LAST LESSONS #211 — LAST LESSONS — EXTRAS — 1

“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” Hebrews 6:14

I saw something last week that really excited me. I was looking through the newest books published by Crossway and found one I definitely wanted! It’s called Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung. It’s a year-long daily one-page explanation of all aspects of doctrine. Crossway was kind enough to send me a sample copy, knowing that I might buy a thousand or so! They were right. I plan to buy thousands because I want every partner church pastor to have a copy. As I have mentioned, I buy these Bibles and commentaries (and a few other books like Daily Doctrine) through the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation.

I was recently talking to David Wells, and he reminded me that Daily Doctrine is dedicated to him. David Wells taught Kevin DeYoung doctrine at Gordon-Conwell Seminary years ago. Interesting.

So, I have ordered enough books for Crossway to do a special printing. That means that it will take a little while for them to come and then it will take time to ship them to our African countries.

Our African friends need to understand doctrine, but so do we here in the USA. I wonder how many reading this blog know what is meant by the word “aseity.”  All of us need to know the language of doctrine. We need it so that we can read the Bible as well as commentaries and other Christian writings and truly understand them. I know for sure that I need to understand the doctrine I say that I believe better than I do now.

If you want to join me in reading this outstanding book (just one page a day), you can get your copy right away on Amazon or directly from Crossway Publishers. I’ve got my copy, so get yours, and let’s read through it together.

LAST LESSONS #210 — LAST LESSONS — ASK — 5

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10

What are some good daily devotionals for: Teenagers? 20 to 30 year olds? Those who are retired?

I’ll really have to work on answering this because when it comes to devotionals, I use only one. It’s my book Praying the Attributes of God. It was first published by Kregel in 2003 and is still in print. It’s a one-month devotional that I have used through the years. You can get it from Rafiki or Amazon.

Ordinarily, I just read the Bible itself and a good commentary in my quiet time in the mornings. At night I have sometimes read through the Psalms. That is what I would recommend for retirees like me.

For 20 to 30 year olds, I would suggest reading through the Bible in a year. I believe you would enjoy Paul Tripp’s devotional Everyday Gospel. It’s Scripture plus a one-page devotional commentary.

For teenagers, my great-grandchildren like Tim Tebow’s Mission Possible, a year-long devotional that can be bought at Walmart. They surprised me the other day when they said they have also used Praying the Attributes of God.

The main thing I would suggest for any Christian is to read the Bible itself. Devotionals are fine as long as they lead you to Scripture. Just don’t skip the Scriptures. It’s the Bible you want to read not just somebody’s thoughts about the Bible.

Start reading!!!!

LAST LESSONS #209 — LAST LESSONS — ASK — 4

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10

As you have taught the Bible to the folks where you live, what have you found to be the area of greatest interest? What were their most common questions or concerns?

I really can’t answer this question in the place where I am now living. This is the third senior living facility for me. The first two were more independent while this one is called “assisted living” which means that those who live here need assistance—most have walkers or wheelchairs. We have someone checking in on us every few hours. Some here cannot see, some cannot hear, most are forgetful. So, I do not have a Bible study here.

I did have a Rafiki Bible Study (RBS) in the first two places where I lived. It was not easy, but I enjoyed it. The groups were small but committed. At first, they wanted to talk about everything, so I had to help them stick to the questions. If you have done a Rafiki Bible Study, you know that the way to learn the most is to keep to the questions and not allow the members to talk about anything and everything.

The other problem was their attendance. They would often have doctor’s appointments or other activities.

But let me tell you about the last RBS I had at Lake Ridge Village. There was one woman who argued with me continually which always disrupted the meetings. She had been taught by her church that a person had to be baptized and belong to that denomination to be saved.

Well, close to a year later when she and I both happened to be in a re-hab facility together, she came to see me to thank me that she was now truly saved. By God’s grace she had realized that she did not need to be baptized to be saved. She had finally come to see that salvation was by God’s grace alone and she asked for my forgiveness for disrupting the group by arguing with me.

I am telling this because no matter how hard it is to teach the Bible to even a small group, God has his purpose. I believe that God’s purpose in that Bible study was to save that one woman. It reminded me of Jesus going through Samaria to meet with one Samaritan woman to tell her about living water. And remember, she went and told the whole village. My friend is now telling others about Jesus.

Praise God.

LAST LESSONS #208 — LAST LESSONS — ASK — 3

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10 

Could you please explain how you were inspired to start a classical school in Central Florida? What is unique about classical schools? Are all the Rafiki schools in Africa classical schools?

What a delight to answer this question!

Before we started a classical school in Florida, we had classical schools going in Africa. Our African schools have always been Christian Classical Schools, and we started schools in our Rafiki Villages in 2002. It has taken us a long time to get all the curriculum written from preschool to twelfth grade, but it is done, and it is good!

It would take a lot of space on this blog to explain what we mean by “classical schools,” so I will ask you to google it to get what you want to know.

How and why we were inspired to start a classical school in Central Florida, I can answer.

When we came to see that the Christian classical schools in our ten countries in Africa were successful, obviously we were thrilled. What we found out was that our students made the highest grades on government tests, our children became little Christians, they loved to learn, and they were happy! We have quite a few graduates that we have sent off to universities. They have done extremely well.

When we realized how sad most public schools in the USA were, we wondered if we shouldn’t build a demonstration school to do two things: 1. To train Rafiki missionaries who would go to Africa to become Rafiki school headmasters and 2. To train teachers in the USA in how to teach classically. Since we already have Christian classical curriculum that we can make available to schools in the USA, all they need is the teachers who can teach it. We believe that certified teachers can be trained to teach classically at Rafiki in about two weeks.

At this time, several schools in the USA have begun to use our curriculum to start schools, even one in Haiti!

I am thrilled that Rafiki decided to do a demonstration school on Rafiki property. I am a teacher, and my desire was to put schools in Africa. However, it is Karen Elliott’s passion to do these Christian classical schools. She (not I) is in charge of these schools, and I just watch her excellent leadership.

LAST LESSONS #207 — LAST LESSONS — ASK — 2

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10

Most everyone reading this blog has had difficult times when caring for a loved one. We hate ourselves for losing patience in caretaking. The following is a question sent in to me:

 

During this time of caretaking (husband’s Alzheimers) I KNOW all the answers as to how the Lord expects me to live but there are some days that are so long and difficult. I’m sure you know this. Do you have any experiences to help when I often feel impatient and like I fall so short?

It is true that I have experienced difficulties in caretaking and wanted to throw up my hands. I will mention two episodes in my life where I wanted to give up.

First, my father-in-law lived with us for about seven years. He did not have Alzheimers, but he could not see well, he could not hear well, he was incontinent, and he chewed tobacco! It was hard on me, and it was hard on my children. It was during the time when I was teaching BSF. To get away from Grandpa I would go to my back bedroom and work on my lecture. Grandpa couldn’t walk that far to see what I was doing, so he accused me of sleeping. Don’t I wish!

Finally, I gave in to God’s will for me that I should just love him and show it. So I began to take him for a ride in the car, I would sit and talk to him, but mostly I read the Bible to him.

Can you believe what happened? Right, he came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! Yes, the years were hard, but loving him and showing it counted for eternity and I would definitely do it again.

Second, my husband Bob did have Alzheimers. For eight years I took care of him as he slowly went down. It started when we lived in San Antonio and Bob was teaching medicine at the University of Texas Medical School. First, Bob got lost driving home from work. Then he forgot other things. That was when we were planning to move Rafiki to Florida. I had to sell our house in Texas and buy a house in Florida. Bob was not able to help with any of the move. My daughters helped me with packing and Steve and Carol Kranz moved in with us for a month to pack and move us to Florida.

As Bob’s disease progressed, it got harder and harder. I won’t go into too many details, but I found that if I could get him to repeat Psalm 23 with me at mealtimes that would help him and me. And I would sing with him! We sang the hymns that we knew. I’m so glad that I learned these hymns at church because the contemporary songs are impossible to sing. As Bob was dying, having had a massive stroke, I repeated Psalm 23 to him and prayed for him. I am not sure he could understand or hear me but it helped me.

 

I have found that when my grief is too deep to think or do anything, I can sing a hymn that I know by heart, and I find peace.

 

I hope this helps you.