Life is never easy, and as you walk through the road of life, know you will stumble and even fall. Nonetheless, continue to do what you suppose to do, trust God, and leave the results in His hands. Don’t give up because He will be there to lift you up repeatedly according to His promise: ” I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ( Heb 13:5 NKJV). Therefore, trust God and believe He is a good and loving Lord.
Differentiated Classroom
From my experience, the journey towards a differentiated classroom commences with the teacher’s commitment to know their students. By investing ample time in building solid relationships, I understood each student’s unique needs, strengths, and weaknesses. The remarkable outcome of this endeavor is that most of my students experience a profound sense of being understood and supported. As a result, they place their trust in their teacher, eagerly seek assistance when needed, and are more inclined to engage in the captivating process of their own learning.
The Hermit’s Cell
The Quiet Way: A Christian Path to Inner Peace by Gerhard Tersteegen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
” In the world ye shall have tribulations” :
Lord Jesus, Thou saidst it of old.
There dark are the desolate mountains,
The night winds are cold.
But Save from the storm and the tempest
My soul hath a cell;
There ever, beside the still waters,
With Jesus I dwell.
G. Tresteegen
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Book Review: The Messianic Hope by Michael Rydelnik
The Messianic Hope is a compelling book that makes a case for reading the Old Testament through a Messianic lens. Rydelnik argues that Messianic Prophecy is essential to a proper reading of the Hebrew Bible. Furthermore, he affirms that the hope for the Messiah is not a result of a pesher method of interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy. But, it goes back to Old Testament times and was intended by the original authors of the biblical texts.
What sets Rydelnik’s approach apart is his holistic hermeneutic, which goes beyond the grammatical-historical evidence and includes inner-biblical and canonical evidence from both Testaments. Rydelnik’s writing is engaging, and his arguments are persuasive. He challenges readers to consider the importance of Messianic Prophecy. It is crucial to their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In other words, If Jesus and the apostles gave to Messianic prophecies and saw Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of these prophecies, shouldn’t we accept their testimony as true?
Moreover, he shows that The Old Testament is not only a historical book in a strict sense. But also a prophetic book that continuously pointed to a future Messiah. Thus, the Messianic hope is an ancient hope that is embedded in the pages of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, he emphasized that this truth is crucial to our Christian faith.
One significant contribution of Rydelnik to the Messianic discussion is Chapter 8, as he investigates the hermeneutics of one of the most influential Jewish commentators, Rashi. Rashi- who had a great influence not only on Jewish interpretation of Scripture but also on Christian scholarship.
Although. I do not fully agree with the author’s interpretation of some prophecies [ one reason for my disagreement is his heavy reliance on the Septuagint, or the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to substantiate his interpretation]. Nevertheless, I have benefited a lot from his insights on some specific passages, such as (Num 24: 14-19) (p.52-54) and his analysis of the virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14. ( Chapter 10).
In conclusion, I recommend, The Messianic Hope to every Christian who is interested in finding Christ in the Old Testament and specifically to Christian Old Testament students who may be challenged by the drift in Old Testament scholarship away from the Messianic hope.
The Pursuit of Happiness
A Meditation on Proverbs 8
Proverbs 8 teaches us that God used wisdom to establish the world (Prov 8:22-31). This truth highlights the significance of divine wisdom, which we need to perform any important task in life (Prov. 8:15-16). Moreover, we should pursue happiness by seeking wisdom because true happiness does not come from wealth, health, or sin. Instead, it comes from obtaining God’s favor through seeking His wisdom (Prov 8:10,19). Thus, wisdom plays an essential role in our lives and the writer of Proverbs encourages us to pursue it with diligence and devotion.
The Pursuit of Happiness
A Meditation on Proverbs 8
Proverbs 8 teaches us that God used wisdom to establish the world (Prov 8:22-31). This truth highlights the significance of divine wisdom, which we need to perform any important task in life (Prov. 8:15-16). Moreover, we should pursue happiness by seeking wisdom because true happiness does not come from wealth, health, or sin. Instead, it comes from obtaining God’s favor through seeking His wisdom (Prov 8:10,19). Thus, wisdom plays an essential role in our lives and the writer of Proverbs encourages us to pursue it with diligence and devotion.
A Guarded Heart
מִֽכָּל־מִ֭שְׁמָר נְצֹ֣ר לִבֶּ֑ךָ
כִּֽי־מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ תֹּוצְאֹ֥ות חַיִּֽים׃
Above all what you need to guard, guard your heart
Because from it springs the streams of life [ my translation of Proverbs 4:23.]
This proverb is one of the most important sayings in the book of Proverbs because it presents a central truth of the Christian faith. A truth that directly shapes the life & worldview of a believer. The heart in ancient Hebrew literature represents the most inner-being of a person. It is synonymous with ‘soul’ or ‘mind.’ Therefore, it is so important to guard.
The priority of guarding the heart is apparent in the word order [original Hebrew structure] of the proverb, which opens with a prepositional phrase, מִֽכָּל־מִ֭שְׁמָר literally rendered “above all confinement/guard.” Followed by the imperative נְצֹ֣ר “guard.” The prepositional phrase adds urgency to the imperative. Some English translations tried to convey this urgency by injecting an additional phrase to the imperative. Such as “with all diligence” [NASB] and “with all vigilance” [ESV]. However, the translators of the NIV were closer to the original Hebrew as they rendered the first line, “Above all else, guard your heart.”
In my translation above, I tried to keep the sense of the original and the immediate context in the following few lines (In vv. 24, 25, we realize that there are other essential things that the writer of Proverbs urges his readers to guard.). The second line is a causal כִּֽי clause to explain the cause of the priority of safeguarding the heart in the first line, namely because the orientation of a person’s life is determined by the thoughts and desires that flow from the inner being. An unguarded heart can lead to foolishness and destruction, while a guarded heart is vital to true wisdom.
References:
O’Dowd, Ryan. Proverbs. The Story of God Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017
Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. A Handbook on Proverbs. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, 2000.
Williams, Ronald J., and John C. Beckman. Williams’ Hebrew Syntax. 3rd ed. The University of Toronto Press, 2007.
Joy That Renews: A devotional from Psalms to refresh your life every day by Steve Akerson
Joy That Renews: A devotional from Psalms to refresh your life every day by Steve Akerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great devotional book on Psalms. The author picks one specific verse from each Psalm and reflects on it. Most selected verses are simply joyful. However, the author sometimes reflects on challenging verses (see Ps 106:24).
Akerson’s style is straightforward, personal, and beautiful. He writes from a personal experience [ you almost feel like he has been blessed and wants to bless others by sharing his thoughts.] Although I appreciate his Christ-centeredness, given that Psalms is an Old Testament book, he sometimes went far with his Christology.
In general, the author did an excellent job connecting his reader with Jesus [ which is the ultimate goal of this devotional volume.] I was personally encouraged by this book. It filled me with joy and encouragement, and I gained some insights. For instance, I have realized that God’s grace is higher than my mistakes; Jesus will not abandon me even when I make a wrong choice. He is faithful even if I am not. Finally, I recommend this book to all who need to revive their personal relationship with the Lord.
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My Soul
I have a soul, and it has needs! Like the body, my soul has needs: a need to be quiet, a need for peace, and a need for a lord or god. In fact, I realized that I couldn’t be the ultimate lord of my soul. A soul without a lord is an unstable soul. Or let me put it this way, a soul without a god is lost.
Blessings Flow
Genesis 12:2 & Ezekiel 47:12.
If you take the time to reflect on God’s plan of Redemption, your faith will grow beyond yourself. Moreover, the path of blessings will not be one way anymore. That is from God to you. Instead, every blessing flowing from God will indeed evoke you to bless your neighbor. Thus, faith will become a living faith, and blessings will flow from the throne of God through you and into the world.
Out of Egypt 