Bob Saffrin

Author Bob Saffrin takes a look at ten different Psalms with emphasis on finding hope in a time of difficulty. He introduces each one with a personal story. Then he discusses the Psalm itself. There are no deep insights offered into the text of each Psalm. It is more a reflection of the author's on personal reflection and love of the reading the Bible. That is not to say that there are not useful nuggets for a personal study time. My biggest problem with the book is that the author seems to have taken several devotions he may have written over the years and put them together, forgetting to examine the overall book. There are several illustrations that are repeated in later chapters. While they were effective the first time they were used, they are ineffective later in writing. I often make presentations myself and know that I have some illustrations which are repeated in different ones. However, if I'm doing multiple presentations on a single day at a venue or over a period of several days at a conference, I always go through and substitute other illustrations to minimize repeating myself. Saffrin simply failed to do this, and if he'd utilized an editor, that type of thing would have been caught. I read this on my Kindle and noticed that the text had been optimized for use by electronic readers. The text of each Psalm was included in an appendix, and there were links between the introductory story and discussion of the Psalm which connected to the right location in the Appendix. There was an additional exercise in an appendix for the first Psalm discussed. One can always second-guess why an author included a certain Psalm and omitted another. Our pastor today actually used three Psalms that could have fit this book but were not included. While this could be used in a Sunday school class or small group study, it is probably most effective as a personal Bible study.… (más)

Saffrin, Bob. Psalms, the Sunrise of Hope. Village Media / CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 9/19/12 ISBN-10: 1479282316 ISBN-13: 978-1479282319 ASIN: B0097WVXUS 220pp List Price: paperback $12.95, e-book $3.99

Psalms, the Sunrise of Hope looks at ten psalms with a common theme of finding hope in the midst of difficulty. The author defines Christian hope as conviction that God is in one’s life now and forever, and nothing can remove one from God’s love.

True hope, then, is resting in an unending care of one’s creator, expecting Him to move on one’s behalf. “Hope is a soldier that fights for us as we wait for the goodness of God to accomplish His will in and for us.”

Bob Saffrin describes the psalms as Hebrew poems meant to be set to music. They were and are used for worship, prayer and expressing emotions. Saffrin’s purpose is to change one’s attention away from problems; to move one’s attention toward God.

In Saffrin’s meditations, he includes the back stories of the psalms. He draws experiences that focus one’s attention from the Historical and Prophetic Books of the Bible, the New Testament. Saffrin speaks from his own experiences, and the experiences of others.

Rather than asking “Where is God?” One should ask “Who is God?” For each psalm, Saffrin includes a Life Lesson. He lifts portions of the psalm contrasting the world’s view with God’s perspective and includes questions to consider and discuss.

In all of these lessons and meditations, Saffrin encourages discovering God’s presence in the middle of one’s situation. If you recognize the presence of God, you go through distress, but distress does not go through you.”

For Psalm 3 he also includes a Bible exercise for the application of the psalm. It is a masterly example that one could use to create exercises for the other psalms.

The ten Psalms included in this book are Psalm 3 (Hope for the Sleepless), Psalm 8 (Hope for the Insignificant), Psalm 13 (Hope for the Hopeless), Psalm 23 (Hope for Lost Lambs), Psalm 40 (Hope for the Shattered), Psalm 42-43 (Hope for the Depressed), Psalm 84 (Hope for the Homeless), Psalm 91 (Hope for the Vulnerable), Psalm 107 (Hope for the Unloved), and Psalm 139 (Hope for the Poor in Spirit).

Other books by Bob Saffrin:
Moses, Steps to a Life of Faith
Elijah, Steps to a life of Power
*Psalm 23, Help for Lost Lambs
*How to Sleep Like a Baby, a Meditation on Psalm 3

*These are updated and included in this text as bonus content.

 
I received a complimentary copy of this book by the author for my unbiased review… (más)