Three picts...

Flowers before our apartment and church

Men of the Abundant Life Church painting the sign post.

My students at Shinshu University working on an outline for their narrative essay.

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

Grace

Listen to U2's  Grace on YouTube. The words are below.

Bono's comments on the song. "There are a couple of my favourite people rolled in to that lyric but the most important thing is that they personify my favourite word in the lexicon of the English language. It's a word I'm depending on. The universe operates by Karma, we all know that. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. There is atonement built in: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Then enters Grace and turns that upside down. I love it."

Grace



Grace, she takes the blame


She covers the shame


Removes the stain


It could be her name


Grace, it's the name for a girl


It's also a thought that could change the world


And when she walks on the street 


You can hear the strings


Grace finds goodness in everything





Grace, she's got the walk


Not on a ramp or on chalk


She's got the time to talk


She travels outside of karma, karma


She travels outside of karma


When she goes to work 


You can hear the strings


Grace finds beauty in everything



Grace, she carries a world on her hips


No champagne flue for her lips


No twirls or skips between her fingertips


She carries a pearl in perfect condition


What once was hurt


What once was friction


What left a mark no longer stings


Because Grace makes beauty 
Out of ugly things


Grace finds beauty in everything 


Grace finds goodness in everything


"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians ２：８−９