It's Wednesday, so we're back for our second lot of links which are worth a look...

WHAT IS GOD’S GLORY?: If you have read any of the book of Ezekiel in the lead up to our new sermon series, then you will no doubt have found that the glory of God is a very big deal! God’s glory is a big deal to John Piper too, and here he has a go at trying to define it for us. “How shall I do it? You have to try, because we can’t just leave it for people to fill up on their own. Here is the way I am going to try to do it. I am going to take [glory] and contrast it biblically with the word holy and ask, “What is the difference between the holiness of God and the glory of God?” In doing that, I think we get a little handle on the nature of this term the glory of God. That is the way I am going to try to do it."

WE HAVE THE LIGHT SO WE CAN BE THE LIGHT: Tim Challies encourages us to be light-bearers to those who live in a dark world. "Jesus is the light of the world and the light that was in him has been given to us so that we are now the very sons of light. We have the light so we might be the light. We are the light to the sons of darkness who cannot see the way to salvation, but also to our fellow sons of light who know the way but whose hearts have grown heavy, whose feet have become weary, who have been waylaid on their journey."

THE DULL CONVERSATION: Ed Welch reflects on the importance of even dull conversations. “Some conversations are just less interesting than others. The simple facts of a person’s day—the route to work, the morning snack, the spilled coffee—are not interesting unless they reveal something about the person who lived those details.”

FAITHFUL IN OBSCURITY: We can be so thankful for all of those who are willing to be faithful in obscurity (which, after all, describes the great majority of us). “You may be a busy mum of little ones, a secretary stationed at her desk, a cashier at a counter, a caregiver tucked away in a lonely room, or in any number of occupations where you feel unnoticed. Don’t be concerned if you don’t get as much attention or response as other people.”

PREPARING FOR THE STEWARDSHIP OF PERSECUTION: This is an increasingly relevant message from Kyle Borg on what the Bible teaches us about persecution. “Since becoming a pastor I’ve been convinced that one of my most important responsibilities it to preach and pray in a way that prepares people to suffer for the glory of God. Suffering – which is a wide and broad biblical category – is a stewardship given to Christians and the church which must be stewarded well.”