Rhythm of work and rest

"All of us are haunted by the work under the work- that need to prove and save ourselves, to gain a sense of worth and identity…. Since God rested after his creation, we must also rest after ours. This rhythm of work and rest is not only for believers; it is for everyone, as part of our created nature…. To rest is actually a way to enjoy and honor the goodness of God's creation and our own. To violate the rhythm of work and rest leads to chaos in our life…. 

"God portrays the Sabbath day as a reenactment of emancipation from slavery…. Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom. It means you are not a slave- not your culture's expectations, your family's hopes, your medical school's demands, not even your own insecurities…. 

"A deeply rested people are far more productive…. 

"We also are to think of Sabbath as an act of trust…. You are not the one who keeps the world running, who provides for your family, not even the one who keeps your work projects moving forward…. God is there- and you are not alone in your work…. It is a chance to mediate on passages like Matthew 6 until deep rest begins to penetrate you…. 

"It is normally through the sympathy and encouragement of Christian friends that we experience God refreshing us and supporting us in our work…. 

"(Jesus) is the only boss who will not drive you into the ground, the only audience that does not need your best performance in order to be satisfied with you. Why is this? Because his work for you is finished…. A Christian is able to rest only because God's redemptive work is… finished in Christ."

Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work: Timothy Keller, Amazon.com: Books

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:30

"He will glorify me"

“Revival, above everything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the restoration of him to the center of the life of the Church. You find this warm devotion, personal devotion, to him.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify me." Jesus Christ, John 16:14

"Tenfold more prayerfulness"

"We are often for preaching to awaken others; but we should be more upon praying for it. Prayer is more powerful than preaching. It is prayer that gives preaching all its power. . . . Why, the very hands of Moses would have fallen down, had they not been held up by his faithful people. Come, then, ye wrestlers with God—ye that climb Jacob's ladder—ye that wrestle Jacob's wrestling—strive you with God, that he may fulfill his word."

"Since the intellectual part of the discourse is not that which is most likely to be an arrow in the conscience, those pastors who are intellectual men must bestow tenfold more prayerfulness on their work, if they would have either their own or their people's souls affected under their word. If we are ever to preach with compassion for the perishing, we must ourselves be moved by those same views of sin and righteousness which moved the human soul of Jesus."

Robert Murray McCheyne Sermons | SermonAudio.com

"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4

Picts for you….

Alex's goodbye party. 

Alex, 3rd from the right, served the Lord here playing the violin for two months.

Yours truly teaching at Shinshu University. 

I teach 7 classes, primarily writing.

Jon (my brother) speaking at Abundant Life Church.

Four people were baptized recently.

Actively doing God's will

 “Being a Christan is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

'And Jesus said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."' Luke 9:23