A good resource for the content of our prayers is the Book of Psalms and the text at beginning of Paul’s Epistles. Paul will often tell his letter’s recipients exactly how he is praying for them early on in his letters. This way, prayers are biblically inspired-what was on the heart of the biblical writers and recorded for us. The first chapter of Ephesians gives … Continue reading Biblical Prayers

Life is one long, steady disappointment. This dawns on most people by their thirties. Childhood is all potentiality. The teenage years are all angst—but even angst betrays some hope, since it is only quiet outrage that things could be better. A person can still carry into his twenties the illusion that the world will soon… A Theology of Disappointment — Southern Equip Continue reading Seeking a Better Country

4 Examples of How Knowing Original Greek Improves Your Understanding of the Text | Crossway Articles Continue reading 4 Examples of How Knowing Original Greek Improves Your Understanding of the Text | Crossway Articles

“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive and repeated.”— John F. Kennedy Continue reading Quote of the Day

Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (Jn. 12.24 WEB) But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For … Continue reading Jesus Barleycorn Must Die

The Christian’s authentic service to God flow from their new nature. They are children of God and resemble Him in their attitudes and actions. “We love, because He first loved us.” Here is an article which expresses the roles of faith and disciple well. The Dark Side of Self-Discipline Continue reading The Relationship Between Faith and Works

Here is a study of some forms of slavery and their rationale in ancient times. This study does not examine ancient Greek or Roman slavery, for which we also have abundant literature, nor the slavery occurring among the Israelites. Israelite slavery was probably adopted, in part, from the surrounding cultural milieu in which they interacted. This topic of Israelite slavery could be studied more thoroughly, … Continue reading Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Slavery

“Facts don’t care about your feelings.” So says the pinned tweet on bestselling author and popular conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro’s Twitter account. Is it a fact that facts don’t care about our feelings? What are our other options? Friedrich Schleiermacher had an answer that Shapiro (and orthodox Christians) wouldn’t appreciate. The father of liberal… Do Facts Care about Your Feelings? — Southern Equip Continue reading Do Facts Care about Your Feelings? — Southern Equip

“To the Ephesians” (Eph. 1.1), in preserved biblical texts, is most likely a later addition inserted into Paul’s letter. It can be said with certainty that copies of this letter found its way to Ephesus since Paul meant it as a circular letter (see Col. 4.16). Simon Peter, in his last correspondence to the churches, was aware of Paul’s letters and endorsed them as scripture … Continue reading The Letter to the Church of Laodicea is Probably Our “Ephesians”

The Gospel Sent Abroad The Holy Spirit, presumably speaking through the Christian prophets ministering in Antioch, indicated the intent to further the message of Christ in Cyprus and Asia Minor. God commissioned Paul and Barnabas to preach the Gospel, first, to the Jews in the synagogues, and then to everyone else. They were sent by the church, which meant that the church financially supplied them … Continue reading The Ignored Witness of Benevolence

The Kingdom in Heaven The Kingdom of God is now both in heaven and on earth. However, they are in different guises. Christians are citizens of the New Jerusalem (Gal. 4.26, Phil. 3.20) and are now ambassadors on earth (2Cor. 5.20). Clearly, an ambassador is an alien in the country where they serve; they represent a foreign entity. This is what Abraham was as he … Continue reading Where is the Kingdom of God Presently?

The account of God raising up Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt is one of the most important biblical events. In fact it is the most frequently mentioned event in the entire Old Testament, referred to over 120 times in subsequent stories, laws, poems, Psalms, historical writings and prophecies.1 […] Top Ten Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus — … Continue reading Top Ten Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus — Bible Archaeology Report

Its not good enough to only want to be a Christian or claim to be a Christian and not believe the truth. Nearly 70% of U.S. adults claim Christianity but are ignorant of the basics of faith. A Christian is one who knows God intimately by the Spirit of God, a personal being, whom the Son and Father co-indwell as stated in John 17.20-23: My … Continue reading Delusional Christians

LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. (Jeremiah 10.23 NIV) God’s Scrutiny of His Creatures Here is a brief bible study to trace the revelation of heart’s transparency to God. Perhaps, prior to Samuel, it was not readily recognized from what perspective God tested humans. The book of Hebrews repeats what is revealed … Continue reading The Potter’s Eye

Peter Gurry has an important article titled “The Text of Eph 5.22 and the Start of the Ephesian Household Code” in the most recent issue of New … An Important Challenge to Egalitarian Claims about Ephesians 5:22 Continue reading An Important Challenge to Egalitarian Claims about Ephesians 5:22

This post is an expansion and replacement of an earlier one. Most of my summer has been sort of hectic and intense in moving house, though some down times, such as plane travel and several times waiting for car fixes, have enabled me to catch up in reading downloaded books. I have read several of Larry Hurtado’s books which cover similar, if not identical ground. … Continue reading Book(s) Review and Personal Update

https://beliefspeak2.net/salt-vs-foolishness/ Continue reading Wisdom and Foolishness

Legalism. Pretty much everyone agrees that it’s bad.  And in a world where Christians seem to disagree over basically everything, that’s saying … How Do You Know If Your Church Is Legalistic? Continue reading How Do You Know If Your Church Is Legalistic?

At first glance, the region often referred to in Scripture as the Negev could easily be written off as merely a land of sparcity–both in rainfall and… Negev Continue reading Negev

gath.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/maeir_philistines_in-samuel-koren-tanakh-volume_2021.pdf Continue reading Aren Maeir’s Research on the Philistines

When this pestilence is abated, bible believing churches should reinstitute weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper, if they haven’t done so already. I know many pastors and congregations, recently (in the past 10 years or so), have started to reincorporate this remembrance on a weekly basis. This observance seemed to be established, historically, in observance very early in the Apostolic Era. Acts 20.7: On the … Continue reading How Christians Can “Say Something About Jesus”

Jehoash was the second of four kings who descended from Jehu to reign as king of Israel (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah); he ruled from ca. 798-782 BC.1 The Bible summarizes his reign this way: In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel […] King Jehoash: An Archaeological Biography — Bible Archaeology Report Continue reading King Jehoash: An Archaeological Biography — Bible Archaeology Report

Above I have posted a seal impression from the British Museum which seems to be no longer accessible. The pixel count of the above image is much less than the original displayed content. If I am correct on my take of the scene, it refers to the judicial promise/curse of Gen.3.15. Notice the woman picking the fruit while the kingly Messiah tramples the serpent leading … Continue reading Ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals

Need encouragement to pray? John Calvin once said that “Nothing is better adapted to excite us to prayer than a full conviction that we shall be heard.” That’s why Jesus said things like: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For… What Should We Make of Unanswered Prayers? — Southern Equip Continue reading What Should We Make of Unanswered Prayers? — Southern Equip

Abraham was the first and greatest of the Hebrew patriarchs; his story unfolds over 15 chapters in the book of Genesis (from Gen. 11:26-Gen. 25:8).  The Lord called him out of his own country to a new land and promised to bless the earth through him (Gen. 12:1-3). In our next top ten list, we’ll […] Top Ten Discoveries Related to Abraham — Bible Archaeology Report Continue reading Top Ten Discoveries Related to Abraham — Bible Archaeology Report

If you read nothing else, read J. I. Packer’s introduction to John Owen’s work: The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. If a person is struggling in their walk with Christ, the contents of Packer’s essay will save this person much time to find the glorious truth of Christ’s power. As a testimonial, I spent too many years wandering in the wilderness not … Continue reading J. I. Packer on John Owen

Admittedly, I copied this paragraph from another site’s post who added nothing else except its attribution. The paragraph notes the complexities in ancient 2nd Temple Israel. Our own world is likewise complex. Let us not think earlier times and lives were somehow simply cut and dried and that the bible is elementary; it is not. Yet, accuracy can be achieved despite the complexity and is … Continue reading Accuracy in a Complex World

Labeling people with generalist classifications often leads to pigeonholing them wrongly. For instance, Jesus was thought to be closely aligned with the Pharisees early in His ministry. He held Pharisaical positions such as the resurrection from the dead and acceptance of the Prophets and Writings along with the Pentateuch. The other major 2nd Temple Jewish Sect, the Sadducees, believed only in earthly life and its … Continue reading Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

Peter J. Gentry has an article dealing with how and why the present shape of the Old Testament exists. The article is fairly comprehensive and technical but very readable for any layperson familiar with the bible. One does not need to analyze all his technical charts he presents, from himself or others, to fully grasp the points he is making. He writes in a very … Continue reading The Mechanisms of Establishing the Old Testament Text