New students this week

Well, the new students are here and I’m in the awkward, “I don’t really know you guys yet” stage. We’ve had one class where we talked about Abraham and Sarah. We talked about a lot of things: 

1. God saying,  "For I know him [i.,e, Abraham], that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD” (Genesis 18:19). How does Abraham get to the point where God can say that about him? I would hope that God will one day be able to say that about me! In Hebrew the word for “know” is yada, which has a covenantal aspect, so at least in part God comes to “know” us as we make and keep the covenants with him.
2. We talked about what it must have been like for Abraham and Sarah to be told that they would have a child in their old age. Abraham laughs, Sarah laughs (same Heb word in both cases) and they call their son Isaac = “he laughs”! What is it like to have promises from God that seem to be sooooo impossible. My patriarchal blessing says that the time will surely come when a righteous priesthood holder will desire to take me to the temple. When I was 17 and received my blessing, I took that promise for granted. At 52, I can understand a little Abraham and Sarah’s feelings. There are times in my life where I have struggled with that promise. But I had to come to a place where, like Abraham and Sarah, I have to put my faith in God and know that his promises are sure.
3. We talked about what it must have felt like for Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac to obediently respond to the command to sacrifice Isaac. The commandments of God, like his promises, don’t always make sense. The issue is: do I know that God lives and that he loves him? Do I have confidence that he ALWAYS has my best interest at the very center of his being. I don’t always know the “whys” but more and more my confidence in him is ever deepening. 

 Kylie, Haylie, Holly and David and I at the excavations of the Pool of Bethesda. This is where, John 5, Jesus heals the lame man. 

My last class photo with my New Testament class. We are on the roof of the “Upper Room”. In the background is the Dormition Abbey. A wonderful church where one tradition says that Mary was laid to rest.

My Yoyo. He’s getting old. He’s on his way to his new home with my friend Sandy Beales. She is a WONDERFUL friend!