Recognize the Style

Years ago I went to Moody Bible Institute and studied under several professors who know the Bible very well.  Recently Moody Press published the Moody Bible Commentary.  It is a commentary of the entire Bible written by Moody professors, several of whom I studied under and consider to be some of the greatest influences in my Christian walk.

One such professor is Michael Rydelnik.  I took a couple classes with him, and greatly appreciated his teaching.  He helped refine my thinking, not just in the subjects he taught, but in Biblical analysis and logic in general.  I also learned just about everything I know about modern Israel through him.

I have not had a class with him since the last century, but I remember his style well.  When I started reading the commentary on Psalms I was fairly certain I was reading his writings.  The Psalm section of the commentary was not written by just one professor, but Dr. Rydelnik's style seemed obvious in the Psalm commentary I was reading.  If I was a betting man, I would put money down that he wrote what I read.

I paid attention to my professor years ago.  I remember much of what he taught, and as such I can recognize his teaching in a different context.  (Or at least I think I can.)

Why do I bring this up?  Because there is great value in being able to recognize when your teacher is speaking and when he his not.  Every one of us as Christians has a teacher that we learn from.  That teacher is our heavenly Father, and he teaches us through the Bible.  It is important for us to study the Bible carefully so that when God speaks to us in other contexts we recognize His voice.

If we are good students, if we pay attention and study well, we will recognize our teacher even when we are outside of the proverbial classroom.

If you are a Christian, I encourage you to study the Bible on a regular basis.  If you do, you will find out that your teacher is with you more than you might think.  He is teaching you all the time.  You merely need to learn to recognize His style.

Settled in the States

We are back in America now.  At the end of May we flew to Illinois where we spent two days with my folks in Rockford.  Now we are in Minnesota at our new home.  We are settled in well, and looking forward to our time in America.

It has been weeks since we felt settled.  It has taken a lot of work to get to this point.  This morning I woke up in my own home without anything urgent to be do for the first time in weeks.  To celebrate our move, we all went out to the Mall of America.

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I had forgotten just how huge that place is.  I have been to four malls that claimed to be the largest in their respective countries.  Sofia, Bulgaria's Paradise Mall combined with Lodz Poland's Manufactura and Port malls still can't compare with the massive shrine to consumerism that is MOA.  Our girls were in awe at this gigantic structure jam packed with people from all over the world.

As we entered the rotunda area, we saw a group of about 200 people walking across the stage to receive certificates one by one.  At first we thought it was a graduation of some kind, but when I recognized the certificates they were handing out I realized that it was a citizenship ceremony.  What better place to become an American than at America's largest mall?

We spent a few hours there; rode a few rides; picked up a few purchases; and all had a healthy dose of culture shock.  It was fun.