Others who sacrifice

Hebrew Grammar II will be done next Friday. 3 weeks "off", then 8 weeks of Greek 1 & 2...then the fall semester starts. This coming fall and spring might prove to be the toughest of the 3 years. God is good. God continues to help my family plug away at seminary life while providing little blessings all along the way. Got to school without eating breakfast yesterday which means no food till about 1pm when my study group finishes. Got to school and someone brought in large muffins and then our prof brought in donuts. Next day, same thing except a person offered to buy me breakfast without him even knowing I hadn't eaten. ...and Ann's sister Erin blessed us this week as well. There's more, but I want to tell you about Christopher.

'Others who sacrifice'. Christopher has been here while his wife and newborn baby are back in Uganda. The baby is their first. 5 days without a person's spouse is a very long time, let alone 5 months. Well, the Lord has made provisions for his wife to arrive in a few weeks (she has made it to the states already). Please pray for them as our summer greek class will be very trying. Please pray Irene (his wife) has a smooth transition and is encouraged in the Lord while she is here. He has been a joy to get to know him so far and look forward to meeting his family in person.

Seek the Lord while He may be found!

dave

Qal's and Niphal's and Hiphal's...

Exam I. Hebrew Gram II... tomorrow morning. Learning the Hebrew Gram my first semester is paying off during summer school where we get to translate Genesis 1-4 into English from the Original Hebrew.

It's kind of like being on a boat in the vast ocean not knowing there is a beautiful coral reef down below. Now I get to explore the coral reef first hand (prior to any current oil spills) 8(.

My energy is being tested and for those of you who know our Lord Jesus as Savior, please pray for endurance. The Lord God, He alone is God, and He alone is good.

May the Lord bless your day so that you might give Him praise and honor and glory.

Dave

Genesis

What a joy. The homework for Hebrew Grammar II was to translate and parse the verbs for Genesis 1:1-10. 3 Hours later, the work was done. It was so amazing to be able to read and translate from the original Hebrew language.

All the work from Hebrew Grammar I is starting to pay off. We also read Psalm 27:4 and Exodus 3:14-15. The Exodus passage is what Jesus quotes in John 8:58 when He claims to be God. "I Am that I Am". Many say this was merely a self declaration of existence from Jesus, but the Jews at the time knew exactly what he was saying. That's why they picked up stones to stone him to death for blasphemy. Jesus quoted the same title for himself that God did in the Old Testament. It was enjoyable to read it in Hebrew.

The family is doing well. Cameron is playing T-ball while Elle and Tyler are enjoying their time at church and with friends. The Lord blessed us with a tiny house to rent when we returned from New York last year. The house has a large front yard, so most of the time there are many kids from our block who come to play. Another blessing from the Lord. Ann had a great time studying God's word on Wednesday mornings at church and plans to continue that in the Fall.

Praying for you....

Dave

Summer School Part I

Passed through the first semester of Seminary. In some regards my classes were easier than I had anticipated, mainly because most of my assignments were due at the end of the semester. My wife Ann was a great help in planning out my workload. After adapting it a few times, we have a good idea of what it takes to stay on top of the work.

Hebrew on the other hand was much harder. Since our goal is to translate and exegete (extract meaning grammatically from the text) rather than speak it, we didn't hear much of the actual Hebrew language spoken. I learn languages much faster the more I hear them, so not being able to hear the Hebrew words was unexpected. After 23 grammar lessons and 400 vocab, I'm able to translate simple sentences.

Tomorrow I begin Hebrew Grammar II. We will focus on being able to translate Genesis chapters 1-4, Psalm 1, 19 and 23 and Isaiah 53:1-6. This will prep me for Hebrew Exegesis I & II for next year where we will do much deeper studies of the Hebrew syntax.

Tonight was fun. Ann and I attended a Master's Seminary Graduation. I sang in the choir with a few hundred seminary students to about 3000 people and enjoyed being part of the graduation ceremony. Over 90% of the grads are already placed in full time ministry which is encouraging to me.

That's all for now. Better get some sleep so I'm well rested for Hebrew in the morning. Praying for you....

Dave

4 down 1 to go

The first semester is coming to a close. Assignments for 4 of my 5 classes are all in. There is one Hebrew Grammar final to go. Then summer school starts with no break.

During the summer, I'll take Hebrew grammar II and Greek I & II. Next fall I'll have Old Testament and Historical Theology along with Hebrew Exegesis I and Greek Exegesis I. So what is "exegesis"? It's a very important term. It refers to examining the text of the Bible to see what it says grammatically, while considering the historical context to determine what the original author meant to communicate to the original audience. We call the answer to this exegesis, an interpretation. There is only one interpretation for any text. We want to know what God wanted to say through the human author.

We don't want to know what some particular denomination says or what an individual preacher says. We don't want to know "what this text means to me". This is where many entire denominations have strayed. They say, "we want to have a conversation about the Bible". They forget God sent preachers to proclaim the Word of God to all nations...not have a conversation with people who've never studied the passage.

One of the main distinctions for the Master's Seminary is the focus on being able to look at the original language (Greek and Hebrew) and determine the singular interpretation of the text. The solid English translations (New King James, New American Standard Version, English Standard Version) are great tools, but they are still secondary sources. Since we as preachers are saying, "This is what God's Word says" and because it deals not just with this short life, but with Heaven and Hell and a man's eternal destiny, we need to be able to use primary sources.

OK - so that's a little to chew on. It's a rigorous program, but one that honors the Lord and the clarity and accuracy of scripture. Read Psalm 19 to see that scripture is a guide and therefore clear. We need to have a clear understanding too.

Praying for you...Dave

Exams

It's that time of the semester. Exams are happening. Papers are due. And God is still, so so good!

I now recognize all the people who work and volunteer at the seminary library. I no longer need to check and see when they're open, because I have it memorized. God is continuing to help me as the study hours get more intense and the work becomes more cumulative.

My last exam is the Week of May 4th. It's 40% of my grade. It's Hebrew Grammar and vocab. It's a big test for me. Some of the guys have rolled into seminary with astute backgrounds in academia. Others of us...not so much. Did I mention God is good? This applies in here too. He gives me all I need. My wife is so gracious and kind to help me along the way. My study skills and efficiency are growing. Hebrew is slowly working into my long term memory. Pray that I finish well. It is grueling and fun combined into one.

Preached my first sermon in about 10 years a few weeks ago! It was on Psalms 27:4. A beautiful passage about the desires of David's heart to worship the Lord all the days of his life. Just like you and I though, he at times failed to do so. It's a wonderful chapter I'd encourage you all to read. The preaching went well for a beginner like me. Feedback was good. Need to be more dynamic.

Summer class starts with no reprive from my current semester. On the Horizon? Hebrew Grammar II and two semesters worth of Greek. The greek class is so infamous by the students they call it "gladiator greek". Only the strong survive.

I hope this post finds you all doing well. I'm praying for you. For you love of the Lord. For salvation. For perseverance in hard times.

- Dave

How to Be Saved...Part 4

Realizing that you are a sinner, and God is perfect and Holy....

Sin brings death

Romans 6:23a The wages of sin is death,

What is sin? Sin is breaking any command of God. Beyond lying, cheating, stealing, murder, and lust, we are told that we must "Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength." If you have ever not fully loved God with all that you are ALL the time, you are condemned before God.

and realizing that only those who are perfect go to heaven....

you understand that someone needs to pay for your sin who is perfect.

The only perfect man was Jesus and He did pay for your sin.

Jesus brings life

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrated His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 6:23b "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

1 Cor 15:3-4 "Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day" (what Resurrection Day "Easter" is all about)

How we are saved

Eph 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.”

John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

You must.

1. Realize you are a sinner, and have God's wrath to look forward to.

2. Believe that Jesus is God and died for your sins, and then rose on the third day.

3. Repent of your sins. That is, turn from your sin and live for Jesus, according to His word.

4. You will know that you are saved by the fruit in your life, your love for Jesus and the Bible, your love to pray and fellowship with other believers. This is what the book of 1 John is all about...how to know you are saved!

If you're not sure you are a Christian, then you probably are not one. Confess your sins to Christ and ask Him to help you understand the Bible and start living for Him. Your life WILL change if you truly believe.

Praying for you...

dave