I post papers I have written, some during my graduate and post-graduate studies, some in response to other papers, and some written for other purposes like Sunday school classes or Bible studies. I also post observations on whatever comes to my mind and videos from teaching sessions.
A few days ago, Susan and I watched a podcast again in which we told the story of our marriage. At the time of the interview, we had been married for seven years. Now we have enjoyed a blessed marriage for almost thirteen years.
As we watched the retelling of how God miraculously brought us together, we were reminded of His mercies, His provisions, and how He can intervene in the lives of people who trust Him with all details.
We hope you enjoy our story as we share how God brought us from grief to joy!
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When we arrived at our home from Sunday service today, this whitetail deer was waiting on our lawn.
It reminded me of the superscription over Psalm 22, a clear and detailed messianic psalm.
If you are interested, you can read my comments on this psalm on pages 71-77 in the first volume of my commentary on Psalms, titled The Messiah in the Psalms: Discovering Christ in Unexpected Places. Why is the superscription important?
The King James Version leaves a portion of the superscription untranslated, as follows: “To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.”
When untranslated words appear in the superscriptions, those who cannot read Hebrew are left to wonder about their meaning. Many people overlook the superscriptions, not realizing they are actually the first verse of the psalms in the Hebrew text.
The New King James Version translates the superscription: “To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘The Deer of the Dawn.’ A Psalm of David.”
Jesus’ prayer in Psalm 22 extends from verse 1 through verse 22. We know this because of how verse 1 appears in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, and how verse 22 is used in Hebrews 2:12.
Jesus prayed, “Why are You so far from helping Me?” (Psalm 22:1). We discover in Psalm 22:21 that Jesus’ prayer was answered: “You have answered Me” (NKJV). It was not answered by sparing Him from crucifixion, but by his resurrection early on the first day of the week (Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).
As Kidner points out, Aijeleth Shahar (deer of the dawn) is a clue to the resurrection: “On the help at daybreak.”
The deer waiting on our lawn reminded me of one of the profound prophecies of the Messiah who would suffer and die, but whose resurrection from the dead would provide salvation for all who believe in Him (Luke 24:45-49; John 20:24-31).
From time to time, I am asked to write and film scripts for those who teach God’s Word for Life lessons for adult Bible classes.
Yesterday, Susan and I visited the recording studio at the World Headquarters of the United Pentecostal Church International so I could film videos about Nicodemus’s night-time visit with Jesus and the disciples’ request for Jesus to teach them to pray.
Thanks to L. J. Harry for the invitation to participate in this ministry!
Today, I was back on the Urshan University campus to serve as a guest professor for Urshan Graduate School of Theology.
As suggested by this photo, which was selected by Susan, I started the three hour session fresh and ready to go work.
I enjoyed opening the Word.I kept enjoying it.But by the time the class was over, I was exhausted.I may be retired, but that doesn’t keep me from teaching, whether on campus or via ZOOM, as portrayed here, for Apostolic Bible Institute in St. Paul, MN.
The Urshan campus is about fifteen minutes from our home … ABI is about 500 miles away. But I told the Lord at a recent Sunday morning service that I would go through any door He opened. 🙏🏻
My mother was born on January 30, 1926, in Judsonia, Arkansas. Her father, Joe Luther Hodge, was twenty-five years old at the time. Her mother, Ruth Jane Hodge, whose maiden name was Stephens, was twenty. Both of them had been born in Arkansas.
After my wife Judy and I had lived in Stockton, California, for 25 years, we decided to return to the area of St. Louis, Missouri. I was born in St. Louis, and we had lived and worked in the St. Louis metropolitan area for fifteen years before moving to Stockton.
My father, Glen Segraves, passed away on November 5, 2001, at the age of 76. He and Mom had their home in Stockton, and she retained her home there after Dad’s death. When Judy and I decided to make our move, I knew Mom needed to go with us. She was 81 at the time.
I approached the subject with Mom by asking, “If you had the choice to live anywhere else, where would it be?”
I was sure she would say, “Missouri!” After all, Mom and Dad had lived in Kennett, Missouri while pastoring there from 1959 until 1968, when they moved to London, Ontario, Canada to pioneer a church. Dad was born near Dexter, Missouri, and he and Mom were living in St. Louis when I was born in 1946, just after World War II. After spending three years in London, they had returned to Missouri where Dad served as pastor in Dexter for fourteen years.
So I expected Mom to choose Missouri. In retrospect, I should have realized she would say, “Arkansas!” That’s where her roots were. She was born there, as were her parents.
I wanted Mom to have the freedom to choose where she would live out her life. But I had to let her know Judy and I were moving back to Missouri. I had already committed to serve on the faculty of Urshan Graduate School of Theology, and it was not located anywhere in Arkansas.
Mom was brave and cheerful. With no complaints, she made the move with us.
The following pictures capture glimpses of “Moments in Time” from my mother’s life. I am grateful to Susan, my wife, and Becky Christman, Susan’s daughter, for their diligent work in arranging this presentation and helping me preserve these glimpses into Mom’s life.
The link above takes you to the Amazon page for my newest book, The Messiah in the Psalms: Discovering Christ in Unexpected Places, Volume Two. This 261 page book includes introductory information about the Book of Psalms and my comments on Psalms 73-106.
You can download a free sample of the book.
I have begun work on volume three of this series. My first volume on this theme produced a 382 page book covering Psalms 1-72. It is available both on Amazon and at pentecostalpublishing.com. My past research and writing on this topic, which is suggested by Jesus’ words in Luke 24:44, leads me to believe that my work on the third and final volume will take about two years.
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).
