Quote of the Week

"We live in a crazy upside down world. People will move across the country for a job or for a school. But if you do that for a church, people will think you're insane. Or if you pass up an opportunity for advancement, explaining that you want to remain so that you can be a part of your church, people assume that you’re a part of a cult...Once there was someone who moved from heaven to earth because of the church. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy Bride. When you are gripped and affected and stirred for the church, you are simply reflecting passion for His holy Bride. "

Mark Mullery, Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church.

Are You Tired?

I'm on vacation this week but I've entered into it somewhat tired. Several weeks of regular business travel coupled with a hectic schedule has left me weary and this week at beach has come at the right time . I desperately need to be refreshed - physically, emotionally, spiritually. I'm not sure if this is your experience but my state of weariness is usually accompanied with a loss of perspective, a tiredness of the soul as well as physical strain.

Vacations are fine for sleeping in, enjoying family time and healthy recreation but it's only part of the solution. What I need is the kind of rest that restores both my body and my soul. I need to respond to my Savior's kind invitation to come to him.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Matthew 11:28-30)

This particular invitation from Jesus is only for those who are weary - the strong, sufficient and carefree need not apply. It's a promise for those who are burdened - by the anxiety of unfinished to-do lists, the nagging guilt of unmet goals and responsibilities greater than they can bear. Please don't get me wrong, I love vacations. Times of recreation and opportunities for leisure are great. But the rest we need is found in a Person - Jesus Christ is the true Sabbath. That's what I'm meditating on, even as I enjoy the sand and surf this week.

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What causes your weariness?
How do you get rest when you become tired?
How do the cares and burdens of this world affect you?

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Gospel Translations Project

I haven't blogged for a while...things have been very busy. Let me get back into the swing of things by sharing a video on The Gospel Translations Project, an initiative that I've been involved in starting, over the past year. I know I've mentioned it in a couple of past blog posts but this video captures the heart of what Gospel Translations is all about.

If you're a translator, please consider joining our initiative. If you know others who may be interested in The Gospel Translations Project, please help spread the word by blogging or referring others to our initiative.

God has graciously allowed us to form great partnerships with Sovereign Grace Ministries (who produced this video), Desiring God, Ligonier Ministries, 9Marks, among others. We've also benefited from the encouragement of local churches. We trust this work will be a means to bless the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Quote of the Week

"Your life will soon be intersected by God, whether by the Lord's return or your death. And how will that coming be for you? Will you find yourself prepared by the truth about the cross or will you find yourself caught out, unprepared, living...as if this passing world were going to last forever."

Mark Dever, Preaching the Cross, p.36

The Measure of Success - Fulfilling Our Purpose

A few weeks ago, when I asked how you might define success, there were a number of very thoughtful responses. Here's one from Andrew -

"Success connotes that a purpose exists, and is defined by whatever that purpose is...There is a purpose which we are made for, and then there are purposes which bear our own design. The latter are both subsequent and subordinate to the former, just as we creatures are subsequent and subordinate to the Creator."

What Andrew is saying here is actually quite profound. We often think of success in our own terms. Especially in this postmodern age, it's not unusual for many to view success as "whatever you make of it". Andrew's point is that true success is, in fact, defined by fulfilling the purpose for which we are created - namely, to glorify our Creator.

Isaiah 43:6-7 specifically informs us of this purpose.

I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.

Andrew elaborates on his point that it is the Creator who determines the purpose for His creation -

"If I invent a new device, the glockenfurst, to tell time, it is only a good glockenfurst if it does in fact tell time. It doesn't matter if someone else thinks my glockenfurst is beautiful, tastes good, or holds down paper in a breezy room. Those are not its purpose. I say so because I created it. And so it is with people--we exist to glorify God and everything else is secondary."

Think about this - "we exist to glorify God and everything else is secondary".

- Are you managing a thriving business? If your life is not lived as a reflection of God's glory, it's secondary at best.
- Are you working to build a ministry to serve thousands? It doesn't really matter if you're not doing it for God's glory.
- Finishing projects on time and under budget? It only counts, if God is honored.

In this excerpt from his entire comment, Andrew explains why he holds this view -

"I cannot be a 'successful beekeeper' if I defame God with my speech. Here's why: I was born a person, made in God's image and bearing his chosen purpose, before anyone told me (or I realized for myself), "Hey, I would be good at beekeeping." I am a failure so long as any one of my many self-selected purposes are in conflict with my Creator's purpose for me."

The point is that the material result of our work isn't the only thing that matters. How and why we do our work actually matters far more. As created beings, we should labor for the honor of our Creator, doing so in a manner that reveals Him as glorious.

If being successful is about glorifying God, then we ought to give more thought to what it means to glorify God in our lives. After all, everything else is secondary.

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Do you agree with Andrew?
What do you think it mean to glorify God?
How do you pursue the glory of God in your work?

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Quote of the Week

What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3)
What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight and contentment than anything else? Knowledge of God

J.I. Packer; Knowing God, p33