongoing purification.” (Joe Thorn)
 
“To be a burden-bearer is a great ministry. It is something that every Christian should and can do. It is a natural consequence of walking by the Spirit. It fulfils the law of Christ. ‘Therefore’, wrote Martin Luther, ‘Christians must have strong shoulders and mighty bones’—sturdy enough, that is, to carry heavy burdens.” (John R.W. Stott)
 
“The commands of God are given, not to rob me of joy, but lead me into the fullness of joy.” (Matt Chandler)
 
“There is no life so deeply and tragically sinful that it’s beyond the reach of God’s amazing rescuing grace.” (Paul Tripp)
 
“The most important daily habit we can possess is to remind ourselves of the gospel.” (C.H. Spurgeon)
 
“I don’t want to be a comfort-seeking, entertainment-addicted, security-craving, approval-desiring Christian.” (John Piper)
 
“The greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more child-like will be our faith.” (J. Gresham Machen)
 
“When we cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing. We worship anything.” (G.K. Chesterton)
 
“The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not.” (C.S. Lewis)
 
“Christian giving is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation.” (John Stott)
 
“When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
 
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” (Charles W. Eliot)

Recently I came across an article that both challenged and inspired me. I read hundreds (and hundreds) of articles every year… this is one of my “Top 10” for the past year. This article was written by Dr. Scott Rodin and recently appeared in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability’s newsletter. If you are over 50, this article is especially for you. I would encourage you to take 5-10 minutes to read it… I’m convinced you’ll be inspired, challenged… and blessed. Enjoy!

Stop Running Life’s Race Backwards by Dr. Scott Rodin

Three Challenges to Help You Cross the Finish Line of Life Fully Spent and Deliriously Joyful.

Too many of us are living life backwards.

Instead of our choices and attitudes reflecting the journey we have been on, we choose lifestyles that contradict the lessons we have learned in life.

This all has to do with risk. Our culture teaches that you take risks when you are young, when you have less to lose and when bad choices can be mended through time and diligence. When we are young we are supposedly more free from life’s entanglements to try and fail, so we take risks knowing there is ample time and strength to pick ourselves up and try again.

This may be fine for the world, but not for God’s people.

The Apostle Paul likens life to a race. He tells the church in Corinth,

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) 

In Hebrews we read,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The image is of sprinters running full out—all the way to the end of the race with their eyes on the prize.

Now picture the following scene. A group of skilled runners approach the starting line for the 400 meters—one long sprint around the track. The gun fires and they explode from the blocks.

Arms pumping, legs churning, they fly around the first turn. In the backstretch they breathe fast and rhythmically as their pace quickens. As they enter the far turn determination mixed with anguish pours out across their faces. Muscles bulge, sweat pours as they round the turn and get their first glance at the finish line still well down the track. The crowd rises to its feet. Fans cheer and urge their favorite runners on. This is the final push. This is where all the years of exhausting training kick in. This is the moment for which they have prepared, dreamed and persevered. And now it is right in front of them. Their bodies are screaming at them to stop, but their spirit is undaunted as they hurl themselves toward the tape.

Then, suddenly, something very strange happens.

With only yards to go, the entire group, as if summoned by some unheard authoritative voice, begins to slow; first to a lope, then a trot, then to a leisurely saunter as if they were meandering in a meadow on a warm summer day. Some stop and sit down. Others wander slowly down the track with no sense of urgency. A few look back and wish they could return to the race along earlier sections of track, trying to remember what it felt like to run for all their life.

Are you shocked by this scene? Are you incredulous that trained athletes would give up the race so close to the finish? That they would abandon their passion for running and settle for an afternoon stroll?

Why then are we not equally shocked when we see God’s people finishing their life’s race in the same way?

What would it look like to run with perseverance the race set before us – all of the race, to the very end? What would it take to run in such a way as to get the prize?

Here are three thoughts to challenge you to just such a life.

1. Run with the freedom to invest it all.

Have you run enough of your race to be able to look behind you and know that God will always meet your needs? Has he ever left you or forsaken you? Has he ever been untrue to his promises? If he has been the great provider for you at every step of your race, why do you think he will stop doing so as you approach the finish line?

Why is it in our latter years that we believe we need to store up enough money on our own to get us to the finish line? Why do we put away large sums for “retirement,” horde our money and worry about it as if now, at the end of this great race, God will somehow suddenly abandon us and cease to provide for our every need? Why do we live in fear and bondage when we were created to run free?

There is an alternative way of finishing your race.

You can let your life be a witness to your absolute dependency on God for all things. You can point back to a legacy of God’s faithfulness that allows you to propel yourself toward the finish line with wanton abandon. When everyone else is piling up money and placing their security in the size of their retirement accounts, live your life in a countercultural, kingdom way. Don’t let a fearful attitude toward money, retirement, financial security and generosity contradict all that you have learned in your years of walking with Christ. Let the last part of your race be marked with outrageous generosity, divestiture, simple living, and investment of all the resources for which God has entrusted you fully into the work of his kingdom.

Here is your challenge. When Jesus calls you home, plan to fall into his arms absolutely penniless.

Be ready to give an account for all he has entrusted to you by saying, “it’s all invested in your kingdom, every penny. There’s nothing left.” You came into the world with nothing, plan to leave it the same way.

But what about your kids? What about their inheritance, you ask? Here’s a real shocker. Don’t leave them a dime. Your kids don’t need your money, they need a model of what it looks like for a faithful steward to run life’s race to the very end and honor God with every last penny with which they have been entrusted. Let that be your legacy. God will take care of them as he has always taken care of you. They don’t need your money, they need to be inspired by the way you live, and finish, your life.

2. Run with the freedom to take risk.

The second characteristic of one who runs life’s race to the very end is a decreasing need to become cautious, avoid risk and be calculated in your dealings.

Why is it that as we age our fear of new things, new people and new places increases? Why isn’t it just the opposite? We have so much less to lose as we get older. Whether we are in the far turn of life’s race, or have rounded the bend and can see the finish line ahead, the end of the race is far closer than it’s beginning. If there was ever a time to embrace risk and throw caution to the wind, isn’t this it? Are we not best equipped, based on a lifetime of experiences, to live these last years or decades with an increasing freedom to go wherever God calls us to go, say whatever he calls us to say, and do whatever he calls us to do, understanding that our days left to do these things are diminishing and opportunities to make a kingdom impact are precious?

What might this look like?

To start with, it is a decreasing need to build and maintain our reputation and an increasing willingness to speak truth, challenge worldly thinking and champion kingdom values. At a time of staggering moral decline in our country, why is it that the people with the greatest spiritual maturity are the ones remaining mostly silent? Our voices can carry the weight of our undeniable experiences with God.

Will we take a lifetime of learning through all that God has led us and bury it in the sand when the witness of God’s powerful work among us so desperately needs to be heard? Will we hide behind the fear of not wanting to get involved, not wanting to have people disagree with us or hurting our reputation? Will we yield to the resignation that our one voice will make no difference? Or will we choose to speak boldly on behalf of our children, our grandchildren and the Lord we love and serve?

Here is the challenge. Run the race to the very end.

Plan to fall into the arms of Jesus having boldly spoken up for him. Be able to say to him, “I’ve said every word you called me to say, I’ve gone everywhere you called me to go. I have nothing left.” You may respond by saying that it’s hard to do this as you get older. Well, it’s supposed to be hard. That’s why it’s a race. The hardest part of the race is the long sprint to the finish line. It’s not a stroll, it’s a heart pounding, muscle straining, all out dash to get the prize. The whole goal is to cross the finish line with nothing left.

3. Run with the freedom to be a witness.

Paul admonishes the Galatians, “after beginning by means of the spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).

When we enter into the last half of our race with the desire to store up treasures, build financial security, protect our reputation, reduce our risk, reject change and let our voices grow silent, we have fallen prey to Paul’s warning. Having started life’s race by the Spirit – fully committed to following Jesus Christ regardless of the cost – we have chosen to end in the flesh, doing all the things we need to make sure our latter years are spent in leisure and comfort, with no risk and insulated from the great spiritual battles raging in the world around us. This is not God’s vision for the rest of your life.

The challenge is to embrace a life that is radically countercultural to what you see around you. Let the rest of your life be a witness and testimony to all that you have learned in walking with Christ up to this day. Leave a legacy for your kids of what it looks like to be a faithful steward to your very last breath.

Today there are approximately 28 million Americans who are over 50 and professing Christians.

Can you imagine how we could change the world if we decided to run this race in a way so as to have nothing left at the end. How much money would be released to fund God’s work? How many millions of volunteer hours would be invested in kingdom work? How many hurting people would be reached? How much truth would be proclaimed? And how much joy would be realized by embracing purpose, passion and risk right to our last breath. This is the abundant life to which we have been called. Not the abundance of possessions or security or safety or constancy or reputation or comfort. But abundance of the heart and spirit that only comes through the total, lavish expenditure of everything we are. By giving all that we are so tempted to keep for ourselves. It is abundance born of freedom.

Perhaps the most compelling reason for embracing this life is the impact it will have on our children and our grandchildren. As the song says, “May those who come behind us find us faithful.” Not wealthy, safe, secure, comfortable, cautious, fearful, withdrawn and secluded. But faithful, which in kingdom terms means obedient to the very end. Will your life be a legacy of this ‘fully committed, completely spent’ kind of faithfulness?

My prayer is that you will choose today to live with the increasing freedom to be generous, to give away and sow richly into the lives of the people around you. Decide today to take risks and in doing so use up fully all of the energy and resources you have left. Live in such a way that you are prepared to cross the finish line of life broke, exhausted, fully spent, emptied and deliriously joyful.

How else would you want to arrive before the Lord in the hope of hearing those wonderful words, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

Dr. Rodin is president of Rodin Consulting, Inc. specializing in helping Christian non-profits take a biblical approach to strategic planning, board development and capital campaign fundraising.

Photo credit: The Gospel Coalition

One of the recurring themes that our Global Training Network staff members hear on the field are stories of persecution and danger. But what consistently amazes us is the incredible faith-filled response of our national partners – pastors and leaders who are on the front lines. When I hear these stories (like the one below) I am reminded of Hebrews 11:35-38…

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

I wanted to share a moving firsthand account of persecution of Christians in the African nation of Niger. May your own faith be strengthened as you read “Church on Fire: Persecution in Niger” by Nate Bramsen:

There is a strange paradox in much of the church today. The very things Jesus promised would happen if we follow him are often the very things that cause us to doubt his presence and love. But what if the supposed detours in life are the direct route to true blessing?
 
Last month in the nation of Niger, more than 55 church buildings, some homes, a couple of schools, and an orphanage were burned in one day by religious extremists. The perpetrators sought to burn my house, along with two other homes belonging to our team working in a village on the outskirts of the capital. But various neighbors stood in the gap as they arrived at our gates, confronted the mobs, and suggested these homes be spared. 
 
The story unfolded on a Saturday morning as our team (ROCK International) was hosting a weekly children’s Bible club in the courtyard of one of our homes. Interestingly, that morning was the distribution of Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes to a couple of hundred kids. Twenty minutes before the mobs entered our village, neighbors tearfully approached the club warning the team of the impending danger, giving time to move to a safe location.
 
Some in our neighborhood were not spared. One Christian brother whose home and place of worship were looted and burned, had the crowds calling for his crucifixion (since he had preached the gospel on national television) as the flames rose. Thankfully, the Lord had also allowed him to leave minutes before the mobs arrived. Another of my Nigerien friends who pastors a local church lost all his family’s belongings, including his home and place of worship, even family birth certificates, but would only repeat, “This is such a blessing, because God promised these things would come. Now the church will grow.”
 
Our team prays daily for the salvation of this nation, but do we tacitly require from God our terms and conditions? Do we seek comfort and belonging in a world that crucified and rejected our Savior? Do we embrace complacency when Christ calls us to intimacy? The problem is not that we cry out to God in desperation, but rather that we fail to realize we are always desperate for him. Often, these adverse circumstances make that desperation a tangible reality.
 
Fear Not
 
While walking near my house in the village, days after the violence, I approached a home and local church that had been burned. The street was littered with pamphlets, Christian resources, and charred Bible pages. Randomly, I reached down and picked up a half-burned page of Scripture only to see it was the first half of Isaiah 43. How encouraging to be reminded in the rubble, “When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. . . . Fear not, for I am with you” (Is. 43:2b-3a, 5a).
 
Christ never promised physical safety to those who would follow him. In fact, he promised something far better: his presence. When commissioning his disciples before ascending to his Father, Jesus told them, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . ” and left them with this promise: “I will be with you, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19a, 20). Sometimes the physical flame does touch our life, but Christ took the flame of God’s wrath and judgment that we might forever enjoy life. Christ was forsaken on the cross that we might eternally dwell in God’s presence.
 
In our world today, more than 40 percent still have not heard or had access to the gospel, including nearly 70 percent of Niger. Christ does not call us to pursue danger, but he asks our obedience to his calling. Time and again, God has demonstrated his power over the enemy’s attacks and his ability to save. Whether it was the day my teammates and I were surrounded by a mob and about to be burned alive with a fire already lit under our vehicle, the illegal arrest warrants issued as vendettas, being chased from villages by shovels or rocks, or perhaps, the random death threat, nothing surprises God. Rather, it is an opportunity for his glory to be displayed. Still, there may come a day when physical deliverance doesn’t occur. Let it be known on that day, God is still faithful, and the greatest deliverance will have actually occurred. Whether we live or whether we die, Christ is our life, and his glory is the reward.
 
Jesus Christ calls us to himself, not to a life of ease by avoidance, but of intimacy through obedience that we “may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10).
 
Nate Bramsen is the founder of ROCK International, a gospel-centered organization desiring to minister the love of Jesus to hurting children across the world. Though he currently lives in Niger, he travels extensively preaching God’s Word at conferences, universities, and churches, and hosts a weekly podcast entitled “Unfiltered,” available on iTunes.

Big Stock Photo

Reflecting on Romans chapter 8 and the nature of prayer, Tim Keller offers this wise summary: “Prayer is the way to experience a powerful confidence that God is handling our lives well, that our bad things will turn out for good, our good things cannot be taken from us, and the best things are yet to come.”
– Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

If the gospel has never broken you, you have never really heard it.
—Matt Papa

The beginning of man’s rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart.
—Francis Schaeffer

The weakest faith gets the same strong Christ as does the strongest faith.
—Sinclair Ferguson

I am going to judge my circumstances by Jesus’ love, not Jesus’ love by my circumstances.
—Tim Keller

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.
—John Piper

The aim is never to become a master of the Word, but to be mastered by it.
—D.A. Carson

To know that God knows everything about me and yet loves me is indeed my ultimate consolation.
—R.C. Sproul

I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.
—David Livingstone

It is better to preach five words of God’s Word than five million words of man’s wisdom.
—C.H. Spurgeon

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you… Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief.
– C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Had any other condition been better for you than the one you are in, Divine Love would have put you there.
—C.H. Spurgeon

God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
—Randy Alcorn

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, but a gift for the guilty.
—Steven Lawson

All the approval we ever need is already sitting at the right hand of God.
—Sammy Rhodes

Though sin often brings immediate pleasure, it gives no lasting joy.
—R.C. Sproul

I would soberly admonish any missionary candidate that the mission field is not all romance and radical adventure; it is also mingled with heartbreak, loss, and self-denial. But therein we discover God’s boundless love and wise providence. C. S. Lewis said in in his poem As the Ruin Falls, “The pains You give me are more precious than all other gains.”

Perhaps D. A. Carson says it best in his excellent book on suffering, How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil:

“The more the leaders are afflicted with weakness, suffering, perplexity, and persecution, the more it is evident that their vitality is nothing other than the life of Jesus. This has enormously positive spiritual effects on the rest of the church. The leaders’ death means the church’s life. This is why the best Christian leadership cannot simply be appointed. It is forged by God himself in the fires of suffering, taught in the school of tears. There are no shortcuts.”

God loves his servants so much that he allows them to suffer, so that his grace will sustain them in order to make his glory known. Our weakness is the God-ordained instrument through which the Holy Spirit fills us with the power of Christ.

– Evan Burns, “The Missionary Life: No Shortcuts”

Courtesy Big Stock Photo

As we approach the beginning of 2015 in a little over 24 hours, I thought I would share a few year-end thoughts and quotes.

For those of you looking for a good plan to read through the Bible in 2015, Justin Taylor (blogger for the Gospel Coalition) gives one of the best, most comprehensive lists I’ve come across. I would encourage you to set aside time each day to read through the Bible in 2015.

“When all your favorite preachers are gone, and all their books forgotten, you will have your Bible. Master it. Master it.”  (John Piper)

Also, if you want to read an outstanding article that will help you to understand the Bible in a much greater way, I would encourage you to read a recent post by Gavin Ortlund, entitled: “What Kind of Thing is the Bible: Six Theses.” Every pastor should give his congregation a copy of this article! 

And finally, CBS News put together a video montage of many of the well-known people that died in 2014. Here are a few of the people they mentioned…

Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lauren Bacall, Richard Attenborough, Sid Ceasar, Shirley Temple, Maria von Trapp, Mickey Rooney, Maya Angelou, Casey Kasem, Tommy Ramone, James Garner, Phil Everly, Pete Seeger, David Brenner and Joe Cocker. 

As I watched the video, I was reminded of what Scripture says in James 4:13-15…
 
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” (NASB)

As the video montage scrolled through so many well-known people the world admired, I couldn’t help but think about those that didn’t make the “CBS News” list who served Christ faithfully and used their life to influence others for the glory of God.

I was reminded again what matters most in life – living for God’s glory and the good of other people.

“The best use of one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” (Oswald Sanders)
 
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”  (Jesus, from Matthew 16:26 ESV)
 
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)
 
“Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.” (Anonymous)
 
“I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”  (Martin Luther)
 
As you enter 2015, may you remember the promise of God’s “steadfast love”…

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
 
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12 NIV) 
 
“All of us would be wiser if we would resolve never to put people down, except on our prayer lists.”  (D.A. Carson)

Finally, one last note – thank you to all of you who have so faithfully prayed for Lisa and I and the ministry of Global Training Network this past year. We are eternally grateful! Please continue to bring us and our staff before God’s throne in 2015. The longer I live, the more I realize how deeply I need the prayers of fellow believers in Christ! Thank you!

I really enjoy reading pastor and author Kevin DeYoung. He is amazingly insightful, and very articulate. Recently he wrote some brief thoughts on The Gospel Coalition’s website that I found perceptive, as well as convicting.

Much Grace. Enjoy…

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Would you like others to remember your failings as long as you remember theirs?

Do you like it when people assume the worst about you? Put the worst possible construct on your motives? Never give you the benefit of the doubt? Size you up and figure you out 140 characters at a time?

Do you like it when others are quick to speak, quick to anger, and slow to forgive? How does it feel when others speak about you instead of to you?

What if the measure you used with others was the measure used with you? What if everyone else took things personally? What if tearing you down became someone else’s personal mission in life? Have you ever tried to see things their way?

Have you ever been mistaken for a son of encouragement like Barnabas or a great refresher like Onesiphorus?

Are people more surprised when you are outraged and offended or when you are tender and compassionate?

How would I answer these questions? How am I doing? Every “you” in the questions above is also for me.

Have mercy on stupid and sinful people. You and I will be one of them soon enough.

Selah. 

I saw it on my first trip to the heart of India in 1998. I was in the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and had met several indigenous Christ-followers over the preceding week. What was it? A joy, a peace, and a contentment that I had never witnessed at such a deep level.

You could see it in their eyes. Almost every sentence was filled with gratitude to God. These were people who had virtually nothing in terms of earthly possessions. They were (and are) some of the poorest people in the world – basic homes, many with nothing more than dirt floors. No air conditioning – in a place that can reach almost 110 degrees Fahrenheit (with 80% to 90% humidity!). And yet their prayers were filled with the common refrain of gratitude for God’s unending goodness and kindness in their lives.

How is it that people who live on less than $1,000 U.S. dollars per year can be so joyful? So content? So at peace?

The answer? The joy that only God can give… the peace that Scripture says “surpasses all comprehension” (Phil. 4:6-7)… and the contentment that is talked about in 1 Timothy 6:8, where the Apostle Paul writes, “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

As we approach this Thanksgiving Season and express our gratitude for all of God’s gracious (undeserved) gifts, let’s remember that the most important gifts are not things… but rather those intangible, invisible gifts that can only come from the hand of God Himself. Things like salvation, forgiveness, redemption, adoption (spiritual), acceptance and love – all undeserved gifts from our gracious heavenly Father.

I grew up Lutheran, and one of the traditions we had as a family was singing the Doxology before every Thanksgiving dinner. It set the tone, and it always reminded me that these “blessings” (visible and invisible) ultimately flow from God… and therefore He is to be praised.

“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

As we approach Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought I would share a few important thoughts on the subject of “gratitude.” These thoughts were originally shared by Randy Alcorn on his blog. Enjoy!

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Romans 11:35). The answer is nobody.
 
Our culture is riddled with a poisonous spirit of entitlement. We always think we deserve more. We’re disappointed with our family, neighbors, church, the waitress, the sales clerk, and the department of motor vehicles. Ultimately we’re disappointed with God. He hasn’t given us everything we want.
 
What madness! If only we could see our situation clearly – even for a moment.
 
We deserved expulsion;
He gives us a diploma.
 
We deserved the electric chair;
He gives us a parade.
 
Anything less than overwhelming gratitude should be unthinkable. He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything. When you realize you deserve nothing better than hell, it puts a “bad day” in perspective, doesn’t it?
 
Christians in Sudan – who’ve suffered unspeakably for their faith – are deeply grateful for God’s daily blessings. But us? We whine and pout.
 
Thankfulness should draw a clear line between us and a Christ-less world. If the same spirit of entitlement and ingratitude that characterizes our culture characterizes us, what do we have to offer?
 
If I grasp that I deserve hell, I’ll be filled with gratitude not only for God’s huge blessings – including my redemption and home in heaven – but also for His smaller blessings: sun, rain, a beating heart, eyes that see, legs that walk, a mind that thinks. If I don’t have these, I’ll be overwhelmed with the knowledge that I have plenty else I don’t deserve. And because Christ allowed Himself to be crushed under the weight of my sin, I’ll enjoy forever a clear mind and perfect body.
 
Lord, help us to be thankful people. Help us to be grateful for ordinary days. And during our bad days, remind us of what you are preparing for us – endless days filled with goodness and abundance, where we will look back with amazed delight at your deliverance and look forward with anticipation of the endless wonders yet to come.
 
“…having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:7 ESV)
 
Selah.