Inspirational Quotes by Dick Brogden
“These are the consolations of God (15:11): that in His mercy He loves us enough to shatter us. That is why we declare steadfastly with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (13:15).”
“As mortals, bound by time, we consider Christ’s agony on the cross to be confined to one day. And yet, God, who is outside of time, knew from the foundation of the world that the Lamb would be slain. The Son of God, who knew no suffering in eternity, entered time with the foreknowledge and intent to suffer for us. Our suffering overtakes us like a thief in the night. The Lamb of God was not taken by surprise, however. From all eternity, from the moment He was born in Bethlehem, Calvary was ever before Him. What kind of God is this? What kind of God does this … for us?”
“What is in us is limited and downright embarrassing; it only leads to death and sorrow. What is in God is beautiful and life-giving. God chooses to act with us—God gives the answers of peace.”
“God Is Miserable When His People Suffer. In Judges 10, God’s people repented of their sin and idolatry, put away their foreign gods, and served the Lord. The Bible then says of the Lord: “And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel” (Judg. 10:16). God enters the misery of His people. It is said that a parent is only as happy as his or her most unhappy child. God the Father is not restricted to human emotions, but this paternal grief originates in Him! God is miserable when His children are miserable—such is the extent of His care. The Devil would lie to us and tell us that God is distant and unconcerned. No! When we suffer, God cries with us.”
“God Is Miserable When His People Sin. It grieves the heart of God when His people follow false gods. This misery is compassionate because He knows that sin destroys from the inside out. He knows that sin cannot make us happy or fulfilled. When He sees us choose what will destroy us, He suffers. Eli Gautreaux points out that “when a child is lost, it is the father who suffers.”2 Anyone who has lost a child in a shopping mall or other public place can identify with the agony of the heavenly Father when His children wander away foolishly.”
“Every day brings us closer to cosmic judgment. It is foolish theology that claims we will clean up this world and present it sparkling to our returning King.”
“Thanks be to God whose kindness leads Him to intervene in our lives, to deconstruct us that He might build us up again. Job experienced this loving deconstruction. “He has shattered me,” Job said. “He also has … shaken me to pieces” (Job 16:12–14). Job had to be broken down in order to be built up in God’s image.”
“When we start to look for the sins and mistakes of others, two tragedies occur. First, we find sins and expose them, often through gossip and slander, rather than allow love to cover a multitude of sins. Second, by being a critic—a flawed critic—we remove ourselves from God’s covering of our flaws. We forfeit immunity, and the ultimate result is disastrous self-injury.”
“False religions serve as a foil to make the gospel shine. War, disaster, trouble, and tragedy all serve as spotlights that elevate the only hope for humanity: what God has done in Christ. Bad news makes good news all the sweeter.”
“We can get this shame into the light (1 John 1: 7). Bringing dark things into the light breaks the back of sin and brings us into fellowship not only with God but with one another.”
“Christianity is not the lazy person’s way to heaven. We cannot say “I believe” and then sit back and live a lazy, carnal life.”
“Phillip Henry, father of renowned Bible commentary author Matthew Henry, stated it well. Two of his children were deathly sick, and as he wrestled in prayer for their healing, he wrote: “If the Lord will be pleased to grant me my request this time concerning my children I will not say as the beggars at our door used to do, ‘I’ll never ask anything of him again.’ But on the contrary, He shall hear oftener from me than ever; and I will love God the better, and love prayer the better, as long as I live.”9”
“Just because God is eternal does not mean He is invulnerable. The fact that God is outside of time makes His misery all the more horrific. The agony of the cross was felt before the creation of the world (“the lamb slain from the foundation of the world” Rev. 13:8) and will be felt long after the re-creation. An eternal God bears eternal wounds. The body of the resurrected Jesus yet bears His scars.”
“The Spirit helps us wait. The Spirit empowers us to suffer. The Spirit bears us across the threshold of death and into the presence of Jesus.”
“People want reasons; God grants His presence. The great things of God are considered strange and difficult, not because they are complex but because they are so delightfully simple. God is good. “But what about evil?” God is good. “But what about those who have never heard?” God is good. “Then why do the innocent suffer?” God is good. “Then what about sickness, injustice, and disaster?” Our questions are unending, and the kindest way God answers them is simply to overwhelm us with His presence.”
“A fruitful pastor I know keeps a job description from God in his desk. The job description is eight pages long—every page completely blank. He has signed it on the bottom of the last page. Periodically, he pulls it out and reminds himself that God has the authority and absolute right to fill in those pages as He wills.”
“Social media reveals both too much and too little. On the one hand, every banality is self-disclosed to a voyeuristic world. On the other hand, our true selves are buried beneath layers of self-absorption. Psalm 139 unveils the joys of being fully known.”
“Like Abram, let us be people who leave what we know for what is uncomfortable. Let us make our way to the peoples who refuse to worship Jesus, pitch our tent, build our altars, and call on the name of the Lord. He will look on all threats against us and grant us boldness to speak His Word. We and the nations will be shaken.”
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Dick Brogden ( - )
I was born in rural East Africa, just north of Lake Victoria. My dad and mom are my heroes (still missionaries on the field, they went out in 1966) and taught me to love Jesus and love his passions in the earth. I married my best friend, Jennifer, and she is stronger and wiser than anyone will ever know. I have two joys in life—my sons, Luke and Zack. Together we have treasured Jesus among Muslims since 1992, first in Mauritania, then Kenya, then Sudan for the past 15 years. The next treasure stop is Cairo, Egypt.Jennifer and I love to pioneer, we love working among unreached Muslim people, we love taking the gospel where it has not yet gone. The picture Jenn has had for our lives is that of a team on an obstacle course. We run to the wall first and get down on our hands and knees so others can spring over the wall. We do believe the great opportunity of our age is to engage the world of Islam with our magnificent, divine Jesus. We do consider the Arab world to be the heart of Islam. As Jesus is enthroned in the Arab world, we will be that much closer to every tribe, tongue, and people in worship, that much closer to Jesus coming back to take us all home. Whatever that costs us, Jesus is worth it.