So much win in this article!

Extract:

Jesus was a good Jew. He attended synagogue faithfully, observed the feasts and festivals and religious holidays, kept the Law (better than anybody), and made it his mission to obey God perfectly. You better hope Jesus was super-religious, in fact, because it’s his perfect religion we rely on for our righteousness.

1. God’s words are true.

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
— Psalm 33:4

2. Even if you let him down, he will never return the favor.

If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
— 2 Timothy 2:13

3. He is never late.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
— Romans 5:6

4. He is not slow.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
— 2 Peter 3:9a

5. He loves you.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
— 1 John 4:16a

Just bullet points, not an essay. All don’t apply to all.

Why does God allow suffering?

1. To remind us the world is broken and groans for redemption.

2. To do justice in response to Adam’s (and our) sin.

3. To remind us of the severity of the impact of Adam’s (and our) sin.

4. To keep us dependent on him.

5. So we will long more for heaven and less for the world.

6. To make us more like Christ, the suffering servant.

7. To awaken the lost to their need for God.

8. To make the bliss of heaven more sweet.

9. So that he will get the glory in being our strength …

10… . and that thereby others see that he is our treasure, and not ourselves.

Extract:

Heaven is not some thin place, some cosmic hyperbaric chamber for disembodied spirits only. It is realer, truer, grander.

Don Whitney’s 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, from the book of the same name:

1. Do you thirst for God?
2. Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word?
3. Are you more loving?
4. Are you more sensitive to God’s presence?
5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?
6. Do you delight in the bride of Christ?
7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?
8. Do you still grieve over sin?
9. Are you a quicker forgiver?
10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus? 

(HT: @Joel_Lindsey)

Just to add: These questions help diagnose. But “trying harder” is not the prescription. 
Behold and believe.

Another great blog post by Jared Wilson!

Follow up to last article The Awesomeness Driven Church.

Extract:

It is widely repeated that a Korean pastor once visited the United States and remarked at the end of his stay, “It’s amazing what you people can do without the Holy Spirit.”

Yesterday I watched a video of a motocross bike jumping over a pastor on stage. Now, I’m not saying that church or its pastor don’t have the Holy Spirit, but I am saying that setting up a dirtbike track in your sanctuary is profoundly stupid.-(cont.)