Village Schools of the Bible

Seeking the Unseen God by Monty Sholund

I'm going to do something I've never done before as a Monty's Page and that is to share with you some comments on a book which has recently been a great challenge and blessing to me. It is Seeking the Unseen God by Martin Berglund, Pastor of the Fellowship Alliance Chapel in New Jersey.

One of the good things about living for a while among people whom one doesn't otherwise often meet is to share their lives and experiences. I had the privilege of spending some time with Martin's mother here in Tucson, Arizona, where we've enjoyed some winter months. We had met her up in Minnesota with her husband, Gene Borg, and I was so blessed when Elinor gave me a copy of Martin's remarkable book which gives great lessons from the life of Moses.

It is remarkable the way Berglund has blended an academic review of Moses'
life with practical devotional thoughts. I am especially impressed with the book's powerful sharing of spiritual truths and their application to our daily lives. You can see how practical the book is by my listing of titles of the chapters:

1. Going Deeper
2. What does Faith look like?
3. What are you living for?
4. How to keep from going wrong
5. Finding God's power for your life
6. God's deliverance can happen
7. Don't give up
8. You need to get prepared
9. How to be delivered by God
10. Learning to listen to God
11. True Freedom--God's Freedom
12. Will you escape the judgment of God?
13. The Fear Factor
14. If I follow God, where will He lead me?
15. How to be happy, following God
16. Changing negative patterns
17. Are you the real deal?
18. How to keep from messing up
19. Chosen to be somebody
20. Disappointment destroys lives
21. Dealing with unjust criticism
22. Making an impact

I'm sure that you, on perusing these titles, have been struck by how they relate to contemporary issues. To examine problems and possibilities in the life of one of God's great ancient men and see how they relate to us here in the 21st century is both mind-stirring and soul-stretching. Berglund comments, "Many consider Moses to be one of the greatest leaders of all human history. After all, he took a couple of million people out of captivity in Egypt and into freedom almost single-handedly--and yet, of course, it was the Lord working through him. That is the secret that makes this man worthy of study. The teachings and the life of Moses are powerful because he was a man who claimed to know God. He even talked to the Lord face-to-face. If you want to know and understand more about God, you've got to know something about Moses. If you don't know about Moses, you are sadly ignorant."

I love what Dr. Gene Getz, famous director of the Center for Church Renewal says, "This is a very personal look at one of the Bible's great heroes... Seeking the Unseen God will lead you out of the dusty wilderness of old familiarity. You'll walk the journey with Moses inside his sandals- a man with day-to-day challenges just like yours and mine"

Olan Hendrix, CEO of the Leadership Resource Group says, "Seeking the Unseen God is a journey with Moses himself; even better than that, it is a journey with God Himself. Berglund's words are alive with truth and hope emanating from a solid theological and biblical basis. I highly recommend this valuable work."

I could go on and one with comments by various church leaders but I want to include a brief resume of his final chapter, "Making an Impact." He says, "As I have worked with people over many years I've come to notice a common passion inside all of us, a desire to make an impact, to make a difference, to be significant. If that is true, and I think it is, then the most instructive person to help us with this would be Moses. Moses made a bigger impact than almost any human being who has ever lived throughout human history. Many nations around the world, including ours, are structured after the basic understanding of law and social structure as taught by Moses thousands of years ago."

In this book, however, Berglund doesn't hesitate to deal with times when Moses was stupid in his decisions and faulty in his leadership. But we are impressed by the way he learned from his mistakes and grew in his skills. And the first emphasis Berglund makes when seeking to make an impact is to (1) Avoid self-importance. And here he points out, with brilliant personal illustrations, how failing to avoid this trap at times left Moses trembling in his failures and it does the same with us. We are what we are by God's genius and Grace, and from nowhere and no-one else.

Then the second thing that Moses teaches us about making an impact is (2) Don't be afraid. Standing on the edge of the Jordan, handing over the leadership of the people to others, Moses, this 120-year-old guy teaches the people. You can hear it in his words that he's speaking from experience, there in Deuteronomy chapter 32, and he's saying "Don't be afraid." I know you will be stirred by the practical illustrations Berglund uses and will be hugely encouraged, as you respond to God's initiatives in your life.

Finally, the third thing Moses would say is, (3) "Don't seek comfort. Instead seek to know the Lord and His power." And Berglund says "I know that's true because he said basically that in Deuteronomy 34."

I sincerely trust that you will acquire this remarkable book, which will rouse you to hitherto unknown possibilities, will deepen you to hitherto unknown resources, and bless you in ways without number. God worked miracles in Moses' life and He wants to do the same with you and me.