Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Psalm 71:17 NIV
Taught by God
Up until the second half of the 19th century, most rural teachers in Canada were young, female, poorly paid, and held the most limited professional qualifications. These teachers delivered a rudimentary education to thousands of Canada’s rural children, often amidst difficult conditions. Indeed, until the 1960s, rural teachers frequently taught students of various ages and wide-ranging academic ability while also shouldering the burden of maintaining the schools themselves. One-room schoolhouses began to dot the landscape in rural Canada from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.
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Teachers play a vital role in young lives. When adults look back on their childhood, some of their most precious memories are teachers who not only impacted them academically, but gave them the wisdom and sense of worth that helped them prosper in life. If human teachers can have that much impact, imagine what our Creator can do when we study His Word and allow Him to be our teacher. King David wrote this in Psalm 71:17: “Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.” The disciples called Jesus “rabbi,” the Hebrew word for teacher. He taught them in word and in deed – constantly illustrating the truths He taught them. No wonder the Gospels are filled with what Jesus did as well as what He taught. Jesus teaches us in the same way. Through the Bible, He teaches us truth, and as we live out that truth, we see Him at work in our lives and in our world. Today, Jesus still wants to teach us. Take time to learn all that He wants to teach you and then declare His marvelous deeds.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley