I shall not die

I started today listening to a song about a man who woke up, and did not want to "get up". This was particularly because I did not want to get up, either. But I did, and - while this may have been an excruciating workday - it is over, and for that praise the LORD! The man in the song was about to be crucified, and I was about to learn painful lessons. One is that Kindergarten Lesson plans must be done at 5PM on "Thursday" - not "Friday" afternoon. I would have done those sooner, but I thought I should finish my evaluations first, and those took a longer time than I had budgeted for. I ran into a "backlog".

In my afternoon classes, I had had to deal with a student that is typically "friendly", but these days is not so friendly. She was doing other homework in my class, claiming she did not have her old books (which I wanted to finish today), although I knew she did have her old books (I had seen them in her bag). I was very angry about her doing other homework from another class in mine, and made her stand in the corner with her hands up. For the rest of the class, she made of point of basically just sitting there, and doing precious little, if anything. I let her sit there, to a degree, but still insisted on the "precious little" part. It was like pulling teeth, and extremely unpleasant.

Then there was my last class. Two students had quit - one a very good student, the other a very smart but thorny student with a lot to learn. Well, today, I learned that yet another "good student" was quitting. The class was basically a nightmare. When the bell finally rang, the class just disbanded, and I am left with a terrible feeling. Two more students are thinking of quitting. Not exactly "prime students", but I am in no mood to lose any students from this class. It could be the students know I do not want them to leave, and are therefore not respecting my authority. I reminded them that I serve God, and that he can deal with them if they do not listen to me.

My conscience is clean with this class, although I cannot claim I am happy about where we are. I am most unhappy with the state of this class, and resolve to roll up my sleeves and get it where it needs to be, by the grace of God. I am thinking of a Teddy Roosevelt quote, which I really like:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

I really feel like my back is against the wall in that one class (called "M5A"), but King David (who was not officially king yet) also knew that feeling. "King" Saul had him "surrounded" on a mountain, and it looked like it was curtains. I do not know if he said it then, but David said at one point, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD." (Psalm 118:16, 17 or somewhere around there in that Psalm.) Either way, David came out of that predicament alive, because God looked down and said, "It is not time for David to die. Philistines... Please go get Saul off David's trail. The Philistines said, 'We're on it,'" And that was the end of Saul's "opportunity" to finish David off.

Well, there I am in M5A. I have had three students (out of nine) quit, and two are thinking of quitting. That just plain cannot be good for me as a teacher - but am I going to worry about it? No way! I am going to look to God to step in and see that I am saved. God knows what these students are thinking. All I know is they are not treating me with respect, and they may even just like the thought of quitting to cause me problems. Then again, they may just be dissatisfied with the education they are getting, and I may just have to make sure they get a better product. I am perfectly content to let God be the judge of that. I will not worry about it, though. I will wait on the LORD, and he shall save me (Proverbs 21:23?).

Your prayers are most appreciated. This evening collection of Scripture quotations was very helpful. A student asked me last class if I believed in God. I said, "Yes, definitely." I explained that, if my fingerprint is proof of me, then I am a proof of God. I pray that God would honour me, seeing I have honoured him.

Sincerely,

Daniel

Evening

If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report.--All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.-- --The offence of the cross ceased.

If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; . . . but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [as] a thief, or [as] an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.--If one died for all, then were all dead: And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.--If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him].

Lu 9:23 2Co 6:8 2Ti 3:12 Ga 5:11 1:10 1Pe 4:14-16 Php 1:29 2Co 5:14,15 2Ti 2:12
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