“Luther took his Psalter and went to his room” by Gustav Wiencke

I appreciated this post today at “Tolle Lege”, and re-post it here for your benefit. Luther’s example teaches us to stay close to the Psalms, God’s Psalter of comfort and hope for every life circumstance and every believer’s experience.

Tolle Lege

“Twenty years after Luther had been at the Castle Coburg during the Diet of Augsburg, Mathaeus Ratzeberger, Luther’s physician, visited there. He made a point of inspecting the room Luther had used as a study and meticulously noted down the verses which Luther had written on the wall.

One was Ps. 118:17, ‘I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord.’ To the verse Luther had added musical notes for singing. Other psalm verses were also marked on the wall.

It was Luther’s custom to write down verses and words where he could have them before his eyes. When the news of his father’s death reached him at the Coburg, Luther took his Psalter, went to his room, and was not seen the rest of the day.”

–Martin Luther, “Sayings in Which Luther Found Comfort” in Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings…

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Productivity and Our Sanctification – M.Perman

For this Saturday, the end of the work week, I want to post an excerpt from the new book I have started reading – Matt Perman’s What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (Zondervan 2014).

As I stated in my first post on this new title, this is indeed a book on productivity in the Christian’s life; that is, about how to do our daily work in the most effective way for the glory of God. Which means only by His grace and in the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s the connection Perman makes between our productivity as Christians and the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

And Perman is quick to point out that this is true for every believer, no matter what our station and calling in life is. The principles he sets forth are for the man in the office and on the construction site as well as for the busy wife and mother.

Here are a couple of points Perman also makes at the beginning of the book that reveal his “gospel-driven” perspective on productivity (which are under the heading, “Why we need to care – greatly – about personal productivity”):

3. A good productivity approach enables us to be more effective in doing good for others. As Christians, we are here to serve (Matt.20:25-28). When we are being productive, we are actually doing good works, which is part of the purpose for which God created us (Eph.2:10). A good approach to getting things done reduces the friction in doing good and also amplifies our ability to do good. The result is that we can be of more benefit to others with less snags, stress, and confusing systems.

…As Christian, we ought to care about this and be excited about this, for it is not only exciting in itself, but one of the chief ways God is glorified in our lives.

4. Knowing how to get things done is a component of our sanctification. Since productivity includes serving people and doing good works, it is actually a component of sanctification and Christian discipleship.

Growing in holiness doesn’t mean running to the hills to make your own clothes and grind your own wheat until Jesus comes, but living the everyday life that is right in front of you for the glory of God. And, interestingly, our everyday life is the arena of projects and tasks and goals and calendars and email and meetings and strategic planning and all of these very ‘practical things’ – that is, productivity. Since our everyday lives are the arena of our sanctification, knowing how to get things done thus puts us squarely in the realm of sanctification and discipleship. It is therefore a critical tool for living the life God calls us to in this current era (22-23).