Baker Exegetical Commentary for Libronix

By | January 13, 2008
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I have a number of short things to post on.  Instead of collecting them under “Sundry” something or other, I’m going to do a series of short posts.  Starting with an offer of 8 good commentaries for Libronix: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT, Vol. 1:

  • Luke, Volume 1 by D. Bock
  • Luke, Volume 2 by D. Bock
  • John by A. Kostenberger
  • Romans by T. Schreiner
  • 1 Corinthians by D. Garland
  • Philippians by M. Silva
  • 1 Peter by K. Jobes
  • Revelation by G. Osborne

List is $300, Logos has it for $225 (see here for details of set), and Rejoice Christian Software has it for $132.90 with shipping.  I see lots of “deals” but few do I consider outstanding values.  If you need this sort of thing.  I was about to buy the two Luke volumes, which would have cost me $75.  Several of the others are considered to be among the best of that biblical book.

Light and Momentary Afflictions

By | January 12, 2008
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About a month ago, I was struck again with the critical importance of 2 Corinthians 4:18 and I made printed it off to put above the toilet (a strategic place for half of humankind!). 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I have considered that verse very carefully since that time.  Tonight I was putting together a disk of some sermons for a friend who is getting an mp3 player and I came across this message that I preached on this passage (starting with v. 16) at IBEX three years ago.  I’m not a preacher, nor one who likes to promote my own stuff, but since I don’t seem to have much to share on this blog of late, I’ve decided to share this here.  If you were at IBEX in the Spring of 2004 (a grand semester indeed!), you’ve already heard it.  Katie was born two days later.

I think it has now been six months since I have done any teaching or preaching, not counting a student assignment.  The church that we have been attending has indicated interest in me teaching an adult Sunday class, but there hasn’t been any movement yet.

My Friend Josh Clutterham

By | January 9, 2008
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I received an email today that Joshua Clutterham, former IBEX student, TMC graduate, M.A. Biblical Counseling graduate, and employee of the Biblical Counseling program at The Master’s College was in a serious car accident.  He was driving on Interstate 5 when he was hit by a drunk driver, causing his vehicle to roll hundreds of feet down the freeway.  Josh was dear to me, so I thought I would share a few words.

Josh was one of the most gentle and compassionate men I have known.  He had an encouraging spirit that motivated all that he was around.  His knowledge of the Scriptures and his training in biblical counseling gave him a wisdom in relating to other people, and several times he solved relational problems that I could not.

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Josh excavating at the Pool of Siloam

Josh loved kids.  Several times we went camping and took not only my boys but also the young boys of another dear man now with the Lord. Josh loved to play with them, encourage them, and they really loved him.

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Josh with Mark at En Gedi

Josh was also part of “Square B” – a group of students at IBEX in the fall of 2000 who simply couldn’t excavate a small patch of dirt to save their lives.  The worst part of it was that they claimed to be superior to all others.  In fact, they have reminded me of this nearly every month for the last seven years, an astonishing feat given that when most students leave Israel, they are out of my life.  In moments like these though, you certainly cherish those you formerly said bad things about.

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Josh faithfully videotaped our field trips

Josh was a remarkable servant as well.  He would go out of his way to help others, irrespective of his own needs or plans.  He demonstrated this to me countless times, but also to his roommates and all around him.  He also put together the video I posted here of Ephesians, completely as an act of service.  There’s so much more that I could say, but I’ll sum it up with something I wrote in a job recommendation I gave for him last summer: “…he is hard-working, conscientious, loving, disciplined, and faithful.”

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Josh, after grabbing some guy’s fishing pole at the Mediterranean

Josh made a good point in the email that he sent after the accident: A million different questions and scenarios all point to a sovereign God who does things for His glory.  I’m thankful that the Lord, in his sovereign wisdom, protected Josh so that he walked away with only a few cuts and bruises.

Updates from Jerusalem Assembly

By | January 4, 2008
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If one of your new year’s resolutions was to pray more for the peace of Jerusalem, or if you just desire to do so more effectively, I have a suggestion for you (particularly for those of you who were at IBEX).   You can pray more specifically if you get Meno’s monthly update.

If you are on Meno’s list, then you learned that last month Jerusalem Assembly was graciously denied further renting of the facilities that they used for the last 6 or so years.   An ultra-orthodox organization pressured the landlords where it hurts – the pocketbook – and they had no choice.   Jerusalem Assembly leaves with much gratitude to R.R. for their years of support when many others would not have us.   Finding a new facility on very short notice means that JA has had to shift to a Friday evening service, which is hard for some families and others.   (IBEX has decided that it will no longer take the students to JA.)   JA has been looking for a permanent facility for a long time and with so many disappointments, the situation seems impossible.   But Meno doesn’t say it that way – instead he seeks help from the God who can do the impossible.

His update includes other praises and concerns, such as the church’s work with Sudanese refugees, evangelism, Meno’s travels, and how to support the Lord’s work in Israel.   I asked Meno if former IBEX students can join the list and he said yes.   In an effort to save him some work, please send an email to [address expired] and I will forward a list of addresses on to him.   (In an effort to save myself some work, I won’t reply to those emailing that address; if you don’t get a newsletter within 2 months, email me directly.)

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Holiday Sundry

By | December 26, 2007
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Funny how “vacation” is. In one sense, I’ve had much more “free” time than when the semester was going, but I’ve posted much less. It’s not because I’ve fallen into a mode of laziness, sleeping in till noon, and playing computer games all the time. I think it’s more because I have so many goals for the break and am making so little progress on them that I don’t want to take any more time away. But here’s a few sundry items of interest.

The Washington Post has a decent article on how pictures lie. I really think that there’s an issue of ethics here that may need to be considered more carefully by the media in their coverage of politics.

The folly of Egyptian governing officials, and particularly of the head of their antiquities department, never fails to astonish me. Now they’re planning to “copyright” their ancient monuments. Stupid (also impossible and illegal). But any way they can get their hands on someone else’s money, they’ll give it a try. Someone ought to suggest they stop being a parasite nation. Having ancient remains that a nation can profit off of is a curse because it breeds laziness and dependency.

Ever heard of Guidestar? I hadn’t, but a lawyer recently told me about this website where you can see the 990s (tax returns) of non-profit organizations. That includes such interesting details as salaries of employees making over a certain amount annually. So before you sign over your estate to that non-profit organization that you love so much, you might want to check out how they spend their money. You have to register, but it’s free and easy. I took a look at how much DTS pays their big dogs. I-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g. Actually, no criminal activity going on here, and nothing that even barely stands out from what other seminaries do, I’m sure.

My family is traveling tomorrow (Thursday) to Illinois, by land transport. We got our minivan back from the shop today, where they re-did everything that last week’s garage allegedly fixed. I paid twice to get it done right. Nothing like a warm feeling inside at Christmas time.

But we’re driving over 900 miles in an older vehicle that hasn’t yet earned my trust, in the winter season when I’m not a winter driver, at a distance that I haven’t driven in a long time. Look, if you drive that far from Jerusalem, you’re in Tehran. By lunchtime we’ll be in Baghdad. (UPDATE 12/28: We made it.)

On another matter, many years ago Kelli and I started writing Christmas letters to our friends. I don’t remember when and it doesn’t really matter, except to say this: we didn’t usually put IBEX students on our list because we weren’t really sure if they were more than students or not. Time helps to tell on things like this. But it occurs to me than we have probably failed to include some people who are very dear to us (or, more importantly, who care about details such as are contained in Christmas letters). A more diligent effort by myself would entail searching my brain, and scouring our lists, to determine who we should be writing. A less diligent effort, such as the one now in progress, is to suggest that if you would like to be included, you can let me know by email. This year I’ll just send you the letter by email, but next year, if we have your mailing address, we’ll send you a real one. With a photo of us looking good. If we have one.

That’s enough for now. I have to take a nap before playing a computer game.

Below are a couple of photos I took yesterday.

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Amazon Gift Certificates

By | December 16, 2007
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I think I did this before, but nobody got too mad, at least that I remember.  And it’s convenient for me to use.

Sorry for the graphic, but I didn’t find a text link.

UPDATE: If you’re using Firefox with Adblocker enabled, you won’t be able to see the graphic unless you use turn off Adblocker for this page or use Internet Explorer. 

Finished, Yet Not Started

By | December 13, 2007
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Earlier today I went to my last class and turned in my last paper for my Masters of Theology (Th.M.) degree.  The name really is a misnomer in some ways – I didn’t study “theology” and my major was “Old Testament.”  And I’m technically not a “graduate” until the work is graded and the grade is recorded.  Then the grade has to be transferred because I am earning the degree from The Master’s Seminary but took my final course at Dallas Theological Seminary.  But that is all out of my hands and so I am considering myself “graduated” today. 

Some of you thought I came to Dallas for a doctoral program.  Indeed, I did.  But two masters degrees was not enough and so I had to finish a third before starting the Ph.D.  The history on this in my life is a tad interesting.  The Th.M. degree is theoretically a one-year degree.  (I think most take 1.5-2 years.)  The M.Div. is considered a three-year degree.  And an M.A. is (in my program) a 2-year degree.  My first graduate degree was an M.A., which I finished in 1.5 years.  Then I went to the M.Div., which took two years.  At that pace, some had hopes for me.  Those were all promptly dashed when I took 12 years for the Th.M. degree (the “one-year” degree).  That’s not exactly the case.  12 years ago, when finishing the M.Div., I did take one class for Th.M. credit on the off chance that one day I might pursue such a degree.  I officially enrolled, by “accident” if you believe in such sort of thing and not by desire, in the fall of 2001.  When we returned to Israel a year later, I had three classes remaining.  So, yes, it took me 5.5 years to finish those three classes.  (Each was of a different ancient language.)  This morning I finished.

This semester I took “The Gospel of Matthew, plus I audited a course on the “Kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew.”  The audit was no work whatsoever, but the credit course seemed to me like a full load.  Maybe I’m just getting into the swing of things, or maybe I try too hard, or maybe I’m just unable to do such work.  But I finished, and I have a reasonable expectation of receiving a passing grade.

The course entailed: 1) writing my own translation of the whole book; 2) reading 75 minutes in commentaries per chapter; 3) writing an exegetical paper, for which I chose Matthew 21:1-11, the triumphal entry; 4) writing a theological paper, for which I chose “‘Anti-Semitism’ in the Gospel of Matthew”; 5) a communication project, for which I taught a class session, on Matthew 21.  I learned a lot, not all about things that I wanted to learn.  I can’t say that I enjoy repeated interaction with higher criticism, an approach that denies divine inspiration.  It’s not new to me, and sometimes I like to fight, but it gets old, particularly when there’s no hope of making progress because each side comes from a completely different perspective.  Generally, in the Old Testament, the later you go, the less the liberals question/deny.  By that measure, you’d think the NT would be out in the clear.  But not so.  It’s amazing how the liberals can deny absolutely anything.  Until we have the original manuscripts, they’ll deny.  And even then, there’ll be a way out.  There’s a lot more that I could say, but won’t. 

I think that tonight Kelli and I are going to watch “Cinderella Man,” which we have heard was good and Kelli gave me for my birthday.  This afternoon I started digging out of the current hole.  I have four weeks before next semester starts, and that will be more difficult academically than this one.  If you’re of a mind to pray for me, you can pray that the Lord will allow me, through focus, lack of distraction, good health, and lack of interruptions, to finish some projects that are nearly complete.  If I don’t get it now, I won’t have any significant time until June or later.  Notice that I did not ask for prayer for high motivation – that I have!  It’s just the little things that eat away the time so that the next thing you know, the window is gone.

Be Prepared for Trials

By | December 5, 2007
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My students know that one of my themes is that we should be prepared for hard times.  John Piper has a good article today on just that.

When huge pain comes into your life—like divorce, or the loss of a precious family member, or the dream of wholeness shattered—it is good to have a few things settled with God ahead of time. The reason for this is not because it makes grieving easy, but because it gives focus and boundaries for the pain.

Being confident in God does not make the pain less deep, but less broad. If some things are settled with God, there are boundaries around the field of pain. In fact, by being focused and bounded, the pain of loss may go deeper—as a river with banks runs deeper than a flood plain. But with God in his firm and proper place, the pain need not spread out into the endless spaces of ultimate meaning. This is a great blessing, though at the time it may simply feel no more tender than a brick wall. But what a precious wall it is!

I recommend that you read it all.