Inspirational Quotes by Dick Brogden
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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).”
“Why do we expect God to have less grace on others than He has had on us? Let us trust God to choose His vessels. Then let us lay down our lives to bless them, pray for them, and rejoice over them when they exceed us in usefulness to the kingdom. A true test of Jesus-like character is when we sincerely rejoice at the advancement of others in the kingdom and at the increase of their usability. After Ananias prayed for Paul, we never hear of him again in the Scriptures. Paul’s ministry profile soared while Ananias disappeared. May we not only rejoice, like John, in the increase of Jesus and our own decrease (John 3:30), but let us also rejoice when Jesus increases in our peers.”
“God is just as good to us in His denials as He is in His approvals. The denials of God are immeasurable mercies. If God answered all our prayers with a positive response, how miserable we would be. Thank heaven that heaven says no! Negations, restrictions, refusals, denials, and rejections are all divine mercies. May we be as thankful when God says no as when He says yes.”
“We Get the Leaders We Deserve. This unheralded principle of leadership holds true for countries as well as for churches and mission teams. Followers tend to complain and compare their leadership to others. They fail to see that honest people elect or are granted honest leaders and vice versa. Leaders almost invariably represent the culture and context from which they emerge. When we are unhappy with those who lead us, we must first examine ourselves. Men and women of integrity are ultimately rewarded with faithful and capable leaders. One of God’s miracles is to reward good followers by shaping raw leaders into men and women who represent Him well to those they serve.”
“God can sustain us in a hostile environment, shielding us from abuse. God can also lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. It is His choice. God can exalt us before humanity. He can also invite us into His humility and shame. He gets to write the story. When we accept His divine denials as well as His divine approvals, we embrace His authorship of our lives.”
“God Tends to Select the Lowliest to Lead. The world selects leaders according to perceived competence. God selects His representatives by character. He delights to seek out the humblest and lowest and by their elevation to glorify Himself. A humble teenage girl said it best: “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:51–52). We stand with Mary and magnify the Lord, rejoicing in God our Savior. He has done all things well, even setting up surprising people to lead us.”
“It starts small but ever rises: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25–26, emphasis added). My tears are mingled and then lost in His. He wipes them away by swallowing them up in Resurrection victory (Rev. 7:17).”
“God is faithful because He preserves our souls, not because He provides our toys.”
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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.