Blog
Feeling God’s Pleasure in Your Work
In his podcast interview, Bill Palmer shares about the importance of our work to the Lord and how we can work with purpose and passion for Him. Above all, Bill emphasizes finding joy and experiencing God's pleasure in our work.
2023 Top Ten Books of the Year
For many years, I've strived to read roughly one book per week, recording what I read and selecting a Top Ten from my list, although it often exceeds 10! Like previous years, here's my 2023 list which includes 13 books, roughly in order of preference, with a few notable mentions that almost made the cut. I've included brief synopses of the aspects I found intriguing in my top-ranked books. My responses to these books are deeply personal, reflecting my own interests.
Don’t retire from your calling
Calling is the way we live out our lives practically and purposively in response to the summons of God and God’s purpose for his people in the world….calling post-retirement is not simply turning from secular work into religious work. It is discovering the continuity in our lives, the ongoing hint of God in our heart desires, the sweet passion that God has invested in our souls to invest our lives in the kingdom of God whether in a so-called secular context or a church context, or both.
Why does God allow suffering and death?
Talking about death in some cultures seemed to be taboo. But as Chee said, “Why should we not talk about something that no one can escape? Jesus knew that death was inevitable and spoke and acted redemptively into this universal reality around the death of Lazarus.” Chee explores the theme of suffering and death in this scriptural reflection.
Scriptural Reflection: Working with a Prodigal
There's a guy who's been on a gang chaplain and a jail chaplain in the county next to ours, down here in Northwest Washington. He made the observation that there are the same number of people in prison in the state of Washington as there are the number of churches in the state of Washington. And his proposition was, “What would happen if you hooked up every church in the state with every prisoner in the state?”
Scriptural Reflection: Encouraging the Tanners of Hides (Acts 9-10)
The scriptural reflection today is on Acts 9 through 10, and really just a couple verses about Simon the Tanner, which are so encouraging.
Scriptural Reflection: Displaying the Work of God in Our Work (John 9)
This story of Jesus’ healing of a blind man in John 9 is one of such stories for me which I assume to know because I have read it, I have from many times from teachers and preachers. It appears familiar but I realized that it is not as familiar as I assumed. This story is not just about Jesus being our healer, but it also has to do with our work and the very purpose of our existence.
Will We Work in Heaven?
The last book of the Bible, the Revelation, contains a vision of what will it look like when the kingdom comes fully at the end of history. This will happen when Christ returns and there is the grand finale of human history: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15). The Apocalypse of John (Revelation) ushers us into a world of dragons, beasts, angels, cosmic catastrophes and martyrs chanting hymns. We are swept from one riveting vision to the next, transported from heaven to earth and back again, in an upstairs-downstairs drama. There is a final battle, a wonderful wedding supper, and an exquisite garden city. But what will it be like to be there?
Will Any of Our Work Last Beyond the Grave?
I was raised on the poem: “Only one life, ‘Twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Jesus will last.” That poem (and the implied theology behind it) has driven a generation to leave their work in the world and get into church work, or mission work, because they believed that only the work of saving souls will last for eternity. But that is not true.
Three Kingdom Values worth Dying and Living for
Every good enterprise has a value statement, often shared publicly with customers and clients. Values are cherished ways of behaviour. They motivate us and give us direction. IMT has three values which they wish to recommend to all who work, which incidentally spell out IMT: integrating, meaning and thriving. We believe these three values are kingdom values, worth living and dying for.