Matthew for Everyone!

Matthew for Everyone

by N.T. Wright

I have blogged before that I have joined a group in church to read the New Testament in one year. 

We are currently still in the Gospel of Matthew. 

And in the reading, there are many times when we asked questions and when we come across some complicated verses. This is where after referring to the few commentaries I have on Matthew, namely:

- Donald A. Hagner, Matthew, Word Biblical Commentary

- Ulrich Luz, A Commentary on Matthew, Hermeneia

- R.T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentary

- R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, New International Commentary on the New Testament

- N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone

...I find that I like N.T. Wright's version the most. 

It is not as technical as the rest, it's more readable and insightful in its exegesis.

With that I went and check to see if I have all the volumes in the series and found that indeed I do, except for the 2 volumes on Romans. I actually spent about RM400 buying the series, not including the ones on Romans.

When I went and looked for it in Logos.com, the series is on sale! 

It's now only RM94.37 for 20 volumes instead of a whopping RM904.56.

But I wonder if I can get it even cheaper for the 2 volumes on Romans. I doubt it and I think I will have to pay RM94.37 not for 20 volumes but for only 2.

What a bummer!

Here's the link if you are interested. And of course the link may or may not work with it being time sensitive.

pearlie

My visit to Evangel BookStore in a really long time

I travelled for work today, and on the way back to the office, I had lunch in SS2, Petaling Jaya. I still had some time after lunch and decided to pop into Evangel, which was nearby. It must have been at least two years, if not three, since I've been there. Martin, the assistant, was still working there and it was nice of him to still remember my name.

It felt nostalgic to be back and it was a nice feeling. At first, I wasn't really looking but soon I have eyed four books that I might like to have. The only difference is I don't buy them now, like I used to, almost in bulk, but now I would check kobobooks.com for the electronic copies. Even Martin said that he had noticed that Alex, Noel and I, who frequented the bookstore so often previously have not visited for so long. He deduced that we may already gone digital.

But I was really attracted to this rack:

Preaching the Word Series, Crossway

The last time when I was there, this series was not yet very popular, and thus no such rack existed. It is a good thing they are cheaper electronically though I have not yet purchased the whole set. I will do so, slowly, eventually.

The books that I'm considering getting are these four, of which sadly, only the first two are available for sale in Kobo.


Come Let Us Reason
edited by Paul Copan, William Lane Craig


The Soul, How We Know It's Real and Why It Matters
by J.P. Moreland


Tough-Minded Christianity
edited by William Dembski, Thomas Schirrmacher


Doing Philosophy as a Christian
by Garrett J. DeWeese

pearlie

Isaiah, God Saves Sinners (Preaching the Word Series)

Isaiah - God Saves Sinners
by Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr.

As I have blogged before, I found the Preaching the Word series by Kent Hughes very useful as devotional materials for me, and I thought I'd do Isaiah now.

I've finished the edition on Proverbs and do not think I can continue with Exodus.

So, Isaiah it shall be.

Isaiah is an important book in the bible and for me it is the least understood. Ortlund quotes and Ortlund says:

"God spoke eloquently through Isaiah. If you have any interest in the Bible at all, Isaiah will reward a close reading. It is “the most theologically significant book in the Old Testament.” “Of all the books in the Old Testament, Isaiah is perhaps the richest.” “From ancient times Isaiah has been considered the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.” The scholars who know what they are talking about prize Isaiah. What Bach’s first biographer said about his music applies to Isaiah’s prophecy:

[Bach’s music] is not merely agreeable, like other composers’, but transports us to the regions of the ideal. It does not arrest our attention momentarily but grips us the stronger the oftener we listen to it so that, after a thousand hearings, its treasures are still unexhausted and yield fresh beauties to excite our wonder.

Isaiah deserves better than to be a “classic” — a famous book nobody reads anymore. His prophecy isn’t always easy to understand. But every day all around the world people take on challenges, from climbing the Matterhorn to learning Japanese to launching a new business. If God has spoken to us through Isaiah, let’s explore this literary Matterhorn. Let’s enjoy the view from the very top, and even the effort of getting there. Let’s reach out for new understandings."

I am certainly looking forward to reading it and learning from Isaiah, admitting I'm nothing but a sinner and being convicted of my dire need for God and God alone.

pearlie

Moses and the whiners

At the rate I am keeping up with the commentary on Exodus by Philip Graham Ryken, it will be a lifetime before I complete all 102 chapters. I am only at chapter 36 today, and I only barely read the first few pages before my mind got stuck and became busy with this one thing.

But I do think this is good, because devotional reading and studying of God's word takes time and much thinking and mulling, and application.

The chapter is entitled "A Bitter Complaint" on Exo 15:22-27. The portion that made me stop and think was this:

Whining always sounds childish. Consider the bumper sticker on which the word “Whining” is superimposed with a red circle slashed by a diagonal line — “No Whining!” It is not hard to guess who is inside the car (usually a minivan). Children are notorious for whining. To be guilty of this sin, as the Israelites were, is a sign of spiritual immaturity. One day the people were dancing on the beach, singing praises to God; but only a few days later they were on the verge of open rebellion. This is a clear sign that they were still in their spiritual infancy."

I began to think about Moses. I wondered how he must have felt having to face a horde of whining people for 40 years! How could he stand it? I wouldn't be able to. I cannot stand whiny people.

But that is what he did. He did show his impatience once in awhile as we read in the exodus account, but all in all, I must say he is very, very patient indeed and he always come back to God in his frustrations.

I had my fourth coaching session with a CG friend this evening, and in our conversation, with no reference to my mulling about Moses, she talked about him.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

She brought up a very interesting point. Moses brought the people through the wilderness for 40 years, but in the end he did not go with them into the promised land. My friend commented that sometimes in our dealing with people, we complete our duty and let them move forward to their new land without us.

Is that so? Can I then let the people I deal with move on and I let them go ahead without following them. If that is the case, I can move on to help and manage other people.

However, the only reason Moses could not go into the promised land was because he sinned against God in his disobedience and lack of faith. How does this then square with what my friend say?

I think I can conclude with these observations:

1. God has chosen us to minister to some people he placed in our lives, and some of these people will be whiners.

2. We are to obey God and following his leading and bring the people into God's truth, especially the whiners, so they can mature in Christ.

3. I do not think we can apply it literally to our lives where Moses was left behind and not go into the promised land. However, when some people move on to continue to grow in God, we trust that God will arrange for new guides for them in their next phase of growth and sanctification. It is not our call, but God's.

pearlie

Exodus, Saved for God's Glory

Exodus, Saved for God's Glory
by Philip Grahm Ryken

I am still using this commentary series as my devotional material. I have completed the ones on Ecclesiastes, Genesis and Hebrews. I started on the Exodus one last year but stopped half-way to read up on Hebrews instead.

Today, I am re-starting on Exodus. The challenge with this Exodus commentary is that it has 1248 pages in print! It has 102 chapters and each chapter is from 10 to 15 pages. In short, it is very long. I only hope I can manage to read, meditate and pray on a chapter a day.

If I were to be faithfully doing that, I should complete it on 30 September 2014. Let's see if I can meet that goal.

Exodus is an amazing book in the bible. Ryken says, "Exodus is an epic tale of fire, sand, wind, and water...almost every scene is a masterpiece...once heard, the story is never forgotten...for Jews it is the story that defines their very existence, the rescue that made them God's people."

And note this, Ryken continues to say, "For Christians it is the gospel of the Old Testament, God’s first great act of redemption. We return to the exodus again and again, sensing that somehow it holds significance for the entire human race. It is the story that gives every captive the hope of freedom."

And with that I look forward to every morning spending time with God, in his wonderful glory, through the book of Exodus.

pearlie