which path? which way?

First off, thanks to those of you who have been praying for my German studies. Though I feel very 'if-y' about yesterday's midterm (I know I bombed the sentence diagramming and translation), we only had about 58 words to learn for today's quiz, and at least as of this morning, I feel like I know them pretty well. I'll study them a few more times this morning, but at least as of this morning, I feel like I know them all, Praise the Lord, giver of all good things.

And that actually brings me to my devotional reading from this morning.

Jeremiah 6:16 reads ...

16 This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'

I've read this passage and this particular verse before, and yet today I find it so relevant to this culture in which I live. On top of that, it has a new meaning when compared with, as Phil Andrews does, with John 14:6 ...

Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’

What a wonderful relationship between these two passages. What an amazing image. The good path, the good way that Jeremiah pleaded with and encouraged the people of Jerusalem to walk in is ultimately the very person of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. And yet as then, still so today ... so many reject both calls ... "But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

But what about you? What do you say? Do you wonder as to which path to walk? Are you so certain as to choosing your own path over-against God's? Are you uncertain as to whether God is real, let alone His path? Do you question or wonder who Jesus is to be able to make such a claim as being the "good way" Jeremiah talks about?

Check out the Gospel of Matthew 16:13-20. Consider what Jesus asks of His disciples. Consider how they reply. And consider how Jesus frames their responses. And let me know what you think. May the Holy Spirit of God give you eyes to see, and ears to hear.

a hard word from Jeremiah

This passage comes from Jeremiah 5 ... God is calling on Jeremiah to deliever a very hard word to the people of Jerusalem - it is a message of doom and judgment. But it doesn't come out of a vacuum, as if God were some sort of cosmic kill-joy, or some pathological killer. He created us for relationship, to worship Him alone, and to love our neighbor's as ourselves. Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem failed to keep those two things as the focus of their lives, personally and nationally, they fell away from God, they turned their hearts and minds to other things, false gods, foreign idols, which were really nothing. And this is what God said ...

5:19 And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.'

What do you think? Go and read - if you can make the time, go ahead and read from chapter 1 up to chapter 5 - Jeremiah 5. If God created us for Himself, and if He is the source of all our blessings, all we enjoy, is He not justified when we turn away from Him and put our hope and trust in false gods which are truly nothing at all? What do you think?

German and current adjustments

It occurs to me that I "talked" about German, but didn't give a context.

That context is the beginnings of a Ph.D. program in Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I have to pass this class in order to move to the next class, theological German 1. So please pray with me, that God would be gracious and merciful, that He would allow me to remember all of the words I need to remember, as well as the grammar.

The other thing is that my laptop doesn't seem to like the wireless signal or router, or something in the house where I'm staying for the summer. For some reason, it's not allowing the signal to come completely through. This is very frustrating, as without having the convenience of being able to get online up in my monk's cell when it's convenient makes me feel even more cut off from everything and everyone. So please pray for that to somehow, miraculously even, be resolved before much more time goes by.

Well, don't know when I'll get to post again, but keep the faith, and if you don't have any, let me know, and I'll pray He finds you where you are and gives you some, at least the size of a mustard seed. God bless.

German

I left German class feeling pretty beat yesterday. I didn't do a blessed thing to do with German for the rest of the afternoon or evening. I "slept in" this morning, read my devotions, prayed, and then went over to school to tackle the German with a new perspective. I went through the article endings (definite and indefinite), verb endings (weak, strong, mixed, and irr. strong), copied all the verbs from the past 11 chapters, and then started on the nouns before I had to call it quits for the day (I found out the library closes at 5 pm on Fridays - at least during the summer).

But I praise God for refreshing me, and giving me some good momentum today. Now, I pray that this would continue tonight as well as tomorrow, and that I would be well prepared for Monday's midterm.

If you think of it, please pray that I would do really well on Monday. Thanks.

getting my butt KICKED by German

wow. Am I in a free-fall? I hope not. This intensive Intro to German class is kicking my butt. Or at least it feels that way. I'm paying attention in class. I'm keeping up with the readings. I'm doing the translations. I'm going over the vocab words four, five, six times and more. I'm dealing with German on average some ten plus hours a day.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but oh my goodness... have mercy, Lord. I think this is the hardest class I've ever had.

Well, I'm certainly praying often. But I'm not sure what you're looking for in me, Lord. Are You just leading me to a new level of trust in You? Are You seeking to humble me? Are You working something unseen? All of the above?

I trust You, Lord. But obviously not enough. Scripture says, "you have not because you ask not." Well, I think I've been asking pretty clearly to do better in German. I'm not looking for the top grade, or even an A+. I'd like to learn this stuff well enough to get a good grade and prepare me for the next two sessions of Theological German.

Lord, in Your mercy; hear my prayer. I love You, Lord; and I lift my voice, to worship You; oh, my soul, rejoice. Take joy my King, in what You hear; may it be a sweet, sweet song in Your ear.