Shepherd in Control?

I was listening to one of the worship music CDs we have here and was enjoying a song that begins as an adaptation of Psalm 23:
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You are my shepherd, I have no needs
You lead me by peaceful streams
And You refresh my life

You hold my hand and You guide my steps
I could walk through the valley of death
And I won't be afraid

Because You are in control . . .
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But, wait, that's not what Psalm 23 says (apologies to Scott Underwood). As much as I may be comforted by the thought that God is in control, that is not the reason given in the psalm for why not to be afraid:

"I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Ps. 23:4b, TNIV, emphasis mine)

The psalm really says nothing about God's control of the situations of our life, unless you see some element of that in the rod and staff (but how much control can a shepherd really have over sheep?). There are those who are greatly comforted by seeing God’s control over either the grand scheme of the universe or over every situation in life. The psalmist may even be one of them, but in this moment the focus is on God’s presence, rather than sovereignty.

The reason we can move through the dark times of life is because God goes with us through the valley. God does not maneuver our lives so that we can avoid all hard times, danger, and pain. Instead, God promises never to leave us alone in those times.

This promise of God’s presence reminds me of a benediction that I sometimes use:

God be above us to watch over us
God be beneath us to lift us up
God be in front of us to lead us
God be behind us to push us
God be beside us to walk with us
And God be within us to love us forever.

Dissertation Revisions Submitted

This morning, I sent off the revisions that the committee asked me to make at the defense. I actually did them yesterday and just made a few adjustments this morning before sending them off. It didn't take all that much time. Praise God.

So, assuming that the revisions are acceptable, all I have to do is some paperwork for the school so that I can officially graduate on May 13. Woohoo!

Bible Crossword . . . Check

As part of my relaxation post-defense, I decided to work a crossword from a book I picked up this past summer. Imagine my reaction when the next crossword was a Bible Crossword (I think the first one I've encountered in the volume). Hmmm

I worked the crossword and did not even have to consult the Bible. Of course, for many of the items I was able to piece it together from letters I already had and such. It was tricky at times, because the puzzle was based on the KJV, but I persevered. Maybe here some of the benefits of a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible are beginning to manifest themselves already :-)

FYI, there are places online to find free crosswords. Two I've found:
Dell Magazine -- print out a new one daily
LA Times Games -- crosswords and sudoku you can work online

Disclaimer: Working crosswords is a new hobby for me, so I'm not very good. I've just started doing the occasional sudoku too.

Press Release: Thomas Reaches Longtime Goal

PRAGUE, Czech Republic and CLAREMONT, California (Thomas Media) – Yesterday at approximately 8:15pm CET and 11:15am PST Matthew A. Thomas was congratulated by his dissertation committee for successfully defending his dissertation. With the successful defense, Matt now becomes a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Hebrew Bible after almost 10 years in the doctoral program of the School of Religion of Claremont Graduate University (CGU, religion.cgu.edu).

The defense was conducted via internet video conference between the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague (www.ibts.cz), where Dr. Thomas is Associate Lecturer in Old Testament, and CGU, where his committee – Drs. Tammi J. Schneider, Marvin A. Sweeney, and Kristin De Troyer – were located. In the days leading up to the defense some tense moments came as the video conference proved unsuccessful during three separate tests. However, on the day of the defense, the connection worked smoothly with only the occasional dropped phrase of speech.

The new Dr. Thomas was greatly relieved by the outcome of the defense: "It went so much better than I expected that I know many people were praying and that God's presence was there with me. Thank you to all those who held me in their thoughts and prayers." He then said that he planned to take the rest of the week off and would probably only look at the few, minor revisions asked for by the committee next week.

The degree will be officially awarded by CGU on May 13, 2006, although Dr. Thomas will be unable to attend the ceremony. This has been a big year for the Thomas family as his wife recently completed her Masters degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and they are in the process of adopting a child in the Czech Republic and have their psychological evaluations just one week after Dr. Thomas's defense. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the outcome of the defense may have been leaked earlier, but these allegations are still under investigation.