Zeal for the glory of God motivates world missions

God aims to look valuable in the world, and that happens when we treasure him above all else.

Prosperity cannot be a proof of God's favor, since it is what the devil promises to those who worship him. (Matt. 4:9)

James says, "You desire and do not have; so you kill" (Jas. 4:2). We kill marriages and we kill unborn babies because they cut across our desires; they stand in the way of our unencumbered self-enhancement. And we live in a culture where self-enhancement and self-advancement is god. And if self-enhancement is god, then the One who is at work in the womb shaping a person in His own image is not God and the assault on His work is not sacrilegious, but obedience to the god of self.

In all the setbacks of your life as a believer, God is plotting for your joy.

We have a name for those who try to praise when they have no pleasure in the object. We call them hypocrites.

Husbands and wives, recognize that in marriage you have become one flesh. If you live for your private pleasure at the expense of your spouse, you are living against yourself and destroying your joy. But if you devote yourself with all your heart to the holy joy of your spouse, you will also be living for your joy and making a marriage after the image of Christ and His church.