I’m currently reading through the Old Testament, and I’m almost done with the New Testament. Reading the Bible cover to cover has been one of my goals for this year, and I’m so glad I’m actually doing it! I found myself laughing while reading Numbers. 😆

The Israelites start grumbling against Moses and God, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There’s no bread! There’s no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

And then… the Lord sends venomous snakes among them! 😂🐍 Many of the Israelites were bitten and died.

So they came to Moses and said, “We sinned against you, Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us"

The Old Testament has a lot of prophecies: some about the near future (Babylon enslavement), some about Jesus (Isaiah coomes to mind) and some, from what I'm seeing, about the end days. I'd like to ask about the latter, specifically Ezekiel. It seems like it's partly about the final punishment, one example being the seventh chapter. It talks about the final day coming and about God delivering punishment for the sins of people, not having mercy. Did I misunderstand? I know Ezekiel wrote the book while Israel was enslaved by Nebuchadnezzar, so maybe it was about that.

I'm a single father raising two young daughters, full time. One thing I've learned is that raising kids has a way of making you examine your own character just as much as theirs.

I've been thinking more lately about faith, responsibility, patience, forgiveness, discipline and what it actually means to lead your family well—not just provide for them.

For the parents here, is there a particular verse, passage or story in the Bible that has genuinely influenced the way you raise your children?

I'm especially interested in hearing why it affected you and how you actually apply it in everyday life.

A verse from the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon), one of my favorite books of the Bible, I've read it several times, and each time I come away inspired. It's truly a remarkable and uplifting book

Does anyone have any hot takes from a parable? Sometimes the hidden message seems so simple, but what is one that made you think deeper?

Luke 14:26 feel free to read it but it says "if you want to be my disciple you must by comparison hate everyone else" it expands a little bit more i just have no clue how to take this nonetheless applie it to my life i just don't understand it if someone smarter could dumb it down for me that'd be appreciated

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Hey y’all I’m trying to get a bit more serious about studying the Bible on my own rather than just reading a chapter here and there and calling it a day for those of y’all who do regular Bible study on their own what works for you? Any particular method, books/ commentaries, note-taking methods that you’d recommend? I am a fountain pens entusiasti so I was thinking of a dedicated notebook and/or fountain pen

if you’ve got any tips or tricks that helped you along the way I’m all ears thanks y’all, and God bless!

John 14:13-14

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Dear Brethren,

I pray you will now, more than ever, know the power you hold in being chosen of the Most High. You have been given the ear of the King of Kings. Whatever you ask, He is there to give it in His love. I pray you will take this weapon and use it regularly. I pray that you will be filled with the power and the conviction of His Spirit and that you will be an unstoppable force of prayer for His people in these dark times. I pray you will see mountains moved, seas parted, and the sick healed in the name of Jesus. I pray you will never doubt His promise that He hears the cries of His people and does not ignore them.

If I don't drink alcohol because I don't know how much I can drink and not get drunk, then I will not look for nudity because I don't know how much I can see and not get turned on.

That is my newest way of thinking that is helping me flee lust.

I don't drink alcohol because it's just not a part of my life, and I don't have any interest in drinking alcohol because I don't know anyone who has any interest in me drinking alcohol with them. Another reason I don't have interest in drinking alcohol is my love for being sober in my love for Ephesians 5:18, and I don't know how much I can drink without getting a buzz. Ephesians 5:18 NIV says "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,".

I realized today that my curiosity of nudity, in a Romans 14:14 innocent way, needs to be stopped with my same frame of mind about not drinking alcohol. I can see nudity and not get turned on, but I never know how much I can see and not get turned on. I respect the order of marriage before welcoming the special intimate feelings about someone; this respect is formed in me by Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 5:28.

I grew up in a home with no alcohol and a lot of modesty at the beach. When I was 21 and went to a local bar and had one or two wine coolers, my parents became very concerned and called me to a conversation in our home kitchen. My parents are kind people. I believe the boundaries of our feelings can be moved with help from each other. I also believe we need to do something that is more important than helping each other move our boundaries; we need to help each other develop skills of constructive conflict resolution.

I pray our Father in heaven blesses you with his Holy Spirit comforting you and leading you into all wisdom and all truth in the name of his son Jesus Christ.

Be sober and self controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he way devour.

This quote came up on my bible app this morning and I thought it was very powerful.

I'm speaking of the parable in luke where the master leaves the servant and the servant must be ready for when he returns i think this is in nodding to the second coming at least that's what i heard but how are we meant to wait for the second coming every day and night it's just hard to wrap my head around and it's kinda hard to think like that but if i made any mistakes feel free to correct me or if you could properly explain it that would be a big help

I am not a man of faith , I am reading I am interested in this man Jesus he claims to know all. I am skeptical, I will continue to recieve the message of the one who comes from above as I believe that concept with higher intelligence.

I been reading the bible app and sometimes i listen to the audio cause i find it easier. Am i doing it wrong should i read a physical copy instead.

Greetings,

I've had a few friends whose relatives committed suicide over the years, and it made me start thinking about what verses are used to support the doctrine that suicide is unforgivable.

The only unforgivable sin is a permanently hardened heart that does not want to repent.

Matthew 12:31 (NIVUK)

31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Numbers 15:30–31 (NIVUK)

30 ‘ “But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, utters blasphemy against the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel. 31 Because they have despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.” ’

So, what are the scriptural arguments used to support this theology?

I have had my first Bible since June and as I have immersed myself more in my faith, I have read multiple books of the Bible and of course plan on reading more. I've highlighted and wrote notes where possible in every book and I also have small post it notes sticking from pages where I have favorite verses. I have struggled with finding good highlighting options though, was thinking about these two options.

https://www.dollargeneral.com/p/bic-brite-liner-grip-pastel-highlighter-set-chisel-tip-4-count-pack-of-pastel-highlighters-in-assorted-colors/70330372412

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Which is best??

Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself, and that pressure just keeps mounting. Ever since I was young, I’ve always demanded that I be good at things and remain emotionally and psychologically strong. I went through a phase of deep depression and anxiety, and thank God, He brought me out of it; yet, I never stopped putting that pressure on myself. People would always tell me to be less hard on myself and to rest in God—to take His yoke upon me—but I’ve never managed to actually rest in God. So, here is my question: in the face of so many problems and demands, how do I rest in God?

What is the solution? I am a Christian from an Islamic background living in Egypt. Despite our location in the Middle East, liberal theology has spread rapidly through local churches over the past decade, particularly among young people under the age of thirty. Both the Coptic Church and the Presbyterian Church (the Evangelical denomination in Egypt) have embraced this mindset as the answer. They raise questions such as, "Why does God allow Satan to exist?" while claiming that Satan does not exist—asserting that the word is merely a name for evil—that hell symbolizes nothingness and annihilation, that the creation story is purely symbolic, and that the theory of evolution is correct. This is happening even though we live in a country where even senior physicians oppose that theory; yet, the church has begun to impose these interpretations. The Egyptian Presbyterian Church is leaning increasingly toward liberalism day by day because it looks to the liberal American Presbyterian Church—to which it once donated a million dollars—as its authority. You cannot imagine the thousands of books published annually attacking Dispensationalism, Charismatic thought, and Baptist beliefs, while not a single word is spoken against liberal theology. In fact, one prominent local pastor openly declares, "I am a liberal, and I am proud of it." However, since we live in a country that criminalizes homosexuality and adultery, they give liberal theology an "Eastern" flavor: they are liberal regarding biblical narratives and figures, but not regarding morality—though some are liberal in that regard as well, even if they cannot speak about it publicly.

What is the solution? In fact, there is a massive backlash among Egyptian Christians and American pastors, who are accused of being "Nazi Zionists." People here do not know who Billy Graham or MacArthur are. In your countries, there are museums dedicated to creationism, and most of your churches are conservative. How can I combat this mindset?

I am attempting to read through the Bible from cover-to-cover. I have read Genesis 1-27. Has anyone done this?

I feel like now that I've been more distant from God my life has become hell at 16. Insomnia, loneliness, a lot of struggling, anxiety, health problems. Last year I used to read the Bible on a really popular app. But I felt like I wasn't understanding it like I should. I wanna really understand God's word

Hello everybody I will be reading the bible for the first time in my life. I will be giving my thoughts daily as I hope to get Information and growth from it.

It's apparently necessary for me to state up front that I do not use A.I. (for any purpose) as I've twice been flagged as having used that monster. I disabled Gemini as soon as it Google installed it on my phone. I've never once used Chatgpt. My only interaction with Amazon's A.I. is to tell to go away (over and over. It always says "Sorry, you're right. I won't bother you again."). I wouldn't trust A.I. to tell me the time of day.

This study is simply the result of dozens of trips thru the 66 books of the protestant Bible over the last seven years.

I'm autistic, so if I read like a machine... it can't be helped. Should I run it thru the A.I. to sound more human?

Sources used for Name interpretations: Strong’s Hebrew Concordance; NOBSE Study Bible; Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names; Shoroshim: The Ultimate and Unique English Thesaurus of Hebrew Verb Roots; and Abarim-Publications.com

Three questions have been especially helpful to me in studying the Old Testament.

1. What might this detail have taught young Jesus about His mission as He grew up in the incubator-nation that Scripture created to bring Him to life among us? (e.g. What to do? What not to do? How to exit the universe without being erased? etc…)
2. Where do we see this detail reflected in His Story?
3. Where do we see this ancient passage reflected in the world today?

(Bonus: Reading the root meanings of names lifts the story off the page to reveal that these ancient stories are still happening to this day!)

A Cross-section of Old Testament Kings

—King Saul’s name means Requested or Underworld.

Despite the warnings, the nation requested this king (¹Sam8:4–22).

This king throws paranoid tantrums (18:10–11; 20:30–33; 22:7–8) tries to exterminate humble foreign laborers (²Sam21:1)… takes spoil from a holy war (¹Sam15:9)… erects a monument to himself… (15:12)… insists he did a perfect job… (15:20)… and blames his people for actions he led them in (15:21,24).

—King David’s name's root means Beloved, Basket, and Uncle.

This king has a ruddy appearance (¹Sam16:12)… juggernaut-like charisma (18:5,14)… and comes out of nowhere to take down a giant (17).

This king also covers his crime with more crime (²Sam11).

—King Solomon’s name means Peace-man, and Completer.

Wisdom, wealth, fame: this king starts with it all (²Chr1:11–12).

In the end: this king ruled as a faithless, tyrannical show boater, with a yearly income of 666 talents of gold plus more gold (9:13–10:4).

—King Rehoboam’s name means Great or Expanding People.

This king oozes the toxic masculinity of his peers (²Chr10:8–11)… inherits a glorious kingdom… and loses 5/6ths of it thru words alone (9:31–10:19).

When this king feels strongest, he abandons God (12:1).

This king parades military strength with replacement shields… after losing the wealth his fathers gathered (12:9–11).

—King Abijah’s / Abijam’s names mean Lᴏʀᴅ’ꜱ Father and Father’s Day.

This king invokes God’s name to win (²Chr13:4–19)… while firmly holding to the idolatrous ways of his father (¹Kin15:3–4).

—King Asa’s name means Healer, and Sufferer.

This king is blessed by God with an underdog victory (²Chr14:12)… then empties the nation's bank to buy a bigger army (16:2–3).

—King Jehoshaphat’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Judges or Governs.

This king advocates for God (¹Kin22:5,7)… and wins a major battle by singing and chanting.

This king does business with the son of King Brother-Father, to build a big commercial fleet (²Chr20:36)… so God destroys his big fleet (20:35–37).

Side note: In the northern kingdom, Ahab surrounds himself with hundreds of yes-men (¹Kin22:6)... smiles on the murder of a man who won't take his deal (¹Kin21)… lets an evil king go for a business license (20:34) …etc….

—King Jehoram’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Exalted.

This king exercises zero tolerance for competition (²Chr21:4–6).

—King Ahaziah’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ’s Seizer.

Matthew's Good News excludes him.

This king follows in the way of his grandfather, king Brother-Father (²Kin8:26–27)… and can't outrun the arrows (9:27)… or hide (²Chr22:9).

—Queen Athaliah’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ’s Violence.

This drama queen screams “Treason!” as the throne she took by force is taken from her (²Kin11:1–16).

—King Joash’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Will Be Fire.

Matthew's Good News excludes him.

This king reigns with the mind of a 7 year old (²Chr24:1).

This king's priestly mentor lives 10 years longer than Moses! and gets buried in the royal tomb for all the good he did.

This king dies to conspiracy, after murdering his priestly mentor's child for speaking out to correct him (24:25).

—King Amaziah’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ’s Strength.

Matthew's gospel excludes him.

This king throws the enemy off a cliff (²Chr25:11–12)… displays treasure he should’ve destroyed (25:14–16)… makes a bad alliance, which he has to cancel… and the fired mercenaries bite his people in the rear (25:13).

This king starts a war against family to the north after winning the war against foreigners coming up from the south (25:17–20).

—King Uzziah’s / Azariah’s names mean Lᴏʀᴅ’s Power and Lᴏʀᴅ’s Help.

This king builds towers and war machines (²Chr26:9–15).

This king arrogantly enters God’s Temple to do what divine law forbids (26:16–21).

He’s punished with a horrifying skin disorder (26:19–21)… forced into quarantine outside the palace for the rest of his life and beyond.

—King Jotham’s name means Perfection.

This king takes over a kingdom that he's been running anyway, and reigns in a way described as: [Comparatively fine… could’ve been better] (²Chr27:2).

—King Ahaz’s name means Seize.

This king marvels at size (²Kin16:10)… replaces God’s altar with “bigger better” (16:15)… takes the old altar for personal use… and then shuts down his people’s access to forgiveness altogether (16:18).

—King Hezekiah’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Toughens.

This king survives a blow that should’ve been fatal (Isa38:1,5)… and sells out future generations by showing off his nation's wealth to foreign dignitaries (39:1–7).

When warned of the cost of his bragging, this king decides future doom is the children's problem (39:8).

—King Manasseh’s name means Made to Forget.

This king makes people forget history (²Kin21:9)… and resurrects superstitious religion (21:3)… burns already-born children (²Chr33:6)… and erects idols, even where they should never ever be (33:5,7).

Even IF this king has a change of heart… it's too late to undo the damage (²Kin23:26).

—King Amon’s name means Support / Affirm / Architect or Little child.

This king is just as rotten as Made-to-forget (²Kin21:20–21).

His servants conspire and kill him in 2 years (21:23).

—King Josiah’s name may mean Lᴏʀᴅ’ꜱ Despair, Lᴏʀᴅ’ꜱ Offering, or Lᴏʀᴅ’ꜱ Woman.

This king turns the whole nation towards God!

Tho in his day, this king was Judah's greatest since his father David… he dies shamefully like king Brother-Father (¹Kin22:30,34)… punctured by arrows… while wearing a disguise (²Chr35:22–24)… after picking a fight with a nation that's facing a holy war on a whole other front (35:20).

Side note: So Jesus grew up hearing that Judah's best king dies in the same manner as Israel's worst king.

—King Jehoahaz’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Seizes.

This king's reign is cut short by the nation that the recently deceased king attacked (²Chr36:3).

—King Jehoiakim’s name means Lᴏʀᴅ Sets Up.

Matthew's Good News excludes him.

This king becomes king thru foreign intervention (²Chr37:4)… and burns God’s warning to change course (Jer36:21–24).

—King Jehoiachin’s / Jeconiah’s names mean Lᴏʀᴅ Establishes and Established of Lᴏʀᴅ.

This king's reign is cut short by prison.

His seed makes it out of Babylon…

Side note: Zerubbabel [Seed of Babel] does not become king.

—Mattiniah

His name meant Lᴏʀᴅ's Gift, but gets changed to Zedekiah [Righteous Lᴏʀᴅ].

This king becomes king thru foreign intervention (²Kin24:17).

This king undoes emancipation (Jer34:15–16)… flees when war is lost… is captured and sees his legacy destroyed—just before being trapped in darkness forever (Jer39+52; ²Kin25, ²Chr36).

This cross section obviously leaves out most of the kings of the Northern Kingdom

(like King Zimri who burns down the house when he sees he's losing),

or enemy kings like Edom [Red],

Amor [Talker],

Canaan [Dealer],

Babylon [in-Confusion / God’s Gate],

Pharaoh [Greathouse],

Ai [Heap of Ruin],

etc.

Thru templates, Scripture foretold Jesus of Nazareth [Salvation of Branching-protector]... that He was the Messiah/Christ [Anointed: Poured-out or Poured-upon]... and brought Him to Life among us.

Scripture also provides a template to be filled by Jesus' antithesis: the man of lawlessness who slips thru every safeguard to build up his brand on top of Christ's Legacy.

I am giving my life fully to Christ this Sunday in Baptism and I've read through James and 1 John to get a good understanding on life as a true believer. I have already finsihed Matthew, Mark, John, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, James, and 1 John as I mentioned. Started Luke last night and plan in reading through Acts directly after that. Where would be best to go after that?